Can I overclock my CPU by changing only the FSB ?

[BlueReaper]

I want to buy a MSI GTx 560Ti for my system, and from what i read on net it seems that my Core 2 Quad Q9400 would bottleneck this card. So I thought that if I would overclock the CPU would help a bit. The problem is that I am a real noob when it comes to overclocking, so I was wandering. Can I reach 3.2 GHZ only by increasing the FSB clock and leaving the other settings unchanged (auto)?

MY SPECS:
-MOBO: ASUS P5QL PRO
-CPU: Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9400 (6M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB)
-RAM: Kingmax 2x2GB DDR2-800 PC6400
-V-board: Leadtek WinFast PX9600 GT 1GB GDDR3 256bit - (upgrading soon)
-Power: Inter-Tech Energon 750W

Also from what I read it seems that increasing the FSB would increase the RAM frequency and I am afraid not to fry them .So what settings should I use for the Ram.?(Sorry if i didn't wrote correctly, I'm not an English)

 

[willard]

Nobody can tell you what settings to use. Every computer is different, and even components with the exact same model numbers respond differently to overclocking.

What I can tell you is that yes, changing your FSB will change your memory speed. You can increase it to increase the speed of your CPU, but your RAM will also speed up. You may need to manually set your RAM's speed lower to get the computer stable if it doesn't respond well to overclocking.

In addition, you're going to need to change the voltage to your CPU and potentially memory as well.

If you want to overclock, go learn how to overclock. There are tons of guides out there just waiting for you to read them.

 

[Guest]

go into your bios and unlink the RAM to manually set the speed. then overclock your FSB. with a Intel® P43 chipset you should not have a problem with hitting 1600 (400) FSB . . . enjoy. btw, if you do get 400, you can link the RAM back and set a 1:1 ratio

 

[Deleted member 217926]

I want to buy a MSI GTx 560Ti for my system, and from what i read on net it seems that my Core 2 Quad Q9400 would bottleneck this card. So I thought that if I would overclock the CPU would help a bit. The problem is that I am a real noob when it comes to overclocking, so I was wandering. Can I reach 3.2 GHZ only by increasing the FSB clock and leaving the other settings unchanged (auto)?

MY SPECS:
-MOBO: ASUS P5QL PRO
-CPU: Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9400 (6M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB)
-RAM: Kingmax 2x2GB DDR2-800 PC6400
-V-board: Leadtek WinFast PX9600 GT 1GB GDDR3 256bit - (upgrading soon)
-Power: Inter-Tech Energon 750W

Also from what I read it seems that increasing the FSB would increase the RAM frequency and I am afraid not to fry them .So what settings should I use for the Ram.?(Sorry if i didn't wrote correctly, I'm not an English)

Here is a very good place to start.

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


Since the Q9400 has an 333 FSB you are fine with your DDR2 800. In fact Core2 chips do best at a 1:1 FSB:RAM ratio. So you should not even be running at DDR2 800 speeds unless your FSB was overclocked to 400.

 

[BlueReaper]

go into your bios and unlink the RAM to manually set the speed. then overclock your FSB. with a Intel® P43 chipset you should not have a problem with hitting 1600 (400) FSB . . . enjoy. btw, if you do get 400, you can link the RAM back and set a 1:1 ratio

Thanks for your reply , but I don't really understand how to set the RAM.
Before increasing the FSB should I set them manually to 800 cuz I saw that I can set them even lower, at 667, or you were talking about the CAS Latency when you said that I should manually set the speed?

Sorry for that , probably this seems a really stupid question, but I really want to know how to raise fsb without frying the RAM.
And I don't wanna mess with voltages, cuz I heard that I can reach 3.2 ghz on my c2q with stock voltages.I'm not thinking on doing some extreme overclocking. I just want my system to be more balanced.
I'm using my PC especially for gaming, and to encode video from time to time.
What I don't know for sure is if my C2Q would bottleneck my GTx 560ti, cuz if it doesn't than I won't need to overclock it.
So I need your opinions on that guys.

AS willard said, i already know that are tons of guides there and I read a few of them, but I didn't really understand them, that's why I'm posting on this forum

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Look, if you can't read and at least have some basic understanding of a simple guide you really have no business overclocking.

Overclocking is not risk free. Also you can take 2 "identical" CPUs that came off the production line right after each other and they will not behave the same when overclocking. It's a trial and error thing and there are certainly no guarantees.

Do you even have aftermarket cooling? You can't overclock with a stock cooler.

As was said above if you really want to overclock you are going to have to learn to overclock. We can't do it for you unless we are sitting in front of your computer. Every single one of us had to start somewhere so spend a few weeks learning and then try it.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your reply , but I don't really understand how to set the RAM.
Before increasing the FSB should I set them manually to 800 cuz I saw that I can set them even lower, at 667, or you were talking about the CAS Latency when you said that I should manually set the speed?

Sorry for that , probably this seems a really stupid question, but I really want to know how to raise fsb without frying the RAM.
And I don't wanna mess with voltages, cuz I heard that I can reach 3.2 ghz on my c2q with stock voltages.I'm not thinking on doing some extreme overclocking. I just want my system to be more balanced.
I'm using my PC especially for gaming, and to encode video from time to time.
What I don't know for sure is if my C2Q would bottleneck my GTx 560ti, cuz if it doesn't than I won't need to overclock it.
So I need your opinions on that guys.

AS willard said, i already know that are tons of guides there and I read a few of them, but I didn't really understand them, that's why I'm posting on this forum

your NOT asking how to do an extreme overclock, pushing it to 4Ghz, your just increasing it to the next step up, from 1333 to 1600. when you unlink the RAM you then set that speed independently from the FSB ratio and will not fry the RAM no matter what settings you use for your FSB.

set the speed for RAM to MANUAL- DDR-800 then set the FSB and (STRAP) to 400. leave everything else alone; voltages, cas timing - everything ALONE!

but do not immediatly go straight to 400 FSB, go up in small increments ( 333-340, 340-350, 350-360, THEN 360-365, 365-370, 370-375, 375-380, THEN 384-388, 388-390, 390-392, 392-394-, 394-396, 396-398, 398-400)
after each time to raise it up, test it with prime95 to see if it is stable:
http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/
keep an eye on the CPU temperature with core temp:
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

if the temperature goes past 69°c STOP you will need a better heatsink.
if you get an error in Prime95 after testing for 20 minutes STOP you will then manually adjust some voltages that [AUTO] isn't doing for you.

if you hit 400 then link your RAM 1:1 - to explain the difference, FSB is quad pumped; goes 4x faster and RAM that is DDR is 2x. so your CPU will be 1600*9=3.2Gz and RAM 400*2=800.

every CPU is different you should not have a problem with 3.2Gz but that is not guaranteed. go look around for some overclocking guides if my very simple instructions do not help.

good luck.

 

[BlueReaper]

your NOT asking how to do an extreme overclock, pushing it to 4Ghz, your just increasing it to the next step up, from 1333 to 1600. when you unlink the RAM you then set that speed independently from the FSB ratio and will not fry the RAM no matter what settings you use for your FSB.

set the speed for RAM to MANUAL- DDR-800 then set the FSB and (STRAP) to 400. leave everything else alone; voltages, cas timing - everything ALONE!

but do not immediatly go straight to 400 FSB, go up in small increments ( 333-340, 340-350, 350-360, THEN 360-365, 365-370, 370-375, 375-380, THEN 384-388, 388-390, 390-392, 392-394-, 394-396, 396-398, 398-400)
after each time to raise it up, test it with prime95 to see if it is stable:
http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/
keep an eye on the CPU temperature with core temp:
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

if the temperature goes past 69°c STOP you will need a better heatsink.
if you get an error in Prime95 after testing for 20 minutes STOP you will then manually adjust some voltages that [AUTO] isn't doing for you.

if you hit 400 then link your RAM 1:1 - to explain the difference, FSB is quad pumped; goes 4x faster and RAM that is DDR is 2x. so your CPU will be 1600*9=3.2Gz and RAM 400*2=800.

every CPU is different you should not have a problem with 3.2Gz but that is not guaranteed. go look around for some overclocking guides if my very simple instructions do not help.

good luck.

Wow, thank you very much for your simple instructions, even a total noob like me should understand those 😉
I will definitely try to overclock it just like you said.

And, as someone said , I already know that I should replace the stock cooler, so I was thinking of buying a Spire Coolgate 2011
http://www.spire-corp.com/main/product_detail.asp?ProdID=1144

- I read some reviews and they are saying that this is a pretty decent cooler even for a small overclock, so I was thinking; Can this cooler handle those 3.2 Hhz? And if not, I would like to hear what you guys would recommend me (Also I don't want to spend very much on cooler so don't jump to high with prices)

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Wow, thank you very much for your simple instructions, even a total noob like me should understand those 😉
I will definitely try to overclock it just like you said.

And, as someone said , I already know that I should replace the stock cooler, so I was thinking of buying a Spire Coolgate 2011
http://www.spire-corp.com/main/product_detail.asp?ProdID=1144

- I read some reviews and they are saying that this is a pretty decent cooler even for a small overclock, so I was thinking; Can this cooler handle those 3.2 Hhz? And if not, I would like to hear what you guys would recommend me (Also I don't want to spend very much on cooler so don't jump to high with prices)

For the money the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ ( $20 ) and Hyper 212 Evo ( $30 ) are the best budget coolers.

 

[BlueReaper]

For the money the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ ( $20 ) and Hyper 212 Evo ( $30 ) are the best budget coolers.

I've done some research over the internet and it seems that Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo is one of the best (if not the best) cooler you can find for this money. So thank you for your tip

Even if Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo delivers lower temperatures than Spire CoolGate 2011 this cooler still represents a good alternative for those who have a smaller PC case.

 

[Guest]

Wow, thank you very much for your simple instructions, even a total noob like me should understand those 😉
I will definitely try to overclock it just like you said.

And, as someone said , I already know that I should replace the stock cooler, so I was thinking of buying a Spire Coolgate 2011
http://www.spire-corp.com/main/product_detail.asp?ProdID=1144

- I read some reviews and they are saying that this is a pretty decent cooler even for a small overclock, so I was thinking; Can this cooler handle those 3.2 Hhz? And if not, I would like to hear what you guys would recommend me (Also I don't want to spend very much on cooler so don't jump to high with prices)

it is better than stock but anort3 made some better suggestions

i do not know what is available in your country but it may help you to know that to find that graph, i googled Spire CoolGate 2011 Review also Frosty Tech is an excellent site with a buttload of reviews.

glad to have helped.

 

[BlueReaper]

I think I will go with Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo cuz I have a 200 mm case so I shouldn't have any problems.
Thank you very much.