At 3.1Ghz, 1.4V vcore, need to get to 3.4Ghz if possible

Another question - whats the highest Ghz I can get on the 1.4 vcore. I probably cant go much higher with my temps pushing 70 load. Thanks.

your temps are on the high side there.

have you tried raising the volts on the north bridge and fsb termination and the E6600 tends to need more like 1.5v to get above 3.2Ghz

Try your OC with the RAM running at 5-5-5-15, just for kicks.

3.1 GHz might be your limit, and that's nothing to sneeze at. A 1300 MHz overclock is outstanding, in any event. That was pretty much science fiction just a few short years ago.

I know, but I know I can get this baby a bit higher. My temps have given me sh^&&^it from day one. I think I have a dud CPU, but it seems to hold and be ok. Really pisses me off though, after I went aftermarket into the heatsink space etc.

Anyway, I will try loosening the RAM timings (which would really disappointment me if I have to do that and run it less than stock). The 1.5V - what were you referring to? FSB termination? Not 100% sure which variable that was, but will check. NewB here. I think Wusy said a v-core of 1.44 is about the max you must to go avoid any electron migration or something. 1.5V vcore seems way too high.

Thanks guys. Anyone else have any ideas?

I think I should have gone with the 6400 and the Zalman - cheaper and looks like it outperforms my setup by about 20% no?

rushfan, you've got a good setup there. Any 3DMark06 scores? What about PCMark05?

if you are going to get 3.4Ghz you will more than likely need a Vcore of 1.5.

but first check your volts for the MCH and FSB termination

I havent tinkered alot with the FSB termination. What temps should I watch out for? Is it dangerous? What program should I use to monitor it, and what is my max threshold?

your going to need to tinker with them if your going to get any higher.

use TAT or core temp to monitor temps

intel recommends 60C but many people run them at above that, i would love to know my self when the core 2 throttles

Core 2 E6600s throttle at 84C. I've read numerous post of guys that took it to the max. The CPUs were undamaged. This built in protection for the chips is great. No to less chance of screwing up. These days you really have to watch the mobo etc.

No one knows yet, but running the CPU in the high 70s will probably not allow the chip to go beyond 3 years etc. Its anyone's guess. Who needs that same CPU after that time anyway. I've run at 79 for a couple of hours before, no problem. I just dont think its health LT.

What are you settings? Wip it out boys.

TOMO, why did you stop at 3.2?

cpu 1.4v

FSB termination 1.30v

MCH 1.50v

ICH auto

i stopped at 3.2Ghz because having to run my memory at there SPD settings(theres a wall at FSB 360 just in case you didnt know).

what bios you running?

I'm runnning version 1407 - latest one. What do you mean by wall at 360 FSB? I dont know anything about that with respect to RAM. I disabled my SPD settings, and set my RAM to stock settings at 4-4-4-15 and running at 700 MHz (vs 800 Mhz stock). The voltage is at 2.1 stock. Warranty said I could take it to 2.2

Do you think setting it to SPD will allow me to take it to 3.4Ghz?

1503 is the latest bios.the P5W-DH has got 2 FSB walls one at 300 you can beat this by disabling Hyperpath 3 in the bios and the next wall at 360 you beat by turning your ram settings to auto

Meh I have been able to push 3.9 on my 6400, but the temps are in the low 60's. To high for my taste. I settled for 3.7.

Hi OCNewB. Hope you are well my friend. Again, looking at your specs, I am so depressed. I wish I could get up to your specs. Im running in the high 60s at load, so dont worry about those temps, but then again, no real reason to push it if you're at 3.6Ghz+. Thats more than enough.

I wish I knew how you got your temps so low. I'm using the same rig, and my temps are WAY HIGH!

Arrrghhhhhh. Anyway, do you have your RAM SPD settings set to auto?

1503 isnt even on Asus's website yet. I'm skeptical about pulling it off one of these FTPs. Thats playing with fire. I can be patient.

OCnewb...your my hero! lol

Best,

3Ball

im running my own ram settings(4-4-4-12) cos im only at FSB 356 but if i went to FSB 360 then it would default to 5-5-5-16 which isnt good

Is the trade-off worth it. For example, getting to 3.6Ghz and loosening the timings, or keeping the timings and staying at 3.1Ghz.

Which one is better?

OCnewB, I assume you're using CoreTemp or Intel TAT right?

Those programs are most accurate.

3.6Ghz is worth it,but you will struggle to get there

I have run 3.4 with vcore of 1.4. At the office now I will have to dig up the particulars for you.

TOMO, you mean temp wise seeing though I am already so high?

FLA94FD, that would be really useful. If I can get to 3.4, I dont think my temps will go up that much, which would probably be where I would max out.

Anyone have data on the tradeoff between gaining 0.3GHZ and looser ram timings?

What do I need to set the timings to if I have 4-4-4-15 at CAS 4. What do i have to "loosen" them to???? (ie 5-5-5- what????)

if you havent raised the FSB termination volts or the MCH then do so cos they will hold you back.

with you being at 70c with only 1.4 volts i would hate to see what 1.55 would do at 3.6Ghz

just 100-200 Mhz would cover the difference of slack ram timings

I've changed all voltage settings to reflect the specs in Wusy's guide:

1. Set DRAM/DIMM Voltage (vDIMM) to 2.1V or 2.2V if specified by RAM (+0.3V or +0.4V)
2. Set MCH Voltage (vMCH) to 1.55V
3. Set FSB Voltage (vFSB) to 1.40V
4. Increase SB Voltage (vICH) by +0.1V from default-lowest value
5. Set CPU Voltage (vCore) for the following CPU (1.4)

I think the wall must be that I dont have my RAM set on SPD. After going through a heck of a lot of back and forth on here, I may have resolved the issue. TOMO, if it works, you're the man!

PS. Please beam me a magical miracle so I can drop my temps. Cant Intel send me a new chip?

No I use speedfan. CoreTemp reported my temps about 10c higher than they actually were. Alot of people have reported their temps being higher using core temp. As for your memory timings, you want to manually set them to the factory settings, then bump them up as necessary when you hit OC walls.

PLEASE GUYS, just to clarify. What I know, the following affects temps:

1) Your heatsink (got the best if not 3rd best out there, Thermalright Ultra 120), so CHECK
2) Your thermal paste (using Artic Silver 5, the best), so CHECK
3) You case airflow (got the best! Antec P180B with 3 case fans, one fan on the power supply, and one fan on the heatsink, thats a total of 5 fans!), so CHECK

SO PLEASE, ANYONE KNOW WHAT ELSE I CAN DO!! SOS!!!!

you might have one of the cpus with a concave heatspreader causing your heatsink not to make full contact

OCNEWB, but then using CoreTemp, your temps will be around what mine are (but you're still then seriously OC'ed).

Anyway, one last dumb question before I go give it a shot again tonight (for the kazillionth time).

WHAT DO I NEED TO SET MY RAM TIMINGS TO, to loosen them. How do I calculate the XX in this series???, if I loosen mine

For example, take my stock DDR2 800, 4-4-4-15 CAS 4 to WHAT = 5-5-5-XX ???, or how do I do it? THANKS

Wusy:
-DDR2-800 4-4-4-xx (good for 500Mhz+*) ->Best for E6300/E6400

Well if your hitting a wall with your timings set to 4-4-4-15 try 5-5-5-15. However i dont think thats your problem. It sounds like heat may be the culprit in your case. I dont have that CPU nor that mobo/mem so im not sur eof its exact config. I have walked atleast a dozen people thru OC'ing their 6400 using the ds3 mobo to atleast 3.4ghz.

Timings are not that important if you are going to overclock so high, what you do is go for looser timings till you've found what you think to be your highest overclock that is stable, then you try tightening the timings afterwards

As far as your temps well they are insane, you do not want to go over 60C, that is what Intel states, yes that is on the safe side but you said your pushing 70C which is very bad...you are shortening the life span of your cpu by running it at such a high temperature, from what it sounds like it might be your cooling setup...

be aware that once you start hitting 60C you want to back it off so you can keep your max load at about 60C, if you ever start to idle at or near 60C you really need to back it off...and just because Core 2 Duos can run at 80C doesn't mean anything really, all it means is that, that cpu is gonna die very quickly...if i were you i would see how your cpu overclocks on air cooling to see if its your water cooling, and lastly would back off the overclock so your loads temps are just over 60C and not exceeding 65C, anything beyond that i would consider and unnecessary risk for barely any improvement in performance

Someone should do an article with your specs as reference, because thats a great OC and PC at a great price. Everyone was promoting the E6600 with the P5WDH when I got in (noteably Anandtech), and I could have done better with your rig. I wonder if all the reviews are corrupt and just get your to buy the best thing. Only MONTHS after the P4 was released, did that 4.1Ghz article come out on THG. Serioulsy dogey.

That was a good buy on your part.

IcY18, I have a dud CPU and am trying to make the best of the situation. I wonder if I can send it back to Intel.

Orginally, if you check all my posts, my CPY was idling in the 50s with stock cooling. Then I got the Thermalright, and that dropped it alot, but its still all screwed up and very high.

I am using CoreTemp though to report my temps. I would be running at 60C according to OCNEWB if I use Speedfan. I dont know what temp to use as reference, which is a joke on the manufacturers and developers part. They need to get their SHI*&^T together.

What do you think?

I got your PM OCNEWB. Thanks man. Pity about the incremental increase in temps.

set the memory timings to auto to avoid the FSB wall(if you loosen the settings manully it wont work)

With more vcore and increased fsb your temps will rise, no matter what. If you changed your vcore from 1.3 to 1.4 and saw no change in temp what-so-ever that would be a red flag for me. Take your Heatsink off and make sure its flat. To do this clean off all the thermal paste and nd polish it using some coffee filters(they are lint free) and isypropal alchohol, or the arctic silver cleaning solution if you have it. Then use the base of the heatsink (the part that touches the cpu) as a mirrior. Hold it up to a window screen and see if it reflects flat. If it looks distorted or wavy, your Heatsink is messed up. Fact of the matter is you temps are just WAY to high. You can check the flatness of your cpu the same way.

At 3.7 im hitting tempsof about 55c under max load. at 3.9 it was hitting 63-65c.

I have modded my case some to help lower the temps. Here are some pics.
I had 3 extra bays in my P180B case. So using the extra plates i mounted an extra 120mm fan. Then i made two brackets out of cardboard by tracing out a 120mm fan, I then cut a hole in it big enough to fit some dryer hose. I connected one to the fan in the top bays and the other to the CPU fan.

Pics!

Top mounted 120mm fan






Notice my little fan on the NB (thx wusy). That Video cooler is the KuFormula VF1


This whole project took me an hour and a half. My temps dropped 6c 8O

FishBoi, your CPU probably have hit its limits. I tried every adjustments with one of my E6400. I gave it a lot of juice and it just wouldn't pass the benches. Next was probably the ram settings and voltage. All the other settings didn't appear it affect the overclocking at all (on the DS3).

I have another E6400 now and it's at 3.60 Ghz. It takes 1.54375 volts on the DS3 to get it stable. Ram at 900mhz 5-5-5-12. It's in a P180 case with a Sonic Tower doing a 2 push 1 pull technique. Might have to try OCnewb's setup :wink: It hovers around 67c on TAT and 71c on CoreTemp. I'm ok with this because it'll never hit those numbers while gaming or normal work.

300mhz is a looong way to go. Might need some more juice (and better cooling).

I would actually go with Core Temp versus Speedfan. I find your temperatures surprisingly low for that high an overclock. Core Temp uses a sensor inside the CPU and is much more accurate than Speedfan. It's not mistaken - it's accurate.

If you're going to make a mistake, shouldn't you err on the side of caution?

I don't believe that 65C is going to fry your CPU or shorten its lifespan by all that much - like what, 20 years versus 25 years? I'm not suggesting that you downclock your CPU to get the temperatures under control. You might consider including your Core Temp results when comparing results 'cause some poor chaps (like me) are pulling out their hair trying to figure out why your rig runs so much cooler than theirs!

I would actually go with Core Temp versus Speedfan. I find your temperatures surprisingly low for that high an overclock. Core Temp uses a sensor inside the CPU and is much more accurate than Speedfan. It's not mistaken - it's accurate.

If you're going to make a mistake, shouldn't you err on the side of caution?

I don't believe that 65C is going to fry your CPU or shorten its lifespan by all that much - like what, 20 years versus 25 years? I'm not suggesting that you downclock your CPU to get the temperatures under control. You might consider including your Core Temp results when comparing results 'cause some poor chaps (like me) are pulling out their hair trying to figure out why your rig runs so much cooler than theirs!

I ran Speedfan, PC Wizard and the Temp application that came with my mobo Easy Tuner5. They all report the exact same temps. While Core temp is 7-10c higher. I also checked my idel temps in bios on boot up and that was roughly 24c(at stock vcore and stock fsb), when i check using Core temp it is again 7-10c higher. So I decided to not believe what core temp is telling me, as many other OC'ers have.

rushfan is right the temp readings from mobos are wrong only core temp and TAT can be trusted.

my bios reports temps of 15C for my core 2 at stock(exactly 10C lower than TAT and core temp)

It's really hard to figure out which temps work. I would also prefer to be on the safe side, and thats why CoreTemp puts me at 70C. If I was using Asus Probe, it would probably be saying 55C (I did actually have a 15C difference).

Really pisses me off that they dont have a standard. I think from what I've read, CoreTemp and TAT are king.

OCnewb, your temps would then be in the high 60s right. That would be normal.

Also, the BIOS readings are wrong.

My plan for tonight:
1) Set the RAM timings to SPD
2) Crank up FSB as high as I can go on 1.4V vcore
3) If I hit a wall, crank up vcore until my temps hit 75 load.

Hope it goes ok. I will let you guys know.

PS. My CPU is probably the one that is bent, not the heatsink. The stock heatsink never worked either. The thermalright did drop temps alot, but this is a crappy CPU. I wish I could RMA it. Do you think they will accept that theory. Why would I worry about temps is "I wasnt overclocking". Hmmmmmm.