Overclocking a Q9650 on a GA-965P-DS3P

[DanglingPointer]

3 years ago I bought myself the following...

Jan 2007
------------------
GA-965P-DS3P(rev3.3) f5 bios @ 3.4GHz
E6300
2GB Corsair XMS2 PC2-6400
x1650
OCZ GameXtreme 600w PSU
Gigabyte 3D Aurora case
3D Galaxy II Liquid Cooling Kit
Arctic Silver 5

It was my first time setting up a water loop. The 3D Galaxy at the start of 2007 was pretty good and beat most air coolers back then (perhaps all of them back then).
I got it stable to 3.4 GHz oc'ed. It has been running virtually non-stop since then running BOINC projects when idle.

Apr 2009 - The following underneath replace their counter parts above.
---------------------
4GB OCZ Reaper C4 PC2-6400
4GB OCZ Reaper C5 PC2-8500 (was cheap!)
x1950pro
OCZ something 700w PSU (previous blew under warranty)
f6 bios upgrade
3.1 GHz downgrade (extra different RAM made unstable)

NOW! - Dec 2009
---------------------
Q9650 @ 3.91 GHz Prime95 stable 1.3v
8 GB OCZ Reaper C5 PC2-8500 1.07GHz 2.1v (removed the C4 PC2-6400)
f7 bios upgrade (45nm compatibility)

3 years it has been, just upgrading! The 3D Galaxy II which now isn't as good as some air coolers; is keeping the cpu @ 65c T-case at room temperature of 37c (was unseasonably hot here yesterday) running Prime95. Still below 71c which I understand to be the max safe spec for the T-case of the Q9650.
Now it isn't 35c here every day so assuming an average 20c to 25c room temp, max temp on Prime95 should be even lower; therefore this would lead me to believe that I should AT LEAST MAKE IT TO 4GHz!

Well that is the problem, for the life of me I just can't get it to go over 3.91GHz! Even with the cpu voltage at max 1.36, nothing, nada. Increased FSB and MCH voltage +0.25v, nothing nada! Each time I need to do a jumper bios reset on the mobo as it won't even POST!!!

I tried 1.4v on the CPU out of curiosity and it made it to POST but then it would try to reboot again, then, nothing again, nada!!!! Needed another mobo jumper bios reset!

The thing is, I did not struggle to 3.91GHz! I got there very easily. If anyone out there has had similar experience with a Q9650 and 965P-DS3P or DS3 and found a way around it, please do share your experience.

Thanks!

[[[Just to add some fine print, the pump and radiator fan of the 3D Galaxy II have a 3yr MTF. Therefore I'm due to replace them asap. Perhaps in Jan or Feb. I must say for a nooB LC kit, it has really impressed me! Running virtually non-stop since the start of 2007 at ((~3.4GHz/1.86GHz) x 100)% overclock. There is a fine crack on the top of the reservoir after all this years (noticed two nights ago) which when put upside-down would bleed a drip of coolant. I also noticed on the see-through water-block some sort of precipitate or growth minutely accumulating! Oh well, it will be retired soon. It had a good run of life.]]]

 

[DanglingPointer]

Mate, I'm just a normal bloke who's never happy and always wants more. 😱

I bought the chip with the clear intention of going 4 to 4.2 GHz stable at least.

If someone's had success please help and I'll be eternally grateful!

The alternative is that I replace the mobo with a P45 type. I would rather not and save the money for a better radiator, reservoir and pump.

So just to reiterate, anyone who has had success with 4+ GHz on a 965P board.
Preferably a 965P-DS3P or DS3 or S3.

 

[DanglingPointer]

Here are some details, perhaps someone can assist or provide suggestions. This is for a GA-965P-DS3P (rev3.3) bios F7. Perhaps can be taken as the same for the DS3 and S3 versions...

Voltages:
CPU = 1.31v
ram = 2.1v
FSB = +0.15v
MCH = +0.20v
PCIE = +0.15v

RAM Timings for DDR2 PC2-8500 OCZ Reapers:
manual - 5-5-5-15
Turbo performance
2.50 ratio = 1087.5 MHz (However CPU-Z is showing 1:1)

Bus speed = 435.0 MHz
CPU multiplier = x9.0 (0.5 doesn't work for some reason, mobo will show 4+GHz but CPU-Z, speedfan, and Windows 7 doesn't.)

PCIE = 100 MHz
Graphics boost = auto

All CPU throttles and cpu special cr@p = disabled

 

[jsc]

Intel's recommended max CPU voltage is 1.3625 volts, their absolute max is 1.45 volts.

It's very likely that you have reached the limit of your CPU cores. If you have, it won't matter what you intentions were. And buying a P45 motherboard wouldn't help.