Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

[Brigs]

Ok, so I decided to start the thread early cause I couldnt wait Just so you know I am a total "greenhorn" at OCing my processor and have never OC'd any of my builds, so this shall be a first, and well.... interesting
I am wanting to do just a mild OC to like 3.0-3.2Ghz and see how I like it.

So, first off is my sig at the bottom with all my specs, and second, here is my Current BIOS settings ( I have my 1066 ram stable at 800Mhz cause 1066 was having problems on my previous thread as you might have noticed from the 20 pages ). Screen shot of Memset and ET6 below this as well. Also, if any of my settings dont look optimized enough, (getting best performance), plz let me know!

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 8x
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.+0.5
CPU Frequency ...........................: 2.83Ghz (333x8.5)


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Disabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 333Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:100
C.I.A.2 .................................:[Disabled]


Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: <<< 800
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: <<< 900
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: <<<
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: <<<


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: [Disabled]
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: [2.40B]
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1066 800 DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................5 [4]
tRCD .........................................7 [4]
tRP'...........................................7 [4]
tRAS..........................................20 [12]

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................4 [3]
tWTR..........................................4 [4]
tWR............................................8 [6]
tRFC...........................................68 [52]
tRTP...........................................4 [4]
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:0 [2]

Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength ............................ [1066]

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:6 [7]
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:0 Auto
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:0 Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:0 Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:0 Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:6 Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:6 Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:5 Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:8 Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto
Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:6 [7]
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:0 Auto
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:0 Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:0 Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:0 Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:6 Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:6 Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:5 Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:8 Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto

Motherboard Voltage Control

CPUMCH/ICHDRAMAdvanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled]

[Brigs]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

And now for Memset and ET6 ~

Thanx guys!

[Sunburn74]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

First of all, you need to use a 2.00 multiplier and not a 2.40 multiplier. As you start increasing fsb speed, you'll far too quickly be pushing your ram beyond its limit. For example at 2.0 and 400 mhz fsb, your ram will be at 800 mhz. But if you are at 2.4 multiplier, it'll be running at 960. You'll only be 10 or 20 mhz away from the upper rated limit. There is NO benefit to running your ram faster than your cpu other than potential instability.

Your voltages aren't too bad. Anyway, punch in 1.3 for your mch voltage and 1.3 for your cpu voltage and you're gonna need around 1.34 for your cpu vtt. That'll get you up around 3.8-4 ghz stably with a q9550 e0. Once you have the cpu stable at a speed you're satisfied with, start dropping voltages until you can't drop them anymore.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

Let us know how things go with the above suggestions, if you run into issues please post the full settings you tried and we will advise back

[Chike]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

I would have explored the possibility of stabilizing ram on DDR-1066 with 400FSB first, you might have more success with the 2.66D multiplier.

[Conners]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

I'd say what is your goal speed. 3.83/3.91 works for me well with very little voltage changes...

You could probably get up to 450 FSB (3.825 GHz) on a 2.4B strap which would be a little OC of the memory @1080...

Strike this post.......I see he wants a 3.0/3.2 now...

[Conners]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

At 3.2 you’re severely limited by your memory @ only 800 MHz. 2.00 B or D only gets you 760 MHz. 400 MHz FSB according to your memory limit would be the max you could go. And may be the better choice for you.

[nate42nd]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

Watch this series of videos. He is not an expert but his methods work fine. It will get you started.

YouTube - Gigabyte EP45-UD3P Overclocking Howto - Part Two - 720P HD

[Brigs]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

Wow, well thanx for all the posts guys From all this information I am a bit overwhelmed. I really have no idea what the different straps like a,b and d do and I'm trying to understand the relationship of the FSB and clock speed of my processor in relation to my ram. I am assuming that whatever the FSB is , that means that that is the multiplier for my CPU speed and ram speed? How do I know what strap I want to use, and since I finally got my system stable runnin this memory at 800Mhz, I assume I have to change all my ram settings witih CPU settings to OC?

I'm just trying to understand what it all means, like vtt, load line calibration and CPU termination and that kind of stuff? Or do I need to know what those are?

The reason I said I wanted to do a mild OC is cause I thought it would be best to start out small like 3.0-3.2Ghz and go up incrementally, also making sure my temp stays within range; I'm afraid if I go right to 3.8-4Ghz thats quite a leap and I dont want to blow my CPU up, just paranoid I guess Just didnt know if starting at higher speeds and going lower is the way to OC or starting low and going higher is the way.

Sorry I'm such a noob at this and have no idea what it all means, I just have a schematic like brain that likes to know exactly what I'm doing step by step (like a flow chart) ,and why I am doing it, and what would be the reasons to not do it a certain way.

Sry I'm such a tard guys, just tryin to understand the basics so I can get a little grip on what I am doing so I do it right, and thanx for all the reply's!!!!

[nate42nd]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

The best way is to watch those videos. If you are not going to get extreme, it's the same board as you have (if your signature is current) and you really don't need a lot of settings to get a great OC) just some basics. It will get you started and you can start reading from there. I am doing the same thing right now. The RAM is the hardest to understand for me. I think I have good RAM but will probably not OC it until I know what the heck all these settings are. Good luck.

I tried the same exact stuff on my P55-UD4P and i7 860 and I'm running @ 3.36 stable with almost no heat gain (about 3-4C) so it seems to work fine.

[Chike]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

The CNPS8700 may hold quad at 3.2GHz not sure about 3.4, I had it up to 3.4Ghz on my C2D, did OK considering my ambiant temp.
400 FSB can take you up to 3.4GHz with ram atDDR-800 as now or DDR-1066 if you can make it work with 2.66D multiplier.
Set CPU Vcore/Termination/PLL manually to their default value and you're good to go.
You can than try 400FSB with CPU Ratio 7.5 and 2.00D memory multiplier and everythibg else as it is. A little more CPU Termination and MCH Core may be needed. No OC yetm just to see memory related settings are OK.
If that work and you want to try DDR-1066 again, set all timings on auto with CMP profile1 and Static tRead Value 8-9 to begin with, and see how it goes.
Then you increase CPU Ratio graduately, adding Vcore, and possibly CPU Termination and PLL.

[Brigs]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

Cool man, thanx for the video link, I'll definitely check it out and hopefully shed some light on all this new stuff I am tryin to understand

Thanx for reply Chike, so do you mean that I can leave my DDR-800 settings as is and leave my multiplier alone as is. Then, set CPU Vcore/Termination/PLL manually to their default values. Then, set FSB to 400 and I will get around 3.2-3.4Ghz?

Are you then saying after I have tried that and it is stable I make the CPU ratio 7x plus the 0.5 makes it 7.5 and change my memory to 2.00D and then add some more CPU termination and MCH core and that will further increase my OC to ??

Sry just trying to get this all straight, its kinda confusing ;; thanx for any input guys ^^

[Sunburn74]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

Ok. Your cpu clock speed is the product of two things
cpu multiplier x fsb

You can't increase your cpu multiplier but you can increase your fsb. If you were to increase the cpu multiplier, you would gain a faster processor without affecting your ram or your motherboard. If you increase your fsb, you gain a faster processor by making all your your ram, cpu, and your mobo run faster; in other words you are overclocking all 3 parts.

Thats why in general when you OC a processor, you need a good board and some high rated ram. Its not that the high rated ram by itself makes your pc faster; rather it just provides headroom for you to overclock. For example, if you cpu can overclock by a million mhz and your ram can only overclock 20mhz, no matter what you do to the cpu, your upper limit will be about a 20mhz overclock. The same works in reverse. If your cpu can only overclock 200mhz but your ram is rated for a million mhz, regardless of what you do with the ram, your upper limit for the overclock will be about 200mhz. There is no advantage to running your ram faster than your cpu.

The RAM has its own multiplier which controls how fast it runs. It can run in step with the cpu (1:1) or out of step with the cpu (faster than the cpu, or slower than the cpu). It all depends on what multiplier you choose. In general there is no advantage to running your ram faster than you cpu, and its disadvantegeous to run it slower than you cpu. The best scenario is to run your ram exactly in step with your cpu. To do this you need to use a 2.00 multiplier.

MCH latch frequency is an obscure thing, but it basically sort of determines the frequency setting the mobo runs. In general most people find stability with the 333mhz latch or the 400mhz latch. If your fsb exceeds 500mhz, often the 266mhz latch starts to creep in as the most stable setting. For your case I strongly recommend you go with the 333mhz latch and a 2.00B multiplier.

In terms of general overclocking (ie not looking for the maximal possible overclock), there's not too much you really have to do with RAM. Give it a good multiplier (2.00B) and enough voltage (2.0-2.1V) and fairly loose timings (5-5-5-18) and you're generally good to go. All those settings are fairly easy to find in the motherboards overclocking page.

For the board, there's generally not too much to do. Most boards by gigabyte are built for overclocking. All you have to do is ensure that the mch chipset has enough voltage. You generally don't want to exceed 1.4V and most people find stability in the 1.2-1.3 range. Thats about all you have to tweak.

The cpu's stability is generally affected by 3 things:
1) the fsb
2) cpu vcore
3) cpu vtt

There are other settings that can be tweaked and manipulated, but in terms of generally overclocking and not looking for the maximal possible overclock, those 3 things are the primary determinants you will be playing with. The other settings really only come into play when you're doing serious stability testing (ie prime95 runs for 6hrs then crashes, so you play with cpu ref to see if you can get a 12hr run and etc)

Generally with cpu vcore anywhere from 1.2-1.4 volts is what you need to stably run anywhere from stock speeds to 4ghz+. Cpu vcore is the most important voltage and plays the largest role in stabilizing your overclocked cpu. In terms of cpu vtt, you generally will not exceed 1.3 (though some people use as high as 1.4-1.5). Its fairly important, but generally you don't start adjusting it, until you hit a bit of a wall with the cpu vcore.

In general, you overclock by starting out with setting you know you will need to run your system stably: 2.1v on the ram, 2.00B/d multipliers, 1.3v mch chipset.

I'd suggest manually entering your cpu vcore and your cpu vtt (just pick the stock settings or better yet punch in 1.32 for cpu vcore and 1.3 for cpu vtt).

Then increase your fsb by 10mhz and see if you can boot to windows. If you can boot, restart the pc and increase the fsb by 10mhz again. Do this until you cannot boot into windows or you are satisfied with the overclock. Once you cannot boot into windows most likely it'll be the cpu failing, so bump up the vcore, by one step and see if that'll let you boot into windows.

Essentially once you've found a speed where you cannot boot into windows or you're satisfied and adding cpu voltage doesn't help, back off 10mhz and try to stabilize that setting. This is where stress testing comes into play. You stress test to so that you don't get random crashes all the time with your cpu. To do so you're going to need a program like prime95.

I personally like to run prime blend right away because I'm pretty keen on figuring out why my pc is having a crash. If you run prime and you have one core fail, it's most likely a cpu vcore or cpu vtt issue. If you run prime and you have all cores fail, or a total system lock up, its most likely a ram or mch issue. If you run prime and it doesn't even run for a sec before failing, it could be anything so back off 10mhz on the fsb and try to stabilize that spot. Keep good records (screenshots) of settings and amounts of time prime ran before crashing and its generally easy to figure out if a change you made was a good change or a bad change. If I'm trying to figure out which cpu value I need to change, I try one and see if it gave me an increase in the amount of time the stress test ran stably. If it did, I keep it, if not I reset to the previous setting and try another value. Change one thing at a time, take little steps, and pay attention. Stress testing is the heart and soul of overclocking. Anyone can get their system to boot at ungodly speeds, but its hard to get your system stabilized at those speeds.

To get your q9550 up to 3.2 you don't really have to do much. Assuming you have a 2.00B multiplier, a 333mhz latch, 2.0-2.1 v for the ram, and 1.3v for the mch chipset, you probably don't have to adjust any cpu settings to get it to run reliably. Be warned though, the gigabyte board overestimates cpu vtt and cpu pll when you overclock and it can really put in some high voltages for those values. I strongly suggest you plug in a value for your cpu vcore, 1.3 v for the cpu vtt and 1.5-1.58 v for the cpu pll manually just for stabilities sake because the auto settings can overshoot what you really need by a quite a bit.

Anyway here's a screeny of the settings I use on my q9550 E0 on my ga-p45-dsq for 4ghz. I realize you are shooting for a much lower overclock, but if these settings work 4ghz, they'll most certainly work (and be overkill) for 3.2ghz most likely.



Once you have stable settings (due to nice long prime95 blend runs), start backing down the voltages and testing for stabilty until you've minimized them. You should also at that time try to tighten up your timings.

[Brigs]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

Wow, that was an awsome reply Sunburn, perfectly stated so I understand what everything means, THANK YOU very much for taking the time to write that out, much obliged

Ya so I will do what you said with the 2.00B multi, enter voltages manually, have my DRAM at 2.1v and MCH core at 1.3v.

Can I leave my memory timings at 4-4-4-12 , tRD at 7, Cmd rate at 2 and advanced timings as they are per my BIOS manual settings?

And also my FSB is currently both 333Mhz, where you saying I should leave it at 333 or up it to 400Mhz? And thats the FSB on the cpu not the ram correct?

And the end result is I should be running at about 3.2Ghz and 800Mhz ram speed?

Thanx again man, that was excellent in-depth information for a noob like me

[Chike]

Re: Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

FSB control both CPU and RAM speed, FSB xCPU Ratio = CPU speed, FSB x memory multiplier = RAM speed. Just increasing FSB will increase them both.

I am titaly against "this work for 4GHz it will sure work for 3.2GHz" approach. Why start stable and find instability and not the other way?

I suggest incremental OC, FSB with no ram or cou OC, then increasing cpu speed and ram if you want to give it another try.

400 FSB with CPU Ratio 7.5 will set cou on 2.8GHz as it is now, only FSB related settings need to be changed if needed, Vtt and possibly PLL, only minor changes for that kind of OC. Once stable you can increasee multiplier and vcore if needed.

2.00B multinplier may work at 400 FSB, 2.00D is more likely to work as it was desugned for this FSB. You may need to increase tRD, other timings sould be good as they are now. Start with tRD 8 or 9 just to eliminate the possibility it is the problem in case you have any.