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Q9550 checklist

M

MystX

Weaksauce
Joined
Aug 7, 2008
Messages
82
Hi guys,
Just need a quick check up on what im doing here. I have a Q9550 with a P5Q pro and G.Skill DDR2-1000 ram. I have OC'd the Q9550 to 3.6 ghz (upped the FSB to 425) but i just need to make sure im not halming anything.

I heard that leaving VCore on auto is a bad idea, and found that i could get away with just under 1.2v in bios (prime95'd it for about 2 hours) and it shows up as 1.168v on CPU-Z. I'm pretty sure this is a safe voltage, is it? The only other setting that is not on auto is the DRAM voltage (set that to 2.0v cos my ram said ~2.0 - 2.1v) should i be changing the NB and SB voltage to manual too or not?

Another thing, i have disabled Speedstep, but at the moment CPU-Z still reads my speed at 2550.5Mhz at 6.0 multi.. what?

What should this CPU get to temp wise with a Coolermaster hyper 212 on it? on prime95 at the settings above, it gets to a max of 60C.. is it just me or is this a little high? (i used the thermal paste that came with the cooler, my first time applying it)..


One last this before i go, CPU-Z at the moment is also reading my ram as DDR2-800 (i know thats wrong) but at 425Mhz.. It also says the FSB is a 1:1 ratio but i thought that 800Mhz ram and 400Fsb would be 1:1? =S if so, does this mean my ram is running at only 425mhz?


I think that about does it for unloading my n00b insecurities on you guys =P i would appreciate any help.
Thanks
 
You need to disable Speedstep and that other option, EIST is speedstep which lowers voltage(maybe) and C1E lowers multiplier.

60c is not too high on load.

dunno anything else

Your build is what i plan on getting exactly :D
q9550, p5q pro, and g.skill pc8000 ddr-1000
 
the other volts on a p5q on auto are an even worse idea

fsb term should be at 1.12 (auto & the lowest & depending on bios version the 2nd lowest overvolt especially as the fsb goes up)

for me, heat gets me more unstable, my nb is at 1.16v now, 420x8.5

i'm also a q9550 with a hyper 212
 
Ok, so set the FSB term to 1.12? And i cant seem to find any NB readings anywhere =\
also, is there a way to make sure my ram is being detected correctly? (should prbly get a 64bit OS first =P)

EDIT: Found somethig that said NB temp was the 'motherboard' one..
 
The P5Q series boards don't have NB temp sensors. The motherboard temp you're seeing is the ambient temp of the motherboard.
 
Does it have the new E0 stepping?

If so you should be able to hit at least 4GHZ.

Important to have fast RAM to make up for CPU multiplier.

No experience with your MB but if it can do a stable 500 FSB you should be golden for 4ghz.
 
It is E0, but i was just looking for a small OC on stock voltages. Didnt know you could go a little below stock, which is good.
Anyhow, im going to replace the thermal paste in the next week or so, but i just stress tested overnight and didnt get any errors in P95.. Im not sure if ill try lower the vcore further or not.
Ill assume that my ram is working fine, is it better to just leave all the timings etc for ram on auto in the bois?
 
MystX said:
Ill assume that my ram is working fine, is it better to just leave all the timings etc for ram on auto in the bois?
Click to expand...

Yes. RAM tweaking has practically no impact on the performance of Core 2-based systems, so it's better to leave things at their most stable settings.
 
Hi again guys,
I seem to have a problem with something in my bios settings now.
Every time i leave my computer off over night, turning it back on leaves me with no POST, just the fans going. I have a feeling this happened after i set the FSB term voltage. Is this possible? Clearing the bios with the jumper on my board fixes the problem.
 
That would depend on what your FSB term voltage is set to. Post your non-Auto voltage settings.
 
Ok, vcore is at 2 notches below 1.2 on my mobo (i think CPUZ shows it as 1.168?) DRAM is at 2.0, FSB term is at 1.12
 
MystX said:
Ok, vcore is at 2 notches below 1.2 on my mobo (i think CPUZ shows it as 1.168?) DRAM is at 2.0, FSB term is at 1.12
Click to expand...

What speed is the CPU set to? (FSB ? x CPU multi ?)

The FSB Term sounds a little low. I'd bump it up to 1.2v, which is still on the low end.

Are there any other settings you changed from default?
 
er, FSb is 425, multi is 8.5.
I set the thing at the bottom of the bios (sorry, forget what it's called) from 'optimized' to 'performance'. but i think thats about it..
 
Got it from pconlineshop.co.nz..
I have had all the settings on default for a few days now and all is working, so i assume that the FSB term voltage was too low. ill test that theory when i get time, got exams from tomorrow onwards =\
 
E0 should do 4ghz stable 24/7

I'm also interested in an E0 stepping q9550 :p
 
Yea, i made sure i was getting one before i bought.
And they may be able to do 4ghz stable, but mine is clearly not, hence my problem.
 
MystX said:
er, FSb is 425, multi is 8.5.
I set the thing at the bottom of the bios (sorry, forget what it's called) from 'optimized' to 'performance'. but i think thats about it..
Click to expand...

3.6Ghz with around ~1.1850v in BIOS may be stretching it. Have you run a Prime95 Small FFT test? If so, for how long and did it fail on any of the cores? Your problem could be be not enough CPU voltage.
 
Ok i just tested the CPU voltage up to 1.2 in bios and still no POST.
But as soon as i set FSB term to auto, it posted straight away..
 
MystX said:
Ok i just tested the CPU voltage up to 1.2 in bios and still no POST.
But as soon as i set FSB term to auto, it posted straight away..
Click to expand...

FSB of 1.12v is too low for 425 FSB. Setting it to Auto fixed it, but if you want to manually set it, try 1.26v.
 
Yea, it was the FSB term that was causing the problem. Set to 1.26 now and everything seems fine.

How is 1.26v? is that still relatively low?
 
1.26v should be enough to carry you up to 450-460 range (maybe a little more, not sure). It's well within the safe limits. I've heard you don't want to go above 1.40v for 45nm CPU's, which translates to about 1.36v for the P5Q boards (approx. +0.04v overvolting from the board)
 
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