Overclocking Help (Q6600 G0)

[GBear]

Hey all,

Yes, I've heard the Q6600 G0 is a great processor to be overclocking with, but I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right. I've referred to guides, but I think I need more more information and your experience in overclocking.

Thanks.

 

[malalla]

not much eperience here but keep the voltage to your cpu balanced or it will melt or start a fire

 

[JunK]

so what have you done so far, or what are you going to try etc etc. what is it you need help with

 

[GBear]

I'm going to overclock to 3.0GHz because I've heard it's pretty easy to get there with the Q6600. I'm not too sure about core voltages though. Like how you would know when it's at a stable voltage or not. To test if it's a stable voltage, do I just try it, stress test, and see if my computer reboots or something?

 

[-Jv-]

Just change the FSB (Front Side Bus) to a higher setting and leave the vCore to auto for now.

You can test the stability with Prime95, run that for AT LEAST 4 hours.

 

[xenophek]

leave the vCore to auto for now.

*very horrified expression*

You're a trusting person. I always set the vCore manually, even on a stock clock. I guess I'm paranoid like that. Don't wanna fry a $200 processor.

Anyway, basic overclocking is lower the CPU multiplier to the next whole number (9,10,11,12, etc) and slowly up the FSB in 5-10 MHz increments. Raise the FSB, boot and test stability. Run Prime95 for twenty minutes (that should give you a rough idea, anyway) and if everything checks out, then restart and continue the overclock. Monitor the temperatures with CoreTemp. It's a good program.

If the overclock doesn't pass the test, then try upping the voltage. It'll be something like vCore. Some motherboards call it different things, but you'll figure it out. Once you get to a clock you like, and it seems to be stable, then run Prime95 for at least 8 hours. I personally run the stress test for quite a bit longer than that, but I like 100% stable overclocks that will run Folding@Home nonstop for weeks at a time.

That should get you started. Mind you, it's a VERY simplified explanation, so if you have any questions, add me to Steam Friends. I have a button in my sig.

-Xen

 

[GBear]

Okay, well, I've overclocked my FSB to 1334MHz and clock speed to 3.01 GHz. I'm not too sure what to do with RAM though. First, I had it linked with my CPU FSB. It would boot up until I hit FSB around 1310MHz. I tried everything but it wouldn't boot. So I dropped the RAM back down to 1066MHz, and it's been running fine since.

I've just stress tested my system with Prime95 for 6 hours so far and one of the workers failed after about 5 hours. What should I do? I was reading the stress.txt that comes with Prime95 and it could be several reasons. So what I did was turn off PCIE Down Spread Spectrum and SmartFan. I also bumped the CPU voltage up by 0.00625V.

Also, I'm still wondering what I'm supposed to do with the other RAM timings. Some articles say to keep them on auto, but I remember some people on the forums telling me to change them to certain values. I'm running Mushkin 996612 HP PC2 8500 DDR2 1066 CL5-5-5-15 2x1GB. And what should I be doing with FSB Voltage? I have it set at 1.25V right now. Not sure if I should lower or increase it.

Right now, I have the CPU running at 1.30625V. Not sure if I need to bump it up anymore. I'll continue to stress test for now until I get some feedback on what I should do.

Thanks again guys.

 

[xenophek]

Your CPU voltage will be fine up to 1.4 volts. You may need to give it a little more juice. So try upping the CPU voltage one more notch, and see if it passes the test. If the test lasts LONGER before it fails, then add a little more voltage.

RAM timings can make a difference in the stability of an overclock, but I'm really not sure how to describe that process to you...

 

[-Jv-]

*very horrified expression*

You're a trusting person. I always set the vCore manually, even on a stock clock. I guess I'm paranoid like that. Don't wanna fry a $200 processor.

Anyway, basic overclocking is lower the CPU multiplier to the next whole number (9,10,11,12, etc) and slowly up the FSB in 5-10 MHz increments. Raise the FSB, boot and test stability. Run Prime95 for twenty minutes (that should give you a rough idea, anyway) and if everything checks out, then restart and continue the overclock. Monitor the temperatures with CoreTemp. It's a good program.

If the overclock doesn't pass the test, then try upping the voltage. It'll be something like vCore. Some motherboards call it different things, but you'll figure it out. Once you get to a clock you like, and it seems to be stable, then run Prime95 for at least 8 hours. I personally run the stress test for quite a bit longer than that, but I like 100% stable overclocks that will run Folding@Home nonstop for weeks at a time.

That should get you started. Mind you, it's a VERY simplified explanation, so if you have any questions, add me to Steam Friends. I have a button in my sig.

-Xen

Well, I didn't got the time to explain everything about vCore then I was on my iPod...

 

[xenophek]

Maybe someday I'll be able to afford an iPod...

 

[FreakingHell]

Maybe someday I'll be able to afford an iPod...

You can have my old video for $15.

Nobody said it works.:biggrin: