# QX6850 Extreme Restoration Blog



## storm-chaser (Jun 22, 2018)

Recently sold of my Q9550. I've already done the LGA 771 to 775 conversion but I've always wanted a C2D / C2Q extreme chip. So after kicking myself for selling my Q9550 a few months back, I made good on this deal and finally purchased a QX6850! This processor was originally going to go in a HP Slimline build but a friend caught wind of my latest acquisition and offered his P5Q3 as a superior piece for my board. And he was absolutely correct. So I will be using the Asus P5Q3 as the base for my QX6850. 

I paid $40 for the CPU on eBay. A far cry from the $1000 price tag this CPU had when it was first released, over a decade ago. Simply amazing how you can acquire these older, yet still very powerful CPUs for next to nothing.  In any event this is going to get real interesting REAL quick. I have a spare 4GB kit of RAM that I will be using with this build. It is DDR3 @ 1600Mhz @ 7-8-7-20 with a command rate of 1T. So my plan as it sits right now is to see if this processor can handle a 1600Mhz FSB. If so, I will be able to run my memory at the full 1600Mhz speed! And then I'm going to use the multiplier to ramp up the CPU Speed until we have it maxed out. 

Anyway, just wanted to share my fun little build progress with some from the online overclocking community. Looking forward to the day my processor arrives! I will be taking pictures and posting updates here. Stay tuned!


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## hat (Jun 22, 2018)

That sounds like a fun system to play with. 400x10 should be doable, nice and clean even numbers too for a cool 4GHz and should get you 1600MHz RAM too.


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## agent_x007 (Jun 22, 2018)

Good luck 
Here's what you may expect (I used cheaper board than you) :







Did not tested it on DDR3 MB yet.

PS. What cooler you got ?


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## storm-chaser (Jun 22, 2018)

I have a high quality heatsink with copper insert. Not sure of the brand off hand. However, I will be moving to a CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ if temps spiral out of control.  

Very excited about testing the DDR3 with it. Your rig looks great. Thanks for the screenshots, I will definitely use some of those numbers as I start my build.


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## agent_x007 (Jun 22, 2018)

I tested this quite some time ago. I got QX6700 scores as well 
As for QX6850 : Vcore and FSB Termination are your friends 
But better watch out on core temps.
They can get high really fast if you over do Vcore.
BTW : You don't need to bother with GTL or PLL as much as with 45nm Quad.
Lastly : Don't worry about maximum Vcore, your cooler (or VRM) will end way before this becomes a problem.


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## hat (Jun 23, 2018)

The hyper212 is a good budget cooler, but I don't think it can handle a qx6850 being overclocked too far...


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## newtekie1 (Jun 23, 2018)

This thread brings back memories!  My favorite platform was 775, but I could only ever afford a Q6600 and then an X3370(Q9650)



hat said:


> The hyper212 is a good budget cooler, but I don't think it can handle a qx6850 being overclocked too far...



I actually think it will do really well, thanks to the IHS still be soldered.


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## phill (Jun 23, 2018)

Looks like an interesting build to me!!


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## hat (Jun 23, 2018)

newtekie1 said:


> This thread brings back memories!  My favorite platform was 775, but I could only ever afford a Q6600 and then an X3370(Q9650)
> 
> 
> 
> I actually think it will do really well, thanks to the IHS still be soldered.



Don't forget that these chips aren't as heat tolerant as modern ones... and people were using huge coolers like the Thermalright Ultra Extreme to get the best overclocked.


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## agent_x007 (Jun 23, 2018)

@hat Guilty as charged  (Thermalright 120 Ultra Extreme user).

Still, modern 240mm AIO (with Delta fans), are fun as well :


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## newtekie1 (Jun 24, 2018)

hat said:


> Don't forget that these chips aren't as heat tolerant as modern ones... and people were using huge coolers like the Thermalright Ultra Extreme to get the best overclocked.



I actually still have my TRUE, I might even have two... 

The 212+ performs pretty darn close to the old TRUE. Both are 120mm tower coolers, the TRUE had 2 more heatpipes, but the 212+ was a DHT which helps it out a lot.

Hmmm...I have a Hyper 212 Evo too... This really makes me want to test both against each other...


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## storm-chaser (Jun 24, 2018)

newtekie1 said:


> I actually still have my TRUE, I might even have two...
> 
> The 212+ performs pretty darn close to the old TRUE. Both are 120mm tower coolers, the TRUE had 2 more heatpipes, but the 212+ was a DHT which helps it out a lot.
> 
> Hmmm...I have a Hyper 212 Evo too... This really makes me want to test both against each other...



Send me your TRUE and I can do a temp comparison. I have an EVO fan as well I can stick on my 212+ so we will have three to compare for best results.

When I'm finished I can send it back to you, of course.


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## AlwaysHope (Jun 25, 2018)

Doing similar to OP with my P5Q Pro board, converting from dual to quad core goodness. Just glad Asus back in the day produced this board with high quality caps. But I'm strict on spending $ with decade old tech like this. 
Ebay has some nice bargains... 

Happy I did not sell this board, even though it was a "spare" system if anything went wrong with more modern builds.


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## AlwaysHope (Jun 26, 2018)

I recall a thread on OCAU back in the day where the inhouse Intel expert claimed the P45 memory controller is not natively optimised for DDR3, despite Intel releasing later versions of this chipset being capable. 
Viewing memory benchmarks at the time confirmed this. That is if 1 was using DDR2 1066+


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## newtekie1 (Jun 26, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> Send me your TRUE and I can do a temp comparison. I have an EVO fan as well I can stick on my 212+ so we will have three to compare for best results.
> 
> When I'm finished I can send it back to you, of course.



I'll dig the box I think they are stored in out of storage, if I have more than one like I seem to remember I do if you pay shipping you can keep it.  I'll try to pull the box out this weekend.


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## storm-chaser (Jun 26, 2018)

AlwaysHope said:


> I recall a thread on OCAU back in the day where the inhouse Intel expert claimed the P45 memory controller is not natively optimised for DDR3, despite Intel releasing later versions of this chipset being capable.
> Viewing memory benchmarks at the time confirmed this. That is if 1 was using DDR2 1066+


So what does this mean for my specific hardware? I am going to be running a 4GB kit of Corsair XMS3+ running 7-8-7-20 CR1 @ 1600Mhz. 
I recall with my P43 board I was able to run DDR3 1600 no problem and benchmarks yielded good results in memory throughput (far beyond that of DDR2). 

And Newtekie1, I appreciate it brother! I will definitely pay for shipping just PM me your paypal address. It's going to take me a few days to get you paid.


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## agent_x007 (Jun 26, 2018)

Just FYI : You need at least 1600MHz FSB to set 1600MHz on DDR3.
Memory frequency doesn't automaticly mean "high memory throughput" on LGA 775 :


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## newtekie1 (Jun 26, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> And Newtekie1, I appreciate it brother! I will definitely pay for shipping just PM me your paypal address. It's going to take me a few days to get you paid.



NP, once I dig out the box and find the TRUE I'll PM you and we can work out details.


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## storm-chaser (Jun 26, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> Just FYI : You need at least 1600MHz FSB to set 1600MHz on DDR3.
> Memory frequency doesn't automaticly mean "high memory throughput" on LGA 775 :



Right, I know I need to set my FSB to 1600 in order to run 1600Mhz memory (see above I already mentioned that). I am going with the 4GB kit as some say it's easier on the IMC than something more like an 8GB kit. Following my 4.0Ghz X5470 771 to 775 conversion, where I was running a 1600Mhz FSB, I found the DDR3 memory throughput to be far superior to that of DDR2 on a similar board. I have the results somewhere but cannot locate them at the moment. I don't see any reason to stick with DDR2 on a build like this... that's all I'm saying.


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## agent_x007 (Jun 26, 2018)

Sorry about that (I missed part about 1600MHz FSB).
It is easier, but... why limit yourself to 4GB of RAM ?
2x4GB is easier "to drive", than 4x2GB (DDR3 of course).

As for DDR2 vs. DDR3, it's all about settings (and DRAM quality)


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## storm-chaser (Jun 26, 2018)

I like those timings... damn. Yeah I have an 8GB kit to throw in the mix as well. I will definitely try for both... we shall see. Motherboard should be here within the week.


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## AlwaysHope (Jun 27, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> So what does this mean for my specific hardware? I am going to be running a 4GB kit of Corsair XMS3+ running 7-8-7-20 CR1 @ 1600Mhz.
> I recall with my P43 board I was able to run DDR3 1600 no problem and benchmarks yielded good results in memory throughput (far beyond that of DDR2).



When I mentioned benchmarks at the time, this was 2008, bios updates could have changed that since. Then it was early days for DDR3.


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## storm-chaser (Jun 27, 2018)

Well I tried my new QX6850 in my HP Slimline and it didn't work. The monitor lit up so I assumed it would work, but it just showed a warning that the CPU was not designed to work with that system. Oh well, guess I just have to wait for my new board to arrive 

And EDIT: Nice running with that Wolfdale E8400. I also have an E8400 I can throw into the mix. We will see how that performs as well. Looks like it really loves FSB overclocking! NICE!


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## hat (Jun 27, 2018)

I wanted an E8400 back in the day. I remember having an Athlon64x2 5200+ at that time. The E8400 could hit 4GHz pretty easily. A 4GHz C2D was a real performer back in the day...


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## storm-chaser (Jun 28, 2018)

hat said:


> I wanted an E8400 back in the day. I remember having an Athlon64x2 5200+ at that time. The E8400 could hit 4GHz pretty easily. A 4GHz C2D was a real performer back in the day...


Hey if you still have that wanting for an E8400, I can hook you up on the cheap. Then again I don't think many would want a dual core unless it's a nostalgia retro build or something like that. Tech industry has definitely gone the way of multi core processing.


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## hat (Jun 28, 2018)

Thanks for the offer, but I don't have much use for it now... that was many years ago, lol


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## AlwaysHope (Jun 28, 2018)

I had an E8600 back then, it was one of the best OC chips I ever played with, but sold it.
Surprisingly a new Adata 128GB SSD into my P5Q Pro & it picked it up like any other HDD back in its day.
Always puts a smile on my face when tech nearly a decade on like that SSD drive can be recognised by decade old tech like that mobo. SataII bus more than saturated...lol..


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## agent_x007 (Jun 28, 2018)

That's why I use M.2 on my LGA 775 rigs (SATA isn't cool enough)


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## storm-chaser (Jun 28, 2018)

AlwaysHope said:


> I had an E8600 back then, it was one of the best OC chips I ever played with, but sold it.
> Surprisingly a new Adata 128GB SSD into my P5Q Pro & it picked it up like any other HDD back in its day.
> Always puts a smile on my face when tech nearly a decade on like that SSD drive can be recognized by decade old tech like that mobo. SataII bus more than saturated...lol..


Definitely a good feeling when that happens, for sure. So does this mean my Asus P5Q supports m.2 SSD drives? I guess I might just have to wait until it shows up to find out, but that would be a really good thing. I'm really chomping at the bit here, hope to start this build within the week. For now, here are some detailed plans as to the components I will be using with this build.  

-I have an Intel DC 3500 Series 80GB SSD drive to run as my base OS drive and a 650GB mechanical drive for programs and data.

-I have a LightScribe DVD burner to throw at it 

-The memory kit I will be running will be a Corsair XMS3 8GB kit (2x4GB) at XMP timings of 7-8-7-20 and voltage of 1.6V

-Power Supply is an X-Power 585Watt. I have some cool red LEDs that I will install within the power supply to give it some character. 

-The case I will be running is either going to be an NZXT Gamma Classic or something similar. I am contemplating this decision. I might want to save that case for an upcoming water-cooling project, as the Gamma has provisioning for water-cooling. So that case might remain empty for now until I get my new 960T processor. Not sure what to do in that regard. 

-On the video card front, I have a Radeon HD 5770 that should do fine (bench only, wont be gaming with this one). The only problem is the video card fan is stuck on full speed, after I washed the fan/heatsink in the sink I think I shorted out the temp sensor. So my plan is to bypass the plug and go directly to power supplied from the power supply, using a Molex connector. I am hoping this resolves the issue because it's super annoying right now when it's throttled all the way up to full speed. 

-Going to be running the Hyper 212+ cooler and possibly the TRUE cooler as well. I have both the stock coolermaster fan or the EVO fan I can throw at it. I'm interested to see what difference, if any, the fan will make in regards to CPU temps. 

-I have a 3.5" SD card reader with two USB ports on the front, for easy access to camera cards, etc. 

-I will be running a D-Link wireless N card so I don't have to route ethernet cables up to my room. 

-I have one extra 120MM to throw in the mix as well.


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## agent_x007 (Jun 28, 2018)

PGA 478 can support NVMe :





Not sure why LGA 775 wouldn't 

Catch is to have USB boot (or IDE ports for CF adapter).
The rest is done via Clover or DUET EFI booting software.


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## AlwaysHope (Jun 30, 2018)

Not trying to hijack this thread but thought I might share. Picked up Q9400 for A$21, bargain I said, at least as a plaything if anything else...lol..
Testing now with p95 but only 2x2GB DDR2, (other 4GB kit on its way) 
Very surprised how far this chip clocks up with low Vcore (1.25v set bios) on full load in p95... 
Early days though... 



storm-chaser said:


> Definitely a good feeling when that happens, for sure. So does this mean my Asus P5Q supports m.2 SSD drives? I guess I might just have to wait until it shows up to find out, but that would be a really good thing. I'm really chomping at the bit here, hope to start this build within the week. For now, here are some detailed plans as to the components I will be using with this build.
> 
> -I have an Intel DC 3500 Series 80GB SSD drive to run as my base OS drive and a 650GB mechanical drive for programs and data.
> 
> ...




This whole concept is an interesting experiment with how far desktop tech has come in last decade. At least with minimum quad core setups. What OS are planning on for this build? 
HD 5770 have gone into legacy support mode, so afaik cat 15.7.1 was last AMD release. It's in the same club as my HD 7470!  I use in my Q9400 testing.



agent_x007 said:


> PGA 478 can support NVMe :
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## storm-chaser (Jul 1, 2018)

AlwaysHope said:


> Not trying to hijack this thread but thought I might share. Picked up Q9400 for A$21, bargain I said, at least as a plaything if anything else...lol..
> Testing now with p95 but only 2x2GB DDR2, (other 4GB kit on its way)
> Very surprised how far this chip clocks up with low Vcore (1.25v set bios) on full load in p95...
> Early days though...
> ...


Yes, this one is going to be quite a trip. As to what I'm going to do with it, well, at first it's gonna be my daily driver because there's nothing like measuring an overclock by the seat of your pants in day to day operations. We will also run some  HTBOT submissions to better understand how well these CPUs overclock by comparing results to other, similar rigs. I think Intel's extreme chips have better binning and I hope this chip lives up to it's name and more importantly it's reputation. 

Regarding OS, I will be running Windows 10 pro x64. I've toyed with the notion of adding a second SSD for a raid0 was well. And this rig will be my daily driver as I assembled water cooling parts for my AMD 960T hexacore project. I also have an NZXT Gamma Classic case that has provisions for water cooling for that. But for now, I am super excited with this project and I will be posting updates periodically as the build progresses.


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## AlwaysHope (Jul 1, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> Yes, this one is going to be quite a trip. As to what I'm going to do with it, well, at first it's gonna be my daily driver because there's nothing like measuring an overclock by the seat of your pants in day to day operations. We will also run some  HTBOT submissions to better understand how well these CPUs overclock by comparing results to other, similar rigs. I think Intel's extreme chips have better binning and I hope this chip lives up to it's name and more importantly it's reputation.
> 
> Regarding OS, I will be running Windows 10 pro x64. I've toyed with the notion of adding a second SSD for a raid0 was well. And this rig will be my daily driver as I assembled water cooling parts for my AMD 960T hexacore project. I also have an NZXT Gamma Classic case that has provisions for water cooling for that. But for now, I am super excited with this project and I will be posting updates periodically as the build progresses.



I think it's interesting to see how Win10 can run on old hardware too. Agree with you that an OC can't be truly tested except with day to day operation of it. Benchmarks are 1 thing but.....
For most general kind of use like web browsing, office apps etc, which by and large most desktop usage is.. to see if constantly updated versions of win10 run well on old hardware. If this is the case, it throws light on the tricks of this I.T industry for consumers to be in practically endless hardware upgrading cycles.
I recall the days when WIn Vista hit the shelves & the uproar from consumers & OEM's about hardware upgrading! there were some conspiracy theories circulating then. 

Adding a 2nd SSD for raid purposes. I presume that's with expansion card & not native sata ports? 

Nice to have bits n' pieces of hardware laying around one can throw at projects like this. Lucky you!


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## hat (Jul 1, 2018)

RAID0 SSDs are next to useless. You won't see any gain from it outside of benchmarks, unless you enjoy moving obscenely huge files around your 10Gb ethernet all the time.


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## AlwaysHope (Jul 1, 2018)

hat said:


> RAID0 SSDs are next to useless. You won't see any gain from it outside of benchmarks, unless you enjoy moving obscenely huge files around your 10Gb ethernet all the time.



Good point, M.2 on card in relevant PCIe slot would do imo.



storm-chaser said:


> And this rig will be my daily driver as I assembled water cooling parts for my AMD 960T hexacore project.



With your 960T project, was that on DDR2 or DDR3 board?. From what I understand some those mobos from that era could boot with either RAM tech & that chip. Getting off topic a little I know.


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## storm-chaser (Jul 1, 2018)

AlwaysHope said:


> Good point, M.2 on card in relevant PCIe slot would do imo.
> 
> 
> 
> With your 960T project, was that on DDR2 or DDR3 board?. From what I understand some those mobos from that era could boot with either RAM tech & that chip. Getting off topic a little I know.


This is on a DDR3 board (Biostar A880GZ). I will run DDR3 1600Mhz with timings 7-8-7-20 at 1.6 volts. I also overclock the IMC to 3.0Ghz for better memory throughput. The HT link stays around 2200Mhz and the core clock should be around 4.0Ghz (x6).

As for hard drives yes I have a controller but I think for what I'm doing, as Hat mentioned, I wont really see much difference in real world speeds. So for now, I will just stick with one SSD.

As for Vista conspiracy theories, yes there were quite a few back in the day. I remembered at that time I worked for HP support and we were flooded with hardware and software problems created from running Vista. What a pain in the neck. But actually, in hindsight, Vista has a pretty good UI and I definitely like the look, I've even done a couple Pentium III retro builds running Vista just for fun.

As for the QX6850, well, I think it will run Windows 10 just fine. I will be measuring boot time and measuring speed in many other aspects of OS use. So that should be fun and we will see how it stacks up compared to my 45NM AMD Quad-Cores.


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## agent_x007 (Jul 1, 2018)

I tested QX6700 (OC'ed) 1.5 year ago, and it was fine in Windows 10 : LINK.


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## AlwaysHope (Jul 2, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> This is on a DDR3 board (Biostar A880GZ). I will run DDR3 1600Mhz with timings 7-8-7-20 at 1.6 volts. I also overclock the IMC to 3.0Ghz for better memory throughput. The HT link stays around 2200Mhz and the core clock should be around 4.0Ghz (x6).
> 
> As for hard drives yes I have a controller but I think for what I'm doing, as Hat mentioned, I wont really see much difference in real world speeds. So for now, I will just stick with one SSD.
> 
> ...



Thanks, i was only asking about the 960T as I was looking at getting one for experimental purposes & too add life to these DDR2 sticks I still have. But that's another subject altogether.  
I liked Vista UI too, it was markedly better than XP & more secure back in its' day. 
I'm going to run win 10 on my LGA775 platform too, run benchies & check comparison with more modern hardware, at least for general daily use.




agent_x007 said:


> I tested QX6700 (OC'ed) 1.5 year ago, and it was fine in Windows 10 : LINK.



Nice to know, I saw a comment on CPU world where someone claimed & had screenie to prove win 10 runs on socket 939 setup, albeit with dual core.   How retro can we go?


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## agent_x007 (Jul 2, 2018)

Windows 10 x64 requires "stuff" Socket 939 doesn't have.
Windows 10 x86 is fine on Prescott with XD-bit support.
The only way to have Windows 10 x64 on Socket 939 motherboard is... to install AM2 CPU on it 
Example :


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## storm-chaser (Jul 2, 2018)

AlwaysHope said:


> Thanks, i was only asking about the 960T as I was looking at getting one for experimental purposes & too add life to these DDR2 sticks I still have. But that's another subject altogether.
> I liked Vista UI too, it was markedly better than XP & more secure back in its' day.
> I'm going to run win 10 on my LGA775 platform too, run benchies & check comparison with more modern hardware, at least for general daily use.
> 
> ...


The 960T is definitely the one of the best bang for your buck processors right now. Especially if you get one that can unlock to all six cores. They only run about $35-$40 on eBay.

And I would always run DDR3 with everything in sight since it has far more throughput when compared to that of DDR2. That's why when I upgrade to a new motherboard I always get DDR3 to maximize efficiency.

I was going to see about running Windows 10 32 bit on my Athlon XP 3000+ barton core, 2.1Ghz. This is going to be my next retro build. I have an IDE to SATA converter so I am planning to run SSD and 512mb PC-3200 RAM. It should fly despite being an antique in computer terms.

EDIT: Looks like the package with my new motherboard arrived TODAY! I'm so excited! I should have time this evening to start the build and get some pictures posted! Stay tuned for best results!


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## agent_x007 (Jul 2, 2018)

You can't run Windows 10 on Barton.
No NX-bit support = no Win 10 (or 8[.1] for that matter).


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## newtekie1 (Jul 2, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> I tested QX6700 (OC'ed) 1.5 year ago, and it was fine in Windows 10 : LINK.







If it'll run on a Pentium D, it'll run on a Core 2 Quad.

I actually run it on a machine that gets used almost daily with a X3220 in it(Q6600), not even overclocked.  It actually runs pretty smoothly.


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## storm-chaser (Jul 2, 2018)

MUHAHAHA! CPU is awesome. I love LGA 775. Gonna have lots of fun overclocking this over the next few days. This build means a lot to me because it's full circle from the LGA 771 conversion I did a few years ago. That motherboard and processor actually got stolen so this build has sorta "healed' those old wounds. 

Many pictures and posts to follow.


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## agent_x007 (Jul 2, 2018)

newtekie1 said:


> View attachment 103409
> 
> If it'll run on a Pentium D, it'll run on a Core 2 Quad.


I know : LINK 
Good luck in OC : LINK.
Try to use Throttlestop, to make Multiplier/Vcore adjustments in Windows.


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## storm-chaser (Jul 3, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> Try to use Throttlestop, to make Multiplier/Vcore adjustments in Windows.



I used ThrottleStop to get 3.666Ghz on my new QX6850.

However, the weather here is not ideal for overclocking. Im in the attic with this thing and it's about 102*F here.  My greatest fear while building the actual PC was the sweat from my face dripping onto the board as I put everything together. Luckily, that wasn't a problem. But further overclocking will have to wait until it cools down to reasonable temps. 

For now, this will have to do.


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## newtekie1 (Jul 3, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> I know : LINK
> Good luck in OC : LINK.
> Try to use Throttlestop, to make Multiplier/Vcore adjustments in Windows.




Nice, I actually wish I would have had more time to play with the Pentium D rig, but life happened and I had to get rid of it.


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## Johan45 (Jul 3, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> I used ThrottleStop to get 3.666Ghz on my new QX6850.
> 
> However, the weather here is not ideal for overclocking. Im in the attic with this thing and it's about 102*F here.  My greatest fear while building the actual PC was the sweat from my face dripping onto the board as I put everything together. Luckily, that wasn't a problem. But further overclocking will have to wait until it cools down to reasonable temps.
> 
> ...


At least I know it works


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## hat (Jul 3, 2018)

@storm-chaser hope you have fun with your project now that it's coming together. As for stacking up against your AMD quads, I believe Phenom II was comparable to the C2Ds clock for clock. Remember the weak point with these Intel chips was the FSB. FSB is slooooow, even compared to AMD's HT Link at the time. The problem (for AMD) was that Intel CPUs were still so much stronger, even though they were stuck on an inferior bus...

So, for best results, try to run the FSB as high as you can. FSB of 400 should be doable and decent, but not the best... this is a project rig after all, so once you get solid ground at 400FSB and you're happy with that, save the profile and experiment with the FSB.


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## AlwaysHope (Jul 3, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> Windows 10 x64 requires "stuff" Socket 939 doesn't have.
> Windows 10 x86 is fine on Prescott with XD-bit support.
> The only way to have Windows 10 x64 on Socket 939 motherboard is... to install AM2 CPU on it
> Example :


Thanks, I'm no AMD expert but I saw that screenshot on s939 & win 10. Unless I've been fooled by "fake news".... apparently it's a disease on the internet. 
There was a heated discussion about lack of some kind of instruction set in AMD's implementation of x64 capability back in the day being absent so as to enable win10 x64.



storm-chaser said:


> I used ThrottleStop to get 3.666Ghz on my new QX6850.
> 
> However, the weather here is not ideal for overclocking. Im in the attic with this thing and it's about 102*F here.  My greatest fear while building the actual PC was the sweat from my face dripping onto the board as I put everything together. Luckily, that wasn't a problem. But further overclocking will have to wait until it cools down to reasonable temps.
> 
> ...




You lot in the northern hemisphere got your summer going huh? lol... it's the opposite down here in Australia. But where I am it can get sub 0 C temps some mornings... great for massive OC & benchmark runs...


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## storm-chaser (Jul 3, 2018)

Johan45 said:


> At least I know it works



Big thanks to Johan for making this possible. I was a little worried because of the L2N history and the board kinda smelled burnt when I opened the package, but it's working just fine. I had to replace the CMOS battery, but short of that, it's been plug and play. So, I am happy and now it's just a matter of getting the memory dialed in. I have it stable at a 1600Mhz FSB @ 3.6Ghz so we are good to go in the CPU department. I am having trouble with the memory as my 8GB kit isn't stable at anything over 1066Mhz. I will try for the 4GB kit next and see how that performs. Pretty sure that's just memory settings and has nothing to do with the board. Board seems rock solid and heart touching (lol). I just have to be patient and work through all the fine details. It's also 98* here today so that's not helping anything. Johan and I did a trade so he gets one of my spare 960Ts and I got the P5Q3. Definitely let me know how that CPU works out for ya, bud! 

The Hyper 212 seems to do a good job keeping it cool although I can tell this processor is voltage hungry. Definitely a candidate for water cooling or chilling. That would be fun and I'd imagine with the right cooling I could easily hit 4.0Ghz with this processor. 

Here is my 3.6Ghz BIOS overclock @ 1600Mhz FSB:




Package has arrived!




Grizzly Long Cut Wintergreen and DDR3 XMS3 memory 7-8-7-20. Two essential components to any PC build. 




Sapphire Radeon HD5670 with Custom 120MM fan:




Asus P5Q3 Motherboard (Rock solid, heart touching):




I like unboxing cool components: 




Unboxing Continued:




Johan included everything with the motherboard including the original manual and SATA cables:




QX6850 Installed in the P5Q3!!!!




El Cheapo heatsink compound (actually works pretty well) & Hyper 212 mounting bolts:



Continued....




Thermal Grease procedure. 

Cleaned Hyper 212+:




Tower of POWER:




Better view of the memory: 




Completing Installation of the Hyper 212+ (its starting to look like a real computer!):




Better view of the Video Card (HD 5670): 




First POST and we're into the BIOS! 




System running for the first time (with RED LEDs I'm going to mount in the PSU):




Time for popcorn and overclocking!




Reading TechPowerUp while eating my popcorn!




Continued....


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 3, 2018)

Good job 
Latest BIOS ?

Here's something you should try at first (max. FSB) :





Super PI 1M :






I used Fortis HE1225 cooler + MX-2 paste + Delta 120mm 25mm cooling.

Shouldn't be too hard 
You got WAY better board than I used here.


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 3, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> Good job
> Latest BIOS ?
> 
> Here's something you should try at first (max. FSB) :
> ...


Thanks! Yes it has the latest BIOS. I've tried my 4GB kit and I'm still sorting out my memory issues. Not sure what the deal is but I can't get into windows with the memory set to anything above 1066Mhz. I also tried the XMP settings and the manual mode where I input all the mem timings by hand. 

When the temps cool down a bit I'm sure I'll have better luck.


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 3, 2018)

XMP can't work on LGA 775.
Go full manual.
Max. you can set at default is 1333MHz.
With 1600MHz FSB you can do 1600MHz, BUT it's not possible without tweaking most settings.
It is possible with 4x2GB configuration : 


You simply need to adjust Perfomance Level (AI Booster), FSB Straps and NB Voltage along with timings.


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 3, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> XMP can't work on LGA 775.
> Go full manual.
> Max. you can set at default is 1333MHz.
> With 1600MHz FSB you can do 1600MHz, BUT it's not possible without tweaking most settings.
> It is possible with 4x2GB configuration : You simply need to adjust Perfomance Level (AI Booster), FSB Straps and NB Voltage along with timings.



Right but when you bump the FSB up to 400 you get the full 1600 mem speed. I know XMP timings worked with my G.Skill ripjaws 8GB kit on my old P43 motherboard. That was an LGA 775, but I am aware it's not always a sure bet, and that's why I tried the manual mode as well. It was tough working in 100*F conditions so when it cools down a little I will give it another go.

I noticed the FSB strap and that was set to AUTO. Also had the NB voltage set to 1.3. I can go higher than that but it's just weird and I think you mis-interpreted my last post. What I meant was I cannot get anything above 1066Mhz to be stable, regardless of my memory timings and settings. I can obviously push the memory multiplier up further and even to 1600 speed, it's just not stable at those speeds and I cannot boot into windows. Even when I reset everything to stock speeds I have to set my memory to 1066Mhz for it to boot correctly. I am still assuming this is some settings that I don't have configured correctly and we will give it another go tomorrow, hopefully. Making progress every day here so it's good to take a little break and let my sub conscious churn this stuff.


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 4, 2018)

FSB Strap (higher = more stable less perf.)
Transaction booster = lower overall value better perf. but less stability.
Qhen you use all 4 DIMMs you need to increase NB Volt a lot more.
Try increasing FSB Term. Voltage a bit.


----------



## AlwaysHope (Jul 4, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> Big thanks to Johan for making this possible. I was a little worried because of the L2N history and the board kinda smelled burnt when I opened the package, but it's working just fine. I had to replace the CMOS battery, but short of that, it's been plug and play. So, I am happy and now it's just a matter of getting the memory dialed in. I have it stable at a 1600Mhz FSB @ 3.6Ghz so we are good to go in the CPU department. I am having trouble with the memory as my 8GB kit isn't stable at anything over 1066Mhz. I will try for the 4GB kit next and see how that performs. Pretty sure that's just memory settings and has nothing to do with the board. Board seems rock solid and heart touching (lol). I just have to be patient and work through all the fine details. It's also 98* here today so that's not helping anything. Johan and I did a trade so he gets one of my spare 960Ts and I got the P5Q3. Definitely let me know how that CPU works out for ya, bud!
> 
> The Hyper 212 seems to do a good job keeping it cool although I can tell this processor is voltage hungry. Definitely a candidate for water cooling or chilling. That would be fun and I'd imagine with the right cooling I could easily hit 4.0Ghz with this processor.
> 
> ...




Just great! nice pics man! new "toys" to play with.... always fun...



agent_x007 said:


> Good job
> Latest BIOS ?
> 
> Here's something you should try at first (max. FSB) :
> ...




Looking good with 65nm quad, tried it with 45nm & full 12Mb cache models?



agent_x007 said:


> FSB Strap (higher = more stable less perf.)
> Transaction booster = lower overall value better perf. but less stability.
> Qhen you use all 4 DIMMs you need to increase NB Volt a lot more.
> Try increasing FSB Term. Voltage a bit.



Thing I noticed with FSB strap settings, at least on my P5Q Pro, is the higher FSB goes, higher the Ram speeds get, unless you got ram than can cut it at those speeds, would be better to go 1:1?

I saw posts on xtremesystems forums from roughly a decade ago, where users claimed it depends on model of CPU & ram combo. Some claimed leaving trans booster on auto gave them better results, but in any case as long as it's stable in windows with heavy loads, then all's good I suppose. 

This is what I loved about older LGA775 platform, especially with P45 chipset, matured DDR2 tech & lots of fiddling with OC... fun!


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 4, 2018)

Yes. I did Vdroop mod it tho (since it was getting ridiculus on Xeon) :




Straps simply work like gear change on a car.
Strap 200MHz vs Strap 400MHz : Check and compare what DRAM frequency is available.
You may not be able to use 200 strap on 400MHz FSB.
BUT you don't have to. Simply force it in BIOS and DRAM frequency should automaticly adjust (and show you the available options).
Also with Transaction booster you can "tweak" each strap setting to get most out of memory controler in p45 chipset.

PS With 4GB RAM, CPU had to be downclocked to ~3,83GHz.


----------



## AlwaysHope (Jul 4, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> Yes. I did Vdroop mod it tho (since it was getting ridiculus on Xeon) :
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Got it. thanks. Nice FSB clocks, although sync with 2GB ram & older 965 NB, could you do that on P45 with 45nm quads & 8GB ram? 
I can see hrs of experimentation here, of course depending on Ram quality.


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 4, 2018)

I didn't tested 8GB DDR2. I went straight for DDR3 




Result done on X48 board.


----------



## AlwaysHope (Jul 4, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> I didn't tested 8GB DDR2. I went straight for DDR3


What mobo is this on? nearly 2000 FSB... nice.


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 4, 2018)

Rampage Extreme and 240mm AIO cooling 
Max FSB on CPU-z : https://valid.x86.fr/qcwegu
PS. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



I recommend checking settings in Memset (top right, you can change some of them in it as well), and using SetFSB for fine tuning FSB settings.


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 7, 2018)

I'm looking to get another motherboard. An MSI P43-C51 to do some further testing. I like this board because it offers some overclocking features but keeps it pretty simple and straightforward. I also like this board because it can be used to do an LGA 771 conversion. They are relatively cheap on ebay ($50) and I should get it with shipping in about two weeks. Going to keep the QX6850 with my P5Q3 and I still have not had a chance to test the memory at it's full speed of 1600Mhz. Hopefully later today or tomorrow I'll have some time to work on it.


----------



## AlwaysHope (Jul 8, 2018)

Spotted Giga X48-DS4 for a price. Not sure if I should gamble with this one...


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 9, 2018)

AlwaysHope said:


> Spotted Giga X48-DS4 for a price. Not sure if I should gamble with this one...


Interesting board but that's only DDR2 right? I'd go DDR3 if I were you.


----------



## AlwaysHope (Jul 9, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> Interesting board but that's only DDR2 right? I'd go DDR3 if I were you.



DDR2 it is. Not going to bother with DDR3 stuff on LGA775 platform, saving my old DDR3 sticks for next retro project. 

Dudes on ebay are asking too much for DDR3 related platforms with this socket. Not worth it imo.


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 9, 2018)

I was able to get some more tuning in pics to follow shortly. 

I am running 412Mhz FSB which equates to 3.7Ghz and 686Mhz on the memory. 

not perfect, but it's the best I can do right now. Still cannot seem to get a full 800 Mhz on the memory. Not sure what's going on because it was super easy with my old Q9550 and P43 mainboard.


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 9, 2018)

Transaction Booster, NB/DRAM Voltage, bad "AUTO" setting.
Guessing 800MHz real (as in 1600MHz) ?
Also, try 8.9.8.24 timings.


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 9, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> Transaction Booster, NB/DRAM Voltage, bad "AUTO" setting.
> Guessing 800MHz real (as in 1600MHz) ?
> Also, try 8.9.8.24 timings.


Yes that this correct, 800 REAL is what I'm going for. So far the closest I can get is 686Mhz...

I will try those settings and let you know how it turns out. I also have another 8GB kit (2X4GB) of G.skill 1600 @ 7-8-7-24 that seems to work better on intel / XMP platforms. So I will give that a go if I can't get the Corsair XMS3 to run.


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 9, 2018)

If kit is speced to 1,65V max, I have a feeling that what it has on sticker won't correspond to what LGA 775 can do...
I'm only being pesimistic about what can be done on LGA 775 though, you might get lucky.
PS. What is your tRFC and Performance Level (that last one can be checked in MemSet 4.1) ?


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 9, 2018)

Here it is with XMP timings (manual mode, input timings by hand):




AIDA64 Cache & Memory Benchmark:


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 9, 2018)

So, did you tried anything ?
Also, Command Rate 1 may work - it will give you a few % more in memory benchmarks.


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 9, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> So, did you tried anything ?
> Also, Command Rate 1, may work - it will give you a few % more in memory benchamarks.


Getting there... step by step. However I am a little bummed out I couldn't get CL6 to work out very well. It was crashing quite a bit so back to CL7...
I will try going with CR1 as well. Here is my latest result (in the 60s for mem latency, that's a plus!




Okay seriously, where the hell are my CR settings? I can't see anything related to this in the BIOS tuning area. ARRRG! This board is starting to piss me off. 





Here are my voltage settings:


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 9, 2018)

lol... it doesn't have it : LINK.
My bad...
Also :
DRAM Static Read Control = Enabled
DRAM Dynamic Write Control = Disabled
DRAM Read Training = Disabled
DRAM Write Training = Disabled
MEM. OC Charger = ENABLED
Ai Clock Twister= Moderate
Ai Transaction Booster= Auto
*NB Voltage : 1,35-1,45V*


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 9, 2018)

Thank you... Baby Steps here... I will try bumping up the NB voltage and see if I can hit 415....


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Jul 9, 2018)

Yo. I have a gigabyte 7800GT which will probably suit the theme of the build a bit more if you want it


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 10, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> lol... it doesn't have it : LINK.
> My bad...
> Also :
> DRAM Static Read Control = Enabled
> ...



Yeah would you just look at that!  Doesn't have CR but apparently all the other mem clock settings I'd care to mention and then some. OC Charger? AI transaction booster? AI Twister? Why not offer a setting for pull n' peal twizzler or egg sizzler? Geezeus! At the very least Asus should have included one for fizzle memzizzle!



FreedomEclipse said:


> Yo. I have a gigabyte 7800GT which will probably suit the theme of the build a bit more if you want it


Definitely interested... How much did you want for the card? And is it PCI-E?


----------



## AlwaysHope (Jul 10, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> Yeah would you just look at that!  Doesn't have CR but apparently all the other mem clock settings I'd care to mention and then some. OC Charger? AI transaction booster? AI Twister? Why not offer a setting for pull n' peal twizzler or egg sizzler? Geezeus! At the very least Asus should have included one for fizzle memzizzle!



That point is what I was trying to make in my other thread > https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/lga775-retro-oc-project.245627/#post-3867667

Some of those bios options in Asus P45 boards are just BS marketing. They do nothing, there to impress the user. I did find "Ai clock twister" helping with 4x2GB sticks because of different version sticks when OC for stability runs. 

I can sympathize with your attitude this board.


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 10, 2018)

Simply put : Those settings are responsible for tRD or Strap settings.
Here's a good starting point : LINK.

DRAM Static Read Control = Enabled
DRAM Dynamic Write Control = Disabled
*^Those decrease default Performance Level by one if Enabled (if Transaction Booster is set to "Auto"). Lower PL = better performance.*

DRAM Read Training = Disabled
DRAM Write Training = Disabled
*^Those are "tweaking" timings on "auto" setting with each failed startup, untill you have a successfull boot. *
I think DDR4 boards do this automaticly ? (with retry button on Skylake/Coffee Lake).

MEM. OC Charger = ENABLED
*Lowers 2-nd/3-rd rate auto timings on supported memory DIMMs.*

Ai Clock Twister= Moderate
*^Same as Mem OC Charger, but works on everything.*

Ai Transaction Booster= Auto
*^Direct control over Performance Level (it should bypass "Dynamic" options from before). *
*It must be used with FSB/DRAM Strap in mind (because too low, or too high set value = no boot). *Again, less = better performance, Higher = better stability.


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Jul 10, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> Yeah would you just look at that!  Doesn't have CR but apparently all the other mem clock settings I'd care to mention and then some. OC Charger? AI transaction booster? AI Twister? Why not offer a setting for pull n' peal twizzler or egg sizzler? Geezeus! At the very least Asus should have included one for fizzle memzizzle!
> 
> 
> Definitely interested... How much did you want for the card? And is it PCI-E?



Yep. definitely PCI-E. Its this one but the stock cooler has been replaced with this Zalman cooler












The card originally belonged to a friend a good good few years ago but the stock cooler was too loud for him and the fan died so i replaced it with the Zalman, then his PC died not long after that so he decided to just buy an entirely new PC instead.


----------



## zenlaserman (Jul 10, 2018)

Just logged in to say, man, this thread brings back a lot of memories. 
 Back in 2007, I went from an OC'd 2.6GHz s754 A64 to a 3GHz Q6600, ye olde B3 stepping.
The Q6600 had just priced dropped from ~$850 to $530 and I got mine for $350 at Fry's.
I built it on an Intel D975XBX2, aka the "Bad Axe 2", Intel's second "overclocking board".
(OC my ass it had a ~430 base clock limit on duals, ~340 on quads. Fracking 975X chipset!)
When G0 stepping came out I sold the Q6600 and bought a Q6700 for that 10x multi.
Ran it at 340x10 1.4v 24/7 for 10 years, then UC+UV'd to 266x6 1.0v for server use.
Over the years it's been through GeForces MX440, 8500GT, 8600GTS, 9800GT at various times,
Radeons 2900XT (built with), 3850, 4850x2, 6870, and now UC+UV'd RX460.  Still runs 24/7.

I used to lust after the QX6850, just like I did the QX6800 and QX6700 before it.
My board can support up to a QX6800, but nothing after. I see em for $50 or so.
I think it's awesome that people still run Conroe-era stuff.  They are still decently capable!


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 10, 2018)

zenlaserman said:


> Just logged in to say, man, this thread brings back a lot of memories.
> Back in 2007, I went from an OC'd 2.6GHz s754 A64 to a 3GHz Q6600, ye olde B3 stepping.
> The Q6600 had just priced dropped from ~$850 to $530 and I got mine for $350 at Fry's.
> I built it on an Intel D975XBX2, aka the "Bad Axe 2", Intel's second "overclocking board".
> ...


Thanks for stopping in! You do make a good point, in fact I notice almost a zero difference in Windows 10 boot time comparing the QX6850 and the Core I7 2600K (and this was overclocked to 4.5Ghz). Also measured boot time against a Thuban X6 running at 3.7Ghz and again, it was negligible. Intel really had their act together with the Core 2 quad chips. Even the 65NM with 8MB of L2 cache is a force to be reckoned with. I love the old school overclocks and this is just one of many I have planned for the next year or so. And these systems will be used as my daily driver for some time as well.  I have no less than three bare-bones systems ready for a new motherboard and a new heart. Next system on the docket is going to be an Athlon XP 3000+ (I already have the CPU and I hope to run SSD) and perhaps another LGA 771 to 775 conversion using an MSI-P43 C51 mainboard. I might go for the Harpertown x5470 or something similar. I still regret selling my Q9550, but oh well there are many fish in the sea. lol


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Jul 10, 2018)

Where would i be shipping the 7800GT to?


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 10, 2018)

FreedomEclipse said:


> Where would i be shipping the 7800GT to?


12307
Schenectady, NY


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Jul 10, 2018)

basically, youre looking at around $40 shipped give or take. Thats the downside of you being half way across the world from me.


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 11, 2018)

FreedomEclipse said:


> basically, youre looking at around $40 shipped give or take. Thats the downside of you being half way across the world from me.


Damn. Well I guess we will have to hold off on that for now. I have a Radeon HD5670 that will foot the bill just fine. Although that would have been a nice piece for this build since I have a CPU cooler coming in from another member here it would have been a true "community" build.


----------



## AlwaysHope (Jul 11, 2018)

zenlaserman said:


> Just logged in to say, man, this thread brings back a lot of memories.
> Back in 2007, I went from an OC'd 2.6GHz s754 A64 to a 3GHz Q6600, ye olde B3 stepping.
> The Q6600 had just priced dropped from ~$850 to $530 and I got mine for $350 at Fry's.
> I built it on an Intel D975XBX2, aka the "Bad Axe 2", Intel's second "overclocking board".
> ...



LGA775 & especially Conroe where the best days of OC in my opinion. Extra free performance rewarded with effort. 
When 1156 came in, that was pretty good too until Sandy bridge came out with that annoying iGPU & approx 1 yr for another socket change... .

Nice to know 65nm quads can last for a heck of a long time 24/7. Be interesting to see if current gen cpus or in fact anything built this decade can run the long race like they did. 

Great post, thanks man!


----------



## zenlaserman (Jul 12, 2018)

@ storm-chaser: yeah, when ya get down to it, Windows is only gonna run so fast.
I have a P3 1GHz with 512MB PC133 with a Radeon AIW X800XT that runs Windows XP,
and it's darn near as quick firing up San Andreas as my Q6700 rig was when it was 32bit.
My Q6700 rig @ 3.4 (DDR2-840 4-5-4-13) is every bit as snappy surfing as my 4.8 6700K rig is.
Ofc SSD and clever browser settings are the great equalizer there, but we are in times of plenty.

10 years ago a 10 y/o PC would have been about 4 potatoes. Well, maybe a P2 400 with 64MB RAM,
(I had one then) but once we hit that 3GHz mark, it was all pretty much overkill after that IMHO.
That's awesome you're gonna play with some AXP, I had a couple Shuttles with OC'd XP-M back when!

@ AlwaysHope: yeah dude, huge, huge gains. When Conroe hit  the scene, things just got real.
3GHz A64X2 were _fast_ at the time, but a 2.4GHz E6600 matched it. Bus jump to 3GHz? DOOOM!
Yeah, bus jumps are awesome, doesn't matter who lets you do it, as long as they let ya! 

As far as CPU longevity, man, as long as you know exactly what the max voltage a chip can take,
there's no worries, from my experience.  I been playing with this shit since the 1980s.
CPU deaths are very rare unless they are over-volted to the moon or a nasty surge in the mobo.
If the PSU don't die hard or the mobo's caps don't blow up like Kirstie Alley, the rig will live long!


----------



## zenlaserman (Jul 13, 2018)

newtekie1 said:


> I actually still have my TRUE, I might even have two...
> 
> The 212+ performs pretty darn close to the old TRUE. Both are 120mm tower coolers, the TRUE had 2 more heatpipes, but the 212+ was a DHT which helps it out a lot.
> 
> Hmmm...I have a Hyper 212 Evo too... This really makes me want to test both against each other...



I forgot to add my exp to this venerable forum member's.  I 100% agree that a 212+ is just bout identical to a TRUE.  I've run both on several OC'd 775 roomheaters at various times and find the 212+ to be a much better value and has a slight space advantage.  The TRUE is a figgin beast as we all know, but the 212+ does a _great_  job on these old CPUs up to near 1.6v if ambient is under ~25C. My 11y/o Q6700 rig has been running a 212+ with Shin-Etsu TIM since 2015, core temps usually stayed less than 30C over ambient under heavy load OC'd @ 1.4v.

As always - if surfaces are flat with a slight grain, a minimal amount of decent TIM is used across the core(s), and you have the air pressure, your HSF is gonna do the best it can.  I still have a vintage nickel-plated Zalman 9700NT that can _not_ do the job on a quad over 1.3v LMAO..it's about the size of a 50-stack of CDs and about as useless these days.


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 14, 2018)

Big thanks to newtekie1 for sending me one of his spare Thermalright TRUE coolers. I have more data coming in but from what I have gathered already, it looks like both coolers read about the same at idle, but under load I'm seeing 10-15*F drops in peak temps from the TRUE 120MM in place of my Hyper 212. I used the same fan on both coolers (hyper 212 evo) and same CPU voltage and clock, so the torture test makes for a pretty accurate comparison. Enjoy some pictures for now....

























Hyper 212 results under load (TRUE data will be coming soon)


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 14, 2018)

FYI : TRUE needs a high pressure fan to run at it's best.
Also, do you have standard bolt-kit ?


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 15, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> FYI : TRUE needs a high pressure fan to run at it's best.
> Also, do you have standard bolt-kit ?


The TRUE is a really nice piece. I can see someone put some serious engineering into the design and build quality. Definitely about twice the weight of a Hyper 212. As for the high pressure fan, perhaps I will do that down the road at some point but the EVO seems to get us in the ballpark so I'm gonna stick with it for now. Its also quieter running than my 212. What do you mean by the standard bolt kit? I just used the standard mounting hardware and included bolts.


----------



## AlwaysHope (Jul 15, 2018)

A bit unrelated but whilst we are on the topic of air coolers, got me a Cooler Master MA620P multi platform cooler with visions of future AM4 builds , 
Its one of the tightest air cooler fits I've ever done with this kind of gear especially on a board with lots of heat pipes around CPU area such as this..





. 
& with big fingers, its even more challenging....  Man, those fancy heat pipes come awfully close to trying to bolt down that baby... annoying! only just cleared my ram too!

This will eventually be another "retro" build.. Intel of course!


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 15, 2018)

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 :


----------



## hat (Jul 15, 2018)

Dual EPS12v: for when 300w just isn't enough.


----------



## Mr.Scott (Jul 15, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> View attachment 103698
> 
> Here it is with XMP timings (manual mode, input timings by hand):
> View attachment 103700
> ...


The 3:5 divider is bugged. Always has been. Get off that and you'll start making good changes.


----------



## newtekie1 (Jul 15, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> Standard :
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I sent the standard bolt-thru kits for 775, 115X, and AM2/3.  Not the pressure vault kit, I bought the cooler before those game out.


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 15, 2018)

hat said:


> Dual EPS12v: for when 300w just isn't enough.


Speaking of EPS I know my P5Q3 has an 8pin connection but my power supply only has a single 4 pin EPS connector. Is this going to limit my overclockability with the QX6850? I imagine I could just purchase an 8 pin pigtail if needed....


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 15, 2018)

It may... depending on how high you want to push it.
I'm not sure how VRM is connected on P5Q3 board, however using 4-pin might be a little much for 4,0GHz+ on that 65nm Quad core (it depends on PSU's wires and cooling around connector's area, "pig tail" won't help with that).


----------



## newtekie1 (Jul 15, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> Speaking of EPS I know my P5Q3 has an 8pin connection but my power supply only has a single 4 pin EPS connector. Is this going to limit my overclockability with the QX6850? I imagine I could just purchase an 8 pin pigtail if needed....



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.


----------



## hat (Jul 15, 2018)

I would either get a better power supply, or ghetto rig one out of two separate molex connectors or something.


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 16, 2018)

newtekie1 said:


> 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 (Jul 16, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> Standard :
> 
> 
> 
> ...




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 (Jul 16, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> 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 (Jul 16, 2018)

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 (Jul 16, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> 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 (Jul 18, 2018)

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 (Jul 22, 2018)

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 (Jul 22, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> 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 (Jul 23, 2018)

AlwaysHope said:


> 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 (Jul 24, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> 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 (Jul 24, 2018)

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 (Jul 24, 2018)

hat said:


> 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 (Jul 24, 2018)

hat said:


> 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 (Jul 24, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> 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 (Jul 25, 2018)

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 (Jul 25, 2018)

hat said:


> 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 (Jul 25, 2018)

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 (Jul 25, 2018)

Something to think about 



^NB = 1,5V



^NB = 1,6V

I can test QX6850 as well...


----------



## AlwaysHope (Jul 26, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


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



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 (Jul 26, 2018)

@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 (Jul 26, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> @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
> ...



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 (Jul 26, 2018)

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 (Jul 27, 2018)

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


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 27, 2018)

800MHz ?
As in DDR3 1600MHz ?


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 27, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> 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.


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 27, 2018)

QX6850 needs good VRM to go high on clock 
FSB is easy, decrease the multiplier and up the voltage on NB.
I used QX6700 (that's B3 revision of Kentsfield, G0 should be better than that).
Just FYI : I tested/measured just now how much power goes from PSU into my UD3Ps 8-pin EPS power plug (when this CPU is OC'ed to 3,6GHz, Vcore is at 1,34-1,39V). Tested on "Standard" IntelBurnTest.
@storm-chaser Would you like to guess amps value (that is power delivered by PSU to VRM) ?


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 28, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> QX6850 needs good VRM to go high on clock
> FSB is easy, decrease the multiplier and up the voltage on NB.
> I used QX6700 (that's B3 revision of Kentsfield, G0 should be better than that).
> Just FYI : I tested/measured just now how much power goes from PSU into my UD3Ps 8-pin EPS power plug (when this CPU is OC'ed to 3,6GHz, Vcore is at 1,34-1,39V). Tested on "Standard" IntelBurnTest.
> @storm-chaser Would you like to guess amps value (that is power delivered by PSU to VRM) ?


I would guess we are in the neighborhood of 7-12 amps delivered by the PSU? I really have no idea I'm just going by feel here....

BTW- I did a little overclocking of my own tonight 

FSB 500 --





And 480 FSB with 9x multi (by this CPU overclocks like a dream):




Should I go for the magical 50% overclock? LOL do you even have to ask???


----------



## hat (Jul 28, 2018)

4.4 on that old chip would be an impressive result if stable...


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 28, 2018)

hat said:


> 4.4 on that old chip would be an impressive result if stable...


This old chip has been in my possession since 2008 came out of a trashed worstation computer. And yes I'm running AIDA64 stress tests on it now. So far there are "no limits" devott laratt!! I'll be happy when I have more time to work on it tomorrow. CPU has never ever been over clocked this is my first go around vs the e8400. Think of all the untapped potential out there!


----------



## AlwaysHope (Jul 28, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> This old chip has been in my possession since 2008 came out of a trashed worstation computer. And yes I'm running AIDA64 stress tests on it now. So far there are "no limits" devott laratt!! I'll be happy when I have more time to work on it tomorrow. CPU has never ever been over clocked this is my first go around vs the e8400. Think of all the untapped potential out there!



Yes, those 45nm dual cores were easy to OC the living daylights out of them. But in today's world, I think dual cores are past their prime. Imo, quads as a minimum from now on. 
BUT get the FSB OC potential from those duals & make the quads do it for real under sustained heavy load for daily use. That would be the ultimate from this decade old tech.


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 28, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> I would guess we are in the neighborhood of 7-12 amps delivered by the PSU? I really have no idea I'm just going by feel here....


Add 1 before that "7", and switch around "1" and "2" on that "12".
17-21A on 12V rail at 3,6GHz and 1,34-1,38V (LLC enabled).
My EP45-UD3P shuts itself down if EPS 8-pin goes over 20A 
On the other hand...


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 29, 2018)

Well we are getting closer to the 50% threshold.... but that 4.7 number by agentX_0007 is going to be hard to beat  especially since I'm out of multiplier 





AND good to know those voltage and amp #s how did you measure your amps was it a calculation from voltage or did you actually use a multimeter or something?





Edging up on the number 





Achieved the magical 50% overclock mark (that's a record for me across both platforms) and 14Gb/s on the memory read. Very impressed with what this little E8400 can do!


----------



## Mr.Scott (Jul 29, 2018)

Kick it man. 

https://valid.x86.fr/zvwunc


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 29, 2018)

Well done, Mr. Scott. 

I think I've got my work cut out for me to play with big boys. 

In any event this E8400 swap has inspired me to test / benchmark / overclock all of my other C2D chips seeing as how I have quite a surplus at the moment And also my motherboard is proving to be quite the requirable workhorse, good investment for sure.. Over the next couple weeks I will be benching the following 
CPUs:
-Intel Core 2 Duo e7500
-Intel Core 2 Duo e4200
-Intel core Pentium D 960
-A couple other intels just cant come to mind right now to the fullest extent.


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 29, 2018)

@storm-chaser Clamp meter :


----------



## Mr.Scott (Jul 29, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> Well done, Mr. Scott.
> 
> I think I've got my work cut out for me to play with big boys.
> 
> ...



You just need a cooling upgrade.
Message me at home. I have some CPU's I can send you.


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 29, 2018)

https://valid.x86.fr/9n6hea




That is it for DDR2 2x2GB 
Board really cannot reach high FSB clocks with 4x2GB RAM configuration.
Maybe GTL NB would change that (I pushed 1,56V into NB with a E8600, and still no-go zone... unplug memory - works fine), but I didn't wanted to play around too much.
On to DDR3...

PS. Just noticed - Intel Processors : "Expert"... interesting.


----------



## AlwaysHope (Jul 30, 2018)

Seeing this thread is about older Intel cpus & OC fun.....
Has anyone seen this review about i7-980X against Ryzen 3 2200G ?

I have a few criticisms of that article.


----------



## storm-chaser (Jul 30, 2018)

AlwaysHope said:


> Seeing this thread is about older Intel cpus & OC fun.....
> Has anyone seen this review about i7-980X against Ryzen 3 2200G ?
> 
> I have a few criticisms of that article.



I like this quote from the article:
"That said the single core performance is rather weak and shockingly even at 4.4 GHz is well down on what the 2200G offers. In fact the single thread performance of the 980X was 8% slower than the 2200G and 17% slower once the APU is overclocked. Still the 2200G’s 4-threads can’t compete with the old 12-thread CPU in multi-threaded workloads and is up to 37% slower once both CPUs are overclocked."

And I agree that for most users, the single core performance is what you should be after so that would one point for the AMD chip. For business and high workload applications, the Intel wins hands down. 

Here is an interesting comparison of the "alleged flagship" Core i9-9900K versus the Ryzen 2700X. Seems to soundly beat the AMD chip into submission but these are just rumors at this point and nothing is concrete.

https://www.techradar.com/news/inte...enchmark-leaves-amd-ryzen-7-2700x-in-the-dust


----------



## AlwaysHope (Jul 31, 2018)

Storm Chaser, if techspot are going to compare 8 yr old 1366 extreme edition cpu with Zen+ 2200G why didn't they use high end DDR3 in those tests..... I mean my Gigabyte 1156 system from that era (2009) boasts DDR3 2200 capability yet they used DDR3 1600 only...  what are they trying to do? dump it down a bit...lol...
If we keep in mind that 1366 system was designed for win7 & not win10 like AM4 - 2200G is that factor must be taken into account imo.


----------



## agent_x007 (Jul 31, 2018)

> ...I have six 2GB sticks of DDR3-1600 memory and that’s the best stuff I have available for this test.


Direct quote from article. If they had 3x4GB setup 1866MHz shoudn't be a problem. But with 6x2GB, and those are on a crapier side...
They simly went with what they have.
I slso think they didn't optimise UnCore frequency like they should have.
Also my R15 score :


----------



## AlwaysHope (Aug 1, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> Direct quote from article. If they had 3x4GB setup 1866MHz shoudn't be a problem. But with 6x2GB, and those are on a crapier side...
> They simly went with what they have.
> I slso think they didn't optimise UnCore frequency like they should have.
> Also my R15 score :



That's the way to do it ^^^ , but lame excuse author of that techspot review supplied... in other words he couldn't be bothered optimising & it's easy to do but anyway...life goes on!


----------



## storm-chaser (Aug 3, 2018)

Tonight I had a little OC fun with my Core 2 Duo E7500:
Lite OC:




Working on 27 % OC:




35% OC and topping out on CPU max clock ( right around 3.90Ghz)




I can get to FSB 395 but the system is not stable. I settled for 46% OC on the FSB:


----------



## MrGenius (Aug 3, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> So far there are "no limits" devott laratt!!


Devon's a monstrosity.


----------



## agent_x007 (Aug 3, 2018)

@storm-chaser I'm not sure what strap/perf. level or FSB Voltage you set. But below 1600MHz FSB on E7x00 is simply sad


----------



## storm-chaser (Aug 3, 2018)

Must be a bad CPU or perhaps my FSB settings. Term voltage is set to 1.70 and LLC is enabled. What was really slowing me down, honestly, was the CPU topping out around 4ghz. Strap should be set to what? I'm currently on auto. Also any other FSB settings I should be aware of for this CPU?


----------



## agent_x007 (Aug 3, 2018)

1) PLL is 1,5V (you can go up to 1,65V without issues).
2) FSB Termination at ~1,45V is the max. safe volage, over it you will degrade/kill your CPU (also, with 1600MHz FSB, you shoudn't need more than 1,25V)
3) Strap is dependant on DRAM frequency you want to use. 266MHz and 333MHz straps are fine in most cases. 200MHz is better performance, but needs A LOT of NB voltage to be stable with high capacity RAM at high speeds.
I highly recommend increasing tRFC timing for DDR3 to over "80" range for ~1500MHz (and if you want to push even higher frequencies).
4) Higher RAM Frequency doesn't always equall better performance.
If tRFC doesn't help, try manually setting AI Transaction Booster to 8-10.


----------



## storm-chaser (Aug 3, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> 1) PLL is 1,5V (you can go up to 1,65V without issues).
> 2) FSB Termination at ~1,45V is the max. safe volage, over it you will degrade/kill your CPU (also, with 1600MHz FSB, you shoudn't need more than 1,25V)
> 3) Strap is dependant on DRAM frequency you want to use. 266MHz and 333MHz straps are fine in most cases. 200MHz is better performance, but needs A LOT of NB voltage to be stable with high capacity RAM at high speeds.
> I highly recommend increasing tRFC timing for DDR3 to over "80" range for ~1500MHz (and if you want to push even higher frequencies).
> ...


Thanks. I will update you on my progress. I may have time later today to take another look at it. I also have another E7500 to swap in incase the CPU itself is holding me back but it will take me a couple days to harvest the chip and bring it back to my place. As for TRFC I think I was running 60 on my e8400 setup without issue @ 1600Mhz -- but I will try bumping that up to 82 as well.

-Tried PLL @ 1.5v, FSB term @ 1.45v, FSB strap @ 266Mhz, tRFC @ 80 and even manually tried to set AI Booster. Still no go. I get a NO POST scenario with the FSB at anything over 396.

I know the motherboard is good because it just overclocked my e8400 like a champ. So I'm gonna try swapping to my other E7500 and see if that makes a difference. I know the  memory will run at these timings no problem, so I should'nt be running into anything there. I have a feeling this CPU is just not up to the task. In terms of grade it's probably a C- as it has scratches on the heat spreader. Not sure what the history is on it.


----------



## agent_x007 (Aug 3, 2018)

Are you sure you are not trying to boot at 11 multi ?
If so, you will need ~1,45V as Vcore and ~1,6V PLL as well.
Something to think about :




I did use only memory 2 sticks.


----------



## storm-chaser (Aug 3, 2018)

Im only using two memory sticks as well. Also note, I am using the 9X multiplier since I just want to test max FSB and not be limited by the CPU. I think it's just a bad CPU.

I have successfully harvested the other e7500 and I will try that tomorrow hopefully.


----------



## storm-chaser (Aug 5, 2018)

Well, my sadness has been replaced with joy. lol my new E7500 is already overclocking better. I have a feeling the original CPU had been overheated or something because I'm already hitting over 4.1 Ghz (40% OC) without any voltage adjustments.






FSB 385 on 11x multi:




Yes! 400Mhz FSB!








FSB 415:




Here we are at 50% OC and I am happy with the results focusing more on DRAM Frequency than FSB. Going to keep this one around


----------



## agent_x007 (Aug 12, 2018)

@storm-chaser Took a while... but I think it was worth it 



Also :




https://valid.x86.fr/n3ipns
Had to switch PSU (OCZ ZS switched to Corsair TX 750W v1)


----------



## storm-chaser (Aug 13, 2018)

Well done, you've set one hell of a benchmark. Very impressive!

Do I have a response? Guess we all have to wait and see  

Need me some of that DDR3 2000... Can you please post some pics of your QX6850 build?


----------



## storm-chaser (Aug 13, 2018)

Time for a memory upgrade!

So I've found my lost 8GB kit of G.skill ripjaws!

Maybe this kit will play nicer with my QX6850....





EDIT:
Right out of the gate, we are able to hit 1600Mhz FSB no problem. This was a struggle before with my Corsair XMS3 kit. I'm happy, lets see what she can do


----------



## agent_x007 (Aug 13, 2018)

I guess new RAM is Double Sided 
Good thing it likes high tRFC.

Just FYI : I used 200MHz Strap, 1,51V NB Voltage, 1,35V FSB Voltage (and some GTL tweaks)


----------



## storm-chaser (Aug 14, 2018)

Here is my cooling system... lotta good it does me in the attic... lol 





Well, I changed power supplies but I still can't hit 4.0Ghz stable. The system posts but don't get much further than that. I tried replicating your settings, Agent 007, but I'm getting no love. Not to mention ambient temps here in the 80s.

The build has changed dynamics. We are shifting gears... We are going from an overvolt / overclock situation to an undervolt / overclock scenario.  I had the gunslingers over at bios-mods.com make me a custom BIOS file so I can run this QX6850 in an HP slimline HTPC. That thread is located over at overclockers.com if you guys are interesting in seeing the evolution of this build. I will be using throttlestop to mitigate extra heat and keep the TDP down to survivable levels. 

So the next step is to swap the processor out from my P5Q3 motherboard and stab it in the Foxconn board, say a few prayers and hope we don't get hit by the boom as it swings around: xD


----------



## agent_x007 (Aug 15, 2018)

Just so you know how far I could pushed mine :
R15 score :





Also :




^WTF is with this stable FSB ?!
Not that I'm complaining, but... DAMN.
Shouldn't 65nm Quad Cores suck at this ?
GTL value : 0,93V (as in Volts), for multiplier value - it should be around ~x0,64 (FSB Termination : 1,45V).

Also, I now know why I have shut down issues...
The analog sensor (in CPU package), shows +20C more than it should (based on CPU Cores temps).
PC shuts down when that temp goes to 100C, and that is reached with IBT when Vcore is at 1,4V.




PS. For 4,0GHz - (I estimate), you would need over 1,55V Vcore (and that's with Load Line Calibration).


----------



## Caring1 (Aug 16, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> View attachment 105297


Do you find it hard maintaining credibility when you willingly post pics of yourself wearing CROCS!!!


----------



## storm-chaser (Aug 16, 2018)

Caring1 said:


> Do you find it hard maintaining credibility when you willingly post pics of yourself wearing CROCS!!!





trust me Caring, crocs took my credibility from me a long time ago! *ROFL*


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## agent_x007 (Aug 16, 2018)

They say quads don't go high FSB on X38/X48... well, this is valid stable with 16GB of RAM installed :




https://valid.x86.fr/s8pyhq
^I think I simply own a NUTZ chip on FSB side.
Or maybe board is great on picking the right delays/skews to my GTL settings 
Either way, this is my first quad core CPU, to ever made it past CPU-z valid at those kinds of FSB speeds.


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## hat (Aug 16, 2018)

That's weird about that CPU temp sensor. Usually they report temps _lower_ than the CPU core... which would make sense, considering the actual heat source are those cores, not the socket.


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## agent_x007 (Aug 16, 2018)

@hat I know !
*Maybe* someone went to town with this chip on LN2/DICE/Phase, and sensor got inaccurate ?
Because, it basicly does what it should 90% of the time (temps will rise/fall with Core temps), the only problem is -20C difference between digital Core sensors and analog CPU one.


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## storm-chaser (Aug 16, 2018)

agent007,
I think you've got something special there. Quite a chip. I don't think my CPU is on the same level. With this mainboard (Asus P5Q3) I've been able to get decent OC results on my E8400 and E7500, respectively, however as soon as I throw my QX6850 in it wants to cramp right up on me. Not even stable at 1600FSB. 530? forget about it! I think it's happy right around here and that makes me angry! EDIT: Might be time to ditch this one and go for some of the newer 45NM Quad cores.





Just doing some testing at these low FSB clocks and it gives me better margins between each multiple. I was able to hit 4.012Ghz using the 20x multiplier.





Fresh CPUs are inbound. I'm having a lot of fun with LGA 775 and I don't wanna to stop now...
-Q9650 $40
-960T $40


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## storm-chaser (Aug 18, 2018)

With the 9x multi and 445Mhz FSB that should net me 4,005Ghz with the Q9650. 

As for the 960T, I'm hoping to find one that unlocks into a Thuban X6... fingers crossed...

Little more tweaking with my QX6850. Stable for what it is, I'm happy with it right here for daily use....


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## storm-chaser (Aug 24, 2018)

So the Q9650 has arrived! Very happy to have another Core 2 Quad to add to the stable. CPU looks to be in mint condition and runs flawlessly. I have it set at 4.185ghz with the memory at 775Mhz. So overall, it's a stout system now. I've retired the QX6850 for the moment while I test and tune with the new Q9650.

Look at this, she's MINT!


 

Want to see if I can get to 4.4Ghz on air.... Initial goal was 445Mhz FSB with the 9.0 Multi and that was fairly straight forward...





Then we bumped it up a little more and so far so good. Only making changes on core voltage...


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## agent_x007 (Aug 24, 2018)

Good upgrade.
Q9650 @ 4,4GHz on air is doable... if board and memory configuration can take 490MHz FSB.
I based that on my X3370 Xeon tests.


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## storm-chaser (Aug 24, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> Good upgrade.
> Q9650 @ 4,4GHz on air is doable... if board and memory configuration can take 490MHz FSB.
> I based that on my X3370 Xeon tests.


Here we are at 480FSB! Getting closer!


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## BarbaricSoul (Aug 25, 2018)

my Q9650 in a Gigabyte ep45 ud3p motherboard would do 4.5 stable 24/7 (that was a fun combo). I was running DDR2 800 RAM.

edit: Yeah I went WAAAAYYYYY back (7 years Only validation I could find. This had to of been just after I got the motherboard and was my first 4.5GHz OC, which would explain the high voltage) and found a CPU-Z Validation- https://valid.x86.fr/show_oc.php?id=1881838


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## storm-chaser (Aug 25, 2018)

BarbaricSoul said:


> my Q9650 in a Gigabyte ep45 ud3p motherboard would do 4.5 stable 24/7 (that was a fun combo). I was running DDR2 800 RAM.
> 
> edit: Yeah I went WAAAAYYYYY back (7 years Only validation I could find. This had to of been just after I got the motherboard and was my first 4.5GHz OC, which would explain the high voltage) and found a CPU-Z Validation- https://valid.x86.fr/show_oc.php?id=1881838


Well that will be my final mission goal then... try for 4.5Ghz on the CPU and 800Mhz on the ram if possible... I'll get back at it tomorrow for now I am just out of time. Guess it was a blessing in disguise, selling my Q9550 a few months back. I quite possibly would have never purchased the QX6850 or the Q9650 for that matter. It's been a fun o/c journey to say the least...


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## agent_x007 (Aug 25, 2018)

@BarbaricSoul On that board 4GB of RAM isn't a challenge - 8GB is.
Also, there should be "*" near that 800MHz RAM with adnotation :
*800MHz RAM used that was stable at 1GHz effective clock speed.
Because you can't have 4,5GHz clock speed on Q9650 without 500MHz FSB (2000MHz effective) and that at 1:1 ratio with DRAM = 1000MHz (effective) clock on memory.


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## storm-chaser (Aug 25, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> You can't run Windows 10 on Barton.
> No NX-bit support = no Win 10 (or 8[.1] for that matter).


As long as I can run Windows 7 on my Barton I'll be happy. That's really all I need and I definitely still like the look and feel of Win 7. It's current enough! Although it still amazes me how fast XP is comparatively speaking.

Well folks it looks like my board is only good to 479 Mhz. So we are stuck at 4.3Ghz across all four cores. That's okay with me. I did some tune up on my memory timings getting down to 7-8-7-15 CR2 with 400Mhz FSB strap. NB voltage at 1.35.

As it turns out, my Asus P5Q3 is just out of breath @ 479. Seems to hit a wall and then it's a hard stop.
at anything above that. So far my 4.3Ghz configuration, will be glad to keep it as is. Core temps are in the 85-115 range.


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## BarbaricSoul (Aug 26, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> Well that will be my final mission goal then... try for 4.5Ghz on the CPU and 800Mhz on the ram if possible... I'll get back at it tomorrow for now I am just out of time. Guess it was a blessing in disguise, selling my Q9550 a few months back. I quite possibly would have never purchased the QX6850 or the Q9650 for that matter. It's been a fun o/c journey to say the least...



I wish you luck. Mine would do 4.5GHz (500*9), but it would not do anything above that.



agent_x007 said:


> @BarbaricSoul On that board 4GB of RAM isn't a challenge - 8GB is.
> Also, there should be "*" near that 800MHz RAM with adnotation :
> *800MHz RAM used that was stable at 1GHz effective clock speed.
> Because you can't have 4,5GHz clock speed on Q9650 without 500MHz FSB (2000MHz effective) and that at 1:1 ratio with DRAM = 1000MHz (effective) clock on memory.



Back then, 4 gigs of RAM was plenty for gaming. 

Never did I say what speed the RAM was running at, only that "I was running DDR2 800 RAM" (Crucial Ballistix). But yes, it was running at 1GHz, as shown in the validation link. I replaced my previous working board (EVGA 750i FTW) with the UD3P simply because I wanted that specific board. It was known as being arguably THE BEST OC'ing motherboard for the 45nm C2Q.


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## storm-chaser (Aug 27, 2018)

Did a little cooling mod this morning. I used a Pentium III CPU cooler fan and it fit perfectly between the video card and CPU heatsink.

Now my NB is properly cooled 









With the cover on the case my temps rose a good 10-15 degrees. To combat the heat I installed another 120MM exhaust fan, the small NB cooler fan and last but not least, affixed the Core 2 Quad sticker on the front of the machine to complete the build! That's all folks!





Edit:
I also had to bump the CPU core voltage up to 1.464v to get stability back...


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## storm-chaser (Aug 29, 2018)

Found out through a little research that my first E7500 has earlier stepping. It has the SLB9Z stepping versus the newer SLGTE. So everyone knows to stay away from the earlier one especially if you intend on overclocking.


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## storm-chaser (Aug 31, 2018)

I have another CPU inbound, this time I went for the Q9450. This was a mere $14 so I could NOT pass up the deal. 

The new CPU will find a home with my HTPC. However, before doing that, I will test it in my benching rig (Asus P5Q3) and see what we get for max clock and max memory speed. Should be able to run the 8x multi at 479 FSB to reach 3.8Ghz


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## agent_x007 (Aug 31, 2018)

Which sSpec/revision ?


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## storm-chaser (Sep 1, 2018)

SLAN6

Earlier stepping, however, this will be going in my HTPC so super overclockability is not required.



agent_x007 said:


> Which sSpec/revision ?


Scratch that!!!!

We got the QX6850 running in the Slimline after BIOS update. The trick was AFUWIN.exe from command line in Windows 10!!!

So here we are at 3.0Ghz across all 4 cores!


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## hat (Sep 2, 2018)

I should hope it would at least run stock


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## storm-chaser (Sep 2, 2018)

hat said:


> I should hope it would at least run stock


Yeah you know it's going into my HTPC, right? I was just super excited that the modded bios worked and now I have this great little 3.0Ghz Quad core powa-house for fun in an HTPC sized case.

The computer had originally blacklisted the QX6850 from working at all... that's why I posted the stock CPUz specs once I got the system online with the modded bios.


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## MIRTAZAPINE (Sep 2, 2018)

Such insane FSB clockspeed.   Damn it is amazing how the humble front-side-bus is approaching intel first generation core i quick point interconnet(QPI) like in i7 920 cpu! I am sure the transfer rate would be pretty close!


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## agent_x007 (Sep 2, 2018)

MIRTAZAPINE said:


> Such insane FSB clockspeed.   Damn it is amazing how the humble front-side-bus is approaching intel first generation core i quick point interconnet(QPI) like in i7 920 cpu! I am sure the transfer rate would be pretty close!


No, they wouldn't be.
QPI usually* doesn't do IMC/DRAM transfers at all, it only does PCI-e and by extension, DMI I/O (multi socket communication as well in servers). FSB on the other hand does EVERYTHING, always.
Here's my OC'ed QX6850 in GTA V (with 4k) : LINK

*exception : Clarkdale stuff (where it does both L3 and IMC transfers)


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## storm-chaser (Sep 5, 2018)

Here is my new Q9450S running at 3.8Ghz. Already going higher than my Q9650 in the FSB department.


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## storm-chaser (Sep 7, 2018)

Approaching the 4.0Ghz barrier...




Here we are at the magical 4.0Ghz mark...


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## agent_x007 (Sep 7, 2018)

Good job 
Is it stable ?


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## storm-chaser (Sep 8, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> Good job
> Is it stable ?


Im "working" on getting it stable. It does fail one benchmark in the AIDA64 suite, so it's not perfect, yet. But considering we can get to 500Mhz FSB I am considering this a partial win, at least for now.


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## agent_x007 (Sep 8, 2018)

I would try increasing tRAS to 20 or 21 (15 is kind of tight for 1600MHz+ of course if stability problem is ralated to memory).
What FSB Termination Voltage you set for 500MHz ?


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## storm-chaser (Sep 8, 2018)

agent_x007 said:


> I would try increasing tRAS to 20 or 21 (15 is kind of tight for 1600MHz+ of course if stability problem is ralated to memory).
> What FSB Termination Voltage you set for 500MHz ?


I have it currently set at stock voltage and so far so good. I guess I might have to start bumping up the FSB Term voltage soon... I like these memory centric overclocks. Makes for a far more robust setup.

In a search for low profile coolers I came across the Reeven Brontes on Newegg - a quiet 100mm low profile CPU cooler with 4 heatpipes for ITX and HTPC. 

This will go perfect with my build and should be the final ingredient in making this system run cool and quiet. Cooler is about $35 shipped. Should keep my QX6850 under control...









Enjoy some picks of my QX6850 build! I will update with more photos once I get the new CPU cooler installed.


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## storm-chaser (Sep 11, 2018)

Well guys, looks like I'm still being bitten by the LGA 775 bug. 

I just ordered an E8600 and about 5 additional CPUs to test out in the benching rig. 

Updates and pictures to follow. Stay tuned!


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## Valantar (Sep 11, 2018)

Awesome thread. Almost makes me regret I sold my old Q9450/X48 rig last year (though I god a good 8-9 years out of it, so no complaints!). I'm impressed by you getting it to clock that high - mine topped out at 3.52GHz (24/7 stable) with a Hyper 212 Evo (IIRC it didn't exceed 85 degrees under load). That didn't entail more than setting the bus speed and increasing the VCore a bit, though. I got into Windows at 3.6something, but it crashed running a benchmark, and I couldn't be bothered tweaking it into stability. How much time have you spent tweaking this to get it that high? Whatever the effort, that is really impressive.


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## storm-chaser (Sep 12, 2018)

Valantar said:


> Awesome thread. Almost makes me regret I sold my old Q9450/X48 rig last year (though I god a good 8-9 years out of it, so no complaints!). I'm impressed by you getting it to clock that high - mine topped out at 3.52GHz (24/7 stable) with a Hyper 212 Evo (IIRC it didn't exceed 85 degrees under load). That didn't entail more than setting the bus speed and increasing the VCore a bit, though. I got into Windows at 3.6something, but it crashed running a benchmark, and I couldn't be bothered tweaking it into stability. How much time have you spent tweaking this to get it that high? Whatever the effort, that is really impressive.



Hey thanks for sharing! You know I was about to give up on LGA 775 until Johan sold me a solid benching board, the Asus P5Q3. This really has allowed me to turn up the wick on these cheap and plentiful CPUs. Like I said I have another 6-7 CPUs inbound for testing purposes. And hopefully down the road I will get a big water cooling setup and then we turn them up even more. 

If you keep an eye on eBay you can find some great deals. I paid only $14 for my Q9450 and it's been a fun one to overclock  
I've spend about two hours getting it dialed in and I'm not quite finished yet.


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## storm-chaser (Sep 26, 2018)

Hey guys. Just wanted to provide you with an update of sorts. I've recently finished up the QX6850 build and it now sits in it's final form on my desk. 

The HP slimline started life with a Pentium E5800 and has now been successfully bios modded and updated to work with the QX6850 CPU.


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## storm-chaser (Oct 6, 2018)

Here are my initial results for the E8600, updates to follow:







4.65Ghz:




Here we go with 4.7Ghz! And stable @ 470Mhz FSB!





4750Mhz:




Here is my CPU-z validation for 4.8Ghz...


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