Q6600 overclock details.

acruxksa · Posted: Thu, 03 May 2007 12:09:46 Post Subject: Q6600 overclock details.

Decided to post this in a separate thread to avoid straying too far off topic in the F@H thread. My Q6600 overclock info is as follows:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 (v1.0)
Processor: Q6600 Intel quad core.
HSF: Zalman cnps9700

Ram: 2x1Gb of Patriot LowLatency DDR2-667 and 2x1Gb of Buffalo Firestix DDR2-800 memory timings are 5-5-5-14 (had to relax them this far because the two different types of modules wouldn't run very well together otherwise) Plan to look into 2-2Gb modules in the near future.

Disabled the usuals in Bios (C1E,EIST,USB Legacy Storage)
Set FSB to 333Mhz, Multiplier to 9, Memory mulitplier to 2.5 (runs memory at 830Mhz). MCH to +.1, FSB to +.05, PCI-E to +.05, Cpu to 1.3625v and vDimm to +.35 (gives me 2.15v). I basically raised all voltages slightly because I'm betting that a quad core cpu and 4 sticks of ram are really sucking the juice.

This allows a very stable and cool overclock to 3.0Ghz on my new quad. I suspect my memory is not really running at 2.15v, but somewhere around 2.1v because with 4 sticks it is probably seeing a pretty good drop in voltage. Also, my cpu is set to 1.3625v in the bios but is realy only getting slightly over 1.3v because of the common vdroop problem. This processor runs loaded in the 48c-52c range, so I'm pretty happy and don't intend to try pushing it any farther for awhile.

qwwwizx · Rated PG Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 23

I am new (or you can call it back after a long break,) to overclocking and I am happy to read about your experience on the Q6600.

1) I am about to follow your bios tuning, but before I do, I want to ask: Is it rock stable or just very stable?

2) I posted my information below. Are there anything that I definitly should do, to get a lot performance just by edit some details in the voltage section?

Without using voltage correction, I am doing 2636 MHz, with 9 x 293,10 MHz. FSB running 1172,39 MHz, PCI-Express bus running at 2800 MHz. CPU running rock stable in the 27c-33c range and the motherboard at 49c.

Values:
Vcore: 1.30 V, +3.3: 3.22 V, +5.0: 5.00 V, +12.0: 11.58 V, 1.2VHT: 1.23 V, SB CORE: 1.50 V, CPU VTT: 1.23 V, DDR2 TERM: 1.07 V, NB CORE: 1.23 V, MEMORY: 2.13 V

My Setup:
Intel Q6600
ASUS Striker Extreme
2 x 1 GB Corsair XMS2 Xtreme PC6400 - CL4
eVGA 8800GTX
NorthQ 4775-500S
Zalman CNPS9700LED (direct connected - no management)
250 GB SEAGATE BARRACUDA 7200.10 -16 MB-SATA II

acruxksa · Posted: Mon, 28 May 2007 21:35:03 Post Subject:

npultra · Rated PG Joined: 01 Jun 2007 Posts: 3

hi,
i got a new q6600 and have problems running it @ 9x333

board: gigybyte p35-dq6
ram: 4x1024mb G.E.I.L. DDR800 4-4-4-12
hsf: scythe infinity rev.b with 2x 120mm fan

when i set the fsb to 333, it only runs with 332, setting it to 333 is not possible. so i use 334 and its total prime95 stable. but sometimes i get bluescreens and 3dmark03 crashes in the first gametest. when i set it to 330, 3dmark runs perfectly. i use your voltage settings, what can i do make it run 3dmark03-stable @ 333?
the temps are ok, idle i get 47Â° on all four cores, and after 24h of seti@home around 68Â°.

greetz
npultra

acruxksa · Posted: Sat, 02 Jun 2007 04:20:29 Post Subject:

I'm not sure what changes gigabyte put into the p35 mobo's, so it may be something as simple as waiting for a bios update. A lot of times this is the case, especially when you see odd behavior like you mention. ie. works at 330, but not 333. It could be any number of things, perhaps the bios has background settings at 333 that are different from the settings at 330 and your system doesn't like them.

In the mean time there are a couple things you might want to look at. **please note that increasing voltages isn't %100 safe** If you up them in moderation you should be ok provided you have good cooling and a psu that can handle it, but there are no guarantee's

Sometimes with all four slots filled you need to relax your ram timings regardless of how good the ram is. This may include changing from 1T to 2T which my DQ6 did automatically, but the P35's may be different. Also, with 4 dimms, it puts quite a load on the mobo and frequently requires a little more juice to get things running smoothly. I wouldn't hesitate to go to +.1 on both mch and fsb and maybe +.15 on mch, but not much more than that. I wouldn't go any higher than +.1 on the fsb. You need to pay close attention to chipset cooling when you bump up these voltages though. Also, I wouldn't go higher than 2.2v for the dimm voltage.

Chipset and cpu cooling are very important. 68c is a bit higher than what I would consider safe. I don't believe it is deadly to your cpu in the near term, but I wouldn't recommend running it at that temp for extended periods. In general you should shoot for loaded temps of 60c or less, even if it means lowering vcore and slowing the cpu down. I don't really have a recommended temp for the chipset, but you should insure that the chipset coolers have good contact with the chipset and get good airflow across their heatsinks.

What video card and psu are you using? OS? gpu driver version? If it's prime stable at 334fsb, it may be a video card/pci-e issue/driver issue.

npultra · Rated PG Joined: 01 Jun 2007 Posts: 3

hi,
thanks for your extensive answer.
os is win xp sp2 build 2600
psu is Zalman ZM600-HP 600w
videocard is asus 8800gtx
oh, i have just seen theres a new driver out. i will test this driver if 3dmark03 works now.
its strange, 3dmark05 and 3dmark06 work with now problems, only 3dmark03 crashes. and rarely i get bluescreens while playing counterstrike source. but its primestable and seti@home stable.
and i cant get the cpu cooler, i tried many hsfs and different tcps. now i found coollaboratory liquid pro and scythe ninja plus rev. b working best. and chipset is under full load around 45Â°, so i think mobo cooling is enough. perhaps its really a driver issue?

oh, and when you set the fsb to 333mhz, the post and cpu-z shows you 333? i find this very strange, that setting it to 333 not causing it running at 333...

qwwwizx · Rated PG Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 23

Ok, thanks

I just tryed to overclock the system a little more - trying to get the memory and system clock up. Memory is running at 293 MHz. When I go to 300 MHz, the system crashes!

Based on the numbers mentioned before, what can be wrong. Can it be, that I need to adjust some voltage or something before clock the memory further?

acruxksa · Posted: Sat, 02 Jun 2007 14:36:31 Post Subject:

qwwwizx · Rated PG Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 23

Ok - it worked. I just needed to make a change about linked or unlinked system clocks in the bios. It is unlinked now and it works fine.

I adjusted it to CPU (9x333,36) 3.000 Mhz, FSB: 1333,43, PCI-E: 2.800 MHz.

Vcore: 1.39V, +3.3: 3.22V, +5.0: 5.00V, +12.0: 11.65V, SB CORE: 1.50V, CPU VTT: 1.34V, DDR2 TERM: 1.01V, NB Core: 1.33V, Memory: 2.02V.

Idle:
CPU: 34C
MB: 49C

Futuremark 3dmark 2006: 12.559 (gfx @ default clocks)

Before I continue tuning I will configure my bios to alarm when the CPU or Mobo temp. is critical. How much temp can this q6600 handle before I should care about it?

acruxksa · Posted: Sun, 03 Jun 2007 17:21:23 Post Subject:

Glad to see you made it Grin

I would shoot for loaded temps below 60c. I don't think you can hurt them with temps in the mid to high 60's if it's only for a short period, but I wouldn't keep it there for too long. An idle of 34 looks pretty good though. What are you seeing for loaded temps?