[4D(Fordy(Ford) Ollie]

Oh, ok.

I'll just randomly fiddle around with Photoshop or something

Thanks again, I'll let you know how it goes.

[4D(Fordy(Ford) Ollie]

Ok, partly posting so that if I'm doing something wrong, you guys can point me straight, and partly so that if it goes badly wrong I've got a bit of a log of what went wrong

So, I am now running with the CPU FSB at 270 (up from 266)

Resulting in a speed of 2.44GHz

So really it's not much change, so I think that its a coincidence or completely unrelated that the text on the screen was a bit delayed a few minutes ago (its stopped doing it now)

Because .04GHz shouldn't make much odds really.

I opened the following programs and used all randomly and heavily:
Xilisoft DVD ripper ultimate (2 instances both ripping from DVD to HDD)
DivX Converter (Converting to HD 1080p format)
WLM (Clicked random emails, downloaded attatchments, sent a few tests)
Messenger (talked to several people)
Mozilla
Updated several programs
Ran an installer

PC did not crash

But than that was a very small OC, it started off at around 70/80% load with that going which was bit surprising, but it was still starting up I suppose, and then sank down to more like 30/40%

It's now at 3% with just this webpage and MSN, a few other programs and some downloads.

I'm now going to reboot and step up to 280MHz.


Also something I noiced is that the multiplier, is kind of semi-locked. It says I can select any number between 6 and 9 (9 is default as Carbon said)

And I remember reading that if you select lower, it can be better because you can push the FSB higher?

Anyway, I won't worry about that until I reach 3.15GHz (350MHz) or I "hit the wall" - whichever is first.

Actually thinking about it.. do you think 3.15 is safe with a stock cooler?

CPU currently 33 C, sounds lowish to me really, what's a safe max temp for the Q6600?

[4D(Fordy(Ford) Ollie]

Ok, it seems like a good proccessor to OC, I can go further and further and it's having very little affect on temps.

However my problem is this:
The Manual options for DRAM Frequency change, according to what you've set the CPU FSB at, obviously.

But there's no way I can get both to be at 333MHz like we talked about earlier - however at 333 I do get the option for 1066MHz on RAM - which is what it's meant to be.

So should I do that or does it not really matter what the RAM frequency is and I can just set it to whatever with the CPU as high as it'll go?

[4D(Fordy(Ford) Ollie]

Ok, so here's my settings at the moment, can I have some advice as to what I should set on the RAM particularly..

CPU Frequency: 350MHz
Multiplier: 9
FSB Strap to NB: AUTO
DRAM Frequency: AUTO (RAM rated at 1066, closest available are 1053 and 933)
DRAM Timings: AUTO

So that gives me a clock @ 3.15GHz - which I'm very pleased with

But I still think I might go higher - 95% Load and temps are in low 50's

I've read that the Q6600 can run 24/7 at 70 C happily - only decreasing lifetime to 10years apparently, that's obviously longer than I'll be using it, so I think I may just keep pushing it.

But should I set the RAM first?

Or get CPU going as high as poss and then sort RAM out, trouble is with that I'm worried that I'll pus the RAM too far just by changing the CPU settings..

[Carbon]

It's possible that the RAM clock rated there is the doubled data rate - so it's actually running at 533mhz right now, and 933 would make it 466mhz. Still, it's odd that there's no synchronization option. Sure there isn't a 'linked' underneath Auto and Manual.

In any case, jacking up the FSB won't hurt your temps too bad anyway, I'd keep pushing it. The RAM won't matter as it's going to stay at that frequency until you push it farther than its rated speed right now. If you push it down to 933 = 466mhz, you'd then have a max of 466mhz * 9 = 4.1ghz, so I wouldn't worry about the RAM in this case :) Essentially by it being so high right now, you are already 'overclocking' it and know that it is stable at whatever FSB speed you want, so it should actually give you a little relief because it won't be a factor in instability.

And yeah, basically if you set a lower multi you can get out of a FSB hole situation - for example, let's say your board pooped out at 350-400mhz, and while you might be able to get a 400mhz * 9 = 3.6ghz overclock, it's kind of difficult to know what's causing the problem if it crashes at 401mhz (if the hole is bigger than you thought or if it's unstable or whatever). In that case, you could drop to a multi of 8 and then set the FSB to 450mhz and know that you're out of it. Obviously this requires some good RAM but since you've got that, it's definitely an option.

[4D(Fordy(Ford) Ollie]

Ok, that explains a lot Thanks.

Thing is when i say the RAM's rated at 1066, I mean that's what the pack said, in the BIOS it's just left as AUTO at the moment - Can I presume that if it's on Auto, it's set at it's Factory OC setting of 1066?

That sounds great though, I'll just keep going

[Carbon]

Dunno, there should be a readout. On my motherboard, if set to Auto, at the top will be like "Current VRAM:". Do make sure there's not a "Linked" option though. It would be very weird if there wasn't, same weird deal if there's no way to tell what Auto really is.

[4D(Fordy(Ford) Ollie]

I can't see any "Linked" or anything saying what the Auto actually is.

Just a little update:

Multiplier: 8 (Being an even number it's easier to work with I've found, no other reason)
FSB Frequency: 400MHz
CPU Clock = 3.2GHz

DRAM Frequency: Auto
DRAM Timings: Auto (5-5-5-15 - it does tell me that one )



I tried the following, but got a BSOD, I think I did something dodgy with the RAM by accident:

Multi: 8
FSB: 425
Clock = 3.4GHz

DRAM Freq: 1066MHz

[Carbon]

Yeah, just keep the memory at Auto I guess. Keep pushing it if you want, most people can get 3.2 to 3.6 on a Q6600.

[4D(Fordy(Ford) Ollie]

I seem to "hit the wall" at 3.4GHz

Not bad though, that's a whole GHz higher than I bought it at.

I'm running now at 9 x 370MHz

(3.33GHz)

As I said, I can get to 3.4, but can't really find a tidy way of doing it, so 3.33's fine - for now at least