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OCing a QX6700

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Dambuster

Registered
Joined
May 31, 2007
Hi, I was wondering whether someone knew about the voltage settings for the QX6700... If I wanted to go up to 3.33GHz (333 FSB) what voltage would be required... same thing if I wanted to get 3.73 GHz... Note that I have an asus P5W-DH Deluxe and a silent square pro CPU cooler plus an Antec 900 case, so cooling wise I don't have much to worry about hence my desire to go up to 3.73GHz. :D
 
Quad cores run hot!! 3.73 might be a little ambitious on air. I would start with
the default voltage and see how high you can go. Then slowy bump up the vcore and fsb all the while checking temps. Under load an overclocked qx6700 can hit
80C+ very quickly. I use the latest version of prime95 as it stresses all four cores more than any game or benchmark , but if its prime stable then its game stable.

oh and :welcome: to the forums!!
 
Thanks, I've already issues with 3.33GHz... I guess I need to change some voltages... Actually I'd be happy with the frequency you're getting! I see it's 1.44v... what's your FSB?
Thanks.
 
I am running 450Fsb X 8 for 3.6 ghz 24/7 , but I am on watercooling. On air I would shoot for around 3.2GHZ and get that stable, then work from there.
 
It's the P5K, 450 is very unlikely on P5W-DH. You'll need at least 1.5V to try for 3.7 and it's probably not gonna happen unless you have a very good QX.
 
yeah, with as hot as these get, I doubt you'd be able to get 3.7 out of air, mine is great at low volts [email protected], but needs tons more to get stable @3.8 on water, and the p5k doesn't have any issues with these at high fsb, mine boots and is fully bench stable up to 510 fsb :D
 
Tyranos said:
Interesting how you are getting 450 fsb out of it.

I can run my QX6700 at 490 fsb with 4x1gb my P5k . I am still tweaking.:)
 

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Hmm I'm gonna take a look at those P5k's! My qx6700 already does 3700 with less than stock voltage but I'm capped at a low fsb/mem speed.
 
Hi Dambuster

:welcome:

Welcome to the fora!

Remember, your chip is actually two E6700 on a single substrate. That is some real power dissipation going on there. That's 2X 65W TDP of the E6700, or 130W total! And that's only on stock Vcore at stock clocking!

Check it our using the http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9UL

1] That's 130W TDP stock!

2] Power scales linearly with clocking, so clock it at 3.7G and your looking at another ~40%...that's now at 172W.

3] Power scales with the square of voltage, so a moderate bump in Vcore to 1.5 adds another ~20%....now your at ~210W!

If that's not water territory, I don't know what is!

And there's no guarantee 1.5Vcore will get you 3.7G!

mgoode gave you very good advice: Try to get stable in the 3.0 -3.2 range, at stock, or even lower than stock, if possible, Vcore. Get stable there. See if your HSF can handle the thermal load. See if you PSU is up to the task. See if your FETS need additoonal cooling, etc, etc. Then try to move forward from there.

I'd personally try 3.0 at the lowest Vcore that is stable (less than stock, if possible), then proceed from there. That's how I've been doing my air cooled C2D's, and it's worked great. Don't underestimate the thermal requirements of these Quads, especially once increaseing Vcore!

And be wary of web sites that compare air HSF's to water cooling. They usually compare the air HSF to some relatively hokey H2O set up, usually some chintzy kit or "all-in-one" piece of grabage. There's plenty of peeps on this fora that are seeing pretty darn high temps on thier Quads using high quality water!

Anyway, not wanting to rant or dissuade you....start out consrvatively, stress and thermal test, then set the bar higher, and repeat the process over and over, until you get where your rig will allow, and you personally can feel comfortable. Your equipment will tell you were it wants to go. Listen to it! This hobby of ours is an art as much a science. You and your equipment will find your "natural groove". Trust me.

It'll be a fun process...and it is a process....don't forget that!

Good Luck. :beer:

~ Strat ~
 
El<(')>Maxi said:
You'll need at least 1.5V to try for 3.7 and it's probably not gonna happen unless you have a very good QX.
Nor is it likely to happen on air, no matter how good the air, unless Dambuster never loads any of the cores to any reasonable level. Even then It's highly doubtful, IMHO.

There's no way I see 3.7, and the Vcore req'd, passing 4 core stress testing, like 4X Orthos or P95, on air cooling. It might just reboot or even thermal trip upon P.O.S.T., if the Vcore's cranked high enough to reach 3.7!

~ Strat ~
 
Stratcat said:
Nor is it likely to happen on air, no matter how good the air, unless Dambuster never loads any of the cores to any reasonable level. Even then It's highly doubtful, IMHO.

There's no way I see 3.7, and the Vcore req'd, passing 4 core stress testing, like 4X Orthos or P95, on air cooling. It might just reboot or even thermal trip upon P.O.S.T., if the Vcore's cranked high enough to reach 3.7!

~ Strat ~

Some people don't run for stability only you know but your right, any real stress on the cores is going to make things that much more difficult. For me if it passes 3DMark 06 it's stable ;)
 
I run mine 24/7 but it is under phase cooling and at 1.5 vcore it sure throws out some heat if you are set on getting to 3.7 then you need H20 minimum for 24/7 BUT if you want to bench thats a different story. ;)
 
ElMaxi said:
Some people don't run for stability only you know but your right, any real stress on the cores is going to make things that much more difficult. For me if it passes 3DMark 06 it's stable ;)
Hi -

You know, I never thought of the peeps who just want to bench, or even just capture a "record high" suicide sceenie for bragging rights. I just assumed the OP wanted a machine that would be stable for ordinary daily use and gaming, etc.

Thanks for bringing up a good point. I'll keep it in mind for future posts.

Oh, and I was agreeing with you! ;)

Thx again,

~ Strat ~
 
Hi I got 3.33GHz but under load it wasn't stable (when running FSX for some minutes it restarted)... I couldn't get the accurate temps cause asus probe II doesn't show them right! I got temps such as 22°C idle :O I have a very performant air cooling system (Asus silent Square PRO) and an antec 900 case (200mm fan on top, 2x120mm in front and 1x120 in the back)... I wish there was a way to get 3.33GHz STABLE. I'll try and lower the vcore... but to how much?
 
Here:

Download Intel's Thermal Analysis Tool (TAT):

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/392/Intel_Thermal_Analysis_Tool.html

Click on "TAT.exe in that link.

That should give you and us some reference to you temps.

What was you last stable settings (FSB X mulit @ Vcore)?

What are you using to test stability?

What do you consider stable?

Here's a stability utility that many of us use:

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/search.php?q=orthos

Click on Orthos Stress Prime 2004

I use one instance of Orthos for each core....but I need very stable machines for Distributed computing. You may want to just try 2 instances to get going.

Here's a link to CPU-Z, if you don't already have it, to confirm you BIOS settings once back in Windows:

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/search.php?q=cpu-z

Just for the record: All links above were linked via "techPowerUp.com". You can also find them on the original developer's sites, with possible problems finding TAT from Intel.

OK

Use those tools I linked. Get to somewhere stable, If not sure where stable, go back to stock settings. Decide how stable you would like your machine to be. Then use Orthos to test accordingly, while monitoring temps in TAT, and using CPU-Z to confirm your basic CPU and memory setting to be sure what you set in the BIOS is there when booting in Windows.

Lets's first get a baseline run on stock settings. Then take it from there.

Try two instances of Orthos at stock settings for 45 mins, and see how your system reacts. Then you can increase the clockspeeds slowly, whiling keeping Vcore stock, all the while stopping to test stability and temps under load.

I'll try to pop in when I can. Hopefully some of the other fine knowledgeable overclockers here will keep an eye out too. Let us know how it goes. And don't panic or get worried. Take it nice and easy, one thing at a time, slowly. Overclocking is generally a reiterative process, involving small changes, stability and thermal testing, then more changes, and more testing. This goes in spades if your new to overclocking.

K

Take care.

~ Srat ~

<edit>

BTW, I hope I haven't insulted your untelligence or your technical expertize...I'm starting with the very basics. I see your a new member, and not sure of your abilities, or knowldge in the s/w tools and methodology comon to overclocking. If you're already past this point in you roverclocking learning curve, let us know where your at, and we'll proceed from there.
 
Last edited:
stratcat said it best: OCing is a process. Start with modest bumps get that stable then inch up your fsb. Remember you oc will be limited by the weakest of your four cores. What are you using for stability testing?
 
@mgoode -

Was meaning to ask you...Is that George Clinton in your avatar?

@Dambuster -

Here's one more utility to help:

http://www.thecoolest.zerobrains.com/CoreTemp/

It's called Core Temp, and I linked directly from their site. Core Temp generally reads the same temps as Intel's TAT. It has one very important addition: It can read you processor's specific VID. That's your default Vcore. It can differ from the published Intel spec on thier site, but is correct for your specific CPU....It's hard coded into each CPU.

Download it, open it, and look for "VID". You will now know the true stock Vcore specified for you chip (which can be different than the published spec), and you can then set it manually. It can help you find a good starting point for your Vcore settings.

~ Strat ~
 
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