Recommended Q6600 Overclocking?

Dylan_35 · May 21, 2017

I have tried many times in the past, but I have never had much success with overclocking my Q6600. My temps are not an issue, and I have toyed with the voltage quite a bit. I can never get it to be stable above 2.88 GHz. The only thing that I am not 100% sure about is my ram. They are Corsair XMS2 sticks, but they are different models. One set is a 2x2, and the other is a 1x2. One has a factory voltage of 1.8, while the other has a voltage of 1.9. They are both 800 MHz, and I don't exceed that clock when overclocking. I don't understand what I could be doing incorrectly, so someone on this site probably knows more than I.

damric · May 21, 2017

You dropped the RAM dividers down while keeping the timings loose right?

Dylan_35 · May 21, 2017

damric :

I have the ram running on stock timings, and I don't know what you mean by RAM dividers. I still have a lot to learn, and have not had much luck with this system.

damric · May 21, 2017

Alright so in order to overclock these CPUs, you have to adjust the FSB (base clock). But when you do that, it increases the speed of the RAM also, and doing so can cause instability. So what you do is lock in your timings manually, then drop the RAM frequency down. That gives you headroom to start raising FSB for your CPU overclock. Once you find your stable CPU clock, then you can go back and tune RAM frequency and timings.

Any questions, just ask. Old school overclocking like this is arcane knowledge to most forum members here who are used to having unlocked CPU multipliers which makes overclocking pretty much one easy step.

Dylan_35 · May 22, 2017

damric :

Thank you for your help, locking in the timings and having the ram clock low got me stable at 3.0ghz right now. I have a cooler on the way that should help me go farther.

Also, does my boards FSB matter in overclocking potential of the cpu?

damric · May 22, 2017

Dylan_35 :

It's mostly going to be the luck of the CPU. If I recall, 3GHz is pretty average top out for q6600. You might get slightly more if you are lucky or are willing to push higher voltages. That CPU is so old I would be tempted to push it to the extreme, lol.

Dylan_35 · May 22, 2017

damric :

Dylan_35 :

It's mostly going to be the luck of the CPU. If I recall, 3GHz is pretty average top out for q6600. You might get slightly more if you are lucky or are willing to push higher voltages. That CPU is so old I would be tempted to push it to the extreme, lol.

I have pushed the voltage pretty high on it with no issues before. Its at 1.3v right now, so that should give me a little more headroom.

damric · May 23, 2017

If you have not done so already, I would make a HWBOT.org account and rack up some benchmark points on that CPU.

Dylan_35 · May 23, 2017

damric :

When I am at 3.2 or something, my computer boots up fine. But when I set it to 3.5 ghz, the computer boots into a black screen with low fan rpm's. If I reboot it tells me my overclock has failed. What am I doing wrong?

damric · May 23, 2017

If adding more voltage doesn't stabilize it then you hit the wall. Seriously if you can stabilize 3.2GHz that is impressive already. You run any stability tests yet?

Dylan_35 · May 23, 2017

damric :

I think I have it stable right now at 3.3, I think 3.5 is too high. I haven't tried 3.4 yet though. I have 3.3 running through cpu burner right now, and it looks to be good.

damric · May 23, 2017

You could also try dropping RAM by another notch if you need more headroom there. Those Q6600 can run really hot when overclocked so make sure you are cooling it adequately.

damric · May 23, 2017

I forgot Lord Xeb wrote a guide specifically for he Q6600. It would be worth reading for some pointers.

http://www.overclock.net/t/497993/newbie-guide-to-overclocking-updated-core-2-or-below-only

Dylan_35 · May 23, 2017

damric :

I don't know if it is related to me overclocking, as it is an old PATA hard drive, but somehow my OS has been corrupted. Windows gave me trouble booting up, and now it says its been comprimised etc.

Nakiroto · May 23, 2017

Overclocking Q6600 to 3.0GHz is easy, just use the tape trick (I posted a guide the other day) and then use the VID mod to up the voltage to 1.4v (I found in my testing that the tape trick was unstable without upping the voltage)

damric · May 23, 2017

Dylan_35 :

Unstable RAM has very high chance of corrupting OS. I use a separate disk when tuning. Once it's stable I use my main disk. Programs like Prime95, Intel Burn Test, and AIDA64 Extreme can be set to test overclocks with high RAM settings.

Dylan_35 · May 23, 2017

damric :

Dylan_35 :

Unstable RAM has very high chance of corrupting OS. I use a separate disk when tuning. Once it's stable I use my main disk. Programs like Prime95, Intel Burn Test, and AIDA64 Extreme can be set to test overclocks with high RAM settings.

It's my test-bench drive, so it only has test programs and games. It was stable, but I messed with the ram timings a little bit, and that must have done it.

damric · May 23, 2017

Dylan_35 :

damric :

It's my test-bench drive, so it only has test programs and games. It was stable, but I messed with the ram timings a little bit, and that must have done it.

Getting those timings fine-tuned is the hardest part. Consider yourself elite for attempting!

Recommended Q6600 Overclocking?

Reputable

Illustrious

Reputable

Illustrious

Reputable

Illustrious

Reputable

Illustrious

Reputable

Illustrious

Reputable

Illustrious

Illustrious

Reputable

Prominent

Illustrious

Reputable

Illustrious

Share this page