Overclocking Phenom II X2 550, RAM preventing higher clocks ?

[Jrams116]

I have a Phenom II X2 550BE at 3.7GHz completely stable with a Gigbayte785GM US2H Mobo. I really want to get it to 4.0GHz and there is not 1 voltage setting or ANYTHING else that I HAVNT tried to get it o 4.0GHz. Ive tried just about all different combos whteher its increasing fsb alone, or fsb with multie plier you name it ive tried it all, well today ive never really thought about it but I remembered that my RAM is pretty old, I have 4GB of Kingston 667 ddr2 ram. What if I upgrade to ddr2 1066 or even ddr2 800 ? Will I be able to clock higher ? does ram even help overclocking ? Ive just never bothered upgrading my ram because I knew it wouldnt increase gaming performance and thats all I really do. So will upgrading boost me up to 4.0Ghz ?

 

[xaira]

well since ur not messing with the fsb, the ram should not be the issue. what are ur temps like? and wat voltages are u at?

 

[Jrams116]

my temps max out at 55-57c under prime95. My voltage is at 1.406. Actually I did mess with the FSB but i left it at default because it wouldn't even let me go above 206, on 206 it worked fine but If i set it at 206 I would have to -1 on my multiplier because of unstability. Do you think if I get 4GB of DDR2 1066 it can help me clock higher using the FSB ?

 

[OvrClkr]

Are you using stock cooling or do you have an aftermarket cooler?

 

[Jrams116]

aftermarket cooler, arctic cooling freezer 64 with a custom 92mm fan.

 

[OvrClkr]

something is not right... my 550 at 3.6Ghz does not reach 38c at LOAD and I also use a AC Freezer 64 :

how is your airflow, cable management and ambient temps at the moment?

 

[Jrams116]

Wow I thought my temps were okay guess not. The ambient temps cannot be detected on my speedfan for some reason, It detected it on my old rig but on this one it doesnt show it, Airflow wise I think im okay, My case has decent airflow I use the xclio nighthawk from newegg. this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103030&Tpk=xclio%20nighthawk

My idle temps are about 26-28c, never anything above that. When gaming I top out at about 45c, It only reaches 55-57c on prime95 for some reason. What do you think is the problem overclcker ?

 

[OvrClkr]

Ambient temp is your ROOM TEMP. Anyways if your CPU hits 45c in games you should be alright.... How is the airflow in your case? Is the heat exhausting OUT the rear/top or is it just a huge heat tornado inside the case?

 

[Jrams116]

Yep, when I game I set all fans to 100% and when you put your hand on the side and top fan you can feel some warm air being released. Also on speedfan what are Temps 1 2 and 3 ? It just says "Temp" but doesnt say which component it is, When gaming the one that says temp2 goes as high as 58c, But the other two remain ok at about 50c. Is the 58c normal for temp2 or not ?

 

[OvrClkr]

Yea that's normal...your temps are around 54-55c... but they are still to high....

Did you remove the pre-applied paste that was on the cooler? Do you have a screen shot showing all your temps?

 

[Jrams116]

Yes I used the zalman brush thermal paste from newegg, And right now im away from home on a laptop so I cant take a screenshot = /. But will a RAM upgrade from 667 to 1066 help me get to 4.0 ? Will it even help me at all ? I dont want to waste $100 bucks on 4GB 1066 if it isnt going to help my overclock. thanks alot for the help !!!

 

[thrancos]

I have the same CPU, and I have now to 3.9 this is my settings:

FSB: 200
MULTY: 19.5
VCORE: .1.45
NB: 2000
HT: 2000
MOBO: ECS 780GM-A

I don't have my computer rigth now but as soon arrive home I sent a screeshot.

 

[sayantan]

Dont change the fsb ,just increase the multiplier.
In order to change the fsb u need some good overclock-able memory modules
eg.OCZ which might be costly.So if u buy ordinary ddr2-1066 modules u might face the same problem bcoz memory frequency also increase with fsb.
Also you can under clock your memory to 400mhz and then increase the fsb as much you want .It would allow you to go beyond 4gigs but your overall system performance might fall.
Best of Luck

 

[OvrClkr]

It really depends on how you mobo reacts to faster RAM, even though it will help your overall performance in my opinion spending 100 dollars more for a 300Mhz increase is not worth it unless you have cash to burn....

 

[htpcGamer]

i am running same mb and have had nothing but problems with my g.skill 4gb 1066 5-5-5-15 memory had to underclock to 800 4-4-4-12. if you do upgrade you're memory stay on the recomended list from gigabyte website or crutial memory has a 4gb 1066 memory kit but poor timings they do however have a 2gb 1066 kit 5-5-5-15 that is supposed to work. once you get you're memory upgrade the bios to f6 this will solve many gremlins with board. also run memtest v4.0 to insure memory is stable before even running windows. you may have to play with advanced settings in bios to get memory recognized properly.