need some help overclocking my E8400

[kaitlin4599]

ok so im trying to overclock my SLB9J (Intel Core 2 Duo E8400) revision E0. below are my specs

gigabyte G31M-S2L mobo
2x2gig ddr2 pc2 6400 running at 800MHz
nvidia 7900GT
corsair A70 cpu air cooler with dual 120mm fans in push pull config
evga 600 W1 PSU
ARCTIC MX-2 TIM

below are links to the motherboard website as well as a youtube video showing the bios overclocking option my board has available

in the bios i have the system voltage controls set to auto as well as the system memory multiplier SPD set to auto

at 3.7GHz the bios sets the Vcore for my cpu on auto to 1.380 is that safe how far can i go i wanna reach 4.0GHz

max temps under load at 3.7GHz as reported by realtemp and coretemp hover between 51 degrees celsius and 55 degrees celsius. im also aware that my CPU may have a stucvk internal temp sensor from what i read on various forums as well as from intel this is my first time overclocking so any info you can give me will be appreciated im looking for a stable 24/7 OC of 4.0

http://www.gigabyte.us/Motherboard/GA-G31M-S2L-rev-10#ov

edit my board is the same as the one in the video the ES2L and my board are identical lastly i have the VRM mosfets cooled via VRM heatsinks

edit forgot to mention the VID as reported by both realtemp and coretemp is VID 1.3000 v

im not against setting the voltage manually provided you guys guide me through it

 

[EarthDog]

In this very section there is a stickied thread named THE ULTIMATE INTEL THREAD or something along those lines. In it, you will find many different helpful threads including an overclocking guide for c2d(which you have) and c2q(the quad core version of what yoy have). Give it a read, a try, and let us know where you get hung up!

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=515316


Your 'stuck sensor' issue, as you noted in another thread, is at idle. There you already said you reached temps of what, 44c....now you are reaching higher for whatever reason, so, as you knew earlier, its stuck down low, not high. Sensors get more accurate the closer they are to their limit/tjmax.

 

[Tech Tweaker]

You shouldn't need 1.38v to hit 4GHz. That's still a safe voltage level, but that much shouldn't be necessary and would just be adding unnecessary heat from the voltage increase.

On my two E8400 E0's I was between 1.225 to 1.3125v to reach 4GHz and be stable (My two CPU's were very different about the level of voltage they needed set in the BIOS to be stable.).

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/...el-socket-LGA775-Core-2-Duo-E8400-E0-stepping

 

[kaitlin4599]

In this very section there is a stickied thread named THE ULTIMATE INTEL THREAD or something along those lines. In it, you will find many different helpful threads including an overclocking guide for c2d(which you have) and c2q(the quad core version of what yoy have). Give it a read, a try, and let us know where you get hung up!

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=515316


Your 'stuck sensor' issue, as you noted in another thread, is at idle. There you already said you reached temps of what, 44c....now you are reaching higher for whatever reason, so, as you knew earlier, its stuck down low, not high. Sensors get more accurate the closer they are to their limit/tjmax.

still stuck on a 1.38V core to reach 4.0 on my E8400

 

[EarthDog]

What do you mean? Are you not stable? What have you tried that failed? Help us help you...

 

[kaitlin4599]

ok if i set the voltage options to manual in my bios settings the bios says system voltage not optimized if i set it to auto it set the cpu voltage to 1.38 cpu frequency is 445x9 below is a picture of the settings i have to work with

 

[kaitlin4599]

earthdog on my 1.38 vcore with my cpu overclocked to 3.7 i was stable for over 14 hours via testing in prime95 both small FFTs and blend

 

[Tech Tweaker]

ok if i set the voltage options to manual in my bios settings the bios says system voltage not optimized if i set it to auto it set the cpu voltage to 1.38 cpu frequency is 445x9 below is a picture of the settings i have to work withView attachment 190913

That's perfectly normal on a Gigabyte board (at least one from that era anyway). They always say that when you set the voltage manually, whether you're running at stock speeds or overclocked. I just ignore it when I set manual voltages, and all three of my Ggabyte LGA775 boards did this.

 

[kaitlin4599]

tech tweaker what should i set my manual voltage to in terms of my voltage control

 

[Tech Tweaker]

Try this for starters.

CPU voltage: 1.3v

Also, your memory is at 1068MHz according to your screen shot. May want to drop that down to the next speed lower since you said it's rated at 800MHz, if you can get it lower. You may have difficulty maintaining stability otherwise. If you can't get the speed/frequency lower, you may need to add +.1v to the DDR2 voltage to increase the stability of the memory if it gets unstable.

You may need to adjust the FSB voltage as well, perhaps. That varies though, some boards can go higher than others at the stock FSB (Northbridge) voltage. If this is anything like my G33 board you probably only have options on that for +.1v, +.2v, and +.3v. I wouldn't think that 445MHz would be too much of a strain on it, but there is a chance it may need a little voltage bump to remain stable.

The required voltages for a specific overclock are highly variable I'm afraid. What works with one CPU might not be enough for another CPU of the same model, even in the same exact motherboard with all the rest of the hardware being the same. And what works with one CPU in one motherboard might not work with that same CPU in another motherboard (so a person might need to apply more or less voltage on a different motherboard). So it is nearly impossible to say for certain what voltage your CPU needs to remain stable.

 

[kaitlin4599]

tech at stock my VID as reported by both coretemp and realtemp was 1.3000v is my 1.38 vcore an issue cpuz reports a core voltage of 1.344 V im running small FFTs at current settings 445x9 at 1.38 vcore so far no errors and its been ten mins

 

[kaitlin4599]

are these memory timings any good

i have a core 2 duo E8400 overclocked to 4.0 im still running prime95 to ensure a stable overclock. in my bios i have all the memory stuff set to auto below are pictures of my cpuz info and other info you may need.this is my first time overclocking

View attachment 190921

 

[knoober]

The tighter you can get the timings the better (generally). You could try setting them to the timings listed for 400mhz on the SPD tab (6-6-6-18-24) and see if your RAM will handle that. If it wont you can try bumping the ram voltage up a notch or two to get them stable. Here is a thread that talks a bit about "safe" voltages for DDR2. Ive never overclocked any DDR2 myself and havent had good results with DDR3 beyond manually setting the timings to match the SPD tab.

 

[Blaylock]

That's a very nice OC on that core 2. I would verify it's stability before adjusting ram personally. Once you know the CPU is stable than start on the ram. Like knoober suggested set it to the SPD settings (6-6-6-18-24-2T @1.8v) then start bumping up the speed. Generally speaking Mhz will trump latency but only to a point. You'll need to do some test to find the sweet spot. What's the use for this rig?

 

[wingman99]

Good memory timings and overclock keep up the good work.

 

[EarthDog]

4ghz is where all these typically land... im surprised that motherboard is supporting it, honestly.

Anyway, as you should be abke to tell, at 400 mhz your timings should be 6-6-6-18. Now, you are at 445, so that may or may not be possible. Did you try to set it there and have to raise it? Was it set there on auto? How did you get where you are at????

Please dont be shy when sharing information... help us help you...

PS- i merged your oc thread with this one since its about overclocking this sytem.

 

[kaitlin4599]

4ghz is where all these typically land... im surprised that motherboard is supporting it, honestly.

Anyway, as you should be abke to tell, at 400 mhz your timings should be 6-6-6-18. Now, you are at 445, so that may or may not be possible. Did you try to set it there and have to raise it? Was it set there on auto? How did you get where you are at????

Please dont be shy when sharing information... help us help you...

PS- i merged your oc thread with this one since its about overclocking this sytem.

earthdog decided to revert the system back to stock to see how my games play at stock speeds before oveclocking no need to overclock if i decide its not gonna benefit my system

 

[EarthDog]

Playing any remotely modern titles, it's going to help...period. You have a several generations old dual core, it will need all the help it can get on that front.

 

[kaitlin4599]

Playing any remotely modern titles, it's going to help...period. You have a several generations old dual core, it will need all the help it can get on that front.

i have a xeon W3565 desktop for newer titles i built this e8400 pc to play older titles released between 1999 and 2006

 

[kaitlin4599]

is my Vcore ok for my E8400

ok so i have an E8400 with a gigabyte motherboard heres the link to my mobo http://www.gigabyte.us/Motherboard/GA-G31M-S2L-rev-10#ov

i put mosfet cooling heatsinks on the VRM. i have everything set to auto in the bios the pc health status in my bios reports a Vcore of 1.380 cpuz reports a vcore of 1.360 v my FSB is 9x390 so im running my cpu at 3.5GHz if i try to set the voltage manualy or to any voltage below the 3.8 the pc reboots back to stock speeds. im just curious to know if its safe to run my cpu at these vcore settings

lastly if my bios says my Vcore is 3.80 then why does cpuz report 3.60 v?