Trouble getting good OC results with Q6600

[DennisReneHolm]

Hi. I'm having some troubles getting the results i have seen on multiple places online that other could get.

Like here, f.x. http://www.overclock.net/t/1206436/overclock-q6600-asus-p5k-pro

I have the same motherboard, and ofc. same CPU.

 

CPU

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.40GHz

RAM

4,00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 400MHz

Motherboard

ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5K PRO (LGA775)

Graphics

1023MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 

Storage

111GB OCZ-VERTEX3 (SSD)

465GB Western Digital

More precise specs can be found om the attached file.

 

The biggest stable OC i've been able to get, is with:

Multiplier: 9

FSB: 300

CPU voltage: 1.45

 

And i have disabled Speedstep. Any advice, or any reason why i cannot get any higher OC that's stable?

 

Temps:

I've just replaced the cooling paste with MX-4, that gave a drop in 5 degrees when testing with OCCT.

I'm getting a max temp of 70.

The cooler is not a stock cooler, i cannot remember what brand however.

It's quite high, 10 heatpipes and a 120 mm fan attached to it.

EDIT:
Pretty sure it's this cooler:

Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme
With a Noctua 120 mm fan

[ApolloX75]

Yikes. What stepping do you have? Most SLACR G0 chips could hit 3.0+ on little to no voltage adjustment.

What kind of PSU are you using? They enjoy nice stable line voltages so if you have any issue there it will put a damper on your OC.

Your temps are also very high for being so close to stock clocks. My QX9650 was only hitting 64C with a hyper 212 @3.7. How do you have your fans set up?

[DennisReneHolm]

The Case is a Antec One

 

The Square hole is blocked with a piece of papir to avoid to much dust falling into the case.

The PSU is not as the picture, it's pointed downwards, so closed system.

PSU is a Corsair HX620

What do you mean by what stepping i got?

[ApolloX75]

The Square hole is blocked with a piece of papir to avoid to much dust falling into the case.

The PSU is not as the picture, it's pointed downwards, so closed system.

PSU is a Corsair HX620

What do you mean by what stepping i got?

The square hole? The CPU cutout behind the motherboard? I wouldn't cover that up if that's what your talking about.

And as for stepping use a little program called CPUID to view the details of your CPU.

Do you have any case fans in the front or rear? Need to have a good amount of air movement in that case to keep your temps down.

[DennisReneHolm]

That was kinda of what i was trying to explain using the arrows:P

Every arrow is a fan, except the one at the PSU place, that is a closed system.

And the red rektangel is a fan hole, that is covered to direct airflow out the back, and to avoid dust comming in through the top.

 

DL'ed CPU-Z and exported the data as .HMTL

 

Removed 3 of these, temps are now 10 degrees cooler.

SARA.html

[ApolloX75]

That was kinda of what i was trying to explain using the arrows:P

Every arrow is a fan, except the one at the PSU place, that is a closed system.

And the red rektangel is a fan hole, that is covered to direct airflow out the back, and to avoid dust comming in through the top.

DL'ed CPU-Z and exported the data as .HMTL

Alright, I gotcha now . Your air flow path looks good.

According to CPUID you have a G0 stepping, which means a SLACR core. That's good.

With Core2s more than anything there is no guarantee one chip will overclock as well as the next, but I think you should be able to hit 3ghz no problem. Make sure you run your RAM unlinked from your CPU FSB if possible, should have the ability in the BIOS to do so.

You can reduce the speed of your RAM for the time being to improve stability as well. Once you get the CPU stable at your target then you can start bringing the ram back up.

You can proceed one of two ways. Set the chip back to stock and then slowly bump up the FSB until it is unstable and then tweak voltages. That will take a lot of time but its more thorough. Or you can set the FSB and Multiplier to 9*333 and then tweak your voltage until you get it stable. That'll net you a 3GHz OC to start with.

You may have to bump up your north bridge voltage too, but try not to go too high, say no more than .20V increase to start.

[DennisReneHolm]

I just tried to bumb FSB to 333.

I get POST, but Windows crashes at boot.

 

Tried to go as high as 1.55 volts on the CPU, didn't help.

 

Now i'm at 1,5 volts, running 320 FSB, testing with OCCT.

 

Could you explain a bit more about unlinking the RAM? and reducing the speed of them?

[ApolloX75]

I just tried to bumb FSB to 333.

I get POST, but Windows crashes at boot.

Tried to go as high as 1.55 volts on the CPU, didn't help.

Now i'm at 1,5 volts, running 320 FSB, testing with OCCT.

Could you explain a bit more about unlinking the RAM? and reducing the speed of them?

Sure thing. In most Core2 setups the speed of the ram is proportional to the speed of the FSB. Some have options to run in 1:1, 2:1 or unlinked. Basically if your FSB is 333, your Ram will run 666 and so on. Having the option to unlink makes life easier, as it allows you to run your memory at its own pace as opposed to being tied in with the CPU.

Im at work now, but if I get a moment I'll see if I can dig up some info on your motherboard and give you some more in depth help with the BIOS.

Harrynowl has a guide on LTT specifically for core2 overclocking and its very detailed.

[ApolloX75]

Alright had a look at your BIOS options. There's no link for yours, your DRAM frequency is pretty set in stone.

Now the 6600 is a 1066/266 fsb chip so you might be pushing too much for it. Can your multiplier go higher than 9?

If not your going to have to push the north bridge voltage up. Also disable CPU spread spectrum, that will increase stability as well.

[DennisReneHolm]

I could not get the multiplier higher than 9.

 

I got the FSB up to 319, which got it up to 2,87 GHz, which is a slight improvement.

When you mentioned the RAM hz, i took a look at it, and when i set the FSB, the RAM hz changes, and i have to set it to a certain number to correct it.

 

It seems the FSB and ram speed are connected? because i can't choose 800 MHz at certain FSB. That's why chose 319 MHz for the FSB, that way i could choose the 800 MHz for the RAM.

 

800 MHz is the native speed for my RAM isn't it?

99C5316-026.A00LF

 

So current settings are:

Multiplier: 9

FSB: 319

CPU voltage: 1.5125

NB voltage: 1.41 (standard 1,25)

RAM speed: 800 MHz
CPU spread spectrum disabled.

 

Played GTA IV for over 30 minutes without problems.

When i went higher in speed, it crashed after 10 minutes playtime.

 

I don't think i can go any higher, and maybe that's fine, its still an improvement over the 2,4 GHz i started with.

[ApolloX75]

I could not get the multiplier higher than 9.

I got the FSB up to 319, which got it up to 2,87 GHz, which is a slight improvement.

When you mentioned the RAM hz, i took a look at it, and when i set the FSB, the RAM hz changes, and i have to set it to a certain number to correct it.

It seems the FSB and ram speed are connected? because i can't choose 800 MHz at certain FSB. That's why chose 319 MHz for the FSB, that way i could choose the 800 MHz for the RAM.

800 MHz is the native speed for my RAM isn't it?

99C5316-026.A00LF

So current settings are:

Multiplier: 9

FSB: 319

CPU voltage: 1.5125

NB voltage: 1.41 (standard 1,25)

RAM speed: 800 MHz

CPU spread spectrum disabled.

Played GTA IV for over 30 minutes without problems.

When i went higher in speed, it crashed after 10 minutes playtime.

I don't think i can go any higher, and maybe that's fine, its still an improvement over the 2,4 GHz i started with.

Yeah your RAM is directly linked to your FSB, and the P5-K doesn't have the option to run unlinked.

Looks like you've hit the ceiling for your chip unfortunately. Unless you get your hands on an X38/P45/780i/790i board. Those are usually supreme overclocking boards but getting hard to find now.

[DennisReneHolm]

It's my old PC, now my current girlfriends PC, so i was just trying to get a bit more speed out of it, making it as ready as it can be, for GTA 5.

 

Thanks for your help, much appreciated!

[DennisReneHolm]

Oh, it crashed in OCCT, think ill just manage with the 2700 MHz
Still better than stock!

[DennisReneHolm]

Oh, it crashed in OCCT, think ill just manage with the 2700 MHz
Still better than stock!

[ApolloX75]

Oh, it crashed in OCCT, think ill just manage with the 2700 MHz

Still better than stock!

Lol glad to be of service!

[GlassBomb]

Bummer that you weren't able to push your Q6600 further. I had mine clocked to 3.2 for all of its life.

Still have it laying on my desk with the mobo, cooler, and everything. Asus P5QC and a Noctua cooler.

[DennisReneHolm]

I might just got my hands on a e8500, would that be a better cpu for gaming than the Q6600 ?

[ApolloX75]

I might just got my hands on a e8500, would that be a better cpu for gaming than the Q6600 ?

Yes and no. The duo will be faster, and certainly clock better. But the quad has the advantage of being a quad. It will be smoother.

Also double check your motherboard and make sure it supports 1333mhz CPUs fully, because the E8500 is newer than the q6600.

[DennisReneHolm]

Should be doable with a BIOS update as far as my googling skills tell me.

What would you choose?
The game that i'm aiming for is GTA 5, i know it will be NEVER be smooth on such an old system, but which CPU will run it best?

[ApolloX75]

Should be doable with a BIOS update as far as my googling skills tell me.

What would you choose?

The game that i'm aiming for is GTA 5, i know it will be NEVER be smooth on such an old system, but which CPU will run it best?

The Quad, hands down. After the issues with games like Far Cry 4 and DAI you can bet your ass it's going to be massively limited by core count. It may not even run with a dual core.

[Hieb]

The Quad, hands down. After the issues with games like Far Cry 4 and DAI you can bet your ass it's going to be massively limited by core count. It may not even run with a dual core.

 

I doubt those games would run smoothly even with a Q6600. I couldn't even maintain above 45 fps consistently in Battlefield 3 multiplayer, I can't imagine what it'd be like in something like GTA V or Dragon Age...

[ApolloX75]

I doubt those games would run smoothly even with a Q6600. I couldn't even maintain above 45 fps consistently in Battlefield 3 multiplayer, I can't imagine what it'd be like in something like GTA V or Dragon Age...

No doubt it'll be a bumpy ride.

[DennisReneHolm]

Great, ill stick with the Quad.

@Hieb And i have no doubts it might get bumpy, but it's the only PC we can afford for my girlfriend ATM, so it's either that, or nothing

[DennisReneHolm]

Hi again.

 

I got my hands on some 2 GB dimms, and got the PC up to 8 GB RAM.

 

I can now do a OC to 3,6 GHz, however not Windows stabile.

 

These settings gives me a 3,51 GHz clockspeed, and are not causing problems when testing  with OCCT. Tested 45 minutes without problems.

 

Multiplier: 9

FSB: 390

Vcore: 1.55

RAM speed: 801 MHz

 

It seems rock solid when just running Windows, but i can't play games with it, then it stalls.

Sometimes after 5 minutes, other times after 30 minutes.

 

Could it be that the PSU doesn't have enough juice to run the CPU OC'ed at the same time as there is need for the GPU?

This error occurs no matter which OC i use on the CPU, anything else than stock, will this error occur.

[dragoon20005]

set it to 333MHz FSB and manually set the RAM to be DDR2 800MHz

 

you might need more voltage to get it stable in Windows

 

it could also be the limitation of the P35 chipset