Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L and Q6600. HELP ME

[extract99]

So, I have a Q6600 and a Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L.....I know that this board does not like voltage changes, but I heard you can get to 2.8 GHz on a Q6600 without changing voltages. I know A LITTLE about overclocking to know what to set my FSB to, which is around ~280-290 for 2.8 GHz. 2.76 will give me around 2.5 Ghz. But What I dont know is what the hell a DIVIDER IS. because when i overclock my cpu, my memory gets overclocked as well. Heres a picture of my BIOS if ANYONE has any suggestions or has the same comp setup as me. ALL I want is to get it to 2.8 GHz. I love gaming and I have an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, and I want to put that cooler to god use without changing voltages


Upper Bios: http://i44.tinypic.com/2lnafth.jpg

Lower Bios: http://i44.tinypic.com/2ic9mxv.jpg

In short, I think the divider is the 9X thing at the top, but Im not too sure what to do with it. All I know is FSB, and that the divider takes the OC off the ram to keep it little to no OC'd. Please help me D=

 

[billiardicus]

I've got a GA-P35-DS3L and a Q6600 OC'd to 3.3 ghz. You should be able to get your processor to or past 3 ghz easily.

From your screens:
1. Enable CPU host clock control
2. Increase your host frequency
3. Change your system memory multiplier (SPD) from auto to "2." This will put you in a 1:1 ratio or synchronous mode for DDR2 (Double Data Rate) ram. What ram do you have? If you've got at least DDR2 800 mhz, you should be good.
4. Your initial cpu vcore is only 1.2v. This is really good. Mine is 1.25. You will likely be able to OC your processor higher than mine. If you keep increasing CPU host clock frequency, the chip will eventually become unstable. You'll need to increase your cpu vcore to regain stability (this will probably happen when you try to go past ~3 ghz). Bump up vcore a little (0.05v is a big bump), and retry.

When you start increasing vcore, your processor temp is going to go up. Make sure you are monitoring your temps, and understand what you're doing. Read the guides stickied on this forum...they will explain all of that. You will need to stress test the cpu to make sure it's stable. Again, the guides will explain that.

This is the basics. There's a lot more. OC'ing is a nerdy endevour...you have to enjoy reading, experimenting, and learning to go far with it.

 

[extract99]

Well theres the problem. the EP35 doesnt allow voltage changes to stay upon reboot, as i mentioned. I think its just multiplier to 10 and voltage to 176. I will try that.

 

[TonyLee]

What bios version are you using on the board? You need one later than F4 to make the voltage changes stick.

 

[extract99]

i have the F4. Im aware of the voltage problem, which is why i said any way to get it to 2.8 WITHOUT voltage change.

 

[TonyLee]

Change the "cpu host frequency (mhz)" number to 312 (for 2.808GHz) or 311 (for 2.799GHz).

Go to the "system memory multiplier (spd)" line and get it off of auto. Cycle through the options so that the rightmost number on the "memory frequency (mhz)" line is close to or under 1066.

The chip should be able to do that with no voltage change. You can download the OCCT program or Prime95 program to check for stability.

 

[jsc]

I am running the F2 BIOS on my DS3P, and I have no difficulty keeping voltage changes.

With a recent Q6600, you should be able to go straight to 333 MHz. (3.0 GHz with little or no voltage increase, even with the stock HSF.

 

[TonyLee]

The EP35 DS3L needs at least bios F5 to maintain voltage changes (at least for the cpu). I had this board and saw posts from other users with the same problem. When I bought mine, there was a beta bios F5 not listed on the Gigabyte site, but I found a link on a message board. F4 was the latest official bios. Voltage changes in the bios would not stick, but the beta F5 fixed it. There was eventually an official F5. There may be a higher one than that now.

 

[warlord1312]

Hi long time reader and first time poster

Here is my suggestion as I have the same exact motherboard but with a Q6700

What I did was lower my multiplier to 7 and put my FSB to 400 and no problems at all

And as a side note I had the F5 bios and now have the F6a bios and voltages will not stick at all

 

[extract99]

Ok, well im going to try putting it to 2.8 and get it around or near 1066. Thanks guy's i'll report back in a few if my computer loads windows LOL

 

[extract99]

OK!!! By doing the FSB to 311 and the mem was at 1033 which was OK. But with the multiplier at 9 it WOULDNT boot windows. it would stay black, then restart and go back to its old bios functions. So i took warloards advice and put the multiplier to 7, and fsb to 400 and im at 2.8 with windows booted, and prime 95 running as we speak at 2.8 with no voltage changes. it went from 35C on core0 to 49 almost INSTANTLY at 100% so im a little skeptical about the heat, but we'll see how it goes in the next few hours. Thanks for your help guys. I guess the 2.8 at 9X multiplier and no voltage changes was to wacky.

 

[extract99]

My cpu is TECHNICALLY at 2.8 right? i mean im not too sure what the multiplier does, but it says 2.8 so it has to be 2.8 right?

 

[TonyLee]

My cpu is TECHNICALLY at 2.8 right? i mean im not too sure what the multiplier does, but it says 2.8 so it has to be 2.8 right?

Yes. The cpu is running at 2.8 the way you have it. The x9 multi is just the default multiplier, but you do not have to use it.

edit to add: The instant temperature difference you mentioned is normal, so there is nothing to worry about there.

 

[extract99]

I put it back down to stock just incase. Im a REAL noobie with voltages so i dont wanna mess with em. but now i know how to get to 2.8 GHz lol.

 

[TonyLee]

There is something else. I know that with your bios version you cannot manually change voltages and get them to stick, but I don't know if auto voltage settings will stick or not. If you overclock again, make sure the "cpu voltage control" in the bios has "normal" or just put in the same number that the "normal cpu voltage" line reads.