Q6600 oc

[Deeks]

A friend of mine gave me a q6600 so i had some spare parts and built a system out of it.I have a PK5 Deluxe Mobo with 4gb of DDR2 pc6400 micron value ram, q6600 ( cm 212+ ). So far i have only been able to get it stable at 3.3ghz at 1.4vcore. Ive got it to boot into windows up to 3.5ghz but i need a vcore of 1.5 just to get it to boot and i cant even get it stable. I am curious am i doing something wrong or is it just my luck with the chip i received.

 

[deadjon]

Hello Deeks

Being a proud owner of a Q6600 I can tell you that these chips vary MASSIVLEY.
Also, Check the Vdroop - not sure how that board fares with the Vdroop but I set mine to 1.4 and it drops to 1.325...

Get CPU-Z out and tell me if its a G0 Stepping or a B3. With the G0 the sky is the limit. The B3s limit is...erm...about 3.3 xD

Have you made sure your Northbridge/Southbridge volts are high enough, and if your memory is Linked/Unlinked/Auto?
Unlinked provides the easiest overclocks (makes it less RAM limited) but is also the most unstable.
Linked is good, Choose a ratio that doesnt push your RAM too far (Its budget RAM) and you'll be more stable
Auto is erm...Auto.
Try dropping the multi to 8x and upping the FSB, its a good way of having a more stable CPU and relying on your Mobo to do more of the OC work (P5K Deluxe can push G0s to 4ghz)

Hope I helped.

Regards,

Deadjon

 

[4745454b]

We'd need a lot more info to help. Full settings such as FSB, RAM sticks and settings, etc. Temps and voltages used as well.

 

[jsc]

Try dropping the multi to 8x and upping the FSB, ...

deadjon, like you noticed, op has value ram. So what you suggest is not a good idea. Running the internal multiplier at max reduces the load on the RAM, contributing to stability.

The usual source of problems is inadvertently overclocking the RAM with Auto settings. I am not familiar with the Asus BIOS, but you need to adjust the memory frequency so the FSB:RAM ratio is 1:1. The small gain in performance by overclocking the RAM is not worth the increased instability.

Keep the core voltage under 1.50 volts and the load temps under 70 C.

 

[Deeks]

Alright as for Vdroop i have the core set to 1.4125 and cpuz is reading it as 1.4, as for my ram i am setting the mhz and matching it 1:1 i am just allowing timings to be set to auto as every time i set them i get booting issues. but if i set to auto seems to boot fine. idle temp at 3.2 with 1.4125 ( 1.4 cpuz ) is 21 - 30 depending on core, and load is 55 - 61 again depending on core. And yes it is a G0 model checked on the possessor as well as through cpuz. the other issue is i cannot seem to set the cpu multiplier so i cannot even try to set it to 8 =(. again really stuck not to sure what the issue is or if i just got a crappy chip also the fsb is 360 pcie 100 ram set to 721mhz, fsp strap to nb 333mhz, also load line calibration is on to help vdroop or else vdroop is really bad

 

[4745454b]

Bios update perhaps for the multiplier issue?

So 3.2GHz / 360MHz FSB = CPU multiplier of 9(ish). You are using the stock multiplier so either the bios doesn't allow it, or you aren't looking in the right spot.

You get boot errors if you manually set the ram to their stock settings? Have you tried running memtest to see if the stick are bad? Might also be an issue with the memory controller on that board. Upping the NB vcore might help.

 

[deadjon]

+1 ^

Chipset Voltage (Northbridge/Southbridge) needs to go up by about 0.15v (I have mine on +0.2/+0.15v Respectivley but my board sucks)
FSB Voltage needs to go up by about 0.1 or 0.2v

Try those sort of settings and you might get it stable.

 

[Deeks]

just updated the bios, tested the memory via memory test and trying one stick at a time as well and memory seems to be ok. once i set the fsb higher then 360 even with the volts of the sb, nb, and fsb raised i still am unstable on prime95 and intel burn. only way to get it stable is 1.5vcore were the temps get into mid 70's and are not quite acceptable for everyday use.also the vcore of 1.5 not being acceptable either for everyday use. hoping to keep 1.4 or lower =(

 

[4745454b]

In that case it might just be a "bad" chip. Not all chips can OC to the same point. And until you can get access to the CPU multiplier you might not be able to hit 400MHz.

 

[deadjon]

G0 Stepping Q6600 thats stuck at 3.2ghz?

This is truly a sad day for Kentsfield.

There must be something were missing here - Post pics of Advanced BIOS settings, Frequency Settings and Voltage settings.

Im determined to get your chip stable xD

 

[Deeks]

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j414/tdeeks/Calgary-20111224-00091.jpg
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j414/tdeeks/Calgary-20111224-00090.jpg
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j414/tdeeks/Calgary-20111224-00089.jpg

Ive also tried raising the NB and SB but even in doing so i cannot raise past 3.2 at that current voltage. as i said before the vcore increases dramatically pass this point to gain any stability.

 

[4745454b]

CPU ratio setting needs to be on manual and not auto. That should give you the ability to change the multiplier. Drop it down to six and see if you can get it to boot at FSB400.

 

[veebee]

Was about to say as 4745454b said - the ratio needs to be set to manual..

but anyways.. must be something going awry.... even despite the fact that "not all chips can OC to the same point"... for a G0 stepping Q6600 this one is only just getting through the gates at the ball park...

Purely through FSB increases and nothing else, I have had my Q6600 stable at 3.62 Ghz but have stepped it back to 3.5 just to give the thing some "breathing space".

 

[4745454b]

I get the feeling the other issue is the ram. It says the FSB RAM ratio is set for 333 which doesn't make sense. Because it also shows the FSB to be 360, and the ram running at DDR2-720, which is twice the FSB so its set for 1:1. If it doesn't boot with 400 and x6 for the CPU, then drop the RAM setting down from 333 to 266. We need to see if its the CPU, RAM, or board that's causing the issue.

 

[Deeks]

Alright i got the cpu multiplier set to manual now and have it booting at 6x - 400fsb. I left the cpu voltage to auto and iv'e just noticed that on auto settings that it cranks up the vcore to 1.448. Im no expert in overclocking by any shot but doesn't this seem really high for a vcore setting on auto when the possessor is running at stock speed? Now assuming that me setting the multiplier to 6 and fsb to 400 was to test my board ?? what is the next step ? Also i had to set my FSB strap to NB at 400 instead of 266 if i set it to anything other then 400 at x6 multiplier with the 400fsb it gave me memory speeds over 800mhz which my ram is not rated for.

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j414/tdeeks/Calgary-20111224-00092.jpg
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j414/tdeeks/Calgary-20111224-00094.jpg

 

[4745454b]

Set the memory for whatever you need too to keep it at 400/800MHz.

Next step would be to up the CPU multiplier until it's not stable anymore. You should be able to hit 8 or 9. (3.2 to 3.6GHz.) Take the CPU voltage off of auto and set it at the max you are comfortable with. (1.45 isn't a bad idea. The Q6600 is a 65nm part, so you might be able to get away with 1.5.) Once you hit your fastest speed, the last step would be to lower the Vcore to the lowest stable setting.

This is assuming you want to keep the 400MHz FSB. You can go higher then that if you really want.

 

[Deeks]

I thought 1.5v is quite high for a 24/7 overclock vcore ? i thought for long term you would want 1.4 or less ?? or does this only apply to the newer 45nm and 32nm processors ? iv'e been able to get it to boot at 3.5 ghz but not 3.6 and even though it boots it definitely is not stable at all.

 

[4745454b]

3.2 and 3.4GHz is fairly normal for the Q6600. 3.6GHz+ can be reached, but not by all. I'd probably set it for 3.4GHz and as low on the Vcore as you can. If you think about it, that's a full extra GHz, and ~40% over stock. Not bad at all.

 

[Deeks]

awesome thanks everyone for the help it was greatly appreciated!!

 

[Deeks]

Best answer selected by Deeks.