Q9400 Overclocking - not so bad

Page 3 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

rbates

Distinguished
Mar 15, 2010
29
0
18,530
OK, feeling stupid trying to learn terminology. Sorry for the learning curve. I'm just going to type out some of the bios settings. I don't know what to change to "lock" the CPU or anything for that matter (i.e., I don't see "lock" as an option with anything - you can set a number that is different from [Auto], but I don't see how to lock anything. By "lock" do you mean simply "set the number" at the value you want that's different from the default number?

Yes, the memory is saying 800 mhz when I'm at 400.

I'll try these settings.

Robust Graphics Booster [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio [10 X]
Fine CPU Clock Ratio [+0.5]
CPU Frequency 4.2GHz ( 400x10.5)

*****Clock Chip Control********
CPU Host Clock Control [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz) [ 400]
PCI Express Frequency(MHz) [100]
C.I.A.2 [Disabled]

*******DRAM Performance Control ********
Performance Enhance [Turbo]
(G)MCH Frequency Latch [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier (SPC) [2.00B]
Memory Frequency(MHz) 800 800
DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD) [Auto]

******Mother Board Voltage Control ********
Load-Line Calibration [Disabled]
CPU Vcore 1.28750V [Auto]
CPU Termination 1.200V [Auto]
CPU PLL 1.500 [Auto]
CPU Reference 0.760V [Auto]

MCH Core 1.100V [1.200]
MCH Reference 0.760V [Auto]
MCH/DRAM Reference 0.900V [Auto]

CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E) [Disabled]
CPU EIST Function [Disabled]
 

rbates

Distinguished
Mar 15, 2010
29
0
18,530
OK, I lied like a little girl. I was too chicken to set the CPU Host Frequency to 400. I set it at 365.

According to SpeedFan and RealTemp:
for 365 CPU Host Frequency (3.83 GHz = 365 x 10.5)
At Idle: Vcore1 1.36V and Temps: 38C and 37C
Prime95 Torture Test In-place large FFTs for 5 minutes
Vcore immediately dropped to 1.33V and temps seemed pretty stable at 52C and 48C
Stopped Prime95 and Vcore1 immediately rose to 1.36 with Idle Temps: 38C and 37C

Then I tried raising 5MHz to CPU Host Frequency of 370 ( 3.88 GHz)
Vcore1 at Idle was 1.41V (freaking out here) and Temps 38C and 37C
Kicked of the same Prime95 Torture test and Vcore dropped immediately to 1.38V (still freaking out here). Temps were 51C and 49C. But I stopped the test afte about 15 seconds given my internal motherboard speaker started buzzing almost immediately. Not sure why. In the bios under PC Health my CPU Warning Temp is set at [60C/140F] (I know; I'm a wimp.

Suggestions? I'm on a quest to OC this thing at 4GHz like everyone says you can. I appreciate your help, and you're probably getting sick of hearing that.
 

rbates

Distinguished
Mar 15, 2010
29
0
18,530


Not sure if I lost you Joshwaa as far as my last response with my bios settings. Prime95 actually locked up and wouldn't run at the 3.88GHz (370 setting).
 

Joshwaa

Distinguished
Jan 27, 2010
44
0
18,530

 

Joshwaa

Distinguished
Jan 27, 2010
44
0
18,530
Ok try those settings. See if that is stable then move up in 5MHZ increments till it locks-up or temps get too high.
 

rbates

Distinguished
Mar 15, 2010
29
0
18,530


Unfortunately, I think you missed a question in the thread preceding. I'm not sure what you mean by "lock" anything. I've "set" what you see above, but specifically after "setting" Vcore as described the Speed Fan program as well as CPU-Z shows Vcore to be higher (significantly) than what I've "set" in the bios. I have not been able to go above 3.83 GHz (365 MHz) with these settings. Prime95 crashed and my internal speaker went nuts as I stated previously (see my PC Health Thermal Warning statement in preceding thread). Any ideas. I hope I'm not being a pain as a result of my ignorance Obi-Wan.
 

Joshwaa

Distinguished
Jan 27, 2010
44
0
18,530



Look at the message a couple up I responded to with the arrows pointing to your setting in the BIOS that u listed. Also what BIOS verson on the MOBO are you running it looks diffrent than my GA-P45-UD3P.
 

rbates

Distinguished
Mar 15, 2010
29
0
18,530
Oops. Sorry I didn't know you could go back and edit the thread. I see your notes and will attempt to implement. I'll have to restart my computer to see the bios version. I'll probably not be able to respond for a few hours. Thanks!
 

Joshwaa

Distinguished
Jan 27, 2010
44
0
18,530



Your welcome I will check back tonight after my BMX race. Good Luck!
 

rbates

Distinguished
Mar 15, 2010
29
0
18,530



Hope your BMX race was fun!!

OK, here's my current situation and bios settings.
I can get Windows7 to boot up.

CPU-Z shows Core Voltage at 1.328V and drops a little when I kick off Prime95 FFT Torture Test.
Prime95 almost immediately stops working and or crashes.

What do I change?
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks you so much for your help!!!

Bios settings:

Robust Graphics Booster [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio [10 X]
Fine CPU Clock Ratio [+0.0]
CPU Frequency 3.80GHz ( 380x10)

*****Clock Chip Control********
CPU Host Clock Control [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz) [ 380]
PCI Express Frequency(MHz) [100]
C.I.A.2 [Disabled]

*******DRAM Performance Control ********
Performance Enhance [Standard]
(G)MCH Frequency Latch [333MHz]
System Memory Multiplier (SPC) [2.00B]
Memory Frequency(MHz) 800 760
DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD) [Auto]

******Mother Board Voltage Control ********
Load-Line Calibration [Disabled]
CPU Vcore 1.28750V [1.36250V]
CPU Termination 1.200V [Auto]
CPU PLL 1.500 [Auto]
CPU Reference 0.760V [Auto]

MCH Core 1.100V [1.200]
MCH Reference 0.760V [Auto]
MCH/DRAM Reference 0.900V [Auto]

CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E) [Disabled]
CPU EIST Function [Disabled]
 

Joshwaa

Distinguished
Jan 27, 2010
44
0
18,530




You can try to change your CPU PLL to 1.600

But be careful. You might just have a chip that isnt good for OC. Are you Stable at 360Mhz FSB?
 

rbates

Distinguished
Mar 15, 2010
29
0
18,530
I actually got it stable at 3.85 GHz, but now I'm having a hard time getting back to that ; - D I can't find specs anywhere for this chip that talk about the PLL Voltage range. 1.5 is what the default is in the bios. I want to say that I tweaked the PLL up to about 1.5 - 1.6 but no difference. They system would boot and I could get it to run 3DMark06, but it would crash when attempting to run Prime95.

Now it wouldn't shock me that others have been "lucky" to get a chip out of a production run that happened to OC to +4 GHz, and I've been "unlucky" to get a chip out of a production run that happened to "only" go up to 3.85 GHz. That's still almost a ful 1GHz faster than the stock speed. What do you want for free right? This is my first computer build and first attempt at overclocking, and with thanks to guys like you, this 51 year "old dog" has learned new tricks. Now I have the confidence to go out and buy an i7 920 or even the new Intel 6-core if I wanted to splurg and OC a chip like either of those over 4 GHz easy. Thank so much for the hand holding.

To put a smile on your face, you should do a search for the thread "3dMark06 Scores...Amazing..." in Tom's Hardware, and scroll down to the part of the thread with the guy's wild CPU cooling set up.

Have a great day!!!
 

tuffluck

Distinguished
Oct 2, 2009
312
0
18,810


that score seems a bit low to me. my e6750 @ 3.4 with a radeon 5770 does 14,265. i would think two 4850s would outperform a single 5770 easily. which means your cpu is still a bottleneck. keep pushing it!

i would not exceed the voltage recommendation, but it all comes down to temps. my vcore is just under 1.45 for 3.4ghz, and after 12 hours of p95 it hit a max of 65c, which is a little high. but for the most part it rarely hits that temp in everyday application, which is okay.

just for information's sake, 1 5770 with the best system does 17,xxx in 3dmark06, which means my cpu is even a bottleneck for my 5770. two 4850s with the best system otherwise does 23,xxx in 3dmark06 :ouch: just to give you an idea of how much of a bottleneck your cpu is. you could be running one 4850 (14,xxx) and be achieving the exact same results. don't worry, i could be in the same boat with my scores, although i bought my 5770 for dx11 and future crossfire capability when i upgrade again down the road.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-cards-charts-2009-high-quality-update-3/3DMark06-v1.1.0-3DMark-Score,1697.html
 

rbates

Distinguished
Mar 15, 2010
29
0
18,530


Don't know what you're talking about when you say one or two 4850s. That isn't my graphics card and I only have one graphics card. You have a difference CPU than I do also, so I'm not sure I could be going off of your Vcore number given my CPU max Vcore spec is 1.3625V if I remember right. I have a dual core CPU so I know that won't produce the same 3DMark06 score or CPU score as any quad core. Again, I'm a newbie so I'm probably not talking about the right things the right way. Mia Culpa.
 

tuffluck

Distinguished
Oct 2, 2009
312
0
18,810


i was quoting cappster, not you; therefore i was talking to cappster, not you :D
 

rbates

Distinguished
Mar 15, 2010
29
0
18,530


Very sorry. I was reacting to an email notification and thought that meant you had replied to me. Still learning how to use this blog tool. My apologies.