Q9400 Overclocking - not so bad

[#ff4300]So I decided to pickup the Q9400 at microcenter for $180 which I thought was a good deal. Buying the CPU made me want to upgrade from my POS MSI P965 platiunm MB to a Gigabyte EP45-UD3P. I am very glad I did, because I have been able to push the Q9400 to 3.6 on air so far. Temps run between 50-54 degrees C max on small fft's while running prime. I could probably go further, but I am pretty happy with what I have. I am only running 1.3 voltage and ran prime for 17hrs no problem. I know the Q9400 is not known as the greatest overclocker, but it has given me a very nice price/performance ratio. The only discrepency that I have is the the temp sensors. Two work fine and the other two won't register a temperature below 38 degrees C. I just wanted to share what I think is a decent setup for anyone else who is mulling upgrading their system.

I am using a Zalman 9500 cooler and 2x2gb 1066 corsair dominators. Overclocking to 3.0-3.2 should be fairly easy. The first thing I did was just leave the cpu voltage on auto and put the FSB where my clock speed showed as 3.2. I will say that I have my cpu voltage @ 1.3 (have to set a little higher in BIOS, because CPU-Z shows as 1.29) at my current clock speed of 3.6 so anything around or under 1.3 should be fine. I had to manually change the ram timings and strap ratio. About the only thing I disabled was the c1e power saving so it wouldn't change my multiplier when the processor wasn't working hard. This is the easiest board I have ever overclocked. It was almost comical how easy it was. Are you using stock cooling or do you have an aftermarket cooler? Even with a stock cooler, the clock speed you are aiming for should be easily attainable.

I bought a Q9400 at microcenter, and my ud3r and S1283 are on the way. I'll be assembling it later this week. I'll see how far I can go with it, then probably drop back a few notches for everyday use. I'd like to be able to run it at 3.2 without pushing things too far.

I will take a look when I get home as I cannot see the screen shot at work. Have you tested the stability of your rig? Also, have you run any benchies pre and post overclock to see the improvement of your overclock? That is what I always do. I went from around 11,500 stock to 14250 overclocked in 3dmark06.

Cadder: 3.2 on the Q9400 should be no sweat for everyday use. You can probably achieve that with a little bump in voltage no problem.

Think i gotta get the arctic cleaner and thermal paste and another back plate. Feel the push pin kinda loose.... will post again here soon,
thanks for the guide^^

3d mark score ^^ not bad

^^ thanks cappster, happy gaming too

Just my 2 cent. Actually to overclock to 3.2, whether or not to get a better cooler depends on your temperature, if u get a hot chip like mine >.> which load temp @2.66 is 65degree with stock... i do need a better cooler when i need to oc to 3.2. If your chip is stable and cool i dun see a need to get a better hsf.

regards

i got my Q9400 @ micro center and overclock to 3.6ghz on 1.275v and it was OCCT and P95 stable. but i don't need 3.6ghz so back down to 3.0ghz.

this week, i'm gonna try pushing it to 4.0ghz on air just for fun.

i have xig s1283 as a cooler.

hey there ,when you overclock the q9400@3.6ghz,what did you set the DRAM timing and the frequency..

plz help me !!!

OK,i am using the Corsair Dominator 1066 mhz 2x2gb

I can't wait till prices get lower after I get a job then I will pick one up and swap out my old e6400 while resuing that vintage zalman cnps7000a-cu.