Q9550 - Gigabyte EP45-DS4 Overclocking

Hello! I made a thread earlier about my old E8500 and MSI P45 NEO overclocking here. Thank you for answering the questions that I had.

Now I got my "new" chip and mb so it's time for a new thread.

So the current rig:

Q9550 @ 3,8GHZ - 1.35V
Gigabyte EP45-DS4
A-Data 4GB DDR2 800MHZ
Asus 560TI DCII TOP

So, I had some problems with my MSI P45 NEO because I couldn't get the FSB higher than 386. This motherboard fixes it _indeed_ .

I had to play around with voltages and managed to get this thing running with 488x8,5 I ran the Real temp sensor test with prime95 and it wen't through.

I'm planning to run it for several hours later but the first step was to get the system stable enough to finish the sensor test.

What do you think about the numbers?



1. Why is there so much difference in temperatures?
2. Why is the movement numbers that different?
3. Why is the cpu-z showing 1.28V to core voltage when it's 1.35 @ bios?

Am I supposed to test the stability with Small FFTs or Large FFTs ? For some reason core2 is failing in test 6 after 4 minutes.. What might be causing this?

EDIT:

Pumped MCH voltage to 1.3V and prime has been running for 16minutes now without fails

EDIT2:

Lol, system froze after 40mins because of firefox I think Now it has been running almost 2 hours.
Temps @ 66-68c at 2hr 30min. Have to try lovering the voltage I guess.

Anyone? Which temps should I believe when it says ~40 idle for core 1 and 2, ~30 idle for core 3 and 4? Imo 40c is quite high for idle temps.. I have a Thermalright Silver Arrow handling the cooling.

I usually test with small FFTs. I would also recommend testing with Linx instead - it tends to find stability faster. If the CPU is failing Prime95, that's usually an indication that you need to raise voltage. If your temps are too high after you've done that, then you're pushing the chip farther than your cooling can take it. 30-40 is a bit high for idle temps, but it's your load temps that really matter.

Looks like a pretty solid OC!

Thanks for the response! Okay, I tried the Linx and the test failed quite fast. Pumped core voltage and NB voltage little bit and it lasted longer but still failed, the temps were @ 69c. Should I just lower the OC or what do you think?

Might have to lower the OC. Your voltage looks a bit low for the clockspeed you're trying to achieve. You might also test your memory in Memtest86+ to make sure it's working properly.

johan851 said:

Might have to lower the OC. Your voltage looks a bit low for the clockspeed you're trying to achieve. You might also test your memory in Memtest86+ to make sure it's working properly.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I was just going to ask about the memory. I don't know the timings, but the bios shows them as 5-5-5-18 as auto. So I'm using them at 6-6-6-18 now because of the OC and the DRAM freq which is 896Mhz now, is that ok or?

Hard to know. Memtest86+ will tell you.

Roger that, how long should I keep testing them?

A single full pass should be good enough to give you an idea. It usually takes a while - maybe an hour or two.

Linx does a pretty good job of testing the CPU only, so as long as your memory isn't super unstable it's probably a sign that the CPU is at fault.

Ha! Linx finished without errors in 6 min 11s! Thank you for the tip about the memory johan, I ran the memtest and it failed @ 13% or something, after that I changed the FSBRAM divider to 2.00D from 2.00B and passed without errors. When testing with linx the temperatures rose to 72c but I think that it won't really be a problem for example in gaming because games won't really stress the cpu that much?

EDIT:

Oh and another thing. What is the correct way to put the termal paste to the cpu? I was for some reason thinking that it should be left alone and the cooler will handle the spreading but another site guided that it should be spreaded manually?

Linx usually runs as hot or hotter than anything else. I think temps of 72C aren't the end of the world as long as you're stable. Wouldn't hurt to try to scale down the voltage as much as you can.

I'd let Linx run for an hour or so to have a better idea of how stable the CPU is.

People have different opinions on the TIM - I usually put a small dab in the middle and let the CPU cooler spread it. You could remount and reapply to make sure you used enough paste the first time. It takes a bit of time to fully settle in.

johan851 said:

Linx usually runs as hot or hotter than anything else. I think temps of 72C aren't the end of the world as long as you're stable. Wouldn't hurt to try to scale down the voltage as much as you can.

I'd let Linx run for an hour or so to have a better idea of how stable the CPU is.

People have different opinions on the TIM - I usually put a small dab in the middle and let the CPU cooler spread it. You could remount and reapply to make sure you used enough paste the first time. It takes a bit of time to fully settle in.

Click to expand...

Ye, I've installed it twice now so it should be all good, I'll let the linx run longer tomorrow. Anyways if the temps run below 68c when gaming, I would be happy. Going to test when bf3 comes out.

Oh, here we go again Couple of days ago I had a feeling that I should try to see how far can I go with my former A-Data 800MHz DDR2 ram. I booted to 3,9GHz without problems with 1.35~.36 core voltage and realised that I might do well with this chip and better memory.
Well I bought 2 sticks of OCZ Platinum 1066MHz ram and trying to OC some more Now I'm at 4003.64MHz (471.02x8.5) and windows seems to be stable, I was able to run the 3dmark vantage CPU test also and no problems, but when I try to run LINX or Prime95 they both fail. Linx after second test and when running prime95 3rd core fails immediately.

So what should I change to fix this?

Current settings in bios:
CPU Clock Ratio 8x
Fine CPU Clock Ratio + 0.5
CPU Host Clock Control Enabled
CPU Host Frequency (MHz) 471
PCI Express Frequency (MHz) 100
CIA2 Disabled
Performance Enhance Standard
Extreme Memory Profile Auto
MCH Frequency Latch Auto
System Memory Multiplier 2.00B
Memory Frequency (1066) 942
Dram Timing manual
5-5-5-15

CPU Vcore 1.3625V
CPU Termination 1.2V
CPU PLL 1.5V
CPU Reference Auto
CPU Reference2 Auto
MCH Core 1.3V
MCH Reference Auto
MCH/DRAM Reference Auto
ICH I/O 1.54V
ICH Core 1.14V
DRAM Voltage 2.2V
DRAM Termination Auto
References Auto


Tried upping the core voltage but didn't really change anything.

Anyone? I was able to play BF3 with that 4GHz clock over 2 hours, after that it crashed. Needing help to get this thing stable.

Today I'll use some abrasive paper to make the chip flat and it should lower the temperatures by ~5c

Ok this thread starts to be a monolog, but it's fine ;D Managed to get stable 4GHz @ 1.41V. Running 38-43c idle / 73c load. Ordered one packet of Indigo Extreme and I'm expecting to get ~5c lower temperatures with that.

Abresive paper didn't do much, gonna check how the termal paste spreaded and maybe do some more sanding when Indigo Extreme arrives.