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Ask the Doctor

OC Your Proc

Posted 08/20/09 at 05:50:42 PM  by The Maximum PC Staff

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Ask the Doctor LogoI bought an E6850 because I’d read how easy it is to overclock. I followed the instructions in your article about overclocking Intel CPUs and I can’t get an extra 10MHz out of mine before it locks up! I’m running the CPU on an Asus Striker Extreme, with 2GB of Corsair Dominator RAM, a Raptor 150GB HD, an 8800 GTX, an Enermax 850W PSU, Win XP SP3, etc. The CPU and GPU are water cooled and run at about 40 C under load.

Each time I raise the front-side bus speed in the BIOS it boots fine and runs for about two minutes before locking up. I tried unlinking the RAM; still no luck. Everything is running at stock settings, but I want to be able to OC the proc.

Any ideas on what the problem might be?

 —Andy Saint

 
First, remember that overclocking can be risky and that it’s no guarantee you’ll get more out of your system. There are a few things you can check. One, you may have to increase the voltage to the CPU, chipset, and RAM to achieve higher overclocks. Second, you should check your BIOS version. If you’re running a very old BIOS, a newer revision may actually let you hit higher speeds. For example, BIOS rev 1305 for your mobo “Enhances CPU overclock capability of FSB1333 processors.” Also remember that your Core 2 Duo E6850 runs on a 333MHz front-side bus and has a 9x locked multiplier, so getting it to extremely high speeds would require very high front-side bus speeds. To get to 4GHz, you’d need to push a 450MHz front-side bus. Although overclocking techniques differ, the Doctor prefers pushing CPUs that have lower front-side bus speeds rather than those with higher speeds.

 

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION Are flames shooting out of the back of your rig? First, grab a fire extinguisher and douse the flames. Once the pyrotechnic display has fizzled, email the doctor at doctor@maximumpc.com for advice on how to solve your technological woes.

 

COMMENTS:4
TAGS: cpu, overclock, ask the doctor
COMMENTS
avatarTry playing with the FSB

Submitted by Rob86 on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 4:33pm

Try playing with the FSB Ratio my q6600 unlinked wouldn't even post @3.6 but when i set the FSB ratio to 5:4 it would boot windows just fine. you may also want to check all the voltages to make sure they are set to spec, auto gives me some weird stuff sometimes, and like MPC overvolting can work wonders just be careful :)

 

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avatarA Little Help

Submitted by bob818 on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 9:16pm

Hi All,

I need a little help.  I built my system in the fall and I am now ready to start overclocking.   Lord Omega, your system looks the closest to mine.  This is what I have...

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R with upgraded heatsink. I forgot the exact model but it was rec from Tom's Hardware.

OS:  Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit RC
Processor:  Intel Quad 6600
Memory:  Corsair Dominators, 4gb ddr2
Hard Drive:  500gig OEM Hitachi
Case:  Coolermaster 690 with 8 fans
There is also a sticker on the case that says "Overclocked like a Mother!" so I would like to stop being a poser.  It's embarressing when someone stops by and asks me about it...
 I tried using the easy tune 6 software that came from gigabyte, which had like 6 settings and would lock up after the 1st.

So I guess I am asking the maximum pc members for some help during this time of financial crisis.  (I would of had an i7)

If you need advice on ripping your dvd's to a home server and playing them in your home, I'm pretty knowledgable.  I ripped all of my dvd's, without recoding with handbrake, almost identical dvd quality, and play them back on my PS3 and Dlink 520.  

Any help would be appreciated...

Bob
bob818@gmail.com

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avatarOk so your running on a

Submitted by erolsipar on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 3:15pm

Ok so your running on a striker extreme then you will have problems for sure. I had that piece of shi* and thankfully It's pins got bend so I beat the crap out of that and got an Asus P5E3 Premium Wifi with Q6600. It changed my overclocking reputation and now I sold it and currently own a Gigabyte Extreme X58 with Core i7 920. The nvidia 680 doesn't even support 45nm and has hard times with overclocking. If you had got a P45 or a X45 chipset then you will have no trouble overclocking your cpu.

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avatarAgreed. I am running a

Submitted by Lord Omega on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 6:40pm

Agreed. I am running a Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1 (P45 chipset) with a Q6600 G0 (1.275 vid) and I hit 3.6 the first day I got it. Right now I am running it happily at 3.717 w/ 1.525v in bios (1.504v CPUz), but my temps get up there. I hit about 75C during load with Intel Burn Test which is not bad for what I have (and S1283 w/ Ultra Kaze 3k, taped, using IC7 TIM). For 109 USD, the UD3R is one of the best boards I have ever used. It can take 2000+ MHz FSB which is just plan nuts!

 

 

Personally I would say drop the damn Striker Extreme and get a Gigabyte UD3R or UD3P. Though you do not have SLI, you can get 2 HD4770s in Xfire and it would beat the snot out of a 8600GT or even an 8800GT.

 

Remember, you can push your voltages up to 1.55 just fine on a 65nm. But if you had a Q6600, those babies can take a beating and keep on ticking. I have seen people stress these at +1.6v! Someone even had theirs hitting 100C and had it like that for about 10 hours and didn't even know it! That is some crazy stuff right there. And after that, the chip worked just fine. They are hard to kill and are even harder to get a crazy overclock out of them (3.75+ on air is rather hard to do).

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