# Overclocking options disabled



## Couly (Jul 21, 2008)

Hi I bought a brand new Gigabyte GA-Q35M-S2, Q35 mobo. The cpu frequency is disabled and even when I do ctrl F1 I still can't overclock. Is it something to do with this new Intel AMT ? or power saving ? I really need to overclock my quad, because I have a GTX280 and not getting the most out of it. Thanks for any help.


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## Couly (Jul 21, 2008)

Hi There


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

Post what Quad CPU # is.


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## Couly (Jul 21, 2008)

hi my quad is Q6600. I think it's the mobo


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

Q6600 FSB (MHz) 1066 your probably not going to OC'd enough that you will notice, Quad w/ FSB (MHz) 1333's are OC'ers.. 

Post installed ram PC2-4200, PC2-5300, PC2-6400?


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## lazareth1 (Jan 10, 2005)

Actually, the Q6600 was famous for it's overclocking capabilities due to the B3 stepping before the yorkfield core came out. Some ppl got it to 3.7Ghz on air cooling and more on watercooling. 

I suspect that it's something to do with the BIOS. Double check the mobo's manual again.


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

Did those some ppl that posted such OC' speeds post time it took render the cpu unuseable? 

OC'ing requires a mobo that supports voltage bumps without damaging the mobo, qual, PSU, extra HSF & or other cooling means, ram that can achieve FSB.. by the time you spend the extra $$$ on those componets you can buy a faster cpu that you don't require OC'ing !


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The P35 board and the Q6600 are known good Overclockers, however the Q35 is not an board you can overclock I believe it has to do with the onboard video chips.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

most any board that has onboard video is not an overclocking board / but instead they are budget boards or office stable boards


read your motherboard manual ....... if there are any overclocking settings they will be listed there

I never found the Q6600 to be any wizard at overclocking ????? I was darn happy to get one stable and orthos stable 2 hours at 3.2 ghz they will go higher / but not stable in my experience ......... just being able to boot into windows is a FAR cry from stable overclock


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

IMHO I doubt your Quad cpu is using full potential, w / GTX280 GPU card, the GPU card is processing most the graphic output, the weak link in this pc would be 32bit OS limiting the amount of ram you can use.

Download core temp, you can install on your task bar check the Quad processor load usage.

http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/


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## lazareth1 (Jan 10, 2005)

Well the Q6600 was a huge step forward for overclocking due to the fact it was the first CPU to use the Intel B3 stepping. A lot of enthusiasts still want theses old kentsfield CPUs because you can up the multiplier to reach higher speeds unlike the yorkfield CPU. Hence why even though they are an older core, they are still in high demand. 

Google 'Q6600 overclocking B3' and you can see what I'm ranting on about :smile:


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

What use is OC'ing the cpu if it isn't using 100% load set on stock clock speed. B3 stepping core runs hotter than C0 stepping cpu..

Most programs can't use 100% on dual cores thus there is no sinse in OC'ing the Quad.


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## lazareth1 (Jan 10, 2005)

I take it you are talking about multi threaded programs? yeah I agree but you're still gonna see a preformance boost. Why? because all the cores are overclocked so even if a program uses 1 core total, then it's gonna run faster as all cores at clocked higher than stock speed. Nothing to do with the number of cores you have and multi threading. :smile:


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

it only helps to "add" more cpu speed "if" you can max at your cpu at stock speeds ......


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## lazareth1 (Jan 10, 2005)

linderman said:


> it only helps to "add" more cpu speed "if" you can max at your cpu at stock speeds ......


A CPU is never using 100% a lot of the time. Even in highest demanding games. it jus 'peaks' at 100% and probably sit at 40-50%. And yes overclocking will improve its gaming performance. even sitting at these levels. 

So if he does have a GTX280 he would definetly benifit from OCing the CPU. If he was using the computer for general websurfing etc, then no he should just leave it stock but that's not the case here.


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## Couly (Jul 21, 2008)

I used to get my Q6600 to 3.Ghz but now I can't do it. I'm not shelling out hundreds of euro for a cpu that I already had! (so to speak).


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

my brother's stock E8400 based computer during intense multi player scenes never exceeds more than 75% cpu usuage and never hits 100% even for a split second, I surely dont see how overclocking can possibly increase performance


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

The processor in gaming OC'ing isn't one bit of help the GTX280 GPU card does the most work.. the GPU has to use a certain amount of cpu usage not enough to make OC'ing worth risking frying the cpu... your limited by the amount of ram you can install using 32 bit OS ... thus the PC's memory cannot keep up with the gpu card or cpu.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

hell for that matter ......... the only time I have ever been able to max the E8400 is during a really insane autocad rendering task ..... even then the E8400 hits 100% for about two seconds and drops down to 70% ...... and so on back and forth .... but the memory used never exceeds 1.5gigs


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## lazareth1 (Jan 10, 2005)

It increases performance mostly for CPU intensive tasks, especially games. Maybe not by much but maybe enough to crank up a few more settings to make the game look a little better will keeping a playable frame rate.


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

Playable frame rate is through the Graphic card ... you can OC' 50ghz on the cpu is not going to make a difference.


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## lazareth1 (Jan 10, 2005)

Some games are more CPU intensive than others. If the CPU can't keep up then it's a bottleneck. Agreed that GPU makes the most performance difference but both components are deciding factors and CPU does make a difference so would 50ghz :smile: 

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/188723-28-important-games


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

More on Graphics Card Components
There are several components on a typical graphics card: 

Graphics Processor - The graphics processor is the brains of the card, and is typically one of three configurations: 

Graphics Co-processor: A card with this type of processor can handle all of the graphics chores without any assistance from the computer's CPU. Graphics co-processors are typically found on high-end video cards. 

Graphics Accelerator: In this configuration, the chip on the graphics card renders graphics based on commands from the computer's CPU. This is the most common configuration used today. 

Framebuffer: This chip simply controls the memory on the card and sends information to the digital-to-analog converter (DAC) (see below). It does no processing of the image data and is rarely used anymore. 

Memory - The type of RAM used on graphics cards varies widely, but the most popular types use a dual-ported configuration. Dual-ported cards can write to one section of memory while it is reading from another section, decreasing the time it takes to refresh an image. 

Graphics BIOS - Graphics cards have a small ROM chip containing basic information that tells the other components of the card how to function in relation to each other. The BIOS also performs diagnostic tests on the card's memory and input/output (I/O) to ensure that everything is functioning correctly. 

Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) - The DAC on a graphics card is commonly known as a RAMDAC because it takes the data it converts directly from the card's memory. RAMDAC speed greatly affects the image you see on the monitor. This is because the refresh rate of the image depends on how quickly the analog information gets to the monitor. 

Display Connector - Graphics cards use standard connectors. Most cards use the 15-pin connector that was introduced with Video Graphics Array (VGA) (see next page to learn about VGA). 

Computer (Bus) Connector - This is usually Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP). This port enables the video card to directly access system memory. Direct memory access helps to make the peak bandwidth four-times higher than the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus adapter card slots. This allows the central processor to do other tasks while the graphics chip on the video card accesses system memory. 

http://members.tripod.com/pc_tutor1/graphic_card.htm

Being his Nivida GTX280 Graphic card is top notch, the GPU card fall under this type GPU.

Graphics Co-processor: A card with this type of processor can handle all of the graphics chores without any assistance from the computer's CPU. Graphics co-processors are typically found on high-end video cards.


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## lazareth1 (Jan 10, 2005)

Yes it handles all GRAPHICS chores. Not CPU chores which include AI and numberic calculations within games. Oblivion was CPU intensive which made CPUs the bottleneck of the systems available at the time.

But let me get this straight, are you saying games don't use the CPU at all? so how do you explain linderman's bro having 40% load on his CPU whilst gaming?


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nvidia_system_tools_6.02.html

try this program


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

lazareth1 said:


> Yes it handles all GRAPHICS chores. Not CPU chores which include AI and numberic calculations within games. Oblivion was CPU intensive which made CPUs the bottleneck of the systems available at the time.


Then you do admit his GPU does the chores :laugh:

AI & numberic calculations I'm positive his Quad CPU can handle that task without OC'ing the CPU! Bottleneck on some games are usually not PC GPU or CPU related rather Operating System & graphic drivers !!


> But let me get this straight, are you saying games don't use the CPU at all? so how do you explain linderman's bro having 40% load on his CPU whilst gaming?


Where did I post games don't use CPU??? :laugh: Of course you have to have a CPU or your computer wouldn't work...


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## lazareth1 (Jan 10, 2005)

I said GRAPHICS chores. Read again. :laugh:When you say his quad core can handle those calculations, do you relise how intensive these are in a game? especially the physics.

check the bench's out
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6147127/p-7.html

Doesn't make a difference? :laugh:

Admit that nowadays the core 2 CPUs could probably handle this better but Im sure CPUs make a difference and maybe enough for more fps which in turn you could use to up the details a little.


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## lazareth1 (Jan 10, 2005)

Can't edit for some reason :sad: but here's another link. 

http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp?s=2&c=7&t=12461


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

lazareth1 said:


> I said GRAPHICS chores. Read again. :laugh:When you say his quad core can handle those calculations, do you relise how intensive these are in a game? especially the physics.
> 
> check the bench's out



check these bench's out, core 2 conroe.. plays Oblivion without OC'ing the cpu :laugh:

http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/geforce_gtx_280/index.shtml

Dual or Quad Core

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000942.html


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## lazareth1 (Jan 10, 2005)

Ok how do you explain the 3dmarks06 scores hiking up after an OC then?


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

lazareth1 said:


> Ok how do you explain the 3dmarks06 scores hiking up after an OC then?


Sorry the link I'd posted did not use OC'ing !!!:laugh:


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## Couly (Jul 21, 2008)

er, so anyway, my mobo doesn't overclock, it's going back.


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

Couly said:


> er, so anyway, my mobo doesn't overclock, it's going back.



Your mobo is OC' able. requires PC2 5400 or PC2 6400ram & a processor w/ unlocked multiplier.. as posted your not going OC that PC enough you will notice because that are no programs that can fully use the stock CPU clock.


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## Couly (Jul 21, 2008)

I got an official email from Gigabyte: 

Dear Sir, 

Thank you for supporting GIGABYTE products and contacting GBT Tech Support. First of all, we would like to apologize for our late response. As to the problem you mentioned, according to the limitation of hardware design, we are sorry to inform you that the motherboard's you have does not allow the user to adjust the CPU Frequency manually in the BIOS program. We are sorry if there is any inconvenience.


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

As I'd posted real world you do not need to OC a Quad... now to OC'ing that mobo.. open bios can you switch auto detect cpu to manual X's multiplier settings?

you can OC' ram if you have PC2 5400.. manually insert dram FSB from 266mhz bump it in small increments manual imput 278 = 2.5ghz cpu speed.


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## Couly (Jul 21, 2008)

I can change the multiplier but it's already at 9. Also the cpu frquency is disabled which is what i'm interested in.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

motherboard with onboard video dont overclock ! they dont have the settings to tweak ?

on board video = budget board how in hades could they get gamers to buy enthusiast boards for higher $$$$$ if the budget onboard video boards had overclockign options ??????

its the Gigabyte DS3's that are keeping the board competitive !! the DS3's do overclock for a modest price ......... if not for this series of boards ......... the overclocking boards would be at least $60.00 or more expensive !


the REAL problem with the Q6600 is you only use two cores AT best / and those two cores are only 2.4ghz !

now if you had the E8400 you would be using the same two cores , but at a potential of 3.0ghz 

but still .................... this is ALL useless ........ UNLESS you are using ALL of your first core ........ even if it only spikes to 100% during gaming for a secodn or two ...... thats not cool

you want a REAL world test ........... encode a DVD video ............ watch your CPU meter on core #1


...................... IMHO games are not ready to use the GTX280 yet ........ that's more the rub than is the speed of the Q6600 !!

I'll bet you would see better performance with a 9800 GTX plus or ATI 4850 or 4870 for sure ................


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

Couly said:


> I can change the multiplier but it's already at 9. Also the cpu frquency is disabled which is what i'm interested in.



Suggest you do not try this with out heavy duty CPU cooler,

Change Multiplier to 10
CUP frequency just shows what speed the cpu is running.

Changing mult. X10 cpu should bumped to 2.66ghz.


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

GTX280 whips ATI 4750, 


http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=567&card2=564


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

Your mobo suports 1333/1066/800 MHz FSB cpus.

1333 mhz cpu will OC' better than 1066 cpu.

I'd agree with linderman you can swap cpu's E8500 is over 3.0ghz stock speed.

E8500 INTEL CORE 2 DUO DESKTOP PROCESSOR E8500 3.16GHZ 1333MHZ 6MB PROCESS: 45 NM


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

OMGmissinglink said:


> GTX280 whips ATI 4750,
> 
> 
> http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=567&card2=564







*not when you compare cost & performance together* :4-thatsba


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## OMGmissinglink (Sep 24, 2006)

Both hi end cards are abit overkill not factoring price into equasion. 

Nvidia doesn't seem very concerned price wise though I'd suspect prices will drop..


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## Skarfaze (Jun 1, 2009)

I also wanted to made overclock with q6600 by this MB and i managed to do it upgrading the BIOS version with this *.bin file: 

http://rapidshare.com/files/225805482/Gigabyte_GA-Q35M-S2_F7A.bin

You also can found this link at this forum:

http://www.biosmods.com/showthread.php?tid=33
This people spend their time in BIOS modding. That's great!!

After upgrade BIOS version with Gigabyte @BIOS utility press Ctlr+F1 at BIOS main menu to unlock all hidden options.


I hope have helped you.
Sorry, my english writing... i know it is horrible but i'm spanish.:wave:
Bye. Regards.


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