Core 2 Duo Overclocking Issues!

[mrsmarts5000]

Hey guys, I recently "upgraded" to a Core 2 Duo E8400. I have tried to overclock it, but I seem to be getting no where. I always have to clear the CMOS and I never get a display after OCing, even though I MANUALLY set the PCI-E FSB to 100 MHz. Any tips to get this thing to work?

Also, CPU-Z is saying my core speed is 2000 MHz on a stock 3000 MHz processor, and it says 3000 MHz in BIOS... ?????

Please give me some tips!!

 

[4745454b]

What are all the relevant settings?

 

[mrsmarts5000]

As in... Everything is at stock right now because i can't get a display after OCing...

 

[mrsmarts5000]

RAM 800mhz
CPU 3000mhz
x9 Multiplier
etc.
...Stock

 

[4745454b]

Change the FSB to 400. Drop the CPU multiplier down to 7. Change the ram so that its running 1:1. What happens when you do this? Don't touch the voltage for anything.

 

[Rancifer7]

What do you mean by 1:1 ? What should it be?

 

[4745454b]

Your stock FSB is 333. You listed your ram at 800. (400MHz really) This means your ram is running faster then your FSB. If you up your FSB to 400, it will be going faster then 800MHz which is faster then it should run. I'm not sure of your bios so I'm not sure how to change this.

 

[mrsmarts5000]

I tried the settings you recommended, and it didn't work. A screen before BIOS came up saying the "overclock failed!" Also, I think my boot up times are slwer than my Celeron D's were... did i miss a driver or something?

 

[4745454b]

What board do you have? Should have handled 400MHz with ease.

 

[mrsmarts5000]

MSI G31TM-P21

 

[4745454b]

Lets try something easier. FSB of 366. CPU multiplier of 7. Make sure the ram ratio is as low as you can go. If it wont' boot, your board is a horrible OC'er and you won't be able to OC.

 

[mrsmarts5000]

The error came up again, I said i DIDNT want to change the settings, exited BIOS, booted, and am running at around 2.4ghz... Again, CPU-Z is freaking out on me and saying both 2.0ghz x6 multiplier and the new settings... sooo idk what to do about that...

 

[4745454b]

I ignored that because you don't need to worry about it. x6 is the speedstep multiplier, so nothing to fear.

Have you tried saving the settings? It sounds like your board is flipping out over any change.

 

[mrsmarts5000]

I guess they saved, because i didn't revert to default or change them, so yeah... Also, CPU-Z shows that sometimes between the 2000 x6, so yeah...

 

[mrsmarts5000]

How can I make the board not do that though? I'm not worried, it's just kinda annoying...

 

[4745454b]

It's not annoying, it's speedstep. Disable speedstep/C1E(?) in the bios and it will stop. Its not anything to worry about and will save you money by using less power.

The bigger question is why it won't OC even 33MHz. Thats very unusual even for a G31 board.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

you have a g31 motherboard. Not good for overclocking. Make sure you arent overclocking your ram, some motherboards dont allow you to set ram to run ant certain speeds so just drop it back as low as you can first.

 

[jsc]

47, no, it isn't unusual. Upper FSB limits for a G31/G41 motherboard is, on the average, around 350 MHz. But I have seen reported examples of as low as 342 MHz and as high as 363 MHz.

I have 3 Gigabyte G41's, one a DDR3 T model, in office PC's. One will run all day at 352 MHz, but fails instantly at 353 MHz. One will run past 360MHz FSB, but fails P95 after about 4 hours.

They are pretty good with a 200 MHz FSB CPU such as an E5200. Here, the overclock limiting factor is the CPU.

And they are not bad when used with a 266 MHz FSB chip such as the E6500 or E7200 series Wolfdales, even if you reach motherboard FSB limits before you reach CPU core limits.

But they are poor candidates when used with 333 MHz FSB chips. About the best you can expect is a 10% overclock before reaching motherboard FSB limits.

What do you expect from a $50 motherboard?

 

[4745454b]

So try 350MHz then?

 

[mrsmarts5000]

I tried 350 @ x7 and it worked fine, but i wanted to experiment and turned the multiplier up to x9 and the speed went up to around 3150 mhz. Again, got the black screen and had to reboot after jumping, so it seems i cant clock over 3000mhz, which sucks cuz that's stock... do i just have a bad setup?

 

[4745454b]

No. The limiting factor here is your motherboard. It's highest FSB is somewhere between 350 and 366. You can set it back to 9 once you find your max FSB.

 

[mrsmarts5000]

So then do you guys have a good suggestion for a good OCing motherboard that is pref <$200?

 

[4745454b]

Seeing as you don't even have a quad I suggest not bothering. You can get a new S1155 setup that will be faster then anything you can put on that board for not much more then $200. For example you could get something like;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128520
Gigabyte z68 S1155. $90 shipped.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078
i3-2100. $125 shipped.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
G.Skill 2x2GB DDR3-1600 CL9 1.5V $28 shipped.

For around $250 you can have a totally current system. You can get it under $200 even if you buy a slower CPU and cheaper H61 board. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me to buy a new S775 motherboard for $80-100 if you'll still be stuck on the old stuff.

 

[mrsmarts5000]

Lol, thats actually what i was thinking of doing, thanks guys

 

[iam2thecrowe]

i totally agree, you could even get a cheap athlon or phenom x3/X4 system for less than the intel system mentioned above, then at least you have a true quad core that can be overclocked. You cant overclock an i3 2100, but the i3 is still better for gaming at stock clocks.