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Q6600 Can't load windows @ 2.7ghz

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E

echos

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Jan 31, 2008
Well this is my first time overclocking maybe you guys can help me out, I am hitting a wall at 2.7ghz here, and I am pretty sure it is something to do with the RAM. Because I even set my Vcore way up to 1.5, and my FSB voltage to the max and it still wouldn't load windows. Then I relaxed my RAM timings a little bit and it did load, but as soon as I ran prime95 it crashed. I don't really understand how to tweak the RAM to make it stable, I am running it unlinked and I don't really understand the whole divider thing but I am pretty sure that we should not need a divider. Also the temperatures look fine, so it is not heat preventing it.

Right now I am at 2.65ghz [295 x 9] and prime95 runs on all 4 cores at the same time without crashing. I tried to enable the roundoff error checking like it shows in the sticky topic but that option is greyed out for me.

Here are my specs:
motherboard: XFX 680iLT

BIOS:
CPU Thermal Control Disabled
C1E Enhanced Halt State Disabled
Intel Speedstep Disabled
All Spread Spectrum settings are Disabled

RAM:
G.Skill F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ
DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000)
4GB(2x2GB)
5-5-5-15
2.0V - 2.1V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145
 
First :welcome: to the ocforums :)

Second, you can use memtest running in the bios to check memory independent of the cpu.

Third, what is the cpu:ram ratio (I think that is what you are calling the divider)? Unless a stick is defective or you have something set wrong, the ram shouldn't be a problem. From your first post, it does sound like it could be one of these.

Fourth, what are you using to check temps and what specifically are your temps?
 
Hi, well I don't really understand the cpu/ram ratio but I know that you should try and run it at 1:1. I found what the main problem was I had the RAM set to unlinked but settings at autodetect and for some reason it detected at 5-5-5-5 instead of 5-5-5-15! I changed that and now I am at 3.01ghz and prime95 is looking stable. I have coretemp and it shows 60c to 63c on all cores when at 100% load. Idle temps are 40c. I am shooting for 3.3ghz, do you think I will be able to tighten the timings on the RAM?
 
If you run the ram underclocked there is a high probablility that you can run tighter timings, but not for certain. If you run at 3.3 with a 9x multi and 1:1 ratio, I would think you should be able to get to 4-4-4-12.

Coretemp seems a little high depending on your ambient and what your heatsink might be, if stock hs this is probably correct.
 
IMO, you need to go back to stock settings on Voltage and FSB and just start fooling with one or the other in Prime. See how stable you can get one at a time rather than trying to troubleshoot everything at once. In your case, you think it is the ram so start by clocking the ram on its own, without pushing the CPU that hard. It will be easier to find your weakness. You may be surprised to find out that maybe it isn't your ram holding you back.

Hey jm, what are your temps at 3.2/1.29v?
 
It was most definitely the RAM holding me back, it was auto-detected wrong and running too fast. -- I just now got it to boot at 3.3ghz, prime95 was causing crashes but I set vcore again to 1.3875v and it is looking stable, it looks like I could probably get even farther than 3.3ghz :bday:

The temperatures don't seem so bad to me? I have an Freezer7 Pro HSF on it and it is supposed to be almost as good as a thermalright 120.
 
echos said:
It was most definitely the RAM holding me back, it was auto-detected wrong and running too fast. -- I just now got it to boot at 3.3ghz, prime95 was causing crashes but I set vcore again to 1.3875v and it is looking stable, it looks like I could probably get even farther than 3.3ghz :bday:

The temperatures don't seem so bad to me? I have an Freezer7 Pro HSF on it and it is supposed to be almost as good as a thermalright 120.
Click to expand...

That's good news.

As far as temps, it is mostly a personal thing. I didn't like running my chips with over 65c Orthos load, but it is speculated that you could run an Intel chip up to the Tjunction for years and it shouldn't have any tangible effect on the lifespan of the chip if you upgrade an on semi-regular schedule (say 5 years max).

Try to stay 10-20c away from Tjunction if you can, but otherwise don't worry about it too much. Remember that Orthos will stress your system more than just about everything else. I would see 65C from Orthos but never more than 55C during day to day tasks (gaming, media, etc).
 
I don't have orthos, I heard it only can test 2 cores at a time so instead I'm running a copy of prime95 on each individual core. I have #0 doing blend test, and the others are doing the small FFT test. -- After 11 minutes I got a rounding error so I boosted vcore some more and now I am running at 70c per core under 100% load which is probably a bit too hot. I am going to back the voltage off a bit and see how low I can set it without the errors.

What is Tjunction exactly? I see that some people think the TJ for a q6600 is 85c and some say it's 100c
 
Last edited:
oofreakoo said:
IMO, you need to go back to stock settings on Voltage and FSB and just start fooling with one or the other in Prime. See how stable you can get one at a time rather than trying to troubleshoot everything at once. In your case, you think it is the ram so start by clocking the ram on its own, without pushing the CPU that hard. It will be easier to find your weakness. You may be surprised to find out that maybe it isn't your ram holding you back.

Hey jm, what are your temps at 3.2/1.29v?
Click to expand...

My temps while folding/ prime 95 vary from a 60C at high ambient to a 55C low ambient. I still need to reseat and lap, and now I think I need another fan underneath my dvd player for inlet air. I am happy and content with my 3.2 right now since it is stable at a low voltage, but I need to do the above soon to scare thideras into folding faster :).

Curious, do you have a B3 or GO stepping? Your temps and clock look like a B3, but I thought these weren't that common anymore. Tjunction for a GO should be 100C and imo coretemp should be reading your temps 'approximately' correct.

Like you said, that ram is rated 2.0-2.1. Make sure you have it up at 2.1 to juice it a little if this is bottlenecking you, this should still be conservative in temp department for ram.
 
Nope it's a B stepping revision G0, I had some trouble putting the HSF on because of the pins so maybe the thermal goop isn't covering it very good, or maybe it was too much since I just used what they had preapplied.

Right now I'm running at 3.45ghz with vcore at 1.45v, it is stable but erroring in prime95, just needs a bit more voltage. It's starting to look like the temperature from increasing vcore is the only thing that will hold me back. So is 70c good under 100% load or is that too much? I set the ram to 2.1v, no problems there at all.
 
Well I guess I was wrong about only being limited by heat, I couldn't boot windows at 3.7ghz and my motherboard only goes up to 1.5v for vcore! :) I have heard of a few people who were able to get 3.8ghz on air so I guess they have more voltage to throw at it.

Right now its 3.510ghz @ 1.4937v and seems completely stable running 4 copies of prime95 for over an hour with no errors. After this much testing I can see temps on core#0 & #1 are hotter by 6c than the other 2 cores. I guess that means I need to redo the thermal paste or lap the heatsink to make them more consistent. I'm real happy with the results so far, 1116 Mhz for free and faster than a box stock QX9650 :santa:
 
you need to lap the cpu not the HS... nice job on the oc! :soda:

im late but :welcome: to the forums!
 
Last edited:
Hi evil, yeah its a 46% overclock so far, not bad eh? The most I have seen this chip do on air is 4ghz. I just found out what VID is, and I have the absolute highest/worst one possible for the q6600. If my VID was lower it would probably take a lot less Vcore to get it stable. -- What is Vdroop? I keep hearing about it but I don't find any explanations.
 
echos said:
Hi evil, yeah its a 46% overclock so far, not bad eh? The most I have seen this chip do on air is 4ghz. I just found out what VID is, and I have the absolute highest/worst one possible for the q6600. If my VID was lower it would probably take a lot less Vcore to get it stable. -- What is Vdroop? I keep hearing about it but I don't find any explanations.
Click to expand...

vdroop is the deviation in voltage between idle and load. in addition, voltage specified in the BIOS usually shows up lower in programs such as CPUz.
 
echos said:
Hi evil, yeah its a 46% overclock so far, not bad eh? The most I have seen this chip do on air is 4ghz. I just found out what VID is, and I have the absolute highest/worst one possible for the q6600. If my VID was lower it would probably take a lot less Vcore to get it stable. -- What is Vdroop? I keep hearing about it but I don't find any explanations.
Click to expand...

i wouldnt call it the worst.. but generally up to certian speed, a lower vid would need a touch less. once you get past this area voltage needs a massive increase to hit some speeds.
 
Hello and welcome again!

I agree with what I saw others say. Temps are too high for 1.38Vcore.

I would reseat the heatsink.

Good luck!
 
B3's run hotter then G0's do... 3.4ghz for a B3 isnt bad, just make sure your load temp is at least 20C from Tj in coretemp. :thup:
 
echos said:
Nope it's a B stepping revision G0, I had some trouble putting the HSF on because of the pins so maybe the thermal goop isn't covering it very good, or maybe it was too much since I just used what they had preapplied.

Right now I'm running at 3.45ghz with vcore at 1.45v, it is stable but erroring in prime95, just needs a bit more voltage. It's starting to look like the temperature from increasing vcore is the only thing that will hold me back. So is 70c good under 100% load or is that too much? I set the ram to 2.1v, no problems there at all.
Click to expand...

CPU-Z shows it as 'stepping B revision GO', but that is a GO stepping CPU ladies and gentlemen. 100*C Tjmax. His temps are a bit warm, and a remount might help that. Get some MX-2 if you don't have any TIM. I don't know much about the Freezer Pro, so I don't know what kind of numbers you should be seeing. Plus, ambient temps and case flow are important as well, and you haven't mentioned them.
 
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