# Overclocking Problems



## malonn (May 28, 2006)

I've been trying to O/C my CPU. First let me start with what I have.

Core 2 Quad q9450
Asus Striker II Extreme latest BIOS (1301)
Crucial Ballistix PC 12800
(if you need the rest let me know - you can see in my sig, I guess)

My problem:
Whenever I O/C my CPU I get POST problems. Sometimes the rig will POST fine. Others I get an error and it automatically downclocks my CPU to like 1.2 GHz. I assume this is a safety thing. But no matter what I do, it always does that. I've relaxed my memory timings, increased voltage to the CPU (I'm only starting with a moderate O/C - from 2.6 to 2.8). I've tried using the motherboard's built-in O/Cing feature. Nothing works. Any help would be appreciated.


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## malonn (May 28, 2006)

I think I may have figured it out (knock on wood). My FSB wasn't linked to my memory. Time will tell if it's stable though.


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## DarknessS3 (Oct 26, 2008)

I wouldn't try overclocking a Q9450 with the stock Heatsink and fan, perhaps an aftermarket cooler will do the job?

Also check the BIOS temps for a while once you overclock, many computers downclock in order to cool the processor.


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## malonn (May 28, 2006)

I'm not using the stock cooler. It's aftermarket. Zalman something or other, I forget. CNPS [something]. The temps are good at my current O/C. Idles at 23-25°, 45-48° under full load.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

check that intelspeedstep and c1e are switched off in the BIOS, also the striker extremes do have problems with overclocking especially if your using a low quality psu.

what psu are you running?


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## malonn (May 28, 2006)

Both are disabled. My PSU is _definitely_ not low quality.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

looks like the stock cooler will be your problem then, you should only do about a 10% OC with stock cooling as any more than that then you will be over revving the fan and it will give you issues.


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## malonn (May 28, 2006)

I'm not using stock cooling. I'm using a Zalman CNPS (something - I forget the number).


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

sorry didn't see that before.

Are you sure you are changing fsb and not the m,ultiplier?

make sure your dram settings do not go above its rated speed.


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## malonn (May 28, 2006)

Yep. The multiplier is set at 8. Doesn't change. And I have plenty or headroom to O/C the memory. It's rated at 1333Mhz and is not at 1148MHz.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

up the vcore voltage to the nxt level and make sure tham ram is set at what the manufacturer states (don't leave it on auto).

Also manually enter the ram timmings i.e 5-5-5-15 or whatever yours is and make sure the PCIe frequency is set to 100 and not on auto.


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## malonn (May 28, 2006)

Well, I have the VCore set to auto. I'll have to research the RAM to follow your recommendation. I did manually enter the RAM timings, loosened them up a bit. I read somewhere that you need to relax the timings, not tighten them in order to O/C. My PCIe freq. is set to 100. With that stuff done, I have reached a (so far) stable, very mild O/C of 2866MHz. I tried bumping it up to 3000MHz, but it blue screened on Windows boot. When I did that, I manually set my VCore. I think it was too low, which is why I'm going with auto for now. I want it to run stable at 3GHz. All day, every day. That's my goal.

I'll look into the RAM specs according to Crucial.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

you will need to set the vcore yourself to keep it stable.

1.45 is the maximum vcore voltage you can set (do not go over this or you will damage it) start of at 1.18 and see what happens when you boot and then go up in increments until you find the one that works.

once you get it stable you must test with prime 95 for atleast 6+ hours whilst monitoring the temps with core temp or real temp.

remember that every time you increase the fsb by 60MHz you should stress test for atleast one hour whilst monitoring the temps

you should be aiming for a maximum temperature of 60 degrees c whilst the cpu is under full load whilst running the prime torture tests. If you go above this then you need to scale back. 72.2 degrees is your cpu shutdown level but you dont want to be anywhere near it.


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## malonn (May 28, 2006)

Well whenever I try to manually set the vcore, I set it at or under the auto setting. Then I bump my FSB a little. And either it won't POST, or it blue screens when Windows is loading. The highest I can set it is 2866MHz. Windows won't boot with anything beyond that.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

It could be that your at your limit but you should be able to set the vcore to anything and the FSB its finding the right mix which is the problem. You need to keep bumpring the fsb and vcore up a little at a time.


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## malonn (May 28, 2006)

I am starting to think that it's the motherboard. It just seems that for such a mild O/C my voltage is ridiculously high. Right now it's at 1.34. My FSB is 1443MHZ. But if I drop the voltage, it won't POST. Or Windows will blue screen.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I think you need to go back to the start. Set the BIOS back to default.

up the FSB by 10MHz save and see if it boots if it does go back and up it by 10 again.
once you have upped by 60MHz stress test for 1 hour with prime 95 whilst monitoring the temps with core temp using the full whack torture test.

If your temps do not go above 60 degrees c go back and up the FSB again by 10MHz save & boot if everything is ok do it again once you have upped by 60MHz stress test again.

when the system wont boot into windows this where you up the volatge I suggest upping it to the next level if it doesn't work up it again

make sure the ram speed does not go below the fsb of the board or past its rated speed, set the voltage on the ram to what the manufacturer states and input the ram timmings manually.

when you get to an overclock you are happy with then stress test for 7 hours.

never overclock to a high amount straight away or you could damage the cpu


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## malonn (May 28, 2006)

Yeah, that sounds like a sensible plan. I may do that this weekend.


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