Q6600/GA P35-DS3R overclock question

Hi all,

I just put together a new system.
Q6600 GO stepping
Gigabyte P35-DS3R
2x1GB Ballistix DDR21066
800Watt PSU
5 SATA HHD
I use this system as an HTPC. I record alot of Mpeg-2 shows and convert them to H.264 video files, which take a lot of CPU horsepower.

Could someone with a similiar setup help me O/C this rig correctly for video encoding?

I am not looking for a high O/C at all. Maybe 2.8-3.0?
If I can get my encodes done 15-20% faster....That would be great.

I'm running like 335x9 which can be done at stock volts.
Make sure that all voltages are set manually.
Lock the PCIE bus to 100mhz
Up ram to +2 or +4 (+4 should be 2.2v, which those sticks are rated at) Though I work just fine at 1.8 (Motherboard default)
Boot and go. Be sure to run prime95 (newest version) for a couple hours at least to verify stability.

With the stock cooler, you may have some heat issues. These Q6600's are warm buggers. I never used the stock cooler so I can't really tell you. I use a u120ex.

I've been running at 3.2 for a bit and it works, but I have a bad CPU mount which causes my temps to get dangerous anything above that. I'm going H2O when I get off my rearend and Gir-R-Done.


It should be VERY simple on this board and CPU. It took me a total of 5 minutes and that was mostly double checking.

Thanx for the reply vagabond.

I should have mentioned that I did not install the stock heatsink. I went with ZALMAN CNPS9500 instead.

Also when you mentioned that the Q6600 are "warm buggers" did you mean all or just the B3 stepping?
I specifically ordered the GO stepping because it has a lower rating for wattage and heat.

Finally I will try your suggestions this weekend and then run some encodes and see how much performance boost I get.
Do you do encodes with your O/Ced rig?
If so, how much improvement did you notice?

Also wondering if my memory timings for these memory chips are out of whack?


Again, Thanx for your help...

The timings for your Ballistix should be 5-5-5-15
Make sure you set the RAM voltage to 2.2v

Thanx U1tra,

My Timings are good now. I had to search to find the hidden settings (CTRL+F1 on main bios screen) for my memory.

My temps seem good...CPU at 36c and Mainboard at 41c.
I tried to start at default fsb(270x9), then 285x9, then 300x9.
300 failed to boot so I backed off to 285x9.
Surely I can get at least 300x9 at stock voltage, right?

Ideally, I'd like to be at around 333x9 (3Ghz).
Wishful thinking with my hardware?

OK, I ran some encodes and even at 285x9 the system became unstable and rebooted PC...

I fail to understand how I can't even get a 5% increase where others are enjoying a 25% increase even with stock heatsink...

when it rebooted was your running at a 1:2 divider and 1.8v? Give it +4 then try again.

to OCF!

You probably will have to up the cpu voltage a tad my friend. Also, give the northbridge a little more voltage as well. I'm assuming you used thermal paste when mounting the Heantsink. Make sure your RAM is running at a 1:1 ratio. Technically, 333 x 9 = 2997 Mhz Why don't you give 334 x 9 a go for a "true" 3Ghz of 3006 Mhz? lol I know its only 9Mhz, but hey, I guess I'm just anal lol. What brand of PSU do you have? Do you have any case fans moving cool air over the HSF?

when it rebooted was your running at a 1:2 divider and 1.8v? Give it +4 then try again.

Click to expand...

I was running Ram voltage at +4 (2.2) with CPU-Z showing FSBram 1:2, Command Rate at 2T and 5-5-5-15. when the reboot happened the voltage went back to 1.8 and timings went to 5-7-7-24, FSBram 1:2 at Command Rate stayed at 2T

SuperDave1685 said:

to OCF!

You probably will have to up the cpu voltage a tad my friend. Also, give the northbridge a little more voltage as well. I'm assuming you used thermal paste when mounting the Heantsink. Make sure your RAM is running at a 1:1 ratio. Technically, 333 x 9 = 2997 Mhz Why don't you give 334 x 9 a go for a "true" 3Ghz of 3006 Mhz? lol I know its only 9Mhz, but hey, I guess I'm just anal lol. What brand of PSU do you have? Do you have any case fans moving cool air over the HSF?

Click to expand...

I used Artic Silver 5 with the Heatsink, ran it hard all day and shut-off all night for the first full week.
Should I indeed try to get Ram at 1:1 ratio? Is that what Command Rate (2T) is referring to? I remember reading somewhere that Intel chipsets should run at 1:2?

How high should I go with the CPU Voltage to start? Right now CPU-Z shows 1.248...

If that reading is right, that is low. Give your vCore 2-3 steps.

I just got the ds3l which is very similar and a g0 q6600. I also agree that you should run 333x9 and make sure your fsb:dram is 1:1. I am also running stock timings, but I would not recommend upping the ddr2 voltage. Yes balistix will run as high as 2.2, but that is the threshold. Stick to stock ddr2 voltage until you have problems.

dvd_maniac said:

I was running Ram voltage at +4 (2.2) with CPU-Z showing FSBram 1:2, Command Rate at 2T and 5-5-5-15. when the reboot happened the voltage went back to 1.8 and timings went to 5-7-7-24, FSBram 1:2 at Command Rate stayed at 2T




I used Artic Silver 5 with the Heatsink, ran it hard all day and shut-off all night for the first full week.
Should I indeed try to get Ram at 1:1 ratio? Is that what Command Rate (2T) is referring to? I remember reading somewhere that Intel chipsets should run at 1:2?

How high should I go with the CPU Voltage to start? Right now CPU-Z shows 1.248...

Click to expand...

You'll need 1.27-1.28 for 3ghz.

When pushing a rig you need to make sure you know what you're pushing and how that component is handling the stress. This is done by eliminating parts as a cause.

Start by lowering your RAM to 1:1. This will allow the ram to run well under spec, so they shouldn't cause any troubles. Then go for CPU. You have a goal of 3ghz and that should be super easy. Up your cpu vcore to 1.27 and give it a run with prime for a bit. If no cores drop out, then you can either keep going or be happy there.

Once the CPU is where you like, then start with ram. (I really don't care to OC my ram too much, the benefits are small) Lower your CPU multi as low as it goes and start upping the ram in stages while running prime for a while after each notch.

At first you can make fairly large jumps of 25+mhz. Once you start hitting that wall you'll need to back off and up voltages a bit. The Ballistix at 2.2v stock, and shouldn't balk whatsoever. I run 335x9 and 1:1 and my ram is still at 1.8v. I've pushed 1100 on my Balli 800's @ 2.1 stable.

As for your question farther up, these are still quad cores. When you are running 4 3+ghz CPU cores at full throttle, they are still generating some serious heat. That 9500 HSF you have should handle 3ghz, but I wouldn't expect it to scale up from there much.

Quite frankly, I'm super happy with my OC. It does everything I need. I can hit 3.6, but I can't get it stable cuz I'm too affraid to put serious volts to it. There is far too much voltage increase required from 3.4 to 3.6 for me.