Help Overclocking a Q9550

[josh1412]

I am a noob at overclocking, all I have overclocked was my old q6600 to 3GHZ.
MY PC:
CPU - Q9550
Cooler - Zalman CNPS 9900 LED
GPU - XFX 4870 XXX
Motherboard - Biostar T-Power I45
PSU - Corsair HX650 modular power supply
RAM - 2x2 GB OCZ 1066mhz Blade series

My CPU runs at 31C under load and my GPU runs at 50C
I can't reach past 3.1ghz without my computer crashing after some time. I am not sure what I am doing wrong.
Please help if yo can.

 

[jsc]

This should be your first stop.
HOWTO: Overclock C2Q (Quads) and C2D (Duals) - Guide v1.6.1
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/240001-29-howto-overclock-quads-duals-guide

Next stop should be a guide for your particular motherboard. Google is your friend.

For anything higher than about 3.2 GHz, you will need better cooling.

Here are two under $50 heatsinks that are pretty popular:
Sunbeam
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004
Xigmatec Dark Knight
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

They both require a somewhat different approach to applying thermal compound.
Suggestions for applying thermal compound:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=170&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=5

And they are pretty large, so they might not fit inside your case.

And here's a good budget cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

Keep your core temps under 70 C. and core voltage under about 1.4 volts.

Keep in mind that these are guides, not cookbooks. YMMV. Your Mileage
May Vary. Because of all the variables, you may not do as well as
someone else with a similar system. Or you might do better.
----------
Overclocking since 1978 - Z80 (TRS-80) from 1.77 MHz to 2.01 MHz

 

[josh1412]

This should be your first stop.


Here are two under $50 heatsinks that are pretty popular:
Sunbeam
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004
Xigmatec Dark Knight
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

Isn't my Zalman CNPS 9900LED good enough for overclocking?
My CPU runs at 31C under load ar 3.1GHZ.

 

[jsc]

Oops. I have a "standard" cut 'n paste reply that I then edit as needed. I just forgot to take the HSF section out.

The Zalman 9900 is a pretty good HSF but there are things that work better for less. OTOH, the Zalman is good enough that it's not worth replacing.

I suspect that you are overclocking your RAM and that is limiting your CPU overclock.

If your memory clock multiplier (or whatever Biostar calls it) is set on AUTO, change it to 2.00. You want the mem clock to be twice as much as the FSB. If it is on AUTO (the usual setting), the mem clock will be increased the same percentage that the FSB is.

We discuss that that here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/251715-29-ratio-myth


Hope this helps.

 

[endorphines]

yes your cooler is good enough.. i've overclocked 130w proccessors with that, and yours is only a 95w.

you shouldn't be having issues getting past 3.1 with a q9550 though... it could probably do that with stock voltages. i'd check if your ram is getting cranked up too high as you boost your fsb.

i have a q9400 which is your processor with half the cache cut out and a multiplier of 8 instead of 8.5. it's humming allong at 3.2 with a very minor voltage increase. it's in an htpc with minimal airflow so i changed the ratio for the ram so it was below spec and undervolted it. you could do something similar without screwing with the voltages and rule your ram out.

 

[megamanx00]

Google

That's all the help I'll give you.

 

[josh1412]

Google

That's all the help I'll give you.

I tried google thats why I came here.

 

[josh1412]

I know this is off topic but would my corsair hx650 be able to run two 4870's and my overclocked cpu?

 

[evongugg]

Use RealTemp for temperatures. 31ºC sounds too low to me.
Yes, a 650W is enough for all that.

 

[josh1412]

Use RealTemp for temperatures. 31ºC sounds too low to me.

My biostar motherboard has a temperature display on it. I checked it again and it is normally 30-36C.

 

[josh1412]

My problem is solved. I am such an idiot, I kept my ram frequency too high. I now overclocked my CPU to 3.8GHZ. I took the Prime 95 stress test and I got no problems.
Thanks to every one for their help.

 

[Adroid]

Don't be so hard on yourself... Just don't do it again next time =D

Glad you figured it out.