Slight overclocking Core 2 Duo E6600

[wizzkidpro]

I have just purchased an "intermediate" all-purpose desktop PC with the following configurations:

CPU Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40Ghz/1066/4Mb SL9ZL (05/15/07)
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus cooler
ASUS P5G41T-M-LX mobo
8Gb G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3 RAM PC10666 1333Mhz

Although I haven't mentioned the remaining hardware as I don't think will "interfere" when overclocking, I want to know why on earth I cannot hardly overclock at all, with this configuration.

I have mounted the system with the intention to slightly overclock to compensate overall performance, I need to overclock to at least 2,80Ghz, but cannot go beyond 2.5Ghz.

The RAM has enough headroom as I am currently operating at 1066Mhz and NOT 1333Mhz, so I wouldn't think that this is causing the system to crash, neither the enormous Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus cooler, along side with a semi-professional computer case., Where ventilation concerns, I have that covered.

Is this secific high-end Conroe processor are bad overclockers? - Is the Intel G41 chipset not "specifically" designed for overclocking, although compatible?

Any suggestions?


WiZZkiD

 

[Lutfij]

are you sure you have the mobo stated with the proper model number?

if so, the mobo should've come with a software - AIsuite. In the cpu level up tab you can tell it to oc the processor - actually the cpu level up does everything for you. since your new to OC'ing (I assume) i think thas where you should start.

If you want more info look here

don't blame the cpu - its the user, mobo or ram thas to blame. FYI the thread i posted uses an E6500.

BTW - welcome to the forums newcomer!

I almost forgot!!! you'll definitely need mosfets coolers to help dissipate the heat from the mosfets located near the cpu socket. You can pick up a pack from enzotech i think :/

 

[wizzkidpro]

are you sure you have the mobo stated with the proper model number?

if so, the mobo should've come with a software - AIsuite. In the cpu level up tab you can tell it to oc the processor - actually the cpu level up does everything for you. since your new to OC'ing (I assume) i think thas where you should start.

If you want more info look here

don't blame the cpu - its the user, mobo or ram thas to blame. FYI the thread i posted uses an E6500.

BTW - welcome to the forums newcomer!

I almost forgot!!! you'll definitely need mosfets coolers to help dissipate the heat from the mosfets located near the cpu socket. You can pick up a pack from enzotech i think :/

Yep, it THE P5G41T-M LX 4 phase mobo (CPU socket surrounded by 100% Japanese solid-state capacitors with overclocking capabilities, but didn't come with such software you have mentioned.

Perhaps I can download it of ASUS's website or else where, baring in mind of course that it is compatible with this specific mobo.

As I have mentioned in my message, my ThermalTake semi-tower case has sufficient cooling both with 120mm air intakes and 120mm exhaust, and nothing "extra" installed, so as there is no additional build up of heat within the case.

I'm not new to overclocking, I have practiced it in the past with success on other machines based on P4 and Pentium D, generally on Gigabyte & ABit mobos, although I don't consider myself as a pro., Never needed to overclock at all, neither on my servers and workstations.

I will read the thread regards the same issue although based on a E6500 CPU, and see how it goes.

I'll look in to the mosfets coolers at EnzoTech.

Thanks.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

my e6600 got to 2.7ghz without having to bump up voltage. Your issue is probalby with the voltage. get something like HWmonitor to measure the actual voltage. my voltage can be set to 1.3 in the BIOS but the actual voltage is well below that. Also dont overclock with software, always do it in the BIOS.

 

[wizzkidpro]

my e6600 got to 2.7ghz without having to bump up voltage. Your issue is probalby with the voltage. get something like HWmonitor to measure the actual voltage. my voltage can be set to 1.3 in the BIOS but the actual voltage is well below that. Also dont overclock with software, always do it in the BIOS.

If I was to overclock for what ever reason, I would do so through BIOS. Two days ago I incremented the CPU's voltage to +50mv, after setting the FSB to at least 300Mhz (266 stock), without any logical explanation, the computer crashed. I also set the SpeedStep technology to [disabled], as I would think would be most appropiate when overclocking, still the same symtoms :-(

Through the ASUS turbo key software that came with the bundle, the CPU boosts up to a mere 2.52Ghz, and that's it!

Am I up against a Core 2 Duo Conroe Processor with stepping 6 Rev. B2 (according to CPU-Z) with bad overclocking capabilities?

And yes, I do tend to use the CPUID Hardware monitor utility, especially to monitor the temps when the system is under stress.

I would like to know if anyone out there has experimented the same problems with this model of mobo and processor, as I don't understand why my PC is behaving like this.

Thanks to all of you, for your suggestions.

 

[Lutfij]

^ +1 to oc'ing in the bios - the link i posted should help you through it. FYI - i double checked the software's available to the G41 mobo , doesn't have the AI suite cpu level ... i have 2 asus mobo's and they use it...thus why i thought you could also be able to use cpu level up.

Come to think of it - you could also track down the stepping version of your cpu...as i know for a fact that that determines the amount of turbo level up you can go. Some batch specific steppings were notorious for being duds in Oc'ing. One example was the E0 steepings for the Q9550's. Thought you should know

 

[iam2thecrowe]

i have e6600 stepping 6 rev B2 and im at 3.2ghz with 1.28v(according to cpuz although its set to 1.3v in BIOS). Any e6600 should be able to get to 3ghz at least.

 

[wizzkidpro]

Thats precisely the CPU I have, and am aware that it's capable of breaking the 3Ghz barrier, but some possible hardware is interfering, or perhaps a possible parameter in the BIOS in relation to the CPU's features will have to be disabled, I am trying to figure it out.

BTW, have you observed in your mobos BIOS, in relation to the CPU's multiplier, that you have something like "locked" or "unlocked" in that the ratio can only be configured between x6 and x9, i.e., the multiplier is "locked" to a maximum of x9?

With an astonishing clock speed of 3,20Ghz from a 2,40Ghz CPU, I would think that your multiplier is around the x11 mark with FSB speeds beyond 1.333Mhz, is that so?

Curiosity, what particular Core 2 Duo mobo are you using?

 

[iam2thecrowe]

my multiplier has not been changed. and why would you ? you want the multiplier as high as possible and these multipliers are locked to a maximum, but can only be put lower. my fsb is around 360mhz (360 is the base clock and its quad pumped to 1440mhz) Im using an Asus P5N-e SLI motherboard which uses the nvidia 650i chipset. There seem to be a lot of threads with people and g41 chipsets unable to overclock much, i think its a limitation of that chipset.

 

[4745454b]

my multiplier has not been changed. and why would you ?

Because the E6600 has a 9 multiplier. 266 * 9 = 2400(ish). When you set your FSB to 400 like you should, that means your CPU is now 3.6GHz. Not every E6600 can reach this. If however you drop it down to 8, then when you set the FSB to 400 you have 3.2GHz, which is a lot easier on the chip. The OP is running DDR3 however so that changes some things.

If everything checks out in the bios I would think the issue would be the G41 chipset. It's not known for its OCing abilities.

 

[wizzkidpro]

my multiplier has not been changed. and why would you ? you want the multiplier as high as possible and these multipliers are locked to a maximum, but can only be put lower. my fsb is around 360mhz (360 is the base clock and its quad pumped to 1440mhz) Im using an Asus P5N-e SLI motherboard which uses the nvidia 650i chipset. There seem to be a lot of threads with people and g41 chipsets unable to overclock much, i think its a limitation of that chipset.

Your probably right, the G41 chipset is to blame, I am not as much disapointed, as I am pretty happy for the time being with the overall performance of the ASUS P5G41T-M LX mobo, it is, THE first time ever using this particular chipset.

I've had better overclocking experiences with the 875P chipset on my Gigabyte mobo on my other system. Very soon, once I have finished my i7 based multimedia platform for heavier multimedia and calculation tasks, based on a P55 chipset and 16+2 phase power, I will have more headroom for overclocking, as well as a much stable and overall clean power for my system & components.

Thanks again for your suggestions.

 

[MrBig55]

You don't have to push voltages to overclock that processor. As example the computer on which I'm writing those lines is a e6300 (stepping 2 revision L2) on a Gigabyte GA-965p-DS3 rev 3.3 motherboard.

default clocks:
cpu -> 1.86GHz
fsb -> 266MHz
voltage -> 1.325V (I use 1.00V at all times, being 100% stable)
ram voltage -> 1.9V (I put it at 1.8V at default clock)
other voltages -> default

Max overclock on air cooling:
cpu -> 3.26GHz
fsb -> 466MHz
voltage -> 1.3V (less than stock voltage but still 100% stable and it stays cool)
ram voltage -> 1.9V
other voltages -> default

So you don't need to raise any voltages at all to get a successful overclock on those chips. With mine I'm using less than default voltage to achieve it's maximum overclock...

 

[cadder]

I would suggest leaving the multiplier at 9. Set the FSB to the speed you want, for instance if you want 2.7GHz then set the FSB to 300MHz. Now set your ram multiplier to the lowest possible number (is that 3:1 for DDR3?) and your ram should be running at 900MHz. If you get that to work then set your FSB up a little bit.

If you were shooting for 3.0GHz, then your FSB would be at 333 and your ram would be running at 1000MHz.

The motherboard would probably increase the CPU voltage for you. If not then you can do it yourself.

I don't know about your motherboard but usually with overclocking that type of chip we would set the PCI bus to run at an even 100MHz.

 

[jsc]

The G41 chipset is an economy chipset. You are unlikely to exceed about 350 - 360 MHz on the FSB freq.That means that the upper limit of your cores peed is around 3.2 GHz.

 

[wizzkidpro]

The G41 chipset is an economy chipset. You are unlikely to exceed about 350 - 360 MHz on the FSB freq.That means that the upper limit of your cores peed is around 3.2 GHz.

..Sufficient for me.

I only require an overclock from 2.4 to 2.8 (when needed), as my overall system is more than compensated both for my professional use and for (every now and then), gaming (when I have the time)., But still having problems going beyond 2.5 with this particular mobo.

I don't have any intention of replacing a brand new retailed CPU, there's got to be something to get around this problem.

Grrr.


Thanks again for your suggestions.

 

[4745454b]

there's got to be something to get around this problem.

There might be. But you've given us zero info on how your OCing so we have zero idea on what to change.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

you may need to increase vcore voltage. i needed to do this to get past 2.7ghz stable.