help, Q6600 can't go above 2.51ghz with Asus P5N-E SLI

As my system is almost three years old I figured it's time to OC. I can't OC pass 2.51ghz that's stable by CPU FBS and unlinked. I've tried tried many tweaks like with unlink, different ratio, voltage, disabled things i don't need and all speed spectrum, and etc without success. dono if I'm missing any details or what. I would like to see my CPU at 2.8 or higher. If you have any tips, experience with P5N-E, or anything so that I can really OC my system that would be appreciated.

Here is what's in my Thermaltake Soprano with front and rear 120mm fan:
P5N-E SLI (BIOS 1404) and Q6600 with Cooler Master HTX3-G1 Hyper TX3
2x2GB Corsair XMS2 and 2X1GB generic667mhz RAM
BFG GeForce 260 GTX OC MAXCORE 55 896MB
X-Fi XtremeGamer
2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB Strip RAID
1x Maxtor something scratch disk
1x LG BD burner
Ultra LSP750 750-Watt
Nvidia 3D vision kit with Viewsonic VX2265wm 120hz monitor and a Samsung 2232BWplus. Yes, the 3D vision is awesome : )

with that board i had most of my luck with linked mode. im using a different cpu to you but i had to pump in 1.563v NB voltage to get to 1333 fsb and the 1.7ish to do 1600 in linked mode. what speed is the xms2 memory?

Unless you use any programs that require more than 4Gb I would dump the generic RAM for a start. Might take some pressure off your NB and allows for a higher O/C.

Drspanky, my XMS2 are 800mhz. What do you mean by 1.7ish to do 1600 in linked mode?

Jmdoxpm. I want at least 6GB ram so I can turn window's pagefile off so it will not use HDD as RAM.

I will try higher V on NB. btw, for what are the safe v settings for cpu, vcore, NB, etc? I don't want to fry my mobo. I don't live near computer stores with good selection of mobos and if something breaks it'd take at least few days to get here. thanks

i've run my q6600 on my other mobo at i think... been a long time since i changed it errrr 1.5 but droops to 1.45 i think. with my q6600 i only required about 1.3v for 3.2ghz but so much more for 3.6ghz

i have run the nb at 1.7volts its a little higher in bios for a long time but i hardly use the computer any more, but replaced the TIM on the NB heatsink and added a fan.

wow I'm just not having luck OC my system. Can anyone with the same or similar MOBO provide a step by step instructions on OCing my system?

Thanks

I still have that motherboard in another system, and I too had to run the NB voltage at 1.748v to get higher FSBs.

You can set the "vCore offset" to "+100mV" and lower your vcore setting by that much (0.1v) to help reduce vdroop a little. What the vcore offset does is just adds 0.1v to your vcore, so for example, to get 1.4v vcore you will need to set your vcore to 1.3v in BIOS when the offset is set to +100mV.

Make sure your FSB:RAM ratio is set to "Sync" mode for a 1:1 ratio. The "1:1" ratio setting in the BIOS isn't actually 1:1...This is b/c the BIOS thinks a 1:1 ratio is setting the FSB and RAM frequency to the same value (it doesn't take QDR and DDR into account).

MattNo5ss said:

I still have that motherboard in another system, and I too had to run the NB voltage at 1.748v to get higher FSBs.

You can set the "vCore offset" to "+100mV" and lower your vcore setting by that much (0.1v) to help reduce vdroop a little. What the vcore offset does is just adds 0.1v to your vcore, so for example, to get 1.4v vcore you will need to set your vcore to 1.3v in BIOS when the offset is set to +100mV.

Make sure your FSB:RAM ratio is set to "Sync" mode for a 1:1 ratio. The "1:1" ratio setting in the BIOS isn't actually 1:1...This is b/c the BIOS thinks a 1:1 ratio is setting the FSB and RAM frequency to the same value (it doesn't take QDR and DDR into account).

Click to expand...

I'll give your input a try. BTW, just want to be sure about the "Sync" mode for a 1:1 ratio. Are you saying if I set to sync and have it 1:1 ratio my ram will not run at the speed of the FBS right? For instance, if my FBS is set at 1200 my ram will not run at 1200 is that correct? thanks

Give this sticky a try: http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=515316

camper said:

I'll give your input a try. BTW, just want to be sure about the "Sync" mode for a 1:1 ratio. Are you saying if I set to sync and have it 1:1 ratio my ram will not run at the speed of the FBS right? For instance, if my FBS is set at 1200 my ram will not run at 1200 is that correct? thanks

Click to expand...

That's right. Either use "Sync" mode or set the RAM value to half of the FSB value.

My system will post at 2.8 in sync mode but will crash during windows start up. After numerous failed attempts to OC my current to go above 2.54, which I'd be happy with 2.8, I have to agree that my P5N-E suck at OC quads. Either that or my CPU barely passed specifications as it was at the bottom of the bell curve. I may give it one more try by taking out the 2x1GB 667mhz ram.

I appreciate all the people who provided OC information for my mobo and if you have anymore that would be great.

I didn't notice you had 667MHz RAM in there...so don't try any FSB over 333MHz (1333 BIOS setting), unless you wanna OC the RAM...

What are the manufacturer specs on both sets of RAM? You'll need to find a good "middle ground" which both sets can run at to get them to play nice with each other.

Any chance we can talk you into CPU-z screenshots? Mainly the CPU and memory tabs will be of the most help.

yea here are some screen shots of CPUZ of my system.



http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2783/4284888286_b4b1480f62_o.jpg

OK, now we have a little bit more to work with. You have a B3 stepping on that quad, which won't clock quite as well as a G0, but you should be able to get more out of it. It may just take a bit of a bump in voltage. The "generic" 2x1GB RAM set you have is actually Micron, which is normally good, but the DDR2-667 is going to hold you back, and I think that is where your problems are coming from.

What kind of programs are you running that you need 6GB? The reason I ask, is taking that set out, and letting Windows manage the Pagefile is going to be perfectly fine in your situation, and may even be better. You don't gain anything by disabling the pagefile. You will likely not notice a difference running 4GB as opposed to the 6GB you are currently running. Since your 2x2GB set is Corsair XMS2, they will take to the overclocking well. In most cases, overclocking with 4 sticks is a lot harder, and usually doesn't work out that well compared to 2 sticks. Once you take that extra set out, if you are willing to do so, try running that CPU at 333x9. You may need a bit of a bump in your voltage, but you should atleast be able to get that far, which will be running at approximately 3.0. It is that set of DDR2-667 that is holding you back, and is likely stressing the NB, since you are running 4 sticks, which is why you are having a hard time getting a stable OC.

Looking at your Mem Tab, you should be able to run all of your RAM at 5-5-5-18-22 @ 1.8v. Since your using 4 sticks, you'll need to set your NB to at least 1.563v or even 1.748v like I did...P5N-E needs NB volts to get decent clocks in my experiences.

Also, your FSB:RAM ratio is 11:13, which isn't the norm and could cause stability issues on that board. Again, I recommend "Sync" mode or setting your RAM to half the FSB for 1:1.