Rampage Formula & Q9450 @

[halcyon]

I just got a Rampage Formula + Q9450 to replace a Striker Extreme + E6850 that I have OC'd to 3.5Ghz. While I wanted to upgrade to a quad core I don't want to lose too much performance on single threaded apps.

So, I'm looking for opinions on whether or not I should be able to get the Q9450 up to say ~3.3Ghz (1680FSB) on the Rampage Formula with STOCK CPU and NB voltages. I guess the NB shouldn't need any help since the X48 does 1600 natively, but I thought I'd check with some of you overclocking geniuses (or is genii?) to see if you think kicking the Q9450 to 3.3Ghz on stock is:

1) Likely possible?

2) If possible, damaging to the processor?

I'll be using a Xigmatek S1283 for cooling (unless I decide to get an OCZ Vendetta 2).

While that 640Mhz OC is probably mild in some of your books I don't want to damage my new $300+ chip and I don't want to increase voltages and raise temps. ...because I'm an overclocking Noob.

I've got DDR2 800 RAM (4x2GB) that I can clock independently so I'll keep it at around 840Mhz.

I know overclocks are individual trial and error but, again, I appreciate your opinions...you've taught me a lot already, much appreciated.

 

[sailer]

1. yes, its possible

2. Shouldn't damage anything

Do get a good heatsink/fan. I'm not familiar with the Xigmark S1283 which you have, so can't say how well it will cool. I'm presently using a Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme and the temps are nice and cool. As I remember, the multiplier for the Q9450 is 8, so a FSB of 412-413 should get you to around 3.3ghz. I have the X48 Rampage Formula myself and am still experimenting with it. You may need to bump the ram voltage up a bit, but leaving the ram voltage on "Auto" seems to work fine at lower clock speeds, and as you note, a 640mhz overclock is not all that large to some of us. At 3.3ghz, I doubt you'll be stressing the Q9450 all that much, but watch the temps and voltages closely. ASUS' PC Probe should tell what you need to know, but double check the BIOS to make sure. I did try Speedfan 4.33, but it was giving some false readings, so I stopped paying attention to it.

 

[halcyon]

Thanks Sailer. I use Everest Ultimate and it seems its readings are fairly accurate. I've read the TRUE is a good cooler. The Xigmatek isn't quite is good but its still pretty good according to the reviews ( http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=81&Itemid=1 ).

 

[righteous]

The xigmatek is an awesome cooler. I say it's the best out there. Several credible sites put it ahead of the TRUE.
I've had it on a q6600 at 4000mhz, and an E8400 at 4300mhz with no problems whatsoever.

the processor should easily reach where you want it, and the motherboard is just fine.

Good luck

 

[halcyon]

Cool, more encouraging news. Now I just need some time to rrrriiiipppp my Striker Extreme out and replace it. Those are some serious overclocks (in my book anyways). How are your temps?

 

[snarfies1]

I have my Q9450, plan to get a Rampage myself. The board is the last part I plan to buy, because I've noticed that Asus boards tend to be glitchy on their initial release, so I'm sort-of waiting for a BIOS update. There's supposed to be an official BIOS update next week, so...

Now I just need to get some DDR2. And a case. And a cooler. Geez...

 

[sailer]

Cool, more encouraging news. Now I just need some time to rrrriiiipppp my Striker Extreme out and replace it. Those are some serious overclocks (in my book anyways). How are your temps?

As for temps, I'm running a QX9650 myself, so I can't directly comment as to what the Q9450 will do, but the temps I'm getting are in the 27-30c range while clocking at 3.6ghz. I ran it up to 3.8ghz and the CPU stayed cool enough, but the northbridge started to get hot, so I backed things down. I'm still experimenting and need to figure out a way of cooling the northbridge better.

I have an Antec 900 case, if that makes a difference, but I'm sure other cases will ventilate just as well.

 

[halcyon]

Sailer, you lucky dog!

 

[firebird]

I ran it up to 3.8ghz and the CPU stayed cool enough, but the northbridge started to get hot, so I backed things down.

What do you mean by hot? The x38/x48 chipsets have very high heat tolerance compared to chipsets of old. I think temps in the 40's are average, and I've seen mine in the low 50s. I don't think the system will interfere until the temps get up to 90 unless you've set different (on Asus anyway).

 

[sailer]

I ran it up to 3.8ghz and the CPU stayed cool enough, but the northbridge started to get hot, so I backed things down.

What do you mean by hot? The x38/x48 chipsets have very high heat tolerance compared to chipsets of old. I think temps in the 40's are average, and I've seen mine in the low 50s. I don't think the system will interfere until the temps get up to 90 unless you've set different (on Asus anyway).

By hot, it was in the 60s and headed for the 70s. Don't know how far it would have gone as I shut down, but I didn't like the direction. This is my first Intel setup in years, having used AMD since 2001, so I might well be on the cautious side. In a different thread, concerning ram, Yellowbeard cautioned about temps on the northbridge of the X48s and the need for extra cooling. As he works for Corsair, so I'd guess he knows what he's talking about. As I said earlier, I'm experimenting with the board and chip at the moment. The sweet spot seems to be around 3.7ghz at the moment.

Yes, I may be a bit on the too cautious side, but the chip and board investment is a bit much for me to be too casual.

 

[halcyon]

Well, the 9650 runs at 3Ghz by default? So that's still a .7Ghz overclock.

 

[sailer]

Yes, and maybe I should just content myself with that. Truth is, there aren't any games at the moment that would benefit by a higher clock anyway. For that matter, even a 3.5ghz speed is good enough.

 

[halcyon]

I still have my E6850 plugged in and its still plenty fast. ...but I'm excited about the Q9450 and look forward to swapping...even though it might actually be a little slower for some single threaded stuff.

 

[Shadow703793]

I'll be using a Xigmatek S1283 for cooling (unless I decide to get an OCZ Vendetta 2).

Trust me, don't get the OCZ. They are not worth the price. Their RAM might be good but their HSFs just su**. Go with the Xigmatek HDT-S1283. It's #1 at Frostytech. Very good HSF for price and performance.

 

[Night-Stalker]

Go with thermalright ultra-120 extreme or just get watercooling, watercooling will have less noise and you can overclock even further without worrying about thermal problems. Just get a good pump and a nice rad.

 

[sailer]

Less noise, that's what I like. I paired my Ultra 120 Extreme with a Noctua fan and it can hardly be heard at all, then only you put your ear down right next to the case. When typing, the noise from the keyboard covers up the Noctua's noise completely.

 

[halcyon]

Well, I've already got the Xigamatek S1283 so I'm going to see how that goes. I can't NewEgg a TRUE (that's right, NewEgg is a verb) because they don't have it in stock...trust me, I looked into that. ...so we'll see how this H.D.T. tech of the S1283 does.

 

[lunyone]

Here's Frosty's review of the Xigmatek s1283. You should be just fine. A nice cooler at a good price!!!
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2233

 

[sailer]

Well, I've already got the Xigamatek S1283 so I'm going to see how that goes. I can't NewEgg a TRUE (that's right, NewEgg is a verb) because they don't have it in stock...trust me, I looked into that. ...so we'll see how this H.D.T. tech of the S1283 does.

I got my TRUE from jab-tech.com. But as you say, you already have a good heatsink, so unless a problem develops, there's no reason to buy another one. As for Newegg, it seems to be going away from specialty items and concentrating on fast turn over stuff. A lot of things have been disappearing from their site.

As for heatsinks, I examined several articles from Anandtech before making a decision. There were a couple that did as well as the TRUE, or even better, but they were either hard to find or more expensive. But that's what tech articles are good for, letting a person review lots of hardware and making decisions based on performance, price, and availability.

 

[halcyon]

Amen to that.

 

[halcyon]

Well, I've obviously done something wrong because my temps are bad. The Rampage easily overclocks the Q9450 (so easy...even a caveman could do it) but the temps are in the mid-to-upper 50's at idle across all 4 cores and my room isn't that warm.

I used AS5 on the s1283 and made sure all 4 of those damned intel-style push-pins were all the way seated (from what I could see) but I obviously did something wrong.

I'm thinking even my old Zalman 9700NT could beat those temps and today I'm planning to find out.

 

[cats_Paw]

i have asus rampage formula+q6600 oced with asus AI suite into a qx6800, with watercooling default on Kandalf LCS, however im worried about the NB temps (51 idle with a custom mini fan with 5k RPM), and the DRAM V (2.10).

Any ideas? Btw, idle for me means windows vista and side programs running but no stress test or good games