Overclocking Help With ASUS P5Q-E

[Infinity_Wasted]

Hi. I'm just going to get right to it: I'm not satisfied with the RAM speed the P5Q-E is giving me, and want to make it faster. here are the relevant specs:

Silverstone Strider 700W PSU
ASUS P5Q-E
Intel C2Q Q9550 @ 2.83 Ghz (Ultra Copper X-Wind for CPU Cooler)
G. Skill 4 GB (2 x 2) 1100 Mhz DDR2 RAM w/heatsink

CPU-Z tells me that the RAM is running at 400 Mhz. I'd like it to at least run at 800 Mhz. I'd prefer not to turn up the voltage, and I don't really feel the need to overclock my CPU at this point in time. honestly, though, the BIOS are just a bit over my abilities. my previous AMD system was easy and direct in comparison- just key in the frequency desired.

but yeah, so, can anyone help me out??

 

[RJR]

OK, i'll be the one to break it to you.

You are running at 800Mhz.

You really need to do a little research and learn about BIOS settings and what they are before doing anything else. Read up on overclocking and get used to the settings for the Asus board and you will be able to do a mild overclock (if you want or stock) and have the ram run at or near 1100 without a problem.

 

[pinaplex]

if CPU-Z is reporting 400Mhz then you ARE running at 800Mhz. CPU-Z reports the "true" speed of the ram, but since you are running DDR2, you must multiply the ram speed by 2. 400x2=800. This is the "effective" speed of the ram. Hence DDR2-800.

 

[Infinity_Wasted]

okay, I guess I phrased that wrong. I do know about the multiplication thing. I just want each one to go faster than 400 Mhz. I guess since they are rated for 1100, I can't get 800 from each one. I did a little on my own- without having to turn up the voltage- and I was able to get the RAM up to 610 Mhz. I'm fine with that, and I did notice a difference in startup time, but it also has my CPU running faster than it needs to, making it run quite a bit hotter.

I guess I should just do the tweaking on my own. I was just hoping to find someone who's already done this and can show me the steps so I don't have to figure it out. I already tried googling this, and didn't find any help.

 

[Infinity_Wasted]

so, I was able to do it on my own, but either there's something wrong with my CPU (the thing itself, or it's thermal sensors), or it's very touchy about being overclocked: a 270 Mhz increase jumped the idle temperature by 3 degrees celsius, from 23 to 26. under load, it peaked around 29 celsius, whereas normally it peaks around 27/28. but man was there a difference! Windows loaded so fast! and the games I ran loaded faster too. I had the CPU overclocked to 3.01 Ghz, FSB to 1500 Mhz, RAM at 600 Mhz, and the Bus at 500 Mhz. it was nice, being blazing fast at startup like that. but I want my computer to stay as cool as possible.

I'm still fiddling with it, though, and maybe I'll come with an acceptable solution. I'll let anyone who cares know.