Need help overclocking Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300

Hey guys,

I have no overclocking knowledge whatsoever, so thats why Im here.

Before I start let me list my computer parts

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300

ASUS P5G41T-M LX Intel G41 microATX Motherboard - Intel 775 Socket
(http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/asus-...otherboard-intel-775-socket-07908138-pdt.html)

Corsair CMX8GX3M2A1333C9 XMS3 8GB Two Memory Module Kit
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003N8GVUY/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00)

Corsair CMPSU-600CXV2UK Builder Series 600W Power Supply
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0050AFU46/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00)

XFX Radeon HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5


Now I lagg (possibly bottlenecking?) and crash into my desktop when I try to play games, I use the HMDI cable from the grapics card to my screen and I need to overclock my CPU as I dont want to spend anymore money buying another mobo and cpu.

What would I need to do?

I would spend some money on a aftermarket cooler as I still use the stock one

Here are some CPUZ stats of my cpu

to the forums.
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=515316

Is an excellent guide to get you started with overclocking that C2Q of yours. Please feel free to give it a couple read-overs and then post back with any questions that you may have.

Secondly, an aftermarket cooler is going to be highly recommended as when you overclock you increase heat output (in most circumstances) and you will need/want a cooler than can handle the temperatures, as the stock one is not made for much more than stock speeds/voltages.

Does your motherboard give you options to raise the FSB? That's the main thing you'll need to get started. You can start working on a mild overclock with the stock cooler and then switch to a better cooler later.

Now I lagg (possibly bottlenecking?) and crash into my desktop when I try to play games

Click to expand...

This sounds like a stability problem, not an overclocking problem. If you're not careful about checking stability, overclocking might make this worse. You really shouldn't have lagging issues with that video card unless your settings in games are too high. What games are you playing?

I would recommend you learn about stability first. It's extremely important. http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=686655

Then, learn some overclocking basics for your CPU: http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=515316

johan851 said:

Does your motherboard give you options to raise the FSB? That's the main thing you'll need to get started. You can start working on a mild overclock with the stock cooler and then switch to a better cooler later.


This sounds like a stability problem, not an overclocking problem. If you're not careful about checking stability, overclocking might make this worse. You really shouldn't have lagging issues with that video card unless your settings in games are too high. What games are you playing?

I would recommend you learn about stability first. It's extremely important. http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=686655

Then, learn some overclocking basics for your CPU: http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=515316

Click to expand...

Im trying to play BF3 on High/ultra and some older games such as need for speed hot pursuit etc

and the motherboard, on the box etc says it has these overclock features

SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection)
- FSB tuning from 200MHz to 800MHz 1MHz increment

Overclocking Protection
- ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)

Click to expand...

Great! Yeah, you really shouldn't have lagging problems in those games (unless you're talking about lagging online, which would be your internet connection).

What do you mean by lagging, exactly? I would follow the recommendations in the stability testing thread first to make sure your computer is working properly, and update the video card drivers and chipset drivers if you haven't already.

johan851 said:

Great! Yeah, you really shouldn't have lagging problems in those games (unless you're talking about lagging online, which would be your internet connection).

What do you mean by lagging, exactly? I would follow the recommendations in the stability testing thread first to make sure your computer is working properly, and update the video card drivers and chipset drivers if you haven't already.

Click to expand...

I updated my drivers and I use AMD overdrive to increase the GPUs performance, so I start up the game and the whole screen freezes and I have to open task manager and end the process. When I reset it back to default value on amd overdrive, it works for a bit longer, but then it will freeze and I have to open task manager and end the process.

My broadband is very good, so its definatly not that

and when I run prime95 theres a fatal error and stops all the workers

So something is still unstable. I see that your memory is rated for 9-9-9-24 timings at 1333MHz, but your CPU-Z screenshot says it's running at 8-8-8-20 at 1066MHz. Can you try changing the multiplier to run it at 1333MHz and changing the timings to 9-9-9-24? Make sure the voltage is 1.5V as well.

Then run Memtest86+ or Prime95 blend to check for errors. If you still have trouble, raise the voltage to 1.6V.

You might also want to check out this thread. Even though it applies to the Q8200, the only difference is the multiplier (7.5 vs 7.0)...

Overclocking the Q8200
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=586754

johan851 said:

So something is still unstable. I see that your memory is rated for 9-9-9-24 timings at 1333MHz, but your CPU-Z screenshot says it's running at 8-8-8-20 at 1066MHz. Can you try changing the multiplier to run it at 1333MHz and changing the timings to 9-9-9-24? Make sure the voltage is 1.5V as well.

Then run Memtest86+ or Prime95 blend to check for errors. If you still have trouble, raise the voltage to 1.6V.

Click to expand...

That would have to be changed from the bios menu right?

Yep, from the BIOS

If you had 1600mhz RAM, you could increase the FSB to 400, disable EIST and use the multi (anything below 7.5) to get the cpu stable.