Q6600 OC + Asus P5k / Pencil Mod, Plz help

[kinvaras]

Hello,
i've been lurking this forum for about 1 month, but only now registered. Learned a lot with you guys, thx!

Ok, so i want to play BF3 with locked 85fps.

Here is my system:
Asus P5k
Q6600
4Gb Kingston hyperx 1066
Nvidia 285gtx OC
Cooler Thermalright Hr-02 Macho

I ran MSI afterburner and i found out that my cpu is bottlenecking my 285gtx, it uses only like 65% of it.

So its time to OC my Q6600 from 2.4 to the best i can.
My VID, according to CoreTemp, is 1.325.

The best stable OC i could get was 3300 and i needed 1.6vcore in BIOS, but i also notices im having HUGE vdroops, for example, i set 1.6 in BIOS and i get 1.55 in cpu-z in idle and like 1.5 in full load.
Also tried 1.7 in BIOS, and under load, my cpu-z was showing 1.53...

So, my guess is that the vdroop is causing the instability.
i googled for it and read about the "pencil mod", but im unsure on what to do.

I found this image for my mobo:
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/4809/vdroopri0.jpg

What do i need to pencil, is it the "vdroop" or "vcore" mod?

Also, any tips on how to OC this chip better are welcome! ^^

Thx in advance!

 

[Nebulous]

Check this guide out.

All you have to do is shade over the square resistor with a #2 pencil. It will control the vdroop so the vcore will not drop so bad during load. It's called the "Vdroop mod".

As for overclocking: Here's a really informative guide that will help you out.

Btw, welcome to o/c forums

 

[kinvaras]

Thx Nebulous, i had already read that overclocking guide, as well as some other ones i found here.
That pencil mod is for the p5k-se, mine is the "p5k" only, that image was the only thing i found for mine, but should do the trick.

so, for what i am understanding, i need to pencil the transistor that says "vdroop" in the image.

also, im curious about what i get if i make the vcore mod, do i get more then 1.7v (max of my mobo) to use in the bios?

 

[Nebulous]

You may get 1.7vcore, but you'll need a DMM to actually know. Unsure if the bios will show 1.7v. The pencil mod is the same, just a different board. Yes it will work the same.

Yes, all you need to do is pencil over the resistor. The more strokes of the pencil the thicker the lead/graphite will be. You then fire up the pc, go into the bios and set your vcore. Boot into windows and start loading up the cpu with p95. Open up a temp/voltage monitoring program and see if the mod works.

If you get less of a vdroop, then you know it was successful.

 

[amora]

so, for what i am understanding, i need to pencil the transistor that says "vdroop" in the image.

also, im curious about what i get if i make the vcore mod, do i get more then 1.7v (max of my mobo) to use in the bios?

Am I looking at the wrong pics? I see no transistor I see a 1206 cap or resistor, but no transistor

 

[kinvaras]

Am I looking at the wrong pics? I see no transistor I see a 1206 cap or resistor, but no transistor

Sry, my mistake.
but now im curious, thats a capacitor or a resistor?

 

[amora]

Thats a 1206 Capacitor of an unknown value, unless you have the Eagle of your board or a capacitance tester you won't be able to determine it's value.

The person in that link with the pencil mod, bridged a capacitor using the conductive properties of the lead. He didn't know what he was talking about, I'd be weary if performing such modifications without an Eagle schematic. You could cause a short and blow something up on your board.

 

[DocClock aka MadClocker]

I thought some of the Asus P series boards had a vdroop setting in the bios?
Am I wrong?
The only Asus board I have any experience with is the CUSL2C (PIII socket370 with 815 chipset)

 

[kinvaras]

I thought some of the Asus P series boards had a vdroop setting in the bios?
Am I wrong?
The only Asus board I have any experience with is the CUSL2C (PIII socket370 with 815 chipset)

My board does have that setting, its called "Voltage Damper", but apparently it isnt working on the p5k boards, only in the deluxe and premium versions...