[cthiggin]

Hello fellow forum users,
I have been "given" a brand new Intel DP45SG mb and a q9550 cpu - I will be upgrading an existing 680i mb and q6600, ddr2 800.

I have been given the suggestion from a highly reputable source to USE DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) versus 1333 as I will overclock. He was NOT sure that the mb would handle 1600 -

Could you folks point me to the right solution...I have read the DP....is NOT the most friendly for overclockers but it is doable in the bios.

Your help would be highly appreciated.

cthiggin

[vivek]

I would stick to PC6400 DDR2 for a 1:1 fsb to dram ratio. the q9550 has an 8.5 multiplier. this means ur max overclock would be around 400x8.5 = 3.4GHZ....that is if if ur board can handle 1600mhz fsb. im betting it can. ddr3 would mess up the 1:1 ratio for optimum performance. u could get ddr2 1066mhz and downclock to 800mhz and reduce the latency.

[redduc900]

Originally Posted by vivek

I would stick to PC6400 DDR2 for a 1:1 fsb to dram ratio. the q9550 has an 8.5 multiplier. this means ur max overclock would be around 400x8.5 = 3.4GHZ....that is if if ur board can handle 1600mhz fsb. im betting it can. ddr3 would mess up the 1:1 ratio for optimum performance. u could get ddr2 1066mhz and downclock to 800mhz and reduce the latency.

The DP45SG only supports DDR3. As to the OP's question about RAM compatibility... since the board only supports DDR3 1333/1066/800, by installing DDR3-1600 the BIOS would probably default the DRAM frequency to DDR3-1333. At for example an FSB of 420 MHz, using the default multiplier of 8.5, the resulting clock would be 3.57 GHz (a 740 MHz overclock). Running a 2:3 FSB : DRAM ratio, the resulting DRAM frequency would be 1260 MHz; only 73 MHz shy of the rated DRAM speed.

[cthiggin]

Thanks gentlemen for your replies..........I do want to oc to a stable 3.5 if possible.
Again, thank you for your information.
cthiggin

[ogboot]

Originally Posted by cthiggin

Thanks gentlemen for your replies..........I do want to oc to a stable 3.5 if possible.
Again, thank you for your information.
cthiggin

Let me give you a little insight, as I have owned one of these boards for a while and done my bit of research on the web.

This board is known for it's dual power cycle. when you power it up, often times it will shut down and start up again. also, you can kiss rebooting goodbye. it does the same thing, powers itself down and back up again. don't think that you got a lemon because it exhibits this behavior, this is normal.

also, in order to save OC settings you have to go into the BIOS twice and save. this is very important. for example: turn on the pc, make your changes. hit save settings and exit. when the system boots back up, hit F2, go into the bios AGAIN, hit save settings and exit. this will save you a lot of frustration. trust me. the reason for this goes back to the dual power cycle. because it dual cycles, the system assumes it is because of a bad overclock so although it will have your settings in the bios it won't apply them.

once overclocked don't bother to reboot. ever. if you have to reboot, choose shutdown. flip the switch on your psu until your board loses power, or pull the power plug from the psu. fire it back up, and go into the bios twice to lock your settings in (even if you didn't change anything).

My current O/C: 2ghz/800fsb e2180 @ 3ghz/1333fsb 1.31vcore
2x1gb OCZ 1066mhz special ops ram @ 1333mhz 9-9-9-25

Also, when you first power on this board and it doesn't want to post, don't panic. it's highly unlikely that it's dead. patiently power cycle it, shut it down, power it back up, and so forth. eventually it WILL post. once it does it will give you no more issues of this manner, unless you change the video card.

i'm going to max the multi out (3.33ghz) when temps drop a tad in our area, which shouldn't be too far down the road.

This board is quirky but quite stable. Have fun OCing!