Intel Q6600

Hello great community,
i want help to overclock my pc.

I have a p4sts asrock mobo and a q6600 cpu with ddr2 ocz 1066mhz i overclocked it to 3.0ghz thru the windows tuner came with asrock but in benchmarks i take lower than when it was at 2.4. When i overclock it from bios i take up the cpu frequency from 266 to 300 lets say and it becomes from 2.4 to 2.8 it becomes slower coz of the ram going down causing them to 333 than 533 (ddr1066).when i change the ram frequency to the new one given lets say 581 the computer doesnt open up. I suppose that its because of my ram can only ran upto 1066 and 581 its more as is 581x2=1162 ? so if i change my ram to ddr3 1333mhz will i be able to do that and take up my cpu accordingly to 3.0ghz? Did i understand well?

Dont use Windows, or any software for that matter for overclocking.

Manual overclocking is the best way.

Yes, set the FSB to 333 MHz.

Leave RAM on AUTO in the BIOS, starting out.

Enable SpeedStep:
this should oscillate the CPU cores
between 333 x 6 = 2.0 GHz (when idle)
and 333 x 9 = 3.0 GHz (when busy).

We have a very similar setup with the i975X chipset,
Q6600 + 2 x 2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2-1066 Dominators.

With the above settings, we see a DRAM Frequency of 416.9
and an FSB : DRAM ratio of 4 : 5 (using CPU-Z nomenclature).

This machine is very stable: runs all day without halting.

If you don't have it installed, download CPU-Z
to confirm your chosen settings.

With that working baseline, you can then do further fine-tuning.

On another workstation -- P5Q Premium and Q9550 + 16GB Corsair DDR2 --
we upped the FSB to 400 MHz with no problems whatsoever. Again,
we left RAM on AUTO and, on the advice of RamGuy at Corsair, we
upped the Northbridge voltage to the high end of the SAFE range.

These latter settings produced a 1 : 1 FSB : DRAM ratio (aka "synchronous" ) --
also extremely stable workstation.

I just can't remember if the Q6600 will work with FSB = 400 MHz,
however: check around the Internet, or perhaps someone else can
jump in here to answer that question for us.

I hope this helps: GOOD LUCK!

MRFS

OK.

First, you cannot use DDR3 RAM in a board designed for DDR2 RAM. And I am one of those who believes that a Core2 processor cannot take full advantage of the capabilities of DDR3 RAM anyway.

Second, you have something wrong with your temperatures or your monitoring software. I can reach 3.0 GHz with the stock cooler with load temps of around 50 55 C. And I can run at 3.6 GHz on air with P95 load temps of 61 - 66 C. Granted, that's with a better than average cooler (ThermalRight Ultra 120 Extreme) in a better than average case (Antec 900).

Third, memory settings. Your DDR2-1066 RAM is more than fast enough. You are confused about frequencies and definitions. Different BIOS' and motherboard makers define terms a little differently. Compare the eVGA 680i BIOS with the Gigabyte P45 BIOS for example.

Definition time (attention purists, I'm simplifying a little ):
Core2 CPU's use a frontside bus (FSB). The FSB is a thing with two main characteristics: speed which is usually defined in MHz and width which in the Core2's is 64 bits wide. We are concerned with the speed.

Using the Q6600 as an example, the FSB frequency is 266 MHz. The matching DDR2 memory clock for that frequency is 533 MHz (266 X 2). DDR2 memory transfers two chunks of data for each bus cycle.

The FSB clock is 1066 MHz (266 X 4). The bus is "quad pumped". It transfers 4 chunks of data into and out of the CPU each cycle.

Now, if you increase the FSB frequency to 333 MHz, the corresponding memory clock is 667 MHz and the FSB clock is 1333 MHz.

I always run my memory at 1:1. That is the FSB freq to memclock ratio is one to one. That means that the memclock is twice the FSB freq. It's a little confusing. Running memory slower costs performance. Running memory faster does not give you much if any real world performance increase and it can lead to higher instability.

And while I am talking about memory, let me say, "There ain't no such thing as DDR2-1066 RAM." Got your attention now, yes? DDR2-1066 RAM is simply DDR2-800 RAM that has been tested to run at the higher speed, usually at an increased voltage and more relaxed timings.

I cannot begin to explain how much bad luck I've had with software overclocking tools and how easily I reach moderate overclocks with just a little bit of research and manual settings.

Good point, Rodney: I agree 100%!!

A big part of the problem is the lack of standard nomenclature.

"FSB" can either refer to the raw clock speed of the Front Side Bus,
or to the effective data rate, which is FOUR TIMES that raw clock speed
(read "Quad Pumped" ).

Similarly, "DRAM Frequency" can either refer to the raw clock speed of
the RAM subsystem, or to the effective data rate, which typically is
TWO TIMES that raw clock speed (read "Double Data Rate" ).

That's why we try to encourage Users to adopt the nomenclature
used in CPU-Z: it has become a de facto standard.

Also, there is also a lot of confusion concerning the issue of
voltages for the FSB, the DRAM and also the Northbridge
(Memory Controller Hub), particularly when all 4 DIMM slots
are populated.

In general, we try to steer new users by helping them realize
that quality RAM is probably capable of oscillating approximately
TWICE AS FAST as the FSB: so, it makes sense to focus
on increasing the CPU core speed, and leave the DRAM setting
on AUTO in the BIOS -- starting out.

Lastly, some will argue that a 1 : 1 FSB : DRAM ratio is ideal,
but users also need to know that Intel chipsets function just fine
with an asynchronous ratio e.g. 2 : 3, 4 : 5 etc.

Of course, there are those who want to explore the
"Outer Limits": but, it's generally true that such users
don't post requests here for help with extreme over-clocking
aka "The Bleeding Edge"

Thanks, everyone!

MRFS

Sorry but im trying to understand things and i appreciate you helping me and talking with you !

Im studying computer science im only 22 thoug but i ive built many pcs and done many things but i want to be an expert and improve my knowledge however im a starter to overclocking i hope my queries to be filled up with answers ideas and people to deal with !

Hello there,

I want to overclock my pc to 3.0 ghz as i told if you are bored dealing with me answering question or if you dont have the time to let me learn things from you i want you please if you can and prefer to tell you my specs what i have and what do you suggest the best to succeed the maximum of my pc at least modearate 3.ghz. running all smoothly and hitting scores to benchmarks feeling that my pc is giving his best.

Thanks

Thank you but i know this. My question is when i watercool it and put the fsb to 333 with multiplier 9.0 it will go to around 3.0ghz. Then my dram frequency will go down to 333 mhz coz of the fsb it will be 667 mhz instead of now that they run at 533mhz (1066). If im doing all this to overclock the pc and lose performance from the ram what do i gain ?