help me get Q6600 OC 3.6g

[liubros]

I have been trying to to get 3.6g for my g0 stepping 1.325vid Q6600, but could not get it stable.

My motherboard is EVGA 780i, BIOS P07

I followed [p]'s guild and set

RAM 2.0v (2.0v, 5-5-5-15-2t are the spec numbers)
FSB 1.4v
SPP/NB 1.4v
MCP/SB 1.525v
HT 1.25v

but I have problems setting CPU voltage and FSB. I think I have problems getting 400Mhz FSB.

I can run stable 1.3v (in BIOS, 1.24v in CPUZ) for 355x9, which is 3.2g (idle at 39C)
and I can run stable 1.35v (in BIOS, 1.28v in CPUZ) for 365x9, which is 3.29g (idle at 42C)
366~375 seems to fall into FSB holes. i tried 366x9, 370x9, 375x9, but they won't post. I think I will just skip those and go direct too 400x9

But when i do 400Mhz FSB, setting CPU to 1.5v in BIOS (1.44v in CPUZ) for 400x9, I can boot up, but system will crash to BOSD very soon.

I start to raise voltage to 1.5625v (1.48v in CPUZ), and still getting BSOD.

Should I keep increasing the voltage? Or my CPU won't get 3.6g no matter what? I see in other people's setting, the are getting 3.6g at below 1.5v voltage.

I know there is really not big difference in 3.6 and 3.29, but I really like to get 3.6g, it is like an overclocker's dream.

Please help me.

 

[evongugg]

Limit your CPU voltage increase to +10% for longevity of the processor.
Keep your temperatures below 70ºC.
It's still a great overclock.

 

[liubros]

what you mean by +10%?
is it the highest voltage i should go is 1.325 + 1.325x10% = 1.4575v in CPUZ? that will make around 1.5v max in BIOS.

I am monitoring the temperature closely. The first thing I will do if it boot up is open HWmonitor and check temperature. I believe in the unstable boots, it is like 55C
Looks like I won't get 3.6g if that's the case.

 

[lambofgode3x]

have you remembered to play with the ram frequency ratio? maybe your ram is clocked too high. i have the same vid as you, and with my dfi i just overvolted the cpu by +250mV in teh bios and set my memory frequency ratio to 1:1 and i had no problems.

 

[rojito]

what cooler are you using and what software to monitor them. With good cooling you should reach 3.9 at 9X multiplier. But at that speed the processor is very sensitive to high temps. I would say your cpu is overheating. Also try 2.1v on your RAM

 

[liubros]

I have G-Skill ddr2-6400, the spec said it is 400Mhz, 5-5-5-15-2t timing, and 2.0v. I have set CPU and Ram unlinked, and 1:1 ratio.

Is that I should + voltage to ram, even if the ram is not OC? I have done 2.025v, but not 2.1v.

I have used setting like 333x9 for CPU and 444 for ram at 3:4 at 2.025v, and it is stable.

I am using a ROSEWILL|RCX-Z4, and the Box is Antec 900. The ventilation is not bad. The CPU should be able to handle 65C.

 

[w153r]

First of all, you have to decide which you want to overclock first, overclocking both your CPU and Memory at the same is bad overclocking habit. Make it so your memory is well below the spec'd 400MHZ, then slowly crank up your PROC making sure your memory is absolutely NOT getting OC'd, find the max CPU overclock. Now, underclock your proc and overclock your memory. Then set both when you find the threshold for each. I have my Q6600/G0/SLACR to 3.6 on air with 1.3875V. AGAIN, overclocking both CPU/MEM at the same time is a bad idea, you don't know which is at it's threshold, COME ON PEOPLE, NO ONE MENTIONED THIS. WOW, FFS.

 

[clownbaby]

1.5v on the cpu may not be enough to run 3.6ghz. After vdrop and vdroop, most q6600s in that vid range need about 1.44-1.46v to run stable. If you're still not getting it at 1.56+, you're cpu either isn't capable, or something else is holding you back.

Try these things. The FSB and GMH will both require more voltage. Start by overvolting them by .1v, and work your way up. Not more than +.3v. Relax the RAM timings to 6-6-6-18 3t until you get a stable clock. Measure the Vdrop an Vdroop, and figure out what voltage you need in the bios, to produce a vcore of ~1.46v under load. And, try setting up at 400X8 or 400x7 to make sure your mobo is capable of even running FSB 1600.

The only other factor I can think of is your power supply. I assume you have a decent unit, but if not, that could be the culprit.

 

[liubros]

I am not OC the ram, 400Mhz is spec. Unless I can use 400Mhz CPU FSB, the ram is down clocked to 1:1.

I did the 3:4 one time just to see if there is any improvement in benchmark by OC the ram.

Actually, I have problem to run 400x8 stable too. My MB can't handle 400Mhz FSB?

Let me try 400x7 and see if it is stable

 

[rojito]

Again, what software are you using to read temps? It's possible that your temps are higher than you think. You need an almost top of the line air cooler to reach 3.6 on a Q6600 and doubt a rosewill is, so my guess is your software is reading the temps wrong. Try coretemp (the newest version) it's free and very reliable.

 

[liubros]

I am using Hardware Monitor from CPU id, I will try core temp. But I think my reading is accurate.

I will try loose the timing on ram and maybe +0.1v to Ram too.

My PSU is a Rosewill extreme 950W, I think the PSU is fine.

Thanks for the advices.

 

[rojito]

I did some research on your cooler:

"The Rosewill RCX-Z4 is not a heatsink for those looking to squeeze the last MHz out of an overclocked CPU. The benchmark numbers actually show that this product is not much better than the two factory coolers, but what do benchmarks really tell us besides the extreme ends of the scale."

I would say for sure the temps are too high for your cpu to handle. I have a better cooling solution and can't get past 3.45. If you want 3.6 look for a TRUE or the new ones with direct touch technology (from kwing, OCZ, etc.)

 

[liubros]

you can't dudge the roswill-z4 by reading the reviews. those review of the rosewill heatsink is not true. I have another cooler which is said to be top of the line, Scythe NINJA, huge heatsinks, but it is the rosewill beats it.

just confirmed, the tempereature reading from core temp and hardware monitor is exactly the same.

 

[rojito]

Well, in that case I don't know what to tell you. Your CPU should be able to handle almost 70ºC being stable. I can only suggest you do your overclock step by step as w153r and clownbaby said. At the exact point where you get an unstable cpu raise voltages, when stable again, continue with upping the FSB and so on.

 

[liubros]

I think it is the ram. in CPUZ, I read it 1.8v, while i set in BIOS 2.0v. I really need it to read 2.0v in CPUZ. I read from hardware.info, it can handle 2.35v. So I can push the ram voltage and see if it give me 3.6g.

http://www.hardware.info/en-US/productdb/bGRkZJiZmJjK/viewproduct/GSkill_2_GB_DDR2800_CL5_kit/#

 

[rojito]

It could be the problem, try 2.2v (I wouldn't go over 2.3v) also make sure you have the latest BIOS and always remember to go step by step. And if you have 4x1GB, you could try with only two until you are stable.

 

[liubros]

finnally, make it satble enough to run a 3dmark06, 18234 3dmarks, 1k improvement from 3.285g score

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=8042925

did acouple things,
lose ram timing to 6-6-6-18, voltage stay at 2.0v, increase ram voltage did not provide stability

but the main thing is set the 4 GTL ref to 100mv rather than auto.
start with 50mv, and start to step up. i actually lowered vcore to 1.4825 in the end.

still prime test get erro, and the temperature is already 72C. so i need to handle the heat in order to get 3.6g stable.

i can still increase vcore and GTLref, to get more stability, but apparently current heatsink won't do it.

now i am happily back to 3.285g, knowing where is the limit.

 

[rojito]

I also Doubted you could get 3.6GHZ with that cooler, but that doesn't mean you cant try 3.4 or something like that. That, of course, if you think it's worth the time spent and performance gain. Remember a 3dmark06 is basically a graphics test so you will gain much more by OC your graphics card than your CPU (which won't do much difference being a Quad).