Why is my q9500 only running at 2.66ghz?

[Scotty Mac]

I was wondering why my cpu is only running at 2.66ghz in stead of the stock 2.83ghz? It's a Q9500 Core 2 Quad. When I first put it in it was only reading 2.13! I changes the FSB from 533mhz up to 667mhz. Now I'm now sure if that's the RAM speed or what. But when I changed that it went up to the 2.66ghz. Is that the problem or is it the processor?? I do currently have the 667mhz ram in. I'm waiting on 8 gb's of gskill 800mhz ram to show up at my door step. (DDR2) My mobo is an nforce NVidia 6801 sli lga-775 socket. And please.. do not knock me for the processor.. it was pretty much a trade for my old E6600 Core 2 duo 2.4ghz. Anyhow.. I want to overclock it a little bit.. maybe as far as 3.2ghz. If not.. then 3.0ghz would be fine. Anyhow, I'm looking at a Zalman cnps9500A cooler too. Think it'll do the trick? Thanks!!

 

[jaguarskx]

The FSB of Yorkfield CPUs is supposed to run at 1333MHz. Using 667MHz RAM for the Q9500 is standard. The CPU's multiplier should be fixed at 8.5 to get to the stock speed of 2.83GHz. Perhaps the motherboard's BIOS needs to be updated so that it can recognize the Q9500 CPU and it's clock multiplier.

The Q9500 should be easily overclocked to 3.2GHz without increasing the voltage of the CPU. However, if it does not run stable, then you need to increase the CPU voltage in the BIOS. You should not increase the voltage by more than 0.025v at a time, and in general I would not increase the CPU voltage by more than 0.05v in total.

The Zalman should be a decent cooler. For my E6600 (HTPC) and Q9450 (primary rig) I use Tuniq Towers to cool the CPUs. While the Intel C2Q CPUs are a bit dated, they are still comparable in performance to the Phenom II X4 series. They are also competitive to the AMD FX CPUs in most benchmark.

 

[Scotty Mac]

Well according to the bios the max multiplier is 8.. 6 being the lowest it'll allow. As far as my bios needing updating, know where I can do that? Pheonix Technologies is the header on the top in my bios. The Q9500 I found out is an OEM (dunno if that's good or bad). So here's another dilemma. I gt an email from ebay sayin gI have a second chance offer on a cooler master hyper 212+. at the same time.. the zalman 9500a cooler is going to end when my 2nd chance offer expires. I'll probably be the same price ($25). tha zalman is used but very well taken care of. I'm just not sure if the CM 212+ will fid in my case. I have been all over the internet and couldn't find anything about it. I have the NZXT Apollo Mid tower case. I just don't wanna risk missing out on that zalman if the cm will not fit? Opinion tho.. which would be better for my cpu?

 

[jaguarskx]

An OEM CPU is fine; all it means is that it does not come with a heatsink and your warranty can range from 30 days to 90 days if purchased new from the retailer.

I think the CM 212+ is a little taller than the Zalman at 120mm vs. something like 112mm for the Zalman. I am not familiar with the NZXT Apollo case, but as long as the case is at least 160mm wide, I think you are ok. You can buy the CM 212+ from Newegg for $20 after a $10 mail-in rebate and there's free shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

As for the BIOS you need to go to the manufacturer's website to see if they have a newer BIOS. If they do not have an updated BIOS then you are stuck with an 8 multiplier rather than 8.5.