OC help

[SXRguyinMA]

Alright I'm seeing what my P5E Deluxe and Q6600 G0 can do. I'm sitting @ 3.2 stable right now. I've got the latest BIOS from ASUS. I tried flashing to the Rampage Formula BIOS but it won't read my flash drive correctly and won't work properly.

I'm not used to the BIOS on this ASUS board. Can anyone give me some tips? I'm trying to see if I can hit 4, but for right now I'm having trouble hitting 3.6 stable :think:

[Trace]

Bump the vCore.
The dirty method:

Set the vCore as high as you feel safe doing (it's 65nm, so ~1.45 should be safe)
Then, bump FSB by ~10mhz each time until it becomes unstable
Back FSB off 1-2Mhz until stability is reached. Then start playing with the RAM.

During all this overclocking make sure to keep the RAM out of the equation. Set it to low timings and lowest speed possible.

Clean Method:
Bump FSB until unstable.
Bump vCore until stable again.
Bump FSB until unstable.
Bump vCore until stable again.
Etc, etc, etc.

Remember to keep RAM out of the equation, like above.
DISCLAIMER!:I am not responsible for any damage occurring from following this guide.

[SXRguyinMA]

thanks trace I'll have to give it a shot :up:

[Trace]

Also, Disable all Speed Spectrum for FSB and PCI.
Don't touch PCI Freq more then 1-2MHz, this can REALLY mess up your system.
Clock skew of 800pps (i think it's pps) could help. PLL voltage could help, but is also a REALLY quick way to fry a chip.

[Spawn-Inc]

is the overclock for a 24/7 setup or just as high as you can get it for some suicide runs?

[Trace]

Suicide, 1.55 is acceptable

[SXRguyinMA]

right now I just want to see if I can hit 4 and be somewhat stable just for bragging rights (and to join the 4ghz club), but I know the Q6600 won't ever be 24/7 stable there. I'll probably keep it @ 3.2 (where I am now) for a 24.7, maybe 3.4 or 3.6, we'll see

[SXRguyinMA]

alright so anything over 380FSB with 9x wouldn't POST. I dropped it to 8x with 400FSB @1.5v, sitting @ 3.2 right now (was @ 3.2 before but had 9x with 360FSB)

I've gotta go to work, so I'll mess with it more tonight

[Trace]

I'm pretty confident that I have posted at 4Ghz on that combo. Just never able to boot at that speed. What PSU?

Also, have you dropped RAM speeds? That could be preventing the 400 FSB

[SXRguyinMA]

Ultra X3 800-watt PSU (http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/ultra_x3_800watt_modular/)

I dropped the ram, did the FS strap to 333mhz to drop the speed to ~701mhz (DDR2-800 RAM), I left the timings @ auto, then did a run @ 4-4-4-12 and neither worked well until I dropped the multi

:EDIT: I've also got 6GB RAM, 2x1GB and 2x2GB. I've read a few places that that much ram might hinder an OC. should I just stick either the 4GB set or 2GB set in alone and try again?

[Trace]

Yes. Use one stick per channel.

[SXRguyinMA]

alright as far as I can get it stable is 3.6. 450FSB x8 @1.55 (BIOS) 1.52 actual

I even went to 451FSB and got the BSOD lol

Ram is at DDR2-901 (as low as it can go, FSB:NB strap to 333)

So Trace should I put 1 1GB stick in channel 1 and the other in channel 2?

[SXRguyinMA]

linky :D
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1354912

[Trace]

Yes, or you can use the 2GB sticks. Drop the FSB and increase multiplier. Intel chips seem to like odd multis

[SXRguyinMA]

alright I'm gonna mess with the ram swapping tomorrow after work. I just spent a couple hours playin MW2 and had OCCT open n my 2nd monitor, temps hit 49C once on cores 1 and 2, and 42C on 3 and 4