twinpawer

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I was in the process of overclocking an Intel Core2Duo E6600. Listed below is the setup of my computer:

Asus P5K
Intel Core2Duo E6600
2x 1GB Mushkin-Enhanced XP8500 DDR2-1066Mhz (5-4-5-12)
2x 500 GB Seagate HDs
ATI Radeon x1050 Graphics Card (temporary, because my 7600GT didn't work well, and is being sent for an RMA)

I have successfully upped the FSB from 266Mhz to 330Mhz without any problems. I did not have to increase any voltage or anything. Voltage of CPU was set to: 1.2v. Northbridge voltage: 1.25v. DIMM voltage: 2.2v.

Some settings from the BIOS that I've manually set are:

PCI-Express Frequency: 100 Mhz
CPU Spread Spectrum: disabled
PCI-E Spread Spectrum: disabled
CPU Voltage Damper: enabled
Something called FSB-Strap: Don't know exact setting, but set for an FSB:DRAM ratio of 1:1.

The timings for the memory were 3-3-3-8 at the last 'OK' values.

Then, I tried increasing FSB by a further 10Mhz, up to 340Mhz, and it fails to do the PCMark05 test. It does all Sandra benchmarks successfully. I tried increasing CPU voltage to 1.2625v, northbridge to 1.4v, and reduce the timings to 4-4-4-12. Yet, to no success. It did not manage to run the PCMark05 test, or any stress test. With FSB set to 330Mhz, it successfully finished an 8hr prime95 stress test.

The temperatures are 38degC for the CPU, and 52degC for the northbridge.

Any ideas what I might do to get a better overclock?
 

cd14

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Set your ram timings to 'auto' (for now). Also use CPUZ to see what the speed and timings are. The bigger the number the looser they are (slower access--added clock cycles). A 1:1 ram ratio at 330 FSB would be 660 mhz, so it's still way under your ram spec of 1066 mhz. Also timing and memory speed go hand in hand. Tighter timings for slow FSB, looser for high FSB.

Keep your ram speed, voltage and timings stock. Get your CPU voltage to its VID (the default working voltage). Once you figure the max cpu speed then work on the ram. Try not to overclock the ram while working on the CPU.

Did you run Prime95 to stress RAM?
 

twinpawer

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Yes, I did run Prime95 to stress test the system, and it worked fine at 330FSB. Do you think it would be better if I change the DRAM ratio to another that results in higher ram frequency, like a 1:2 or 2:3 ratio? Stock speeds result in a 1:2 ratio, FSB being 266Mhz with ram frequency being 1066Mhz. I halved the frequency to obtain a 1:1 DRAM ratio.

I'll put the RAM speed, voltage, and timings at stock settings. By stock, I think you mean 'Auto' right? Also, is there any way I can read the current voltage of the DRAM and the Northbridge? I don't know what the value for 'Auto' is. CPU can be read from CPU-Z.

Bdw, I was away yesterday so thats the reason I took some time to reply.

I'll update the settings to auto that you mentioned, and tell you how it went.
 

twinpawer

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I've managed to up the FSB up to 370Mhz with the settings set as Auto. The CPU is idling around 45 - 48degC,and in load around 53 - 58degC. Also, northbridge is idling around 50degC, but it has been so from the start at 266Mhz, and almost never increased. It did not manage to do the PCMark05 test with 380Mhz FSB, and neither Prime95.

Auto settings for voltage for the CPU are giving it a 1.416v reading in CPU-Z. In my opinion, I consider it quite high. Do you think that's ok? I read in a post on this forum that someone runs his E6600 on 1.53v, do you think that would be ok?

Also, is there any way I can determine if the problem that is not keeping the pc stable is the CPU, or the RAM? Does MemTest do any stress test for the CPU, or just for the RAM?

Any idea how much an E6600 averages in overclocking? Basically I increased the FSB from 266Mhz to 370Mhz, and an increase in 930 Mhz clock speed. Do you think I should be able to squeeze some more out of this CPU?
 

assassai

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Hm try 400 Mhz FSB my E6600 cant handle 340 - 380 but it handles 400 Mhz fine for some reason.
Try a higher Vcore also i run mine on 1.4750 and it runs fine with an idle temp of 43 degrees and 55 load at 3.6 ghz with my ThermalTake BigTyphoon
 

twinpawer

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i was reading about that matter, that it cant handle 340 - 380 but handles 400, and everywhere I read it says that that's because the FSB strap kicks in, which serves as an added latency to the FSB. It also says its more recommended not to surpass the 400Mhz limit, since this FSB strap will kick in, and its better to modify the clock speed with ClockGen, from Windows. It says there is a significant performance loss from 395Mhz FSB to 400Mhz FSB, due to this same FSB strap.

To be honest, I've still not exactly understood what it is, just what it seems to do.

Anyway, I've tried upping the voltage to 1.4375v, and see if it successfully does some hours of Prime95. My cpu is idling around 40degC at 3.33Ghz, and I'm using a Thermaltake fan, not sure what the model exactly is.
 

cd14

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You're limiting factor could be your CPU. When I overclocked my E6400 I was well over 1.5v in order to obtain 3.6 ghz. 3.33 is a very good overclock.

If your ram timings are stock and the spd is within its spec, then you'll need to tinker with the voltages to the CPU and chipset. Also make sure your PCI-E is 100 mhz (not auto). Hope this helps.
 

twinpawer

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I had just increased CPU voltage to 1.55v from BIOS (1.47v reading in CPU-Z). It was stable at 380Mhz FSB - ran PCPrime95 for over 10hours. Then I tried upping the 390Mhz FSB, left it running PCMark05, and went to eat.

When I came back, I found a black screen and the IDE led on the case is continuously on (never goes off). I tried rebooting, but the same problem. Nothing appears on screen, and the IDE led is always on. I tried resetting the CMOS, to no avail. I tried changing memory to another PC that I have, still same problem. I tried changing CPU to another one, and placed my E6600 in another computer, and it worked in the other computer so the CPU is still working. Any idea what might be the problem?

I hope I did not do any damage to any component :((
 

cd14

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Did you mean that you tried the ram on another computer and it didn't work? Try a single stick at a time.

Overclocking can corrupt your drives. You may be on the threshold of your system now. Unplug the drives, CDROM, floppy, etc. from the motherboard. Leave ram, video (enough to post the sytem). Short your clear CMOS jumpers and hold down the power button (with power connected) for a few seconds. Unplug power for a minute and reconnect and try powering it on.

Your system may do nothing when clearing the CMOS or it may try to post. Tell me what shows up on the screen. Does it even show the BIOS screen? Do you get a single short beep?
 

twinpawer

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I tried everything on another computer, RAM, CPU and Graphics Card, and all worked well on the other computer. I replaced the harddisks as well, and they too worked well.

I tried changing the PSU as well, however it still did not boot. Nothing appears on screen, and there is no beeps coming from the motherboard. (I'm not certain speaker does work, although it is connected)

I tried resetting CMOS by removing battery for about 30 seconds from the motherboard (Could not located CMOS jumper due to cables and stuff, and did not want to go looking for manual - If i remember correctly, removing battery should do the job, right?).

What do you mean by 'hold down the power button' while the CMOS jumpers are on the 'clear' position? Shall I move the jumpers to the clear position, and hold the power button while switched off? never heard of this but I'll give it a try.

It wasn't having excess temperatures or such - 50degC motherboard and 42degC idle CPU.
 

twinpawer

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I've just tried booting with only video card, 1 stick of RAM, and CPU. All video card, stick of ram and CPU have been tested on another computer and they all work well.

I shorted the CMOS jumper, and held the power button for around 15 secs like you said, and the switched off the power for about a minute. Once I turned on the power, and replaced the CMOS jumper, don't know if this is normal but the PC automatically turned on. Still, nothing came on screen and computer does not seem to post. I tried switching it off and back on again, to no avail.

Any idea what might have happened? I hope it's not anything to do with the motherboard :(
 

cd14

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The clear CMOS jumper is open when you restart the computer, correct? Don't pull or put on the jumper block while the computer is on. Turn off power, put on jumper block, hold power button for a few seconds...release, power off. Then pull of jumper block and power on.

Is there a led on the motherboard? Should be a solid color, probably green or yellow.

If you tried everything then I don't have an answer, but it appears that the motherboard is shorted somewhere or there's something physically wrong with it. Your BIOS may even be corrupted due to the overclocking.

The last thing to do is to completely disassemble it. Take everything off the computer, take motherboard out of case and place it on cardboard or something nonconductive. Install just the bare minimum to post--CPU, cooler, ram, video, keyboard, monitor. If that doesn't work then your motherboard has gone bad.
 

twinpawer

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CMOS jumper is open, I left it in the original position that it was when it was working. That's exactly what I did, since I have already replaced the motherboard with another Foxconn one that I had lying around. I placed it on a piece of cardboard, and only connected the power plug for the motherboard, the CPU power, a CPU and HSF, gfx card and 1stick of ram. No luck.

One thing I noticed, and I normally use to diagnose PCs if they're bad or not is that when it has gone about 5 - 10 seconds from starting, and you press the power button once (not hold it, just once), it should power down automatically. If something's bad, it doesn't. Unfortunately, this one does not power down :(

I think motherboard has gone bad. I still can't understand how though since on the website it boasts so many features aimed at overclocking and at switching off automatically if its overclocked too much and those stuff. Do you think it was due to overclocking? Also, do you think it would be ok to send it for an RMA?

 

cd14

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If you're within your return policy then I'd get it RMA'd. After, then contact ASUS. It looks like you've done what you can to get it to turn on. Just tell them it's dead and you went through all the troubleshooting.

I've had ram and motherboards that I've overclocked that suddenly go bad. I never pushed them way out of spec though. I've had cheap ECS ones that that suddenly die, for no particular reason. Hard to say what happend your motherboard. Could be ESD, corrupted BIOS, just bad luck. If it's within your warranty I'm sure they'll repair or replaced it.
 

twinpawer

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yeah, its not even 2 months old! Guess I'll have to send it back then. I'll phone them and see what i've got to do - I've never sent an item for an RMA before!

Thanks a lot for your help!