Help with OVERCLOCKING, where did i go wrong?

[funcit]

hello everyone,

im new to overclocking and excited to learn some new things.

so i read a lovely tutorial on this forum on how to overclock a gigabyte ds3 with c2d. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/239125-29-overclocking-gigabyte
i gave it a whirl yesterday and ran into some issues maybe someone here can help straighten me out.

my specs are:

-gigabyte ds3 bios 3.3
-intel C2D 2.4GHz 6600
-Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
-zalman cnps 7700 CPU FAN
-xp...

i think these are pretty solid specs so im not sure why im having these issues.

i set up everything in the bios pretty easily as the tutorial mentioned.

for the first round it suggests starting the FSB at 350, which results in a speed of 2.45ghz..... pretty much no increase. cpuz varifies that all my settings are set correctly.

my vcore automatically shows 1.35 while the tutorial suggests that it should be at 1.325.

when i run both of the P95 stress tests on each core, the temps go straight to 60 degrees C in a couple of minutes, and the bios starts to beep and go mad.

how can it be so unstable at barely any change?

i then try bumping up the CPU VOLTAGE CTRL to change the VCORE to 1.3625, 2 notches above 1.35. i still get the same result. as i understand it you basically increase the vcore to handle the speed, but the tutorial was suggesting that the vcore wouldn't have to be increased until 3+ GHz on stock fan, i have a non stock fan and can't even get stability at 2.45GHz

Can anyone please let me know where i am going wrong?

thanks!

 

[cnumartyr]

E6600 has a Bus of 266. Changing it to 350 is a HUGE change.

The voltage guide is a reference, all chips are different. It's entirely possible you have a dud.

It's going nuts because it's breaking the alarm setting for the BIOS. You are putting out too much heat. Run everything at stock, completely. Run it at 2.4 GHz with stock voltage.

Let me know what that is (stock voltage/auto). Also tell me the CPU VID in Core Temp.

Then tell me how your temps are at completely stock settings.

 

[funcit]

ok, ill try that later tonight when i get back and get back to you asap.... a dud! ayeeeeeeee

 

[CompuTronix]

funcit, I hope that you realize the Zalman 7700 is a low-end cooler, and is far from the cooling capacity of the mid-range 9500 or high-end 9700, and offers no improvement over Intel's stock cooler. The 7700 and stock coolers are barely effective up to 1.35 Vcore. If you want to overclock your E6600, you're still going to need a better cooler.

Also, the following scale is for the E6600, which shows Tcase (CPU) temperature and Tjunction (Core) temperatures according to Intel's specifications, and is from the Core 2 Quad and Duo Temperature Guide: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/221745-29-core-quad-temperature-guide

Section 6: Scale

Scale 5: Duo

E6x00: Tcase Max 60c, B2 Stepping, Tjunction Max 85c, Vcore Default 1.3525, TDP 65w, Delta 15c

-Tcase/Tjunction-
--60--/--75--75-- Hot
--55--/--70--70-- Warm
--50--/--65--65-- Safe
--25--/--40--40-- Cool

Comp

 

[funcit]

ok, so yeah, i guess i was mistaken about my zalman...i plan on getting the zalman 9700.

and as far as the temperature guide, the only thing for me to take away from that is i should stay around a temp of no more than 50degrees?

so anyways, i ran some stress test at stock settings for the bios and im a lil worried about the results

clock ratio: 9x
cpu host freq: 266
mem freq: 800

normal CPU VCORE shows up as 1.35v


i ran the p95 tests on both cores, and both core temps get up to about 67/66 degrees C after 30 min.

this is pretty bad no?

is there anything else i can test out or do before my fan gets here?

in your opinion, how much should i be able to safely overclock this setup?

the guide i read was misleading, it said that an overclock to 2.8GHZ with a setup thats pretty similar on stock fan was ok.

any more insight would be great.

thanks!

 

[CompuTronix]

"as far as the temperature guide, the only thing for me to take away from that is i should stay around a temp of no more than 50 degrees?" "core temps get up to about 67/66 degrees C after 30 min. this is pretty bad no?"


No.

C2D's, including the E6600, have a total of 3 temperature sensors; 1 CPU (Tcase) sensor which monitors a temperature level about 15c lower than the 2 Core (Tjunction) sensors. Sorry you missed it in the Guide's Introduction. Here it is again in a more simplified form:

CPU = Tcase
Core = Tjunction

E6x00: Tcase Max 60c, B2 Stepping, Tjunction Max 85c, Vcore Default 1.3525, TDP 65w, Delta 15c

-Tcase/Tjunction-
--60--/--75--75-- Hot
--55--/--70--70-- Warm
--50--/--65--65-- Safe
--25--/--40--40-- Cool

Temperatures are not always accurate out of the box. Before you overclock, if you'd care to know whether your temperatures are accurate, you can use Section 9 in the Guide to Calibrate your temperatures.

Comp

 

[funcit]

thanks computronix, i went over most of that guide, and im much more clear on it now......

i configured speedfan and it makes much more sense.

i went back and did some more tweaking, and its failing p95 even with these settings, (see images attached)....

theres something really off here...... if anyone can let me know if there are any other tests or diagnoses for me to try out, that would be great. anything that can lead me to figure out whats going on.

im just not sure why this thing can't handle anything,

 

[funcit]

thanks computronix, i went over most of that guide, and im much more clear on it now......

i configured speedfan and it makes much more sense.

i went back and did some more tweaking, and its failing p95 even with these settings, (see images attached)....

theres something really off here...... if anyone can let me know if there are any other tests or diagnoses for me to try out, that would be great. anything that can lead me to figure out whats going on.

im just not sure why this thing can't handle anything,

 

[CompuTronix]

System Voltage Control should not be in Auto when you overclock. Also, be certain that your memory voltage is not at 1.8. It should instead be set to Crucial's specifications.

Comp

 

[funcit]

ok, computronix,

thanks for the tip, yeah, i didn't know that gigabyte defaults to 1.8v, so i bumped it up +.4.

i then downloaded a utility from gigabyte called Easy Tune 5, its suppose to be this overclocking utility software.

anyways, I downloaded just to verify that my mem voltage was indeed, 2.2V.

so, my core voltage was verified at 1.337 and mem voltage at 2.2V.

and what do you know? i run the p95 tests again on no overclock at all.

and thing fails within 1 min.

ayeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

what the heck is going on here.

 

[CompuTronix]

Possibly bad memory. Download and run Memtest, which is much more thorough. You may have to perform a little troubleshooting by testing individual modules in different slots. It takes some time, but you will isolate the problem.

 

[lufen]

Sounds like you have cooling issues even with stock settings. I don't have a Zalman 7700, does it come with a thermal pad? What kind of thermal grease are you using?

edit:
I only used EasyTune 5 for some fan settings. You probably already know this, but don't use it to OC.

 

[funcit]

oy... ok, i downloaded free version of memtest.

there doesn't look like there are much controls, i just do run the test and see what it says? i can't test it right now, but just want to make sure i'm running the right test before i spend lots of time on it.

and lufen, i don't think it comes with a thermal pad, i don't remember anything other than the actual fan itself. and the grease i used the cheapest possible crap i found at radioshack.

i mean, the grease can't make that much of a diff can it? either way, i don't think the cooling could be THAT bad...... ayeeeeee

thanks guys!

 

[cnumartyr]

Get Memtest on a boot disk to fully check all the RAM. It can't check the RAM that is already loaded with the OS if you run it in Windows.

 

[CompuTronix]

and the grease i used the cheapest possible crap i found at radioshack.

i mean, the grease can't make that much of a diff can it? either way, i don't think the cooling could be THAT bad...... ayeeeeee

funcit, from the Temp Guide:

Section 14: Recommendations

(A) For information on CPU Coolers, please refer to the following links:
http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=3005&p=4
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2045&page=4
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=11&artpage=2191&articID=519

(B) Masscool Shin-Etsu X23 can reduce CPU temps by ~ 4c compared to Arctic Silver 5, which is far more popular than it is effective. The first link shown below is to a very in-depth Thermal Interface Material (TIM) comparison that was posted 2/2/07 on Tom's Overclocking - Cooler and Heatsinks Forum, which was conducted by DaSickNinja. This 6 page thread is very revealing, however, the review has been moved to the second link shown below, Xtreme CPU.

DaClan Review: Thermal Interface Shootout: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/221751-29-daclan-review-thermal-interface-shootout#t1653411

Note: Due to Tom's servers forcing asterisks in the link below, when clicked it will cause "This page cannot be displayed". Simply backspace the 3 asterisks and type x_c_p_u_s without underscores, then press enter.

Thermal Interface Material Comparison: http://www.***.com/forums/case-psu-cooling/3902-thermal-interface-material-comparison.html

Masscool Shin-Etsu X23 Thermal Interface Material (TIM) can reduce CPU temps by ~ 4c compared to Arctic Silver 5, and is simply the best TIM for CPU cooling.

X23 is available at the following sites:
http://www.chillblast.com/product.php?productid=16932
http://www.ajigo-store.com/se7783d.html
http://www.crazypc.com/products/50118.html
http://www.watercoolingshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=496&osCsid=78

Comp

 

[funcit]

ok, great, gonna take me some time to absorb all of this.

gonna have to get the deluxe version of memtest then, i think its like $12.

either way, you guys are freaking awesome. i didn't anticipate OC'ing would be this much pain, but then again, i don't think tweaking anything on a PC ever went without having to deal with lots of hiccups and what not.

oy