New guy: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 From 2.8ghz to 3.2ghz on stock fan? Help?

[koroush]

Hi guys, I'm obviously new to the forums and I wanted to see if I could overclock my CPU so I could perform better in some games.

Right now it's at 2.8ghz so I want to take small steps and go to 3.0ghz.. Is it possible with a stock fan?

Keep in mind that I have never overclocked before and this is my first time, some help please?


Thanks guys.

 

[redduc900]

Going from the default clock of 2.83 to 3.0 GHz is entirely possible w/ stock cooling. List your system spec's in it's entirety, or better yet create a sig. listing the components.

 

[EarthDog]

First, Welcome!!!

Second, I would read the C2D/C2Q overclocking guide that is a "sticky" in this same section to help you out.

To directly answer your question, that should be cake. You just need to keep that PC under 70C or so (DL a program called Realtemp to monitor temps).

 

[koroush]

Thanks guys, I updated my Sig with the stuff.


Just one question... I've heard that OCing will reduce the life of the CPU... Is that true? Thanks.

 

[EarthDog]

You will undoubtedly upgrade before it dies on you. YOu are cooling with air so your voltages wont be that high and temps should be kept under 75C with Prime 95 Small FFT load.

 

[koroush]

You will undoubtedly upgrade before it dies on you. YOu are cooling with air so your voltages wont be that high and temps should be kept under 75C with Prime 95 Small FFT load.

So even a .2Ghz increase would make it die?

 

[Boulard83]

If temps are bad ... YES !

 

[EarthDog]

So even a .2Ghz increase would make it die?

If temps are bad ... YES !

Let me clarify this vague answer a bit...

Your chip is going to die at stock speeds eventually. Raising it 200Mhz will make it die sooner, be it a day or a month. A 1Ghz overclock could shorten its lifespan even more. I have had chips running a 1Ghz (50% at the time) overclock 24/7 and it lasted me 3 years at that speed with .2v increase and is still running strong (albeit at a lower clock b/c I sold it to my father in law) now for a total of 6 years.

Higher temps and higher voltages shorten the lifespan of a CPU, that is correct. But as long as your temperatures are in order (under 70-75C) you will easily need to upgrade your system before this CPU dies on you from even a 600Mhz overclock.

 

[redduc900]

What specific model of Dominators do you have? The only setting you should have to change for a .17 GHz OC (2.83 - 3.0 GHZ) would be the FSB Frequency, from the default of AUTO (333 MHz for the Q9550) to 354 MHz for an effective clock of 3.009 GHz.

 

[Boulard83]

Let me clarify this vague and misleading answer.

Your chip is going to die at stock speeds eventually. Raising it 200Mhz will make it die sooner, be it a day or a month. A 1Ghz overclock could shorten its lifespan even more. I have had chips running a 1Ghz (50% at the time) overclock 24/7 and it lasted me 3 years and is still running strong (albeit at a lower clock b/c I sold it to my father in law) now for a total of 6 years.

Higher temps and higher voltages shorten the lifespan of a CPU, that is correct. But as long as your temperatures are in order you will easily have the need to upgrade your system before this CPU dies on you from even a 600Mhz overclock.

^^+1

Sorry for my short answer

Monitor your tmep with CORETEMP or something. Stress test with OCCT,Prime95, ITB ( intelburntest ) and see if its stable and stay under correct temp.

 

[ravaneli]

Don't know your memory, but you have a great case (same as mine ). The stock cooler on the 9550 is good for A LOT more that 3.0 Ghz. Depending on ambient temp, you can probably run around 3.8 ghz on the stock cooler. I ran mine on 3.8 ghz for a month on stock cooler before i got the water cooling. Idle temps were ~40C and around 55C in gaming, which is totally acceptable.

The easiest thing to do is reduce the multiplier for your memory and just increase FSB as much as u can, being stable.

Effective Memory clock = FSB x Multiplier (for Intel cpus)

Cheap memory usually doesn't overclock well, so after you increase the FSB you want to end up with approximately the same (or lower) effective clock for the memory. According to the formula, you need to reduce the memory multiplier.

You can try just reducing the multiplier for the memory, and then just increasing the FSB until you hit (at least) 3.4 ghz. Leave everything else on auto. If it doesn't work, then u need to read the sticky manual

I don't like the stickies. They are unnecessarily long imo. U don't need to know everything in order to OC 20%.