# Wierd?? Or what??



## michaelb15 (Jun 13, 2008)

Ok so ive had my computer for a while now, with no new parts in the last 12 months. Nothing has been changed. 

intel Q8200 cpu, default clock 2.33ghz, (default fsb = 333 x 7)
Asus P5K mobo
4gb ddr2 800
gts 450 gfx card
xfx 650w psu

I OC'd this machine basically the day I built it. I couldn't get a fsb much higher then about 375, no matter the combos of voltages I tried.. so ive kept it that.. Until now..

Also read a review about ocing the q8200, and they came to the same results that I did previously.. So its double wierd.. No I dont have the awsome Q8200S. just the Q8200.. (wish I had the S model tho  )

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclock-phenom-pentium,2366-12.html

So was going to overclock memory today, to see if I could pull more speed out of it (havn't tried it yet), and figured I'd make sure the fsb was max'd. Apperently It wasn't.. 

I increased it by 1, until I got to 380, once I got to 380, I was just in shock. I could never get it that high before.. Looking thru all the settings, I could find nothing that was different from the last attempts..

Anyway, I start raising it by 5.. and it keeps going! I am now at 405, and still no issues..

Mind = Blown.

Does intel have things in their CPU's that will allow them to be OC'd further after a given amount of time??

I just cant understand how I can OC so far now. Its pretty cool .. But makes me wonder how. as I said. I haven't changed a single thing since the last attempt I made at OCing.

lol wouldn't be suprized I go to turn it on tommorow, i its like 'screw you back to 375 with ya!' haha

Any ideas what could cause this to happen?


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

ambient temps is probably the answer.

Ambient temps can affect overclocking even if the ambient temp in your computer room is different by 1 or 2 degrees c this can affect your overclock by quite a lot.

I always overclock and am quite experienced in it and this is what I would say is the answer.

My old system which was an e8400 core 2 duo I had that at a 1GHz overclock but in the spring time and autumn I could get 4.3 out of it.

My current i2500K is overclocked to 4.5 but in spring and autumn I can get 4.8 out of it.

All CPUs are different so people with the exact same setup can get different results with the exact same settings this is also usually down to ambient temps.

A lot of things can affect ambient temps from eating your tea whilst on the computer to sweat coming from your body.

A lot of pro overclockers make their computer room a constant temp all year round by installing fans on the ceiling and air-con but that can be expensive.


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## michaelb15 (Jun 13, 2008)

Yea I have no idea... I OC'd in the winter before, (last winter I tried after I installed OC'ing a new PSU, suspecting it might have been a power supply issue)

Thats what makes it so mystifing. I always thought it was the CPU ever since I saw that article I linked. I just hope it sticks. Iv'e about doubled my overclock, and am stable so far at 415 fsb clock. (2.91ghz) I wonder if it will make it to 3... . Its like a hole new PC the way its overclocking. Its why it seems so wierd.. Ive had this processor for over 3 years now, and never once has it managed to boot with a fsb speed of over 375. So awesomely weird


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

have you stress tested your overclock. run prime95 for 6 hours or IBT on very high for 20 passes whilst monitoring the temps you dont want to go over 60 degrees c.

A cpu can seem stable when you have everything set but if you dont stress test you will never know for sure.


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## michaelb15 (Jun 13, 2008)

The q8200 runs really hot. even just stock clock, it will push upper 60's in the core. (yea I kno. Its smokin.. CPU fan wont even spin up until cores hit ~65.) Max spec is 71.4 degrees at CPU case sensor (ARK | Intel® Coreâ„¢2 Quad Processor Q8200 (4M Cache, 2.33 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB)), and from what understand, Tcase will always be ~5 degrees lower then core temps, meaning core temps are in spec up to 75ish. not that Id let it get that hot. I don't let the cores get hotter then about 68. (or about 65 Tcase temp)

I dont have prime95, although I do stress test using AIDA64. It optionally stresses memory, GPU's, and disks, which I like. And also the built in monitoring software  Not sure if one is actually better then the other, so will def have to try prime95.. been a while since I've used that one.


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## michaelb15 (Jun 13, 2008)

actually speaking of fan speeds vs temp; is there any way to directly control the fan CPU speed other then by attaching a physical dial in between fan and a 12v lead?

I checked bios, but there is only passive settings, and 'off' by passive I mean 2 settings.. 1 called 'max cool' and the other called 'max quiet'.. I obviously have been using max cool..

But it would be nice to adjust like I do on my gfx card.. Id rather wear out a fan then wear out a chip 

oh yea I do have the 'good' stock 775 cooler, (the one that came with the ol' pentium D's, with the copper core) Ive been reading that the ones that came with the q8000 series just suck.. so that prolly helps a bit 


Thanks


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

yeah on those chips tcase was around 5-10 lower than max temp the issue with the core 2 duos is nobody could really says as their was a big difference in some chips on the same die.

When motherboards used auto overclocking features most boards would overclock say my e8400 3GHZ to 3.6 or 3.7 where as most people could get 3.8 or 9 manually. I could get 4GHZ easy and 4.2 at a push.

AIDA64 is a decent stress prog.

The only way for fan speed control is to get a control which has a built in pwm port.

I never really bother with overclocking cards although I have done it a few times MSI afterburner is a good program to use.


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## michaelb15 (Jun 13, 2008)

Seems I've hit a bit of a road block; I have still yet to do further testing with voltages; but I definitely seem to be having stability issues in games. The issue doesn't show up either in CPU stressing, or Memtests, but (multiple) games will just freeze out of no where after about 15 mins, and I have ctrl-alt-del to force close the game.

So.. yea.. More testing needed  Although temps are OK. Tcase temp has never exceeded 63 degrees C, and cores are a bit hotter, being in between 65-71. Ive pulled the voltage up to 1.3, which is really about the max I wanna go with it. If that doesn't cure the stability issue, Im just gonna start clocking it down.. 

will Memtest86 pick up memory OC hiccups? The first major thing that happened was a BSOD with memory error, so I figured the memory is hit the roof, at over 1000mhz, so being content with that, I pulled fsb back a bit, as I am really quite happy with clocks now. Im at 2.89ghz, for a 24% OC. And Ram is at 994mhz (497MHz-DDR)

acording to the AIDA64 benchmark, its peforming just a tad under the Core2 extreme QX9650, and actually like 20% better then the i5-650. Not sure how accurate those are but still pretty cool I think  (still sad to see things like core i7-4770 HT have double the peformance of my OC)

So yea I'll test it a bit more and see how it goes. Hopefully luck will win out and it will stabilize!

ps- I'm still shocked that its even running. Before, I could not get anything more then 375mhz fsb. It wouldn't even POST BIOS. I would have to restart and CPR. And now its almost stable at almost double the OC. So wierrrd.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

if your getting freezing then the FSB increase is most likely affecting your RAM.

Set your RAM so it cannot move. Set the RAM timings (first 5, leave the rest) set the RAM voltage to whatever it is cant remember what it is now probably 1.2v.

yes memtest will see the memory hiccups.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

see if you can get any tips from my guide http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f273/how-to-overclock-a-core-2-duo-or-quad-637592.html


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## michaelb15 (Jun 13, 2008)

greenbrucelee said:


> if your getting freezing then the FSB increase is most likely affecting your RAM.
> 
> Set your RAM so it cannot move. Set the RAM timings (first 5, leave the rest) set the RAM voltage to whatever it is cant remember what it is now probably 1.2v.
> 
> yes memtest will see the memory hiccups.


yea im pretty sure your right. I just tried starting at 420mhz fsb, with the RAM at its lowest multiple. (forget what the multiples are, but my motherboard doesn't support tuning RAM frequencies that well. there are 6 different multiples to use, and they will set the freq. of the RAM)

I just didn't want to drop the RAM from 990mhz back down to 815mhz. But it seems to be paying off, as when I started the stress test, it didn't BSOD. It's still chugging away now, with nice temps of 61 degrees. 

Now that its been narrowed to memory, I guess I'll continue ramping up the CPU and see what it can do.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

yeah the best way to do it is keep the memory as close to its original speed as possible without going over it original speed that will get you to your max fsb.

overclocking RAM past its original speed really doesn't do anything unless your into multi threaded applications like high end video editing and CAD. It doesn't help in gaming.

When it comes to newer CPUs and RAM you do both individually so you can achieve good results with both. With FSB based systems the FSB affects both this is why its important to set the RAM to be fixed when it comes to its timings and voltage.


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## michaelb15 (Jun 13, 2008)

Well it seems I've hit the CPU roof at around 3ghz.. Pretty sweet for something I never thought I would see past 2.65ghz!!

Thanks for the tip with the memory that completely fix'd that issue. 

Im just really wierded out. First of all; just because I've never been able to get any results NEAR this before. That, and with all the conflicting reports on the interwebs, makes it really hard to know what is true, and what isn't. 

I've raised my room temputure up a few degrees, to see if that had any bearing on my PC stability, and, it seems pretty rock solid at the clock I have it at now, regardless of room temp.. (FSB of 335mhz, core clock of a tiny bit over 3GHz.) So im still curious to what could have caused the 'unlocking' of overclocking this beast.

Anyway thanks for all the tips n tricks.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

it is strange how overclocking can go well one time and then crap another time its a question that can't really be answered I always put it down to ambient temps although I wouldn't be suprised if silicone can be affected by atmospheric conditions and stuff like that.

When I used to do overclocking competitions we used to use liquid nitrogen. Once got a cpu (think it was a pentium 3 to 6GHz but that was -220 degrees c or something like that once the nitrogen wore off the cpu was dead. we found that at -215 degrees c we could get 6GHz and the cpu didn't die straight away once the nitrogen wore off and it returned to normal tems it would take several minutes which was really weird since it was only a 5 degree difference.


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