Overclocking a Q9550

[OneMoar]

MX4 is better then AC5 but only by 1 or 2C but its totally not conductive/non captive and easier to apply a bent pin is not likely to be effected by temps so I doubt its damaged might be a fidgety chip tho
CFM is not everything static pressure is what you wanna look at also

[InnocentCriminal]

Thanks to this thread I decided to look into my cooling and found that one out of my two front fans wasn't spinning. After stripping down my rig and redoing the cabling so that I could reconnect the fan, I've managed to lower my temps considerably. Which makes sense.

I've managed to slightly increase my overclock too. I love rekindling my OC'ing spirit.

[SnoopKatt]

So I ordered the new CPU cooler along with the Scythe fans! If it doesn't really help out, Amazon is pretty cool with returns. I'll post back when everything is installed.

[marsey99]

i hate to be the one to tell you dude but you wont ever get the best out of that cpu from a p35, they just cant do the high fsb with 45nm quads

[Bo$$]

Originally Posted by marsey99

i hate to be the one to tell you dude but you wont ever get the best out of that cpu from a p35, they just cant do the high fsb with 45nm quads

I got 450 out of my P5k premium. He should get about similar

He won't hit 4GHZ or anything but 3.6-3.8 should be quite attainable

[marsey99]

with what chip dude?

i tried a couple dif boards and the best i got with my 9550 was around 440 which is a good way off the 540 i got from it in a p45.

[Bo$$]

Originally Posted by marsey99

with what chip dude?

i tried a couple dif boards and the best i got with my 9550 was around 440 which is a good way off the 540 i got from it in a p45.

I had 3.7GHZ with a Q9450, im sure that one will get a little more than that

[marsey99]

nice :thumb:

i nearly had that same chip but found the 9550 on a steal of a deal for £140

[BarbaricSoul]

I was able to do 9*475 fsb for a 4.275 ghz OC with a Q9650 on a Nvidia 750 chipset(EVGA 750FTW mb). I would be confident in saying P35 chipset can out do the Nvidia 750 chipset.

[FreedomEclipse]

Originally Posted by BarbaricSoul

I was able to do 9*475 fsb for a 4.275 ghz OC with a Q9650 on a Nvidia 750 chipset(EVGA 750FTW mb). I would be confident in saying P35 chipset can out do the Nvidia 750 chipset.

I too managed a 475fsb on my Q9550, but i was running an Asus P5Q Pro which was a P45 chipset.

I think I remember someone saying that P35 boards tend to run a little hotter then newer generation boads a long while back while C2Qs were still in full swing

[BarbaricSoul]

Originally Posted by FreedomEclipse

I too managed a 475fsb on my Q9550, but i was running an Asus P5Q Pro which was a P45 chipset.

I think I remember someone saying that P35 boards tend to run a little hotter then newer generation boads a long while back while C2Qs were still in full swing

I was able to do 500 fsb with the same Q9650 on a Gigabyte P45 UD3P, but then again, the UD3P was one of the best OC'ing P45 boards.

[Bo$$]

Originally Posted by FreedomEclipse

I too managed a 475fsb on my Q9550, but i was running an Asus P5Q Pro which was a P45 chipset.

I think I remember someone saying that P35 boards tend to run a little hotter then newer generation boads a long while back while C2Qs were still in full swing

they tend to have Ghetto cooling as a result

[m1dg3t]

Apologies for late reply, been hiding in a corner picking my nose

Originally Posted by SnoopKatt

So I ordered the new CPU cooler along with the Scythe fans! If it doesn't really help out, Amazon is pretty cool with returns. I'll post back when everything is installed.

What cooler did you order? That 520 of your's is a pretty decent cooler from what i recall.

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

^^ This guide was a big help to me, i read through it a few time's and did a bunch of Googling (searched using overclocking q9550 & OCing q9550 on Asus p5q [which is my combo]) going through multiple single post's and small thread's to get an idea of where to start.

In regard's to the GTL's i was pointed to this thread http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...-45nm-amp-65nm and also came across this thread in it there was talk about GTL's which i found helpfull >> http://icrontic.com/discussion/85055/the-goal-fsb475mhz

Have you dwnld any stress/mointoring proggies yet? Can you post some pix of your actual MOBO and your BIOS showing what option's you have for clocking? You may be able to increas the board's headroom by improving it's cooling. Usually a hot NB/VRM's keep OC's from being as good as they can be, plus most people just dump volt's to make it "stable" which in turn add's heat, not bad if you can get rid of it.

[Mindweaver]

Originally Posted by marsey99

i hate to be the one to tell you dude but you wont ever get the best out of that cpu from a p35, they just cant do the high fsb with 45nm quads

You're right to an extent.. My p35 handled my 3.6GHz overclock just fine.. The only problem I had with mine was overclocking ram past 900mhz.. (that's with using 1066mhz ram) I did upgrade to a P45 and it handled 3.8Ghz like a champ. So, if he likes his board, and don't have the money to upgrade to a P45 he can still get to 3.6Ghz quite easy... and mybe even 3.8ghz with that new Heatsink and fans.

EDIT: I do have to note that my p35 handled my E8400 @ 4.0Ghz and ram @ 1066Mhz.. but for some reason.. It didn't like my quad running at 1066Mhz.

[m1dg3t]

Came across this thread, LOT's of info and LOT's of pages but if you want to get the best result's http://www.overclock.net/t/254734/gi...35-ds3l-thread

As for me i've been playing with my OC again and working on getting the vCore down, finding out just how important GTL's and NBv are when going over 400FSB with a quad.

Trying to stabilize 1.28v ATM which has resulted in ~6c drop in max temps but errors out in under 1Hr p95. When i started with that core voltage i was erroring out in less than 20min so it's getting better

Did you get your new cooler yet SnoopKatt?

[SnoopKatt]

Originally Posted by m1dg3t

Apologies for late reply, been hiding in a corner picking my nose



What cooler did you order? That 520 of your's is a pretty decent cooler from what i recall.

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

^^ This guide was a big help to me, i read through it a few time's and did a bunch of Googling (searched using overclocking q9550 & OCing q9550 on Asus p5q [which is my combo]) going through multiple single post's and small thread's to get an idea of where to start.

In regard's to the GTL's i was pointed to this thread http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...-45nm-amp-65nm and also came across this thread in it there was talk about GTL's which i found helpfull >> http://icrontic.com/discussion/85055/the-goal-fsb475mhz

Have you dwnld any stress/mointoring proggies yet? Can you post some pix of your actual MOBO and your BIOS showing what option's you have for clocking? You may be able to increas the board's headroom by improving it's cooling. Usually a hot NB/VRM's keep OC's from being as good as they can be, plus most people just dump volt's to make it "stable" which in turn add's heat, not bad if you can get rid of it.

Originally Posted by m1dg3t

Came across this thread, LOT's of info and LOT's of pages but if you want to get the best result's http://www.overclock.net/t/254734/gi...35-ds3l-thread

As for me i've been playing with my OC again and working on getting the vCore down, finding out just how important GTL's and NBv are when going over 400FSB with a quad.

Trying to stabilize 1.28v ATM which has resulted in ~6c drop in max temps but errors out in under 1Hr p95. When i started with that core voltage i was erroring out in less than 20min so it's getting better

Did you get your new cooler yet SnoopKatt?

I think it arrives today! When I get home I will definitely read through that stuff and give some of those things a try; thank you for the input!

[SnoopKatt]

I just hooked up everything, and it seems to be a little cooler. However, CoreTemp still reads 43 to 45° idle, and 50° under mild use. In the bios, after I restart, it ranges between 26° and 32°. I will take some pictures tomorrow to give more details, but is it possible all of the cores are reading 10° high?

Thank you everyone for your input; it is all greatly appreciated!

[m1dg3t]

N/P man! It isn't often that i can actually help someone so yeah

My idle is 41 19 30 33. I guess you could say i have 2 forked sensor's on idle

Max temp after 7Hrs 40Min Large FFT (yep managed to get it more stable) 67 57 58 58

^^ Reported by core temp, my temps reported by HWmonitor are idle 41 19 29 33 and load 65 55 58 57

Ambient is ~24c / 25c

I still have 1 core erroring out on me so gonna mess with it some more later during the week, i've done enough priming

[SnoopKatt]

I bought a Hyper 212. I've been checking the temperatures with CoreTemp, and under load, they don't look too bad.

Here are the photos. Right now, I have it at 3.00 GHz, at 1.2V. After an hour of prime 95 blend, none of the cores go above 63° (they are between 61 and 63).

http://imageshack.us/g/842/mg1558.jpg/

Wow, this CPU is a tough cookie. Nothing like overclocking dual core CPUs. I am at 3.1 GHz, but my voltage is over 1.25V! It seems stable, but one of the cores is topping at 73°C, so I guess I need to lower the frequency (lowering the voltage makes it unstable). I don't see a lot of other variables mentioned in posted articles that I can change on my motherboard. Is it safe to add a little voltage to the FSB or the MCH?

Thanks!

[m1dg3t]

Originally Posted by SnoopKatt

I bought a Hyper 212. I've been checking the temperatures with CoreTemp, and under load, they don't look too bad.

Here are the photos. Right now, I have it at 3.00 GHz, at 1.2V. After an hour of prime 95 blend, none of the cores go above 63° (they are between 61 and 63).

http://imageshack.us/g/842/mg1558.jpg/

Wow, this CPU is a tough cookie. Nothing like overclocking dual core CPUs. I am at 3.1 GHz, but my voltage is over 1.25V! It seems stable, but one of the cores is topping at 73°C, so I guess I need to lower the frequency (lowering the voltage makes it unstable). I don't see a lot of other variables mentioned in posted articles that I can change on my motherboard. Is it safe to add a little voltage to the FSB or the MCH?

Thanks!

Thanks! I'll try to help you as much as possible, i'm no GURU but i'll try my best to at least get ya going in the right direction Hopefully some other's can add to the discussion.

The most important thing with OCing is to be patient, test properly & fully and read as many guide's/tutorial's as possible and of course keep temp's & volt's within spec. Unless you don't care for longevity then ball's to the wall! There are no magic setting's. EVERY chip, board & combo is different. Only through trial/error will you achieve a stable OC It's also a good idea to keep note's of setting's that you used and if they were stable or not. Do you have the newest BIOS for your board, if not i would highly suggest flashing to the latest one as it may increase compatibility/stability.

If i'm not mistaken you are running 4 stick's of RAM? As such it will be more difficult to OC and you'll really have to get the NB/MCh/FSB term/VTT voltage's right as you are really loading the chipset, not impossible just more difficult.

What were your temp's like with the other cooler? It look's as if you have the standard 212 which i think is not as good of a cooler as the n520 but seeing as you have both you can decide which work's better in your rig IIRC a thing that held back those board's was the lack of MOBO cooling and as such i would reccomend getting some heatsink's for the VRM/PWR regulation circuitry (the chip's around the CPU socket) and add a fan to the NB. Swiftech/Enzotech make some nice copper sink's in various size's or you can source sink's from electronic surplus stores and customize them yourself, they are also good place's to find small server style fan's for cheap I have used both "method's" and they have been equally as effective, just more work going the custom route.

You'll want to lock your PCIe to 100Mhz as that can cause instability if left on AUTO when upping FSB. With your volt's max Vcore i'd go with air would be around 1.35v/1.38v, i'm not exactly sure about NB/MCH volts on that board but you can start by taking them off of auto and bumping them up slowly all the while checking temp's and stability, you will have to add volt's here especially with 4 stick's of RAM.

All your changes should be small bump's all the while testing stability & temp's. If your RAM is 1066 lock it at 800, or underclock it anyways, to take it out of the equation for now untill you get the FSB stable then try bringing the RAM speed up. If you're in a "rush" to test you can try Intel burn test as it test's a lot quicker than Prime and some people say it is a better option as it REALLY stresses the OC, it will make your temp's get really high as well so it will let you know how good the cooler is doing.

Hope this help's? Be patient, read, read and then read some more! There are over 400 pages in that single thread about your specific board and i'm sure there is a wealth of info in there, and it is specific to your board. I have never OC'd a Gigabyte, never even owned one so i'm not familiar with the BIOS, if you had an Asus p45 i'd be of better assistance i guess but hey

I ended up raising my Vcore back to 1.30v as it just wasn't stable enough @ 1.28v. I stress with Prime and start with small FFT minimum 6Hrs, then large FFT minimum 6Hrs and finally Blend for 12Hrs and if i pass all those with reasonable temp's i bust out some gaming session's for "real world" testing. I seem to be doing Ok so far minus driver issues but that's a separate event

[SnoopKatt]

Originally Posted by m1dg3t

Thanks! I'll try to help you as much as possible, i'm no GURU but i'll try my best to at least get ya going in the right direction Hopefully some other's can add to the discussion.

The most important thing with OCing is to be patient, test properly & fully and read as many guide's/tutorial's as possible and of course keep temp's & volt's within spec. Unless you don't care for longevity then ball's to the wall! There are no magic setting's. EVERY chip, board & combo is different. Only through trial/error will you achieve a stable OC It's also a good idea to keep note's of setting's that you used and if they were stable or not. Do you have the newest BIOS for your board, if not i would highly suggest flashing to the latest one as it may increase compatibility/stability.

If i'm not mistaken you are running 4 stick's of RAM? As such it will be more difficult to OC and you'll really have to get the NB/MCh/FSB term/VTT voltage's right as you are really loading the chipset, not impossible just more difficult.

What were your temp's like with the other cooler? It look's as if you have the standard 212 which i think is not as good of a cooler as the n520 but seeing as you have both you can decide which work's better in your rig IIRC a thing that held back those board's was the lack of MOBO cooling and as such i would reccomend getting some heatsink's for the VRM/PWR regulation circuitry (the chip's around the CPU socket) and add a fan to the NB. Swiftech/Enzotech make some nice copper sink's in various size's or you can source sink's from electronic surplus stores and customize them yourself, they are also good place's to find small server style fan's for cheap I have used both "method's" and they have been equally as effective, just more work going the custom route.

You'll want to lock your PCIe to 100Mhz as that can cause instability if left on AUTO when upping FSB. With your volt's max Vcore i'd go with air would be around 1.35v/1.38v, i'm not exactly sure about NB/MCH volts on that board but you can start by taking them off of auto and bumping them up slowly all the while checking temp's and stability, you will have to add volt's here especially with 4 stick's of RAM.

All your changes should be small bump's all the while testing stability & temp's. If your RAM is 1066 lock it at 800, or underclock it anyways, to take it out of the equation for now untill you get the FSB stable then try bringing the RAM speed up. If you're in a "rush" to test you can try Intel burn test as it test's a lot quicker than Prime and some people say it is a better option as it REALLY stresses the OC, it will make your temp's get really high as well so it will let you know how good the cooler is doing.

Hope this help's? Be patient, read, read and then read some more! There are over 400 pages in that single thread about your specific board and i'm sure there is a wealth of info in there, and it is specific to your board. I have never OC'd a Gigabyte, never even owned one so i'm not familiar with the BIOS, if you had an Asus p45 i'd be of better assistance i guess but hey

I ended up raising my Vcore back to 1.30v as it just wasn't stable enough @ 1.28v. I stress with Prime and start with small FFT minimum 6Hrs, then large FFT minimum 6Hrs and finally Blend for 12Hrs and if i pass all those with reasonable temp's i bust out some gaming session's for "real world" testing. I seem to be doing Ok so far minus driver issues but that's a separate event

This is extremely helpful, thank you for the input!

I think the Northbridge and the south bridge both have heatsinks, but not fans, so I will look for some fans that fit them. With the two Scythe fans, the 212 seems to be doing better than the 520 (it runs about 5° cooler). I've only done Blend testing, and right now, I have a 24-hour prime 95 stable 1.2 V at 3 GHz. I will keep reading and keep trying!

[m1dg3t]

Hey SnoopKatt wondering how you're making out? Keep the thread updated maybe we can still help?

[SnoopKatt]

Unfortunately, I've been really busy with school (finals start tomorrow!), So I haven't gotten too far on the overclocking. Right now, I am at 3.00 GHz at 1.15 V, so I got the temperatures down a little bit more. When the mayhem is all over, I can put a lot more time into this

Thank you for asking though!

[m1dg3t]

Good luck with finals! Guess we'll see you when you have more free time

[SnoopKatt]

Thanks! it looks like they were pretty well so far.

I find tuned the CPUdown to 1.1 volts at 3.00 for the sake of finding the lower limit. Now it's time to go up