3Ghz Q6600 - end of the road?

[djvibes2007]

Im fortunate to be one of few to overclock a Q6600 on a P5N-E SLI. It took me about a month, and is the first time ive ever overclocked a pc, so given the fact this board is not great for quads im quite chuffed

I managed to get it from 2.4Ghz to 3Ghz with a 1333fsb, cant remember exact spec, something like:

vcore 1.325v
Mem 2.1v
NB 1.56v
Offset +100mv

and loosened memory timings (someone said i would even have to lower my memory from 800mhz to 667mhz, i didnt!)

Anyway the problem, it wont go any higher. I was looking for a 3.2Ghz OC, but to no avail. It just doesnt boot and i end up having to clear the CMOS. Is there anyway to get higher?

Thanks!

 

[Liderc]

bump your vcore up to 1.35 and try it. Also sometimes there are FSB holes in motherboards and you'll have to jump past them to be able to continue moving up in speed. If the bump in vcore doesn't work and ++++your temps are good++++, bump your vcore to 1.4 and try 3.4.

 

[roadrunner197069]

Buy a P45 mobo.

 

[mrmez]

Yah, vcore is WAY high.

Im 3Ghz @ 1.15 or something like that... and thats with a B3 also.

 

[V3NOM]

i thought 65nm's could handle more vcore than 45nm's.... 45nm's stock vids are up to 1.3625 so >.>

 

[megamanx00]

Yeah, 65nm Core 2 quads can handle a higher vcore than the 45nm ones, but of course as with overclocking it's at your own risk. I agree with Liderc, if your temps are good raise the vcore a little more. Of course 650i chipsets don't overclock too well, and since the max FSB it supports is 1333 it could be that the board simply won't post past that FSB no matter what. It could also be that your memory doesn't want to go any faster so you may want to try lowering the memory speed or rasing the memvoltage to 2.2. Of course, anything higher than 2.1v with DDR2 800 is kinda asking for it ^_^

 

[richardscott]

yea i couldnt get past 2.8 with my p5e-n if you get a p45 it will be a much better mobo to overclock with.

 

[V3NOM]

well i will not exceed 1.3675 volts on my e5200 (thats the closest my mobo got to it ><) no matter what the temps are. i want this chip to live for a few years... most of which it won't be in my possession so.

 

[djvibes2007]

motherboard is not really an option at the moment, only had the pc around 5mths. Ive tried upping the vcore alot, and dont want to up the NB anymore higher. If i up the fsb just by one, no POST, will try lowering the clock on my ram, and upping the voltage slightly.

And Megamanx00, you are right, this motherboard supports upto 1333fsb.

Strange, my sig is not showing, here is my pc:

Asus P5N-E SLI
Intel Q6600
4x1gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 Dual Channel @ 800Mhz

 

[V3NOM]

well thats a bit ambiguous really, my P45 supports 1333 (1600OC, and everyone knows it can get there) and won't stabilise at 240fsb. read my thread for more info

 

[daskrabbe]

1.325v is certainly not high... If you can keep it cool, you shouldn't be scared to take it past 1.5.
You say that you've tried to up the vcore, but you didn't state what the result of that was? That would be helpful.

Undervolting to 1.15, overclocking to 3ghz and getting a stable system is not the norm. I would very much like to see such a system in action as it seems unlikely to me.

 

[djvibes2007]

the most i dared was raise the vcore to 1.4v, i think with the offset at +100mv that went to 1.5v, with that i got no POST, actually no signal to the monitor, keyboard etc. Any overclock i attempt past 1333fsb usually passes that stage, but freezes at post screen. Im using the lastest Asus Bios update, 1301. i hear 0608 is the better but i cannot downgrade, i dont have a floppy drive.

 

[djvibes2007]

and forgot to say, i idle around 30c-33c and under load around 36-40c

 

[djvibes2007]

tried loads more, it wont accept anything higher then the 333x9fsb, ive raised the vcore up to 1.4v and slightly higher no difference. Increasing the NB from 1.56v to 1.7v is too high im thinking.

Also why does my sig not show on here?

 

[Liderc]

How about ram voltage? I noticed in your original post you said 2.1, I wouldn't suggest going any higher, but maybe lowering your timings and lowing your mem voltage could increase stability.

 

[djvibes2007]

ive lowered ram to 1.9v the lowest it goes, and timings are 5,5,5,15 it wont post higher then 3ghz

ive just stumbled across a program called clockgen which allows overclocking in windows. i easily got to 3.2ghz with it but it doesnt unlink the memory or anything, also may not be compatible with my board as overclocking with clockgen freezes after several minutes.

 

[richardscott]

try and place a fan ontop of ure gfx card to cool you northbridge down that helped me alot when i hit a wall

 

[djvibes2007]

how can i add a fan to my gfx card? i have a 8800gt 1gb, on the bottom (as plugged in) is the heatsink and crappy stock fan, the top side has the metal plate thing. Inbetween the two i have my blue orb II which slightly covers the NB, if i can get a fan in there somehow please tell me where it goes!

Cheers

 

[richardscott]

all you need to do is make the NB cooler, you could try cable ties allow u to fix a fan anywhere lol.

 

[djvibes2007]

how can i add a fan to the stock p5n-e heatsink? ive read you can put 40mm fans on there

 

[richardscott]

have you heard of glue lol.