Newbie overclocker need HELP with the Q9650!

[johnyeah]

I've built my own computers for quite a while, but I've never really gotten into the business of overclocking. Since I've heard all the good things about the Q9650 and the Gigabyte board, I've decided to give it a shot. However, I'm running into a bit of difficulty getting the system stable past 3.30 ghz.

My setup:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 @ 3.30 ghz w/ CoolerMaster GeminiII
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R ATX
PowerColor Radeon HD4870 512mb @ 770 mhz and 900 mhz
Seagate 7200.11 500GB
Hitachi Deskstar T7k500 500GB
Gskill DDR2 1066 (2 * 2GB) @ 5-5-5-15 2.1V
Asus 18x DVD Burner SATA
OCZ StealthXstream 600W
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4
Raidmax Smilodon ATX Mid Tower

BIOS settings (updated to the newest F6):
V Core: 1.30 V
V Termination: 1.25 V
V PLL: 1.5 V
MCH Core: 1.3 V
ICH Core: 1.5 V
DRAM: 2.1 V
FSB: 367

CPU Temperatures at full load: 70 C
Idle: 35 C

Should I reapply AS5 on the CPU? Temperatures are acceptable, but not the best.
Also, when I try to push the CPU to FSB 400, even if I raise the V Core, MCH Core when I run Intel Burn Test, my system automatically reboots after 5 minutes (no error messages or anything).

 

[johnyeah]

Forgot to mention that, for some reason my "System Temp" on the UD3R runs between 49-50C even when the CPU is at 35C.

I don't know what the System Temp sensor measures, but I'm absolutely sure my case has good airflow (I even opened the case and directed and fan at it). I was thinking it might be the HD4870 (it runs around 55-60C) that's raising the system temps.

 

[blackpanther26]

well if you are at 70c full load I would sugest you stay at 3.3GHz until you can figure out how to get your temps down. By the way my Q9650 can hit 4GHz at 1.31875v and 1.28FSB termination. By the way what temp monitor program do you use? And make sure to set your TJmax to 95c in settings to get a more accrate temp reading. And a 600w PSU is not really a good Idea when overclocking now days. You need at least a 750w PSU with that 4870. Or a PSU with 80% effiency.

 

[evongugg]

Use RealTemp 3.0 for temps. Look at new heatsink possibly:

Top 5 heatsinks:

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-cooler-charts,1967-12.html

Top 5 Low Profile Heatsinks on Frostytech

http://www.frostytech.com/top5_lowprofile_heatsinks.cfm

 

[blackened144]

Use RealTemp 3.0 for temps. Look at new heatsink possibly:

Top 5 heatsinks:

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-cooler-charts,1967-12.html

Top 5 Low Profile Heatsinks on Frostytech

http://www.frostytech.com/top5_lowprofile_heatsinks.cfm

There is no reason to get a new heatsink. The one he has will keep his CPU cool.. I have the GeminII as well, and it keeps my Q6600 @ 3.33 under 60c. Plus since I have the P35-DS4 with the gigantic heatpipe system, the GeminII keeps my entire board cool, including the memory.. My only complaint about it is that you need access to the back of the board to remove the heatsink, which usually means taking the motherboard out of the case. Since you are suggesting reapplying the AS5, Im going to assume you have not remounted the heatsink yet.. I would suggest you remove the heatsink to be sure that it is making proper contact with the CPU.. When I upgraded to the Q6600 from my E6550, I also upgraded to 2x2gb memory modules that each have a giant heat spreader.. The bottom of the cooler was just touching the memory heatsinks and I felt like I had to tighten the heatsink more than I did previously.. But in the end the heatsink makes good contact and keeps my cpu temps low.. On a side note, I ran out of AS5 when I upgraded to the Q6600 so the CPU is actually using the rest of the thermal paste that came with my GeminII, just some generic looking white paste in a CoolerMaster tube.. Seems to work pretty good though..

 

[johnyeah]

well if you are at 70c full load I would sugest you stay at 3.3GHz until you can figure out how to get your temps down. By the way my Q9650 can hit 4GHz at 1.31875v and 1.28FSB termination. By the way what temp monitor program do you use? And make sure to set your TJmax to 95c in settings to get a more accrate temp reading. And a 600w PSU is not really a good Idea when overclocking now days. You need at least a 750w PSU with that 4870. Or a PSU with 80% effiency.

1.I thought TJmax was 100C. At least that's what Real Temp and Core Temp uses for reference. In addition, it's 70C full load at 3.6GHZ, it's about 65-66C for 3.3GHZ (Sorry for the confusion). What settings do you use for your NB/SB/DRAM voltages? Can you give me some specific numbers?
2. I tested the memory at 1066 5-5-5-15 timings with Memtest for 8 hours (0 errors).
3. My 600W PSU has 80% efficiency (it's a tier 2 PSU on the PSU tier list), could it be that the PSU does not supply enough power so the computer just automatically reboots?
4. Could it be my NB/DRAM voltages that are causing stability problems (my system will run Prime95 small FFTs with no problem, but the moment I use large FFT/blend, it reboots)?

Use RealTemp 3.0 for temps. Look at new heatsink possibly:

Top 5 heatsinks:

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 67-12.html

Top 5 Low Profile Heatsinks on Frostytech

http://www.frostytech.com/top5_low [...] tsinks.cfm

I used Real Temp/Core Temp/CPUIDHWMONITOR as well to monitor. My GeminiII S heatsink is the best on the Top 5 Low Profile Heatsink. Like what blackened144 said, unmounting this heatsink is a PITA. I'll check the contacting surface of the heatsink some time.

 

[blackpanther26]

that could be the problem. But yeah set your TJ max to 95c and you'll see a decrease in temp about a 6-7 degrea decrease in temps. Reason 70c is too hot. At 4GHz I get around 66c max load.

and here is my specs http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/247750-29-could-post-core-temp-factory-please

 

[RJR]

You may want to have a look at the Intel Data sheet:

http://download.intel.com/design/processor/datashts/318726.pdf

and this:

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?s=232a7aeefd57250ae65fab7dc54d0e8d&showtopic=686016&pid=590018868&st=0&#entry590018868

or just google it

It does look like the correct Tjmax=100

Full load on a 4870 uses 183W max........600W PSU should be fine (as long as it's stable power).


And i'm presuming you have changed your FSB strap to 1:1 and ran blend to see if it will pass at a lower ram speed?

 

[johnyeah]

You may want to have a look at the Intel Data sheet:

http://download.intel.com/design/processor/datashts/318726.pdf

and this:

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?s=232a7aeefd57250ae65fab7dc54d0e8d&showtopic=686016&pid=590018868&st=0&#entry590018868

or just google it

It does look like the correct Tjmax=100

Full load on a 4870 uses 183W max........600W PSU should be fine (as long as it's stable power).


And i'm presuming you have changed your FSB strap to 1:1 and ran blend to see if it will pass at a lower ram speed?

I have tried 1:1, but the rebooting occurs regardless.

 

[bakedcpu]

You definately need to cool off your system before you go any higher. My Q9550 can do 3.4GHz at 1.2Vcore temp @ 54 max load. Even @ 3.7Ghz, the temp is 65 max load. I do not have the best air cooler so I run my cpu at 3.4, but I got it for looks over performance.

 

[johnyeah]

Interesting, alright. I'll try reinstalling the heatsink. Thanks for all the inputs. Greatly appreciate it. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

 

[johnyeah]

MMM, I reinstalled the heatsink and the temps are down by an additional 5C at full load (don't think I did the best job mounting that heatsink to begin with, but at least I did better this time,). I figured the SYS TEMP sensor was the SB sensor and with the HD4870 blowing beside it, I just added in another fan below it and the temps are in the 30's now.

Going to try and overclock, again.

 

[johnyeah]

Here's my results.

After an hour of trial and error, I figured out the reason my system was unstable during large FFT's and Blend. I was able to lower all my voltages to default voltages by simply increasing the MCH reference voltage to 0.8V from 0.76V. The system is sound and stable right now.

Surprise, surprise.