Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 OC'ing?

[Colonel Kernel]

Hello!
I recently purchased a Dell Optiplex 760 Mini-Tower to build a budget gaming PC.

I went with the 760 because it came with an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400, 4 Gbs of DDR2 RAM, and a 250 Gb HDD. I spent $27 on it because I'm cheap as hell. I spent a bit more on little stuff such as a new SATA cable for the HDD from my laptop that I put into it. I also purchased and applied new thermal paste for the CPU, and received an extra stick of 1 Gb RAM from my friend for free.

The GPU I put into it is a MSI GTX 750 Ti OC 2Gb Edition, however I had to purchase a PCIe x16 extension riser, as the card was too big for the case. I spent $100 on this card, and I felt that the CPU wouldn't bottleneck it too much.

While I don't really think that the CPU is bottlenecking it too much, I do think that I could squeeze a bit more performance out of it. I've read a bit of stuff about OC'ing this chip, but i'm a complete noob at OC'ing. They mention FSB or something like that, and ratios and shit that I just couldn't follow.

Could anyone possibly walk me through overclocking this Q9400 using Layman's terms? I really only want to achieve around 3.2 Ghz ish, as all four cores are already clocked at 2.66 Ghz. I don't need much more speed, but i'd just like to feel like i'm using a slightly better CPU.

Thanks!

 

[Supernova1138]

You're pretty much out of luck for overclocking, Dell will have the FSB controls locked out in their BIOS so you won't be able to do any overclocking, that's one of the drawbacks of buying a prebuilt system from one of the big OEMs, the BIOSes on them tend to be locked down to prevent the end user from doing too much tampering.

 

[Colonel Kernel]

You're pretty much out of luck for overclocking, Dell will have the FSB controls locked out in their BIOS so you won't be able to do any overclocking, that's one of the drawbacks of buying a prebuilt system from one of the big OEMs, the BIOSes on them tend to be locked down to prevent the end user from doing too much tampering.

Is it possible to use a program, such as Intel's overclocking software?

 

[Supernova1138]

You're pretty much out of luck for overclocking, Dell will have the FSB controls locked out in their BIOS so you won't be able to do any overclocking, that's one of the drawbacks of buying a prebuilt system from one of the big OEMs, the BIOSes on them tend to be locked down to prevent the end user from doing too much tampering.

Is it possible to use a program, such as Intel's overclocking software?

I don't think Intel's XTU supports CPUs that old, though you could give it a try. Odds are it won't work though as the BIOS probably has anything to do with the FSB settings locked down.

 

[Colonel Kernel]

You're pretty much out of luck for overclocking, Dell will have the FSB controls locked out in their BIOS so you won't be able to do any overclocking, that's one of the drawbacks of buying a prebuilt system from one of the big OEMs, the BIOSes on them tend to be locked down to prevent the end user from doing too much tampering.

Is it possible to use a program, such as Intel's overclocking software?

I don't think Intel's XTU supports CPUs that old, though you could give it a try. Odds are it won't work though as the BIOS probably has anything to do with the FSB settings locked down.

Well damn, that sucks.

 

[COLGeek]

This lack of OC control is very common with OEM systems. The OEMs like to minimize variability and optimize stability over performance, so they lock those controls. This limits tools like After Burner and others as well.

 

[Colonel Kernel]

This lack of OC control is very common with OEM systems. The OEMs like to minimize variability and optimize stability over performance, so they lock those controls. This limits tools like After Burner and others as well.

There's NO way to get around this? And if it limits my CPU, why not my GPU? Afterburner works perfectly well on my GTX 750 Ti. How come the mobo only locks down certain things?

 

[COLGeek]

The OEMs limit these settings to keep users from making their systems unstable. No, there is no feasible way around these limitations on the vast majority of OEM systems, especially on consumer/business grade systems. Some "gaming" OEM systems do allow some degree of OC flexibility, but no OptiPlex systems that I am aware of do.

It was designed to be a rock solid business rig.

 

[COLGeek]

Also, be careful OCing your GPU if you are using the stock 225/250w PSUs that many Optiplexes use. While they are decent PSUs, for their intended uses, the additional load OCing can add to them could lead to a potential failure.

 

[Alan Caldwell]

You can try BSEL mod for OCing the processor when the mobo doesn't support it.
http://www.overclock.net/t/341123/intel-bsel-vid-mod-guide

 

[Colonel Kernel]

You can try BSEL mod for OCing the processor when the mobo doesn't support it.
http://www.overclock.net/t/341123/intel-bsel-vid-mod-guide

Thanks, but again, if you refer to my original post, it says that I don't know jack diddly squat about OCing, and would prefer Layman's terms, which that post you linked to most definitely is not.

 

[Alan Caldwell]

Sorry, BSEL mod can't be used for that processor. So no OCing.

 

[Colonel Kernel]

Sorry, BSEL mod can't be used for that processor. So no OCing.

RIP

 

[Colonel Kernel]

Also, be careful OCing your GPU if you are using the stock 225/250w PSUs that many Optiplexes use. While they are decent PSUs, for their intended uses, the additional load OCing can add to them could lead to a potential failure.

Thank you for your concern. The GTX 750 Ti however doesn't use much power, and I haven't gone over an extra 100 Mhz on the core clock yet. I'm more worried about cooling, honestly. Because I have to use the GPU through an extension riser, it's put in sideways and at an angle, just leaning against the back of the computer and setting on the bottom. RIP my GPU in < 2 years.