FSB:DRAM ratio question

[Flavio G]

Hello everyone.
I'd like to ask a question regarding FSB vs. DRAM clock speeds. I have a Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz CPU and 4GB of PC2-8500 (at 533 MHz or 1066 MHz DDR). The Q6600's Bus Speed (as shown me by CPU-Z) is 266 MHz, so now I'm getting a FSB : DRAM ratio of 1:2. Which is assume is the ratio of 266:533.

So the question is, does it make sense to try and get the ratio to 1:1 without overclocking? Like for example raising the Bus Speed to its double 533 but dropping the multiplier to half, maintaining the stock 2.4 GHz?

The reason why I'm asking this is that I'm getting very disappointing FPS in games. And having a GeForce GTX 580, I'm assuming the bottleneck is elsewhere, and I'm at my wits' end to find where, so now I'm thinking about clock speeds.

Thanks for any help!

 

[festerovic]

The best you can do on that would be to go 1:1 with 400 MHz FSB and then RAM would be 400mhz (or 800 Mhz DDR).

Your RAM and its speed will MAYBE account for 1-2 FPS, maximum. RAM just doesn't have the gaming impact it did back in the day. Your bottleneck is likely the q6600. You should definitely try to OC that thing, I've got mine at 3.2 and it made a difference when using a 6850 radeon, which is not as powerful as the 580.

 

[Flavio G]

The best you can do on that would be to go 1:1 with 400 MHz FSB and then RAM would be 400mhz (or 800 Mhz DDR).

Your RAM and its speed will MAYBE account for 1-2 FPS, maximum. RAM just doesn't have the gaming impact it did back in the day. Your bottleneck is likely the q6600. You should definitely try to OC that thing, I've got mine at 3.2 and it made a difference when using a 6850 radeon, which is not as powerful as the 580.

Hello and thanks for you reply!

Ok then, I understand. I'll need some help overclocking though. First off, will I be able to get anywhere with the stock cooler?

Reading other threads, I understand that overclocking is a gradual process, where I'm supposed to go by small increments every time and check stabilty. I've never done it though, so I'll need a hand to figure out where I'm supposed to fiddle, and by how much.

Here's a screenshot of my BIOS:
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/5454/bioslo.jpg

Thanks!

PS. Perhaps this thread should be moved to the overclocking section? Feel free to move it as necessary.

 

[festerovic]

Here is a good guide on overclocking Core 2 chips:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/259899-29-core-overclocking-guide

1) Stock cooler - its poopy, and it will likely limit your overclock. Cooler master 212 is 20-30$ or cheaper on sale.
2) Pretty much you've got the idea - small increments, and check heat and stability with a program like superpi or other app.
3) You are supposed to fiddle with the Host Frequency, its the FSB bus speed. Your multiplier can only go down from 9, so you have a few options. If your motherboard is worthy, you can put the FSB at 400, the multiplier at 8, and set the RAM to 1:1 or 400mhz. Personally, this was the most stable and overall quickest per clock for me and my set up.

 

[Flavio G]

Here is a good guide on overclocking Core 2 chips:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/259899-29-core-overclocking-guide

1) Stock cooler - its poopy, and it will likely limit your overclock. Cooler master 212 is 20-30$ or cheaper on sale.
2) Pretty much you've got the idea - small increments, and check heat and stability with a program like superpi or other app.
3) You are supposed to fiddle with the Host Frequency, its the FSB bus speed. Your multiplier can only go down from 9, so you have a few options. If your motherboard is worthy, you can put the FSB at 400, the multiplier at 8, and set the RAM to 1:1 or 400mhz. Personally, this was the most stable and overall quickest per clock for me and my set up.

Thank you!

Today, I pushed it from 266 to 276, a 10 MHz increment. Running Prime95 right now.
One more thing as I'm doing this. I ran Core Temp even before overclocking, and I'm utterly baffled by my results when I compare them to other Q6600 users on the internet. Mine runs at 57°C on idle, and a whopping 85°C under load. I have no idea what's going on, because people online seem to say that it shouldn't go past 60°C, and considering I'm almost at 60°C on idle, I'm a bit shocked.

 

[festerovic]

What is the voltage you are running to the core? I would not exceed 1.35v for safety, and even then the temps may be really high. If you have the CPU voltage at AUTO, then it may be jamming a lot of volts instead of what you need it set at.

Your temp difference is probably due to the cooler. Also, you may lower temps by 4-5 * by using a good thermal paste instead of the stuff that comes on the cooler.
Try SpeedFan to see if it reports the same temps.

 

[Flavio G]

What is the voltage you are running to the core? I would not exceed 1.35v for safety, and even then the temps may be really high. If you have the CPU voltage at AUTO, then it may be jamming a lot of volts instead of what you need it set at.

Your temp difference is probably due to the cooler. Also, you may lower temps by 4-5 * by using a good thermal paste instead of the stuff that comes on the cooler.
Try SpeedFan to see if it reports the same temps.

Core Voltage is set on Auto, CPU-z reports it at 1.120 V while Prime95 is still running.

Changing thermal paste, new aftermarket cooler, and other solutions which require to disconnect the heatsink from the motherboard are all filed under "stuff I'll try only as a last resort" in my brain.

SpeedFan reports 72°C while Core Temp gives me 83°C. I never expected two programs to report the same temperature, but this 10°C difference only adds to my confusion.

 

[festerovic]

The reason I said try a different program is because: I have seen the temp programs have a variance of 15* when it comes to reporting the temps. I am not sure why, I used to know, but being ancient has its drawbacks. I seem to remember something about the Tjunction being off on some programs - it uses the Tjunction to determine the actual temperature since, the CPU is reporting numbers but they aren't what you'd expect. They use the Tjunction to turn it into the correct temps. When the Tjunction is off, the reporting is incorrect. I think it has to do with changes in Tjunction with different steppings of the same chip.
Which stepping of the q6600 do you have? It will say on page 1 of CPUz.

Dont be scared of taking off the CPU cooler, its really pretty basic but I understand if you don't want to take the mobo out of the case and all that. Its a PITA for sure. But if you do it once, putting new thermal paste and a different cooler, you can cross that off the list of stuff you never need to do again.

 

[Flavio G]

The reason I said try a different program is because: I have seen the temp programs have a variance of 15* when it comes to reporting the temps. I am not sure why, I used to know, but being ancient has its drawbacks. I seem to remember something about the Tjunction being off on some programs - it uses the Tjunction to determine the actual temperature since, the CPU is reporting numbers but they aren't what you'd expect. They use the Tjunction to turn it into the correct temps. When the Tjunction is off, the reporting is incorrect. I think it has to do with changes in Tjunction with different steppings of the same chip.
Which stepping of the q6600 do you have? It will say on page 1 of CPUz.

Very interesting, thanks for explaining! CPUz says I have a Stepping B, Revision G0 CPU.

Dont be scared of taking off the CPU cooler, its really pretty basic but I understand if you don't want to take the mobo out of the case and all that. Its a PITA for sure. But if you do it once, putting new thermal paste and a different cooler, you can cross that off the list of stuff you never need to do again.

Yes, I'll definitely have to push myself to do that eventually. It's getting a bit ridiculous that I know my way around components but I haven't ever applied thermal paste. I'd like to be able to assemble a PC by myself eventually, and I'm not going anywhere unless I learn how to install a CPU heatsink.

I found this in a local shop, it's not the same as the 212 you mentioned, but it'd be easier for me to get because I could just buy it at the shop rather than buy it online and have it delivered.
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6740
Maybe the push-pin design will spare me from having to unscrew the mobo from the case...

 

[festerovic]

Its not that great a performer. Read this article for the bits on it:

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2401

Also, see this thread:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/250157-29-q6600-tjmax-right

 

[Flavio G]

Its not that great a performer. Read this article for the bits on it:

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2401

Also, see this thread:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/250157-29-q6600-tjmax-right

Ok then, thanks for the very interesting links! Think I have everything I need now. Keeping my fingers crossed.