Overclocking theory question / First overclock

[Bathmat]

Hey guys,

I recently just gave my first shot at overclocking and had a question about CPU/RAM timing ratios and what is the best route. I have long story behind my post below, but for those that don’t want to read it, here’s the bottom line up front:

What’s the best (fastest, most reliable, most efficient, etc.) overclock method out of the 2 below?
1. An old Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 (2.6 GHz) overclocked to 3.2 GHz with 800 MHz DDR2 running at a 1:1 ratio at 800 MHz and 1.85v (Base clock 399 MHz)
Or
2. Q9400 overclocked to 3.07 GHz with DDR2 800 running at 5:6 ratio at 920 MHz and 2.0V (Base clock 383 MHz)

Here’s the full story:

I originally built my PC back in 2008 with an ASUS P5K Deluxe, E8500 (3.16 GHz) and 4 GB DDR2 800. It served me well for many years until my graphics card died (9800 GT). So, I bought a cheap one (Radeon 5450) to keep using it for a while, but couldn’t really game with it. Around that time I bought a gaming laptop (ASUS G51J) and used that as my desktop replacement for a long time.
A few weeks ago, I decided to pull my old desktop back out and see how she was doing. I also thought I’d try overclocking to squeeze a little more out of her before I build a new rig. I bought a new graphics card (GTX 1050) and 4 GB more DDR2 800 to help improve her performance.

While I was messing with my first overclock on the P5K just using their AI Suite to boost CPU speed, I decided I should update my BIOS. Unfortunately, I was dumb enough to use their Windows updater which ultimately killed the mobo (wouldn’t POST, no beeps).

I bought the Q9400 for cheap just to make sure I hadn’t fried the CPU with the overclocking. Additionally, I got a cheap mobo (ECS G33T-M2) to verify I had killed the P5K. I soon confirmed all my suspicions that it was the Windows BIOS update that did it.

So, I figured I’d give overclocking another shot with the new mobo and CPU. The G33T has very limited overclock functions, but I got setup 1 stable pretty easily by dialing back the RAM to 667 MHz and upping the base clock. Then I got setup 2 stable by increasing the RAM back to 800 MHz and upping the voltage to 2.0. However, I can’t get back to 399 base clock due to the RAM not being able to handle it. I should mention that I have 4 GB of Corsair DDR2 800 (original RAM) and 4 GB of GSkill DDR2 800 (just bought a few weeks ago). The Corsair is rated to 2.1V, but the GSkill is only 1.9V, thus my issue with trying to go higher. It’s already over max at 2.0V.

Those are the best 2 stable configurations I could get. So, which one do you guys think would be better to use?

Thanks for reading!

P.S. I’ve ordered some DDR2 1066, just waiting for it to arrive so I can try setup 2 at 399 MHz base clock without killing the RAM.

 

[Suppressor1137]

Is the only propose of this rig overclocking? If so,disregard the next statement. I can't answer these questions because i never overclocked my old c2d e8600.

With the issues you have been describing, you may be better off nabbing a cheap ryzen build and replace that machine. That processor and memory is severely limiting that gpu, and no amount of overclocking will even come close to the performance gain of a current gen cpu, even the cheapest one in the lineup.

 

[EarthDog]

I dont think hes asking about an upgrade....

Anyway, its going to be negligible differences between the two. I suppose id rather have the faster clock speed than ram speed if that was my rig.

 

[Bathmat]

Thanks for responding fellas.

Is the only propose of this rig overclocking? If so,disregard the next statement. I can't answer these questions because i never overclocked my old c2d e8600.

With the issues you have been describing, you may be better off nabbing a cheap ryzen build and replace that machine. That processor and memory is severely limiting that gpu, and no amount of overclocking will even come close to the performance gain of a current gen cpu, even the cheapest one in the lineup.

I actually never put the 1050 in this rig. The manual said that it required a PCI-e 2.0 slot, which this old mobo obviously doesn't have. I'm sure it would have worked, but I didn't want to risk it.

I'm currently getting parts for an FX build, so yeah, this rig is just for me to learn/practice overclocking on something with cheap components (other than the RAM :/ )

I dont think hes asking about an upgrade....

Anyway, its going to be negligible differences between the two. I suppose id rather have the faster clock speed than ram speed if that was my rig.

Yeah, I'm currently running setup 1 with the 1:1 ratio. I didn't like overclocking/overvolting the RAM. That being said, the 5:6 ratio "felt" faster (seemed to load Windows faster). But I'll probably keep this current setup until I get the 1066.