help stabilizing q6600/p5q

Heres the deal. My oc sometimes passes ibt/linx and sometimes it dont, without changing the settings in bios.... Ive been trying to stabilize it for weeks now, with no success. it doesnt crashes in games, even cpu more demanding ones... ive tried several settings in bios when it doenst passes the stress test...
My specs are:
q6600 g0 vid 1.3250 @ 3.6ghz
p5q bios 1406
teamgroup xtreem dark pc2-8500

This is what ive came up so far:

Same settings Always
400*9,
ddr's 1066 5-5-5-15 2.2v
vcore 1.50625
cpu pll 1.58
sbv 1.10 or auto
pci sata 1.50 or auto

Settings that changed:



Can anyone understand this ?? because i dont... i tried even with higher (1 notch - 1.51xxv) vcore.. but the same thing.. sometimes it passes and other times it dont with the same settings and without changing anything in bios..

after some search i raised the cpu pll to 1.64 and run ibt ant it passed, rebooted run ibt and it passed so i tought finally was stable, but yesterday i run ibt again and it didnt passed. same settings but cpu pll at 1.64:


can anyone help me?

thanks

It's stable in everything except stress tests?

do you have 4 gigs of ram?? post all of your system componets and all of your settings.
if you have 4 gigs of ram i think you could up your NB volts. But i have an x38 so i'm not sure about the max voltage on your board. Post all of your settings and hardware will get you better answers.

TimoneX said:

It's stable in everything except stress tests?

Click to expand...

yes..

thanks

gottcha said:

do you have 4 gigs of ram?? post all of your system componets and all of your settings.
if you have 4 gigs of ram i think you could up your NB volts. But i have an x38 so i'm not sure about the max voltage on your board. Post all of your settings and hardware will get you better answers.

Click to expand...

i have 4 gigs of ram. here are my full specs:
q6600 g0 vid 1.325
asus p5q bios 1406
2x2gb teamgroup xtreem dark pc2-8500 5-5-5-15 2.1 ~ 2.2
ati hd4870 512mb
3x hdd sata (1.28TB)
dvdrw 22x
nox urano 600w sli
antec 1200
noctua nh-u12p+nf-p12 (push-pull)+mx2

bios settings:

CPU Ratio = 9
FSB Frequency = 400
PCI-E Frequency = 100
FSB Strap to North Bridge = Auto
DRAM Frequency = 1066
DRAM Timing Control = 5-5-5-15
DRAM Static Read Control = Disabled
DRAM Read Training = Disabled
Memory OC Charger = Disabled
AI Clock Twister = Auto
AI Transaction Booster = Auto
CPU Voltage = 1.50625
CPU GTL Voltage Reference = (settings from 1st post)
CPU PLL Voltage = (settings from 1st post)
FSB Termination Voltage = (settings from 1st post)
DRAM voltage = 2.2
Northbridge Voltage = (settings from 1st post)
Southbridge voltage = 1.10
PCI-E SATA voltage = 1.50
Load Line Calibration = Enabled
CPU Spread Spectrum = Disabled
PCI-E Spread Spectrum = Disabled
CPU Clock Skew = Normal
NB Clock Skew = Normal
CPU Margin Enhancement = Optimized Mode
C1E = Disabled
Max Cupid Value Limit = Disabled
Intel Virtualization Mode = Disabled
CPUTM Function = Disabled
Execute Disable Bit = Disabled

thanks

Try running P95 large-fft and/or OCCT2.0 custom 2hr RAM test. IBT is not very good at finding issues w/ your NB/FSB/RAM.

Set AI clock twister, and transaction booster manually. Enable Memory OC Charger.

jason4207 said:

Try running P95 large-fft and/or OCCT2.0 custom 2hr RAM test. IBT is not very good at finding issues w/ your NB/FSB/RAM.

Set AI clock twister, and transaction booster manually. Enable Memory OC Charger.

Click to expand...

im at work now, going to try that later. thanks.

jason4207 said:

Try running P95 large-fft and/or OCCT2.0 custom 2hr RAM test. IBT is not very good at finding issues w/ your NB/FSB/RAM.

Set AI clock twister, and transaction booster manually. Enable Memory OC Charger.

Click to expand...

Ai clock twister to moderate? and transaction booster to what? 7 - 8?

Thanks

Start w/ moderate, and 10. If you can pass P95-large-fft for a long time try to tighten up the TB (lower is better) and Clock Twister. It's going to be trial and error, though.

jason4207 said:

Start w/ moderate, and 10. If you can pass P95-large-fft for a long time try to tighten up the TB (lower is better) and Clock Twister. It's going to be trial and error, though.

Click to expand...

tried that, it passed 1 time, the i shutdown the pc, rebooted and did it again and it didnt passed again....

1 time? I'm confused. P95 will run as long as you let it. How long did you let it run?

jason4207 said:

1 time? I'm confused. P95 will run as long as you let it. How long did you let it run?

Click to expand...

i tested with linx, it passed one 10x time run then i rebooted and it didnt passed...

slhould i use p95? ppl say ibt/linx is faster to check for instability

Linx is great for a CPU top speed stability test, but passing 10 passes of Linx is far from being stable IMO. I think your problem is FSB/NB/RAM related, and Linx doesn't test that part of your system well. P95 has 4 built-in tests...Blend, Large, Small, and Custom.

Blend jumps back and forth b/n small and large fft.

Large-fft is good for testing FSB/NB/RAM stability.

Small-fft is good for CPU top speed (this is where you can replace Linx...but I still like P95 small-fft better).

Custom is nice if you keep failing at a particular block size. Let's say 640k keeps failing. Instead of running large-fft and waiting for hours for it to work its way down from 1024k to 640k you can jump right to 640k to see if your BIOS changes have helped you get over the wall.



Unfortunately, there is not 1 test that you can run where if you pass you can call it 24/7 stable and walk away. I use a plethora of tests. I don't run for weeks on end as I feel that is just abuse, but I do like to be able to pass an overnight run before saying I've 'passed' a test. If I'm still running in the morning, and I have to go to work, I'll usually let it go for the day so I can get a good 18-24hr run in for a little more peace-of-mind.

I run P95 large-fft and OCCT2.0 custom 2hr RAM test to stress the FSB/NB/RAM.

I run memtest86+ DOS to double-check the RAM.

I run P95 small-fft to make sure my CPU speed is stable.

Even after all that it is still possible to have issues...especially if you're pushing the FSB near its limits. If BSOD keep haunting you after passing every test under the sun then try dropping the FSB 1-5MHz to seal the deal.

@ jason4207

Sorry for the noob question, but what does fsb strap, ai booster, ai twister and cpu margin do?
I think i got stable at 447x8 (10x linx, 1h shutdown, 10x linx), but gonna test it better to be sure. using:
fsb strap: 333
ai booster: manual - 10
ai twister: moderate
cpu margin: compatible

Thanks.

FSB Strap relates to the NB timings. The NB has timings just like RAM. If you notice in CPU-Z you can see the jdec spec for your RAM. It'll show various timings at different speeds and voltages. Basically the slower the RAM is running the tighter (lower) the timings can be. Same is true for the NB. There are pre-programmed NB timings for each FSB speed: 200, 266, 333, 400. 200 is the tightest w/ best performance, and 400 is the loosest w/ more delay (less performance). In the end you want to run as tight as possible, but its usually best to start out loose until you get the FSB speed where you want it...then try to tighten her down. These straps also relate to a pre-defined set of RAM dividers...each strap only has a few RAM dividers available. RAM speed/timings and FSB speed/timings go hand-in-hand so you may have to fiddle around w/ various combinations to find the best performance. The Everest bandwidth benchmark is a decent tool for determining which settings give the best bandwidth. You can spend a lot of time tweaking in this area to get the optimal setup, but mostly what you gain is pride as opposed to real-world performance. I still love to tweak it out, though!

AI Booster aka Transaction Booster aka Performance Level aka tRD is the main NB timing and has a strong effect on bandwidth. With all timings, the lower the better. This is also heavily inter-elated w/ strap and Ram divider and will be integral in testing the best combos for best performance as discussed above.

AI Twister...not real sure, but it improves bandwidth if cranked up, and lowering it may allow you to OC the FSB/RAM higher. Probably a NB or RAM sub-timing.

CPU Margin...again I'm really not sure. I haven't really played w/ this setting yet either...still on compatible as I'm still trying to push my FSB higher. I assume compatible might allow higher OCs, and the other settings some how improve bandwidth or performance.

It's all a big balancing act.

thanks for the explanation. you wont believe it but i think i got it stable at 447*8. already did 4 stress test to the cpu since yesterday, shutting the pc between then, and they all passed! gonna do a memtest to see if everything ok. these is what i used:

CPU Ratio = 8
FSB Frequency = 447
PCI-E Frequency = 100
FSB Strap to North Bridge = 333
DRAM Frequency = 1074
DRAM Timing Control = Manual - 5-5-5-15
DRAM Static Read Control = Disabled
DRAM Read Training = Disabled
Memory OC Charger = Enabled
AI Clock Twister = Moderate
AI Transaction Booster = Manual - Performance 10
CPU Voltage = 1.50625
CPU GTL Voltage Reference = 0.65x
CPU PLL Voltage = 1.64
FSB Termination Voltage = 1.46
DRAM voltage = 2.2
Northbridge Voltage = 1.44
Southbridge voltage = 1.20
PCI-E SATA voltage = 1.50
Load Line Calibration = Enabled
CPU Spread Spectrum = Disabled
PCI-E Spread Spectrum = Disabled
CPU Clock Skew = Normal
NB Clock Skew = Normal
CPU Margin Enhancement = Compatible Mode
C1E = Disabled
Max Cupid Value Limit = Disabled
Intel Virtualization Mode = Disabled
CPUTM Function = Disabled
Execute Disable Bit = Disabled

What do you think? are these ok? any voltage on a dangerous level?

been trying to get 450*8 but no go yet. a notch more on the vcore? or you have a hint in what voltages should i tweak to get 450*8? and gonna try 400*9 with the tips you gave...

Thanks jason4207

Your settings look pretty good. NB voltage is a little high, but not dangerous. Overall it looks like you're giving it more voltage than needed in several places for only 450FSB. It might be better for you to settle on 400x9. You should be able to put most voltages other than vcore and DRAM to min values at 400FSB.

It's going to be hard to determine where you need more juice the way you are going at it.

I would drop the multi to 6 or 7 for now, and focus on the FSB only. Also change the RAM to 1:1 to eliminate that variable. You can tweak those later.

Now try upping the FSB and see how far you can go. You only have a few more MHz to get to 450.

Play w/ these settings in BOLD to stabilize 450FSB:

CPU Ratio = 6
FSB Frequency = 450
PCI-E Frequency = 100
FSB Strap to North Bridge = 333
DRAM Frequency = 900
DRAM Timing Control = Manual - 5-5-5-15
DRAM Static Read Control = Disabled
DRAM Read Training = Disabled
Memory OC Charger = Enabled
AI Clock Twister = Moderate
AI Transaction Booster = Manual - Performance 10
CPU Voltage = 1.50625
CPU GTL Voltage Reference = 0.65x
CPU PLL Voltage = 1.64
FSB Termination Voltage = 1.46
DRAM voltage = 2.2
Northbridge Voltage = 1.44
Southbridge voltage = 1.20
PCI-E SATA voltage = 1.50
Load Line Calibration = Enabled
CPU Spread Spectrum = Disabled
PCI-E Spread Spectrum = Disabled
CPU Clock Skew = Normal
NB Clock Skew = Normal (Clock Skews might be better on auto...unless you're willing to try out several of the options...I have the best luck when I change them together)
CPU Margin Enhancement = Compatible Mode
C1E = Disabled
Max Cupid Value Limit = Disabled
Intel Virtualization Mode = Disabled
CPUTM Function = Disabled (Leave this enabled)
Execute Disable Bit = Disabled



Use P95 large-fft to stress (not linx).

Remember that sometimes lower is better. Don't get stuck thinking that if it's failing you always need to raise a setting.


After you get the FSB where you want it you can up your CPU multi appropriately, and use vcore and CPU GTL to stabilize. You can use linx to stress or use P95 small-fft.

Once that is good, you can work on the RAM, and tightening up the RAM & NB timings if you like. You can try various RAM dividers, straps, Performance Levels, and timings. You might need to increase vNB or vRAM to stabilize certain combinations. You can use Everest to test bandwidth, and use P95 large-fft for a few minutes to give a quick measure of stability. Put your combos in order w/ the best bandwidth/lowest latency at the top of the list. Try to get it completely stable the same way you did the NB above, and if its not going to happen drop down your list to the next best bandwidth scenario.

ok. thank you to be so clarifying. im at work now. gonna try what you recommended when i get home.

thanks once again.

PS: how much time should i run p95 large fft? a few minutes as you said? 5m is enough?

Depends on your immediate need. Just 15mins or so to get in the ballpark, but then try to run it overnight once you think you have something good.

still no go at 450*8... got one stable result with fsb term at 1.48 and nbv at 1.46 i think.. then i shut ted down the pc for 1/2h did another try and it didn't passed....