q6600 overclocking on asus P5N-D 750i board

[axesupra]

Hi,
i am new here and so is my system that ive recently purchased.
i was hoping you could help me overclock my system, because it is frustrating for me because i am not too experienced at overclocking, but i know somewhat. i run dual boot xp 32bit and vista 32 bit, & 2x 8800gt (although i dont think this is important for overclocking?)
i have an asus 750i board ( i know crappy, but im a poor man ) and q6600 G0 stepping and vid is 1.3250V.
my ram is a-data 5-5-5-18 2T and i keep it on auto voltage.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211188 (<-----thats my ram)

i can get it to 3.2ghz (multiplier x9) stable i believe, ran prime95 for a couple of hours.
i ran the memtest for 8 hours and there were no errors.
i am not sure how much of an overclock potential my system has, but i would like 3.4ghz at min, and 3.6 at max. (3.5 is ok too)
i was trying to get 3.4ghz (multiplier x9) stable and currently running prime95 on my PC (writing this on my laptop), the cpuz core voltage dropped to 1.408V all cores 100% stressing at the moment. and i put it on 1.4875V in the bios.
for this current 3.4ghz testing, my voltages r as follows: vcore-1.4875V bios, idle cpuz -1.440V, prime95 4 core stress cpuz- 1.408V, dram on AUTO (i would think at 1.8V, since im running it at stock) at its current 5-5-5-18. HT voltage -1.44V, NB voltage-1.44V, SB voltage -AUTO
when i ran the mem test earlier, on 3.4ghz testing, my memory got 5 errors at 85%.
3rd core stopped operating after 7minutes just now, temps are fine, never goes above 55C (xigmatek hdt s1283 cooling, although i have a terrible case and poor circulation)

so yea...its really frustrating for me, and i was hoping u could give me some feedback or something. i do not have the latest bios for my board, i have 0302, the latest is 0601, i didnt update because the asus site told me 0601 is a new patch for cpu compatibilities.
0302 bios specificially states that it improves cpu stability when overclocking, so i just kept that one. here take a look if u want to:

http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

if you need more information, tell me.
thanks in advance!

p.s. i have reached 3.0 and 3.2 ghz pretty well, it just seems like anything higher is just a completely different ball game

 

[aznguy0028]

i've read around the forums and other people with the Q6600 VID: 1.3250 also have trouble with reaching 3.4+

i think it's just your chip and it's VID. 3.2ghz is pretty solid, why not keep it there?

 

[Guest]

some mobos can't break the 400 fsb mark =( its sad buy true... I only but mobos where the common OCing potential is over 400 fsb and closer to 450 fsb... my 680i mobo can get a 450 fsb....

UNFORTUNATELY... the system isn't stable at any fsb... I think I got a bad mobo... and its too late to rma so w/e... i'm just going to deal until nehalem

 

[axesupra]

yea i have read that my VID is just crazy so..
but i dont think it may be my motherboard because many people have their fsb equal to or higher than 400.
maybe it is, but i honestly think its not, i think i got my cpu chip late or something its just so power hungry (seems to me anyway, its unhappy at any voltage lower than 1.4 in bios)
i do have a 750W power supply, it was not cheap (4 me anyway) $160, so i think i may pass that test.
i have read that the forum member lupiron said somehwere that the caliber of my VID needs around 1.44-145V of vcore to maintain high clock speeds, and he meant in the bios or cpu z? if he meant cpu z, shouldnt i just put my bios vcore to like 1.55V?
or what about my ram timings? i rarely see ppl with my timings (5-5-5-18) when they overclock, should i buy the ram with common timings of 4-4-4-12? or?

thanks for the input so far, excellent

 

[Lupiron]

Now thats just great timing. I just finalized a P5n-d build at 3.4 Ghz with my 1.3250 Vid chip.

And yes, when I speak of voltages for a high VID chip like that one, it will need around 1.44-1.45 while loaded on small ffts to be stable.

Meaning like 1.55 in your Bios, hehe, because these boards blow! Damn VDrop and droop is so large. I have been looking everywhere to get a Vdroop pencil mod, but no luck!

BTW, I ended up using like 1516 QDR for the 3.4 Ghz at a x 9 Multiplier. (Something like that, and i can look if needed.)

Anyways, while your processor is indeed power hungry, it's the board that is restricting your over clock.

You dont see people with 5-5-5-18 because everyone runs their memory in sync with the FSB, meaning that the ram speed is usually slower, so they go for the tighter timings to make up for it.

Your RAM looks like basic over clockers trial and error ram. Standard specs. 5-5-5-18 @ 1.8 volts. That means you have a bit of voltage to play with, while trying to get it to run lower timings.

Dunno if it will work!

let me know if you have any specific problems.

--Lupi

 

[axesupra]

hey lupi, there u r lol, thanks for the reply.
to be honest with you, i dont know if this happenes to anyone when they buy their ram but, the very first time when i gave birth to the computer and had it run stock in windows, the cpu z said that my ram is in 5-5-5-31 i think. i had to manually put it on 5-5-5-18, i did that because the newegg specs said so, so i thought thats how it should be ran.
is NB in charge of RAM or SB? maybe charge is not the word? i dont know how to explain it, but i read somewhere one of the NB or either SB has something to do with RAM. so whichever one it is, whenever i raise the voltage of the RAM, should i raise the voltage of its affiliate too? be it NB or SB? or ****, am i even making sense? probably not..

so what is the actual border i should not go over, VOLTage wise for the q6600 by cpu z sayings? cuz its its 1.5V in cpu z, isnt that like 1.7V in the bios? and i dont even have that lol

and yea lupi my failed 3.4ghz was at 1512 as the fsb.
and another thing, should i run the mem test first before i run prime? because if i fail the memtest then im sure to fail prime right? or?
even then actually no, my ram hanged in there longer than the 3rd core in prime. so anywyay i dont know lol

thanks for replies, they r helpful!

 

[Lupiron]

Howdy!

The majority of RAM will SPD to a slower set of speeds and timings just to make sure it posts that first time, or in event of a failure. You then have to manually go in and enter the timings and voltage, if it differs.

The North Bridhe controls the Front Side Bus, which all RAM data has to pass over to get wherever. You can do whatever you want to the RAM voltage and timings, without having to raise NB voltages, but when you begin to raise the FSB, then you will need NB voltage to maintain the integrity of the FSB.

As far as you getting 1.50 volts in CPUz... niiice. How are the temps? What does it load down to? (What does it reduce to when you run small ffts on all the cores for a small while?) If you get around 1.45 loaded, might as well go for 3.6!

The one I built had a Asus silent knight as a cooler, which sucks. After lapping the chip and the heat sink, and modding an intake fan to it, it gets 66c loaded at 3.4 Ghz. Was 73c before the mods, hehe! But the thing makes no noise, the loudest part is the power supply fan, and thats what I used to tune everything else.

And yes, use the blend test for a few minutes before testing with Small ffts. The board has that seamless strap bull shiznit, which means that it doesn't like the strap when at certain QDR settings. It's all rather frustrating. If only they would have at least LEFT the FSB strap to NB option in there, just in case, but nooo...

So the only way to see if it is right is to blend. If the strap is currently not liking the FSB/QDR setting, then the cores will fail very fast. Usually within 10 seconds of blending. In which case you need to go in and change the QDR value a bit. Then re boot, and blend. It will either run for a minute or two with no errors, which you can then stop it and small fft. Or it will fail very fast.

Good luck!

--Lupi

 

[axesupra]

ok well first off thanks for the replies!
my main goal right now is to get my q6600 vid 1.3250 to 3.2ghz on the asus p5nd, i believe to get it up that speed is not as difficult as trying to achieve higher.
yesterday i left my computer to run the small fft on prime, it ran 6 hours! BUT! the 3rd thread stopped, and the rest continued for 3 more hours (thats when i woke up)
so i tried to run a memtest for 2 100% cycles, so up until 200% to make sure my ram isnt an issue, and there were no errors with ram being to tight or not getting enough volts.
also my ram doesnt seem to take voltage to well, so i leave it on auto, assuming its 1.8V like manufacturer prescribed.
if i run the blend test or the large fft, they both go on for about 2 hours, until one of the thread stops.
so i am assuming something is lacking juice? here is my current values for the 3.2ghz project.
Bios- 0601
FSB- 1423/Unlinked Mem @ 799mhz
Vcore- 1.400V (bios) --- (cpuz idle= 1.344, cpuz load=1.296V sometimes, mostly 1.312V)
Dram- Auto, 5-5-5-18-2T
HT- 1.38V
NB- 1.40V
SB- Auto

the temps were about 68C avg when i woke up this morning finding that the rest 3 cores r hanging on.
(it was avg 66-68C even when 4 cores were still kicking)

this is a semi stable i would say because i played crysis for sometime, eh, it passed 3dmark06 score with 17.5K, so i believe im very close.
the temps right now are quite cool, the ambiance in my room is cool, so it is on idle: 35,37,35,34
which value(s) do you recommend i raise? or what suggestions to u have firstly before u tell me anything.

thanks guys!!

 

[axesupra]

Hey I'm back with good news and results.
I really hope this aids some people with Asus P5N-D/Q6600 *VID 1.3250V*combo.
Download "core temp" monitoring program to find yours out, if its not the one above this is a waste for you, if it is 1.3250V then read on!
I will be back with more results on higher overclocks, but if your are satisfied enough with 3.2ghz, then read on.
Make sure you have an after market cooler, preferrably (TRUE 120, ocz vendetta, xigmatek hdt-s1283, zalman, just something decent/good lol). The 3.2ghz project has been tortured with prime SMALL FFT for 12 hours.



Update your bios to 0601, here is the link http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

Reboot system go to bios menu, press F5 to load the defaults, reboot and restart back to bios menu.
Under cpu configuration disable everything and keep the multiplier on x9. Set the memory timings (chipset menu) and voltage (jumperfree config menu) of your RAM by the manufacturer's default. Usually is found on their website, if you bought it from newegg , then its very likely it will be under their specifications tab. Check manufacturer website first though!

Now to overclocking.
Get under ADVANCED, JumperFree Config. We'll start with FSB & Memory Config.
Unlink the memory from the FSB, so from AUTO to Unlinked
Set the FSB (QDR) to 1423 which will get you 3.2ghz with multiplier of 9.
Hit escape and go back to now Voltage control, and we will make a couple of changes here to keep the system stable.
Vcore - 1.40625V, DRAM - Auto for me, for you, you put your manufacturer's set voltage (find it on website), HT - 1.38V, NB - 1.40V, SB - AUTO.

Thats it, these are the values, now if someone has slightly different values, hopefully lower, feel free to post and reply which will even help out more!

Hit F10, save and exit and hopefully you will be greeted to the windows screen with a stable system!

As i said in the beginning, i will be back hopefully with higher overclocks!
Good luck hope this helps someone out there!

P.S. i have had my system stable for 6 hours in prime SMALL FFT with Vcore of 1.400V, until the 3rd core stopped calculating. With help of Lupiron, who suggested raising the Vcore a little bit, i was able to achieve twice the stability, im sure it could go on for more, but i have stopped it, cuz i need to use the computer lol! Thanks Lupi!

 

[ConstanT1ne32]

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