# CPU overclocking advice



## G_Mach234 (Mar 3, 2007)

Hey all,
haven't posted in a while.

anyways i recently finished my first build.
from memory me thinks:
P5Q-E
Q6600
GTX 280
Corsair 750 watt 
2 X 2GB OCZ Platinum RAM
Thermaltake Fan for CPU (cant think of the name; check soon)
Antec 900 case :tongue:

i started overclocking with only a couple of online guides to go by so beginning with the CPU i started raising my FSB keeping the q6600 multiplier at 9 which is as high as it can go, and if memory serves i've reached 380Mhz (so 3.4Ghz at the moment)

for stability and stress testing i use Hyper Pi initially then leave Prime95 running and watch the temperatures, the CPU pushes as far as 59C during this (20-25 minutes id say)

couple things:
any opinions on anything im doing?

am i right in thinking that i read somewhere its unusual to reach 3.0 + without a voltage change? (so does that mean that an auto setting is doing it for me? and is that safe?)

if stability is alright then the second factor that would stop me from continuing to overclock is temp, and at almost 60C this would mean 3.4Ghz is pretty much my limit? (im very aware that 3.4 is a satisfying number considering i only had the faintest intention of overclocking during my build, so im not complaining )

replies appreciated :wave::grin:


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

3.4ghz is as far as I would push it 


are you testing with prime 95 for quads ?

60C is an acceptable load temp

auto settings are thought to be "safe" however thats not always true ....... auto sometimes can take some settings into dangerous limits ......... the CPU termination and CPU PLL are such examples.............. those should have their limits set

what does cpu-z say for your cpu voltage during stress testing ?

you should stress test for atleast one hour minimum ............ I prefer two hours ......but


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

I would cruise thru a bunch of threads like this one until you find all the parameters which need to be set

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/t297488.html


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

I would be looking to set those temps manually in the bios

cpu volts
ram volts

nb volts
sb volts

cpu term

cpu pll

etc etc etc



dont get sucked into the fellas which speak of above 3.4 ......its dooable but you wont see any benefit beyond what you have ................ the rest is just feeding ego's and that erodes in a hurry when the smell of burning silicon starts permeating the room :4-thatsba


there are lof of posters who throw high numbers around ........... ask to see where they posted their two hour stress test at those ratings and they will get very defensive in a hurry !


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

have you discovered what to set your voltages at yet ? if not, I will gladly help you dig thru the info ?


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## G_Mach234 (Mar 3, 2007)

Sort of,

i reset the lot and began overclocking the CPU again except starting off with a set CPU voltage of 1.2. as apposed to auto.
so far I've reached 3.4Ghz again having to increase the voltage steadily. I'm currently at 1.35 which I'm testing out now :1angel:

I read up on CPU pll and decided to set it at 1.5 (above 1.2 under 1.8 as gathered from random forum posts)

the other value I'm researching is fsb termination voltage... as far as i can tell few know the advantages to setting it correctly so I'm inclined to keep it on auto :4-dontkno

I thought of RAM voltage, i think the default for my set is 2.2.

I'll check yet again since my memory is failing me but i don't think i could find a CPU termination setting in my BIOS.

i know north and south bridge voltages are there and I'm searching for posts about them now.

opinions? ray::tongue:


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

I will start looking also / will get back to you later tonite


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## G_Mach234 (Mar 3, 2007)

thankyou, the help and attention is greatly appreciated!

Unfortunately though im currently miles from my computer and will be until friday night although ill be able to check up here through the magic that is a neighbours wireless router, lack of wep key and mobile phone with wifi.
This is the future lol

Anyway, earlier today before my departure, with the voltages i set and my impatience i decided to put values in regarding my Rams frequency, i noticed some posts by yourself preaching 1:1 ratio between fsb and ram being a goal. So i set my cpu overclock to 425 fsb at x8 multi keeping 3.4ghz and set my ram to 801 mhz (from a selection) 
This was purely to pass the time and see how the system would cope, sure enough i got a 1:1 ratio with what id call a very moody stability with regards to booting (perfect boot or none at all)

Is this the correct way to ensure a 1:1 ratio (by fiddling with the fsb until its stable at mhz equal to half of what the ram will support?) and should a 1:1 ratio really be such a priority? 

Babbling a bit but anyway, thanks in advance (rhyme? Lol)


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

CPU Voltage: 1.4 or lower is fine as long as your temps aren't too bad. You should try 1.3 - 1.35v for now i'd say 
CPU GTL Voltage Reference (0/2): AUTO 
CPU GTL Voltage Reference (1/3): AUTO 
CPU PLL Voltage: 1.54 (do NOT leave AUTO, as that massively overvolts) 
FSB Termination Voltage: 1.24 (do NOT leave AUTO, as that massively overvolts) 
DRAM Voltage: 1.96 will be more than enough (vDIMM overvolts by ~ 0.08v, so for 2.1v you set 2.02v, etc.) 
NB Voltage: 1.2 - 1.3 (you'll need more for higher RAM speeds/FSB speeds; i'd go with 1.26v then lower it if stable) 
NB GTL Reference: AUTO 
SBridge Voltage: 1.1 
PCIE SATA Voltage: 1.5 

Load Line Calibration: Enabled 
CPU Spread Spectrum: Disabled 
PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled 
CPU Clock Skew : AUTO 
NB Clock Skew : AUTO


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

take your sweet time going thru this one .................. overclocking is not something you totally master in 2-3 days

http://wccftech.com/forum/overclock...guide-and-results-for-q6600-and-asus-p5q.html



as long as your system can run a 2 hour prime for quad core stress test without exceeding 65C .............. you are golden and nothing will get damaged .......


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

there is plenty of discussion and some disagreement on the 1:1 ram ratio ............ but you will find many more desire it than dont ........ if thats worth anything ?

I for one dont like dropping my cpu multipler .......... I prefer to use the highest multiplier I can with my cpu ........... the fellas that prefer the dropping of the multipler are the fellas chasing the really high FSB numbers ........ that can be a real can of confusion

3.4 "stable" should be no sweat with your CPU and your board


check in core temp and see what you cpu VID = 

also ....... which stepping does your cpu have ? (cpu-z will show that"


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

I kinda struggle my way thru Oc'ing with asus boards ............. I do FAR more Ocing personally on Gigabyte boards ......... the principles are the same but the settings descriptors of course are different


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