P6N nForce 650i V2 --> Q6600 overclocking!

[troopertroop]

Heey guys! I am new here so first of al hello to you all!
I just bought a new pc with the following specs:

MSI P6N nForce 650i SLI V2
Q6600 C2Q @ 3.0 GHz G0-stepping
Tuniq Tower 120 CPU cooler
TakeMS 2 GB DDR2 RAM PC6400
2 x MSI NX8800GT 512mb OC (660/1950)
450GB HD

The OC is done with:
FSB: 1333 MHz
Multplier: 9x
Memory clock: 667 MHz
CPU VCore: +0,0250v
vram: 1,9v
NB: 1,25v
SB: 1,5v
FSB VTT core: 16%
PCI-e bus: 100

Tried to OC above 3.15 GHz with 1400 FSB results in instability. I tried to up the CPU Vcore to 0,1000v, FSB VTT to 20%, Vram to 2,0v and NB to 1.4v but all with no results. System will run Prime95 for hours with no problem but keeps reboot randomly!
Also tried to up the memory clock above 700 and that resulted in no post!
I thought a G0 should be able to go way up 3.0, now i really hit a wall here. Is it because my motherboard can't handle it?
Hope you guys can help me out!
Hope you guys can help me out!

 

[deeppow]

troopertroop, first to the forums.

While each board is different, my experience with the nvidia 600 series chipset (I've mostly used the 680i) with the Q6600 is that I couldn't do much more than 3G based on couple boards and couple different Q6600s. The dual cores do reasonable well but the quads hit a wall fairly early. There are a few exceptions to that result around but it seems to often be the case.

As you note, random reboots are a sign of instability. Sounds like you've tried the obvious variations.

There is a way to help provide more info for yourself related to the problem, test each componet (motherboard, cpu then memory) separately. It'll give you info but the final solution unfortunately isn't just the sum of the parts and the testing is time comsuming.

Test motherboard to see max FSB
- set memory to low speed and drop cpu multipler, then work with FSB and northbridge voltage to see how high the FSB will go. Note: There is no advantage to running a high FSB for the sack of a high FSB, it provides no performance gain. You're only trying to see what the max FSB can be.

Test memory to see max speed
- use previous northbridge voltages increase the memory speed to get an indication of its max

Test cpu
- set memory to low speed and use motherboard test voltage results for the northbridge
- set cpu multiplier to 9 and see how high you can raise the FSB (cpu speed results from this of course).
- if ya hit about 3G then that's an indication of a cpu-motherboard wall

As I said you can't just take these results and expect the board to run at the maximums you found because running all at the same time stresses things more but you should be near your max and dropping the settings "a little" is often near your max.

Anyway, I don't know that it'll get you much further than were you are but you'll at least have a better understanding of your system's limits.

Good luck.

 

[troopertroop]

CRC errors?

I am also getting CRC errors (while extracting or installing files) besides when I am oc'ing! Don't know thy that is but if I turn off the computer en let it cool for a while, the CRC errors disappear. Anyone knows what the cause is? I ran memtest86 on the ram with no errors, so that probably is not the problem. The only thing noticable is when oc'ing, the NB is very hot if I touch it, so can that be the problem?
Hoop you guys can help me, much appreciated!

 

[blakehenry00]

The only thing noticable is when oc'ing, the NB is very hot if I touch it, so can that be the problem?

Mine gets hot under normal conditions, I just used Velcro to attach a small fan and now it's all good

 

[stereo555]

For starters , the nb cooling on these boards kinda suck . I put as5 under the nb on mine before I installed (which helped) . I also have a 80mm fan on my case door blowing directly on the nb , of which if is about the only way I could get any decent oc's out of this board too . Iam pretty sure that may be the cause of your rebooting problem . But try these other settings too .....

Make sure your memory voltage is set to about 1.9-1.95v (even if your mem only requires 1.8v ) .

You can try uping the voltage to the nb to 1.5 , as Ive found this nessasary for a quad on these boards (you may increase the nb heat problem by doing this , so try this later/last) .

My settings are :

Mem - 1.95v (four sticks installed)
NB -1.5v
SB- 1.55
VTT -12%



*IMPORTANT : EIST - diabled (press F4 for C1E and disable)
* IMPORTANT : All " Spread Spectrum" settings - disabled
Set memory speed to manuel (not linked)

Here is a huge thread of info about the MSI P6N mobos and overclocking . Read the first few post about settings in general for overclocking with thses boards : http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1164174

This info should help , good luck .

 

[Brolloks]

I have noticed that some here has a higher voltage on the SB vs the NB , it should be the other way around, especially if you run at high FSB, have 2 x 2GB RAM, runs SLI or OC's memory above say 950-1000 MHz.

The quads normally takes about 1.5-1.6 volts on the NB at OC's above 3.6 Ghz, I would say a minimum of 1.5, the SB you can really leave on auto, no reason to cook that chip, if you have it above 1.4 you start to see stability issues in any case.

 

[stereo555]

I have noticed that some here has a higher voltage on the SB vs the NB , it should be the other way around, especially if you run at high FSB, have 2 x 2GB RAM, runs SLI or OC's memory above say 950-1000 MHz.

The quads normally takes about 1.5-1.6 volts on the NB at OC's above 3.6 Ghz, I would say a minimum of 1.5, the SB you can really leave on auto, no reason to cook that chip, if you have it above 1.4 you start to see stability issues in any case.

I agree on the nb , sb voltage thing too (more to nb then sb); however on these P6 boards they start at 1.5 default at its lowest (nb 1.25 default) .

 

[troopertroop]

My NB is 1.25 and SB 1.5 now. I found a new setting for 3.0 GHz OC with VCore +0.0875 @ 1.4, VRam @ 1.9 and FSB VTT 8%. Looks very stable until now, have been gaming and running 3dmark for 2-3 hours now without problems... Also, the CRC errors disappeared under this settings! Will do some stress testing soon to tell more!

 

[troopertroop]

For starters , the nb cooling on these boards kinda suck . I put as5 under the nb on mine before I installed (which helped) . I also have a 80mm fan on my case door blowing directly on the nb , of which if is about the only way I could get any decent oc's out of this board too . Iam pretty sure that may be the cause of your rebooting problem . But try these other settings too .....

Make sure your memory voltage is set to about 1.9-1.95v (even if your mem only requires 1.8v ) .

You can try uping the voltage to the nb to 1.5 , as Ive found this nessasary for a quad on these boards (you may increase the nb heat problem by doing this , so try this later/last) .

My settings are :

Mem - 1.95v (four sticks installed)
NB -1.5v
SB- 1.55
VTT -12%



*IMPORTANT : EIST - diabled (press F4 for C1E and disable)
* IMPORTANT : All " Spread Spectrum" settings - disabled
Set memory speed to manuel (not linked)

Here is a huge thread of info about the MSI P6N mobos and overclocking . Read the first few post about settings in general for overclocking with thses boards : http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1164174

This info should help , good luck .

What about the cpu vcore? I tried your setting with cpu vcore +0.0375 results in blue screen! Now upped the cpu vcore to +0.0625 and able to boot again! BTW the maximum valur of NB for me is 1.45v in the mainboard?!

 

[troopertroop]

My NB is 1.25 and SB 1.5 now. I found a new setting for 3.0 GHz OC with VCore +0.0875 @ 1.4, VRam @ 1.9 and FSB VTT 8%. Looks very stable until now, have been gaming and running 3dmark for 2-3 hours now without problems... Also, the CRC errors disappeared under this settings! Will do some stress testing soon to tell more!

This one died too! Have to set FSB VTT to a minimum of 16% to be stable!

 

[stereo555]

What about the cpu vcore? I tried your setting with cpu vcore +0.0375 results in blue screen! Now upped the cpu vcore to +0.0625 and able to boot again! BTW the maximum valur of NB for me is 1.45v in the mainboard?!

My vcore for 3600 was @ 0.1500 (1.32v) , current 3667 @ 0.1625 (1.33v) . Keep in mind though , my q6600 has a fairly low VID (default voltage) of 1.2125v . Soooo ymmv , and will depend on how low your VID is on your chip and how high you "should" go with yours . Just keep an eye on your temps to to be safe , as Iam running a Freezer Pro 7 with idle temps around 38c (with app : Real Temp 2.24) .

 

[troopertroop]

My vcore for 3600 was @ 0.1500 (1.32v) , current 3667 @ 0.1625 (1.33v) . Keep in mind though , my q6600 has a fairly low VID (default voltage) of 1.2125v . Soooo ymmv , and will depend on how low your VID is on your chip and how high you "should" go with yours . Just keep an eye on your temps to to be safe , as Iam running a Freezer Pro 7 with idle temps around 38c (with app : Real Temp 2.24) .

Well, I have no idea how you managed to do it, but no matter what I try, I can't get pass 3.2 (not stable, only stable @ 3.0) and above that windows won't boot. even on vcore 1.4v/vram 2.05v/NB 1.45v (max)/SB 1.55/FSB VTT +20% I can't get pass 3.28 GHz (FSB 1466/ memory clock 667)
Maybe there is a difference between a SLI-FI and a V2?