HOWTO: Overclock C2Q (Quads) and C2D (Duals) - A Guide v1.1

[rebeldegeronimo]

nobb on this

hey guys some 1 send me to here for ask ur help i have Q6600 i gonna try to get this to 3.4GHZ let me no if is pos whit my sistem if yes i nedd help by msn cause i im noob on this thx
this> Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor [link] http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
this> X2 WINTEC AMPX 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) [link[ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820161182
this> ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus LGA 775 C55+MCP55P; a.k.a. nForce 650i SLI & nForce 570 SLI ATX Intel Motherboard [link[ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131153
this> OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply [link] http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002
this> Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3 32-bit for System
this> x2 but only 1 is installed EVGA 512-P3-N874-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ Superclocked Edition 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI
this> ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan but if u no someting beter let me no wat i can buy
this> Antec Nine Hundred + EA650 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case but i gonna cange for this> to use my 2nd 9800gtx COOLER MASTER HAF932 Blue RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

 

[Workingpapi]

Nice post, thank you!!

 

[Geeman]

I can't believe I read the whole thing!

Regards, Geeman

 

[mikealaska]

this might be a old thread , but so am i !

really helps to know where we are going, soo so sticky

 

[ccope80]

Cant figure out what the values mean on my Mobo

So, I have a Gigabyte CA-EP45- EXTREME WITH BIos ver. F9
CPU - QX6850
Totally read the thing! But My opinions in M.I.T. are are really puzzling me.

I get the methodology, as in, the basic sense. However, could someone please answer what some of these opinions mean, like
CPU termination
CPU PLL
CPU reference
CPU Reference2
I thought there is to be FSB voltage somewhere, I guess its called something else?
I get that the MCH is my NB and that MCH core is core voltage of it.
But what is MCH REFERENCE
MCH/DRAM REFERENCE

 

[ccope80]

I have here all my system spec currently,

 

[EarthDog]

FSB = CPU termination.

MCH reference should be left at stock/auto really. You are not pushing your FSb/clocks up high enoug hto change that.

You should also be overclocking from the bios instead of the windows application.

 

[ccope80]

Thanks that really helps out!!! I def do use only the bios. I have read alot of people having issues with using windows based stuff. I had my first overclocking experience with 965p dq6 rev 2.0 Gigabyte board w/ C2Duo e6300 . Then went to EP45 extreme and The bios totally changed , stuff mean difference things. (YES I TOTALLY AM A NOOB) But thats huge when you say FSB= CPU termination!! Now if I can get some more defined I am good to go!!! Or if anyone good reading they can point me to on this matter, I would be grateful!!!

 

[nabbun]

hey guys, I'm new to OCF (well, sorta)

I'm mostly lurking and found you guys by accident. But god, am i glad I did.

I was able to OC my Q9550 to 3.4 ghz with stock voltages thanks to this guide and various other posts related to people's attempts at oc'ing this same cpu. I don't intend on going getting crazy and trying to push for extremes any time soon.

I just wanted to say thanks! What a great bunch of ppl (thank you Blue-Force) and what a great source for information! =D

Build:

COOLER MASTER HAF 922
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
Intel Core 2 Q9550
Mushkin 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 DDR2 800
EVGA GTX 285 Superclocked Edition 1GB 512-bit GDDR3
LG Black 8X BD-ROM
SUPER TALENT INTAIN1MCR All-in-one Card Reader
SAMSUNG 500GB Hard Drive
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

 

[aaaaaaaaaa]

Thank you for this guide. I was finally able to get my G0 stepping Q6600 to 3.0GHz at a lower than stock voltage.

 

[marketpantry]

I have a q6600 id like to overclock. my specs are in sig. How far generally can someone with a q6600 overclock before Having to mess with things like NB voltages. I know every processor is different, but id like a ball park idea. i would like to get it to 3.4ghz ideally.

 

[Mike Lynch]

Overclocking a Gateway Profile 6.0(P4) or 6.5(E6500)?

I am a novice!

I searched for the "best place / thread" to begin learning.
Is this the right "place"?

If so, I have several initial questions.

If not, please refer me to a more appropriate thread.

I have two stock Gateway Systems which I would like to learn on.
Perhaps they are overclockable or perhaps they are not.
How does one tell?

If they are, my novitiate logic tells me to first upgrade the CPU to the fastest CPU that will run on the Motherboard.
Is this correct?
How does one tell if a faster CPU will run on a Motherboard?

Once completing this potential upgrade, one would then begin the Overclocking process.
Is this correct?

Best regards,

Mike Lynch

 

[janas19]

Holy crap. I cannot explain how awesome a guide this is for a newb like me. Answered ALL my questions. Big, BIG THANKS to the OP!

 

[IJAHman]

Holy crap. I cannot explain how awesome a guide this is for a newb like me. Answered ALL my questions. Big, BIG THANKS to the OP!

Hey Janas, what's your cpu and how far did you push it? just curios..mine is only at 3.2ghz (at my sig).

 

[janas19]

Hey Janas, what's your cpu and how far did you push it? just curios..mine is only at 3.2ghz (at my sig).

Hey IJAHman, that's a great question. I actually haven't overclocked a CPU yet, because I don't have it. But I'm going to buy an E6600.

How did you achieve your overclock? Did you increase your FSB or CPUM?

What's your Vcore level?

 

[IJAHman]

Janas, I just increase my FSb to 400 and retain my cpum to 8x. I set my vcore to something like 1.3025v. Some settings I left to normal instead of auto. I Only have a 800mhz DDR2 memory, and I think I can't go much higher clock with this ram. Just wondering if there is any possible way to increase more my oc to something like 3.8 or so.
BTW, you got a nice board to OC!

 

[janas19]

Janas, I just increase my FSb to 400 and retain my cpum to 8x. I set my vcore to something like 1.3025v. Some settings I left to normal instead of auto. I Only have a 800mhz DDR2 memory, and I think I can't go much higher clock with this ram. Just wondering if there is any possible way to increase more my oc to something like 3.8 or so.
BTW, you got a nice board to OC!

The FSB has to run 1:1 with the RAM. You'll notice if RAM becomes unstable because you will get BSOD.

If I were you, I would just keep incrementally pushing up the CPUM step-by-step, and test for stability. See how far you can go. Just keep an eye on those temps!

Good luck.

 

[EarthDog]

You cannot change the multi up on your chips guys... At least IJH cant. Not clue what janas is running... But unless its an "X" chip you are pushing the multi UP past its default.

 

[janas19]

You cannot change the multi up on your chips guys... At least IJH cant. Not clue what janas is running... But unless its an "X" chip you are pushing the multi UP past its default.

You can't push the multi past the default?

I'm still learning, forgive me!

 

[EarthDog]

Not unless its a "X" chip or extreme chip. For example QX9650 can but Q9650 cannot.