QX6700 Booting up at 1.60 mhz??????

[spikerjack]

I admit to being a newbie on overclocking, but in my current configuration:

-- Intel Quad Core QX6700
-- Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 motherboard
-- Buffalo Firestix 2x1gb DDR2800
-- Gigabyte Aurora 570 case
-- (1) Raptor X 150gb drive and (3) Seagate 750gb drives in RAID5

At both POSTing and in the EasyTune5 application the processor clock speed is coming up at 1.6 mhz. Since of course this CPU's default is 2.66 mhz, clearly there is something going on. It appears that there might be a feature in the Gigabyte BIOS that auto-adjusts clock speed based on thermal conditions, but right now I am running 36-40c at idle so that shouldn't be a problem.

Does anybody have ideas or thoughts on how to at least get the CPU back up to default clock so I can then start thinking about OCing...? I searched diligently and didn't see anything about slower clocks on the quad cores..

Any help is appreciated....

--Scott

 

[Grimmy]

Speed Step is causing it to down clock, and lower it's voltage. It's just a power saving option. If you put the core(s) under a load, it should go back to 2.66.

You can disable the speed step in the bios for looking for options on:

EIST

and

C1E

Not all MB would perhaps have the same options to find.

 

[just2good4u3434]

Just disable Speed Step

 

[spikerjack]

Speed Step is causing it to down clock, and lower it's voltage. It's just a power saving option. If you put the core(s) under a load, it should go back to 2.66.

You can disable the speed step in the bios for looking for options on:

EIST

and

C1E

Not all MB would perhaps have the same options to find.

Thank you. I saw those options in BIOS and will adjust. Another quick question...does the QX6700 --require-- an 8 pin CPU power connect? My current Cooler Master 600 only has a 4 pin but I do have a CM 800W that does have an 8 pin....wondering if actual power input could cause the speed step engagement. Thanks!

--Scott

 

[Grimmy]

Gawd.. that is a good question, though I don't think the 4pin or 8pin would effect or cause speed step to do anything different.

I have ordered an MSI MB that has the 8 pin, but 4 pins are covered. Which comes off, though I only have a PSU with 4 pin rather then 8 pin.

Thing is, I'm waiting for price drops and if the E4400 will be out in April 22nd, so the MB isn't in use atm.

Though, I'm not sure what to comment on the 4pin vs having the 8pin installed, if that would cause any difference.

 

[bobthe]

At both POSTing and in the EasyTune5 application the processor clock speed is coming up at 1.6 mhz. Since of course this CPU's default is 2.66 mhz, clearly there is something going on.

I'd bet good money it's not displaying at 1.6 MHz. I'm assuming you mean 1.6 GHz?

 

[dragonsprayer]

he must - impossible for 1.6mhz

 

[trinitron64]

always the n00bs with the kickass hardware....

the guy behind the desk should have given him a 3Ghz Celeron... he wouldn't notice the diff.

:lol:

 

[spikerjack]

always the n00bs with the kickass hardware....

the guy behind the desk should have given him a 3Ghz Celeron... he wouldn't notice the diff.

:lol:

I knew that ding was coming......<grin>

I may be a N00b at OCing...but not at buying processors. Smart enough to go Newegg.com all the way and double check what $940 gets you. Now buying memory? I suck at that....

And yes...I meant 1.6ghz...that was a typo.

 

[Eviltwin17]

hey... logically the type of pin connector to power up the cpu shouldnt matter since intel's quad core processors run at the same or similar consumption levels as athlon64 x2, so really unless you had something consuming an insane amount of power (like a high end video card) you wont need an 8-pin adapter.

 

[spikerjack]

hey... logically the type of pin connector to power up the cpu shouldnt matter since intel's quad core processors run at the same or similar consumption levels as athlon64 x2, so really unless you had something consuming an insane amount of power (like a high end video card) you wont need an 8-pin adapter.

So if I have a QX6700 --and-- a XFX 8800GTX its possible that requires an 8 pin CPU cable from the power adapter?

I wonder about that since the vid card itself already takes 2x6pin PCI-E power connectors. Anyway...I am about to turn off the SpeedStep stuff in BIOS and see if that gets the clock rate back up again. If that doesn't work, I will try the 800W power supply with the 8pin CPU cable.

--Scott

 

[Grimmy]

I think the only time you may consider using the 8 pin, is for only stability issues.

So if you do find that the system is acting goofy (lockups, reboots), or if an OC isn't stable, then perhaps that 8 pin option will help out more.

 

[spikerjack]

It looks like the multiplier got changed to 6X which on the 266mhz bus speed is what got me to 1.6 Ghz. I changed it up to 10x and now am running at 2.66 Ghz. CPU is running about 5c hotter than before (which I guess makes sense).

It's possible that my original heatsink install wasn't good and the chip might of overheated and shifted down on its own. Looks like you need to shift it back up manually. That's my only guess since I didn't touch anything in the BIOS until after I saw the problem.

Thanks again for all the help.

--Scott

 

[graysky]

Hey, not to hijack the thread, but is anyone o/c'ing a quad core chip w/ speedstep enabled? I'm building a q6600 and want to run @ 9x333 but would like to keep speedstep enabled for power savings/temp reasons.