Q6600 Overclocking Help

[gaylo]

Computer Specifications:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Revision G0
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-G41MT-S2PT LGA 775
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3 PC3-12800
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/259899-29-core-overclocking-guide
I have read some overclocking guides though I merely understand a portion of the context. I tried to change the FSB of the CPU but it seems only 333mhz seems to be the only one that seems to overclock and be stable with 9x multiplier. When I try to reach for 3.6GHZ/3.4GHZ/3.2GHZ, any FSB I input doesn't seem to work as it just restarts with my stock speeds. I have set my Core Voltage to around 1.450 V for each and every one but it doesn't seem to work. I'm pretty sure with my cooler I should be able to get between 3.2GHZ - 3.4GHZ given the right core voltage. Also, regarding memory synchronization seems to be a problem since the FSB for the RAM seems to come in 200/266/333 and the multiplier are quite confusing. I haven't really tried to overclock the timings as I think it doesn't yield much significance and kept the VRAM to 1.5v.

Right now, I'm currently running 333mhz * 9x = 2997mhz with 1.3v vcore. My ram settings are 266 x 4 but in CPU-Z it's running 667?

Can anyone clarify what I can do to obtain higher overclock and what values should i shoot for?

 

[nukemaster]

No 2 cpus or boards(not all chipsets like higher bus speeds either) are the same. All you can do is make small increases and add voltage as needed.

At some point it will take WAY too much voltage to be worth the increase.

CPU-Z showing 667 is normal for double data rate memory.

 

[william p]

CPU world lists 1.5V as max spec.. for that chip. I would try that and get your best overclock and then see if you can back down from there. I'm running 1.54V. without problem on my QX6800 G0 @ 3.72Ghz. Do you have any heatsinks on your VRM MOSFETs and Chipset? Your memory is probably running 1066. Some of the memory multiplication takes place in the memory module and not the motherboard. DDR writes on the rise and fall of a cycle not at the peak of it, so it's considered twice as fast as the motherboard speed. You could try asking at Overclock.net/ LGA775 Club about what your motherboard can do. You haven't said anything about temperature. You need to be watching that. Add cooling, add Volts, add speed, then repeat. Throttlestop software will give you a good readout on core temps., Volts, and FSB, and can turn off Speedstep and run some stability tests. I think Hyper 212 likes different cooling paste, and different application method than other coolers. You might look into that.

 

[gaylo]

Well, I can't really talk much about temps because I haven't even pushed the CPU to it's limits. So, far with Prime95 running I have around 60*C on all 4 cores. (3GHZ 1.30v) I understand that 1.5 is the max so I tried to go 1.45 as my safest vcore and went for 3.6ghz (333*9), apparently it didn't even get past POST and just restarted itself. I don't think I have any heatsinks since this board seems relatively old. Pretty much I would watch out for below 70*C which I set on BIOS but I want to be safe and have it around 65*C. So, I see that the FSB ratio with my RAM is 1:2, ideally with synchronization it's best to get 1:1 but I doubt I can with this motherboard.

 

[william p]

I was wrong about your memory speed it's actually 1333. Check and see what timings (CAS latency) is needed for your memory to run that speed. The faster your memory goes the higher the latency. Sometimes there's no point in overclocking memory because of this. Maybe set your memory multiplier back down to a low speed. You can try setting Prime95 to run 3 tests instead of 4 this gives 75% load on all cores and is a little more realistic. I start high on voltage , get my speed up, then back voltage down until it's unstable. Throttlestop can change voltage in Windows so you can find what works then set it in BIOS. It sounds like you're only getting the factory bus speeds for some reason. 800/1066/1333. A QX6800 QX6850 would make your life a lot easier.

 

[gaylo]

So, I believe slower timing for memory means higher numbers right? I'm running them at default timmings set on auto which is 9, 9, 9, 24. The problem I have is overclocking RAM which I have no clue since I don't know what the vDAM should be max. (I believe for DDR3 it's safe to go below 1.65v but intel says 1.8v) The memory multiplier are fixed so I have a choice between (333 * 2.4/ 3.2) or (200 * 4) or (266 * 3/4). I was able to test that I could set the CPU FSB to 335 instead of 333 and it worked but once I try something like 340 with like 1.45vcore it doesn't work. This didn't seem as easy as I thought it would be. Right now, I'm looking into more beginner's guide to see if there was something else I missed on. Thanks for your help william p.

 

[william p]

I never had any luck with FSB myself and ended up using C2X chips, but then again I was doing a Dell BTX so I was on my own anyway. The thing about VRM cooling is Intel used flat fans on this area to cool the VRMs and you may have less cooling there with a tower cooler than you had before. Persistence counts for a lot in this game. My system is DDR2 so I can't help you with DDR3 specifics, but you know what to ask now. Yes higher memory timing is slower. It may seem frustrating at first but you learn something from every problem you overcome. At OCN there is probably someone there who has O/Ced that MB.

 

[gaylo]

Well, I kind of gave up overclocking it towards 3.2GHZ now since I can't seem to push it anymore. Not sure what the limitations are: motherboard, my overclocking experience, or possibly both. At least, I overclocked it to 3.0GHZ with alot of head room running 1.325v (actually) and load temperatures of around 55*C - 58*C.

 

[william p]

I gave up overclocking my Dell a couple times along the way. Give it a break and try again later. I got lucky my MB happens to overclock very well, but nobody knew it. If I change my fsb at all I get a hard lockup. Pinmods don't work because there's no faster bus speed on my MB. When I tried Core2Extreme chips it took 6 months and 3 CPUs to get from 3.2Ghz QX6700 to QX6800SLACP @ 3.72Ghz. I was banging my head against the wall to get 3.45Ghz trying everything. But when I discovered what was holding me back 3.72Ghz "just happened" and my new goal is to make the 3.99Ghz that is in my sig. at CPUZ stable enough to run some benchmarks. Save up for a SLACP then your memory and bus problems won't matter. My bus and memory are at stock speeds. Cooling, Volts, and Multiplier. That's it.