QX6850 Extreme Restoration Blog

[storm-chaser]

There isn't a mechanism that detects what kind of connector you have connected, it just pulls the amount of power it needs. If it pulls too much power, the pins will get too hot and the connector will melt. The 4 extra pins just make sure that the connector won't melt under heavy power draw. A pig tail won't really help, it will still melt at the 4 pin connector.

Okay so no mechanism that detects what kind of connector I have connected, that makes sense. Just curious if I could improve my overclock by having power supplied to all the pins.

As for the pigtail, in theory, could I use something like this? I know I have extra ports on my PSU.
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-8-Inch-8-Pin-Extension-EPS8EXT/dp/B000M802RG

 

[AlwaysHope]

Standard :

"Advanced" version :

The latter one makes this cooling WAY easier to reinstall.
It was usually in pack with Venomous X, but you could buy it seperatly (for older coolers).

@AlwaysHope I like how they put 24 phases for CPUs that genuinely CANNOT pull that many Amps from the PSU (I like overkill). However there is no point since cables on that single 8-pin EPS would melt WAY before amps on phases could pose a threat
LGA 1366 version has dual 8-pin :

Wow, & look at all those VGA slots too! I know it's overkill to have 24 phase cpu power on these boards, Gigabyte were good at their marketing pushing the "333 Onboard Acceleration stuff" quite a stand out back in 09'...lol... at least with new 1156 socket.

One of the most densest packed boards I've ever working on... keep that dust away!

 

[hat]

Okay so no mechanism that detects what kind of connector I have connected, that makes sense. Just curious if I could improve my overclock by having power supplied to all the pins.

As for the pigtail, in theory, could I use something like this? I know I have extra ports on my PSU.
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-8-Inch-8-Pin-Extension-EPS8EXT/dp/B000M802RG

You probably could use that to mangle together a Frankenstein adapter. There'd be a few ways to go about it... but plain molex won't work here unless you are willing to cut and splice wires together. The way I see it, you could either:

1. Plug the 4 pin P4 power connector into the female end of that, and cut the remaining 4 wires off (close to the female end) and splice the wires directly to your power supply molex wires, which would also have to be cut and stripped so you can splice them in the first place

2. Remove some wires from some type of sacrificial donor plug. I've done this a few times, once with a PCI-E adapter, once with a spare modular connector from a power supply I didn't need.

And that was when I realized if you're buying an adapter anyway, you'd be better off just getting this

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-6in..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=4W3DGXF3734F6NP9GVR8

Unless you're not buying an adapter and that link was just an example of something you might already have laying around...

 

[storm-chaser]

I am definitely going to pick up a few of those adapters for some upcoming builds. I'm running short on power supplies so connections are at a premium. Looks like you found the best possible scenario, thanks much hat!

 

[AlwaysHope]

I am definitely going to pick up a few of those adapters for some upcoming builds. I'm running short on power supplies so connections are at a premium. Looks like you found the best possible scenario, thanks much hat!

If your budget permits, I'd invest in new modular style PSUs at least 80+ gold for not only current but future builds. I'm never going back to non-modular PSU again, the cable clutter drives me mad!

 

[zenlaserman]

Haha yeah...I remember my first modular PSU, it was on my BadAxe2 rig. Back in 2007, I had dreams of running a pair of 2900XT and an AIW X1900XT in the 3rd slot (Because I've always been an AIW junkie). Well I figured I needed a 1KW PSU to handle my then-Q6600 and all that (only had 1 2900XT at the time). Had ye olde Antec Nine Hundred case and had no clue where I was gonna hide unused PSU cables.

Enter the original SilverStone ST1000 "Strider". It was the only modular 1KW PSU under $300 at the time!
That puppy lived for 8.5 years under mostly 24/7 use. Ironically it started having trouble turning on, but once running, would stay that way...Windows 10 pretty much killed it, go figure.

 

[storm-chaser]

I installed my E8400 today. I'm just curious to see how my memory plays with this CPU versus the QX6850. I'll have results for you guys tomorrow.

 

[AlwaysHope]

I installed my E8400 today. I'm just curious to see how my memory plays with this CPU versus the QX6850. I'll have results for you guys tomorrow.

Those dual cores are good for doing preliminary ram OC testing. After all, as I'm sure you know memory controller is on NB.

 

[storm-chaser]

Those dual cores are good for doing preliminary ram OC testing. After all, as I'm sure you know memory controller is on NB.

Yes as it turns out I was able to hit 1.6Ghz on my ram no problem with the E8400 processor installed. So that means my QX6850 is holding my memory department back a little bit. That's okay it was a fun project and I've got all the data I need. Next step I'm thinking is going to be an LGA 771 to 775 conversion. I'm thinking I'll go with the Harpertown X5470 which runs stock at 1333 FSB @ 3.333 Ghz. With a 400Mhz FSB I should be able to hit 4.0Ghz NO problem. That will of course become a new thread.

 

[AlwaysHope]

Yes as it turns out I was able to hit 1.6Ghz on my ram no problem with the E8400 processor installed. So that means my QX6850 is holding my memory department back a little bit. That's okay it was a fun project and I've got all the data I need. Next step I'm thinking is going to be an LGA 771 to 775 conversion. I'm thinking I'll go with the Harpertown X5470 which runs stock at 1333 FSB @ 3.333 Ghz. With a 400Mhz FSB I should be able to hit 4.0Ghz NO problem. That will of course become a new thread.

Yes indeed, however with DDR3 it different story to my experience with DDR2. X48, X38 &P45 NB, compromises had to be made to enable both RAM techs to operate effectively.
Wasn't until 1156 that native DDR3 support enabled. Thank goodness they moved memory controller to cpu!
In any case, I look forward to your experiences with X5470!

 

[hat]

The quad core chip probably puts more stress on the NB, making it more difficult to run higher memory speeds (or more sticks of RAM). Maybe if you loaded the NB with more voltage, or dropped it to a looser strap...

 

[agent_x007]

The quad core chip probably puts more stress on the NB, making it more difficult to run higher memory speeds (or more sticks of RAM). Maybe if you loaded the NB with more voltage, or dropped it to a looser strap...

^That

Platform :

 

[storm-chaser]

The quad core chip probably puts more stress on the NB, making it more difficult to run higher memory speeds (or more sticks of RAM). Maybe if you loaded the NB with more voltage, or dropped it to a looser strap...

The system and bios settings are identical on both CPUs, so nothing has changed less the CPU itself. Not sure what the deal is but I'm happy because I now know the mainboard is not holding me back and I can proceed with other 775 projects. One benchmark I am running right now is the highest FSB speed. So far that's about 500Mhz on my e8400 rig.

 

[hat]

The system and bios settings are identical on both CPUs, so nothing has changed less the CPU itself. Not sure what the deal is but I'm happy because I now know the mainboard is not holding me back and I can proceed with other 775 projects. One benchmark I am running right now is the highest FSB speed. So far that's about 500Mhz on my e8400 rig.

Identical BIOS settings, meaning you're running the same FSB strap and NB voltage, (and possibly some other less common settings like FSB termination voltage might come into play) are the same... so the quad stresses the system more, making it more difficult to run the memory you want with that chip. The e8400, a dual core, doesn't stress the system so much, so you can get away with more in other areas, like that memory.

 

[AlwaysHope]

This thread here from xtremesystems is very long... but much discussion about how dual cores V quad cores & stress on P45 NB, at least on P5Q boards. It was considered how 4GB V 8GB ram played into it as well, of course at the time bios revisions were still being launched so....

If one considers how the memory controller is located on NB, then the complexity of it all increases with motherboard traces etc.. so factor in that as well.
Like I posted previously, glad Intel moved memory controller on chip with 1156 series.... speaking of.. will be my next retro project.

 

[storm-chaser]

Identical BIOS settings, meaning you're running the same FSB strap and NB voltage, (and possibly some other less common settings like FSB termination voltage might come into play) are the same... so the quad stresses the system more, making it more difficult to run the memory you want with that chip. The e8400, a dual core, doesn't stress the system so much, so you can get away with more in other areas, like that memory.

That all being said, I'm curious to see how it will handle a Q9550 or HarperTown. I have a feeling it's something with the Q6600 quad specifically that is holding me back.

 

[hat]

Good question. These old chips don't have much to them like the ones these days do, as a lot of the other stuff besides the CPU cores is all on the NB, so you still have the same memory controller etc between CPUs. Different CPUs do seem to have different abilities though even when it comes to memory.

 

[agent_x007]

Something to think about

^NB = 1,5V

^NB = 1,6V

I can test QX6850 as well...

 

[AlwaysHope]

Something to think about
View attachment 104409
^NB = 1,5V
View attachment 104410
^NB = 1,6V

I can test QX6850 as well...

No doubt, impressive but is it stable under full load? eg. p95 & at least an hour or two imo, but hey that's just my def of 'stable' right?. Can you at least benchmark at these settings in say futuremark stuff?

That NB must get quite hot @1.6v, active cooling?

 

[agent_x007]

@AlwaysHope Hot indeed. I use 120mm Delta fan as RAM/NB cooling (vDIMM = 2,16V)
Still, settings were for benchmark comparison only.

Here's a mix of two

AND Time Spy score : https://www.3dmark.com/spy/4117166

 

[AlwaysHope]

@AlwaysHope Hot indeed. I use 120mm Delta fan as RAM/NB cooling (vDIMM = 2,16V)
Still, settings were for benchmark comparison only.

Here's a mix of two
View attachment 104411
AND Time Spy score : https://www.3dmark.com/spy/4117166

Good one, nice to see Gigabyte board playing well with OC. A-Data "EXTREME" DDR2... yep! lol..

Compare with my current gaming rig > https://www.3dmark.com/compare/spy/4117166/spy/3967705

 

[agent_x007]

1,3875V on Vcore (with LLC) + 1,36V FSB Voltage + 1,36V on NB + 2V on RAM :

Add 10C to temps seen in Core Temp (since Tj. Max is 95C in my case). I'm using a 240mm AIO as cooling
Also, only "x8" on PCI-Express because second port is occupied by 128GB SM951 NVMe drive
@storm-chaser

 

[storm-chaser]

That's great but I'd like to see a QX6850 with 800Mhz memory. Nice FSB though!

 

[agent_x007]

800MHz ?
As in DDR3 1600MHz ?

 

[storm-chaser]

800MHz ?
As in DDR3 1600MHz ?

Exactly. I noticed your post above with the Q6700 so I guess that covers it. I guess I was thinking it would be easy like it was with my Q9550 and P43 mainboard.