# How to safely OC Core 2 Quad Q6600 to 3.0 GHz with ThrottleStop on Foxconn G31MXP mobo?



## HiTech_32 (Dec 22, 2018)

Hi to all!

I would like to safely  OC my Core 2 Quad Q6600 @2.40 GHz CPU to 3.00 GHz, on my Foxconn G31MXP mobo with ThrottleStop.

Please help me to do the OC safely.

Edit: BTW, I don't want to use a benchmarking stressing utility, because Prime95 made my PSU die once! 

Thanks to all in advance.

Best regards.

And I will use the OC only while gaming!


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## 27MaD (Dec 22, 2018)

Why don't u OC from the BIOS ?

And what do u mean by "safe OC" , you will overclock and increase the CPU voltage.


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 22, 2018)

27MaD said:


> Why don't u OC from the BIOS ?



Thank you for replying!
Because I want to use the OC only while gaming.


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## Tatty_One (Dec 22, 2018)

Just start by having a read here...……………….

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/throttlestop-overclocking-desktop-pcs.235975/


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 22, 2018)

Tatty_One said:


> Just start by having a read here...……………….
> 
> https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/throttlestop-overclocking-desktop-pcs.235975/



Thank you very much!


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## storm-chaser (Dec 22, 2018)

You can't use ThrottleStop to overclock your Q6600 because that CPU doesn't have an unlocked multiplier. All overclocking will have to be done from the BIOS via FSB / multiplier adjustments. 3.0Ghz should be doable with your Q6600. 

Set your FSB to 333 and multi to 9x. You will have to bump your voltage up to 1.4 or higher. And your NB to 1.3 or thereabouts.


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> You can't use ThrottleStop to overclock your Q6600 because that CPU doesn't have an unlocked multiplier. All overclocking will have to be done from the BIOS via FSB / multiplier adjustments. 3.0Ghz should be doable with your Q6600.
> 
> Set your FSB to 333 and multi to 9x. You will have to bump your voltage up to 1.4 or higher. And your NB to 1.3 or thereabouts.



How can I be sure that the CPU and the mobo won't fail while setting the OC in the BIOS?

I am so afraid of the failure!


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## storm-chaser (Dec 23, 2018)

HiTech_32 said:


> How can I be sure that the CPU and the mobo won't fail while setting the OC in the BIOS?
> 
> I am so afraid of the failure!


What type of cooling do you have on the rig? That's going to be your most important factor, because the Q6600 is a hot running chip, especially when overclocked. 

In terms of failure, don't think about it in that way. You simply need to follow simple but precise instructions and you'll achieve your goals. Slowly raise the FSB speed from 266  (stock) to 333 in small increments. If the system becomes unstable, back off a little bit and try again.  You also need to factor in your memory speed when you start raising the FSB.

This is all assuming your board allows for FSB overclocking.


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> What type of cooling do you have on the rig? That's going to be your most important factor, because the Q6600 is a hot running chip, especially when overclocked.
> 
> In terms of failure, don't think about it in that way. You simply need to follow simple but precise instructions and you'll achieve your goals. Slowly raise the FSB speed from 266  (stock) to 333 in small increments. If the system becomes unstable, back off a little bit and try again.  You also need to factor in your memory speed when you start raising the FSB.
> 
> This is all assuming your board allows for FSB overclocking.



I have a new afermarket cooler,much bigger than the stock cooler I firstly had.

Also the thermal paste I have recently reapplied the thermal paste.

Please tell me more about increasing of the voltage,I am very afraid of increasing of the voltage.

Here you are a picture of my mobo voltages:


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## storm-chaser (Dec 23, 2018)

You'll need to work with three separate voltages: 
Memory Voltage
CPU Voltage 
NB Voltage

For a 3.0Ghz overclock, you'll want to start ramping up the voltage as you raise the FSB. So long as you stay within acceptable limits you have nothing to worry about, plus it sounds like your cooling system shouldn't be a limitation. 
-As I said in my previous post, to achieve the 3.0Ghz clock, you will need about 1.35+ volts on the CPU. Don't go much over 1.55 core voltage or you risk premature CPU failure. 
-You will also need to bump NB voltage as you start raising the FSB. Max safe NB voltage is approx 1.45 volts, but you should only need about 1.3v to net 333Mhz on the FSB. 

I recommend starting out with a low multiplier setting so you can first feel out the limits of your FSB. Then, once you've confirmed the desired FSB, start raising the multiplier on your CPU.


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

Oh dear storm-chaser,I am so afraid!


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## storm-chaser (Dec 23, 2018)

HiTech_32 said:


> Oh dear storm-chaser,I am so afraid!


So long as you stay within acceptable voltage limits, you have nothing to worry about. Core 2 Quad chips are fairly durable, it's not just going to "pop" on you. 

Be sure to start slow. Minor incremental changes are key to success. And patient. Be very patient and you'll get this right.

Again, this is all assuming you have overclock capabilities with that board...


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> So long as you stay within acceptable voltage limits, you have nothing to worry about. Core 2 Quad chips are fairly durable, it's not just going to "pop" on you.
> 
> Be sure to start slow. Minor incremental changes are key to success. And patient. Be very patient and you'll get this right.
> 
> Again, this is all assuming you have overclock capabilities with that board...



Could you please help me with the voltages?


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## storm-chaser (Dec 23, 2018)

Sure. For the most part, it's going to be a walk in the park, really. Just checked and your motherboard does in fact support FSB overclocking. 

You want 333mhz as your FSB target. I take it this is your first time overclocking?

I would also recommend downloading 
CPUz
HWMonitor
HWINfo64
AIDA64
Core-Temp

So when the time comes, you can monitor temps and check voltages from within Windows.


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

I have tried to overclock the CPU once with increasing only of the FSB to 333 MHz, and I got a crash


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## storm-chaser (Dec 23, 2018)

HiTech_32 said:


> I have tried to overclock the CPU once with increasing only of the FSB to 333 MHz, and I got a crash


On that attempt, did you raise the NB voltage correspondingly?
You will also need to feed the processor more voltage, did you do that as well?


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> On that attempt, did you raise the NB voltage correspondingly?
> You will also need to feed the processor more voltage, did you do that as well?



I am not sure, but I think that I didn't add voltage.

I have forgotten and where are the OC options in my BIOS,could you help me with that too?


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## storm-chaser (Dec 23, 2018)

HiTech_32 said:


> I am not sure, but I think that I didn't add voltage.



That's likely the problem. First set core voltage to 1.4v, next set your NB voltage to 1.3, restart and try again.


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> That's likely the problem. First set core voltage to 1.4v, next set your NB voltage to 1.3, restart and try again.



Ok,what do you suggest me about the FSB and the multiplier,with which values should I start?


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## storm-chaser (Dec 23, 2018)

HiTech_32 said:


> Ok,what do you suggest me about the FSB and the multiplier,with which values should I start?


Start value for FSB should be 300. Multiplier on CPU should be set to 8. See if that works.

Edit: You will also need to change your DRAM:FSB ratio, so tune that down a couple notches


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> Start value for FSB should be 300. Multiplier on CPU should be set to 8. See if that works.
> 
> Edit: You will also need to change your DRAM:FSB ratio, so tune that down a couple notches



Please give me some starting value about the DRAM.


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## storm-chaser (Dec 23, 2018)

HiTech_32 said:


> Please give me some starting value about the DRAM.


Need you to post up a CPUz screenshot of the memory and SPD tab. 
Also, get me the specific part # from the memory module


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

Here you are:


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## storm-chaser (Dec 23, 2018)

Set your FSB strap to 400mhz, if you have an option for it.
Confirm your memory voltage is set to 1.8
For the memory speed chose a lower multiplier, the BIOS should have options for this. No need to change the timings just yet.
You can also post the memory speeds here, from your BIOS so we have everything on the table.


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> Set your FSB strap to 400mhz, if you have an option for it.
> Confirm your memory voltage is set to 1.8
> For the memory speed chose a lower multiplier, the BIOS should have options for this. No need to change the timings just yet.
> You can also post the memory speeds here, from your BIOS so we have everything on the table.



Where can I find the memory speeds in the BIOS (for my mobo)?


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## storm-chaser (Dec 23, 2018)

HiTech_32 said:


> Where can I find the memory speeds in the BIOS (for my mobo)?


They should be in the area near your FSB selection. I would also recommend you download your user manual from the foxconn site and that will also lay out your memory BIOS options. 
When searching the BIOS you are looking for DRAM Speed or similar.


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

Ok,I'll download the user manual,but to be honest I feel a little bit tired at the moment to do the OC ,I'll do it in a few hours and report everything I have done.

I do apologize for this,but I am really tired,I'll go to sleep now.
Dear  storm-chaser please don't mind me about this.


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## storm-chaser (Dec 23, 2018)

No worries take your time my friend.


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

storm-chaser said:


> No worries take your time my friend.



Thank you very much! 

This is a link for downloading of the Foxconn G31MXP user's manual : https://docdro.id/mYGmgnx

I can't find the DRAM speed there.
Any help?


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## Mac2580 (Dec 23, 2018)

I had a q9400 for 10 years on a asrock g41m vs3. I ran it ocd (345x8) for 6 years till the board died. I had to drop ram speed from 1333mhz to 1066mhz first (Effective 1100+ after oc) to get it stable. My best advice would be to not OC it because the boards power components are old. Mine refused to post after 9 good years. I then realised that my GPU (r7 260x) was the bottleneck and i ocd cpu for nothing.

If you are lagging in a game you really want to play though, i understand completely. On my mobo i had to drop ram speed first to avoid immediate bsod (E.g from 1333 to 1066, 1066 to 800, 800 to 667). My mobos voltage was locked so i kept increasing fsb (333-334-335-336-337). I remember checking constantly so my gfx card wasnt overclocked, although i forgot how.


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

Mac2580 said:


> I had a q9400 for 10 years on a asrock g41m vs3. I ran it ocd (345x8) for 6 years till the board died. I had to drop ram speed from 1333mhz to 1066mhz first (Effective 1100+ after oc) to get it stable. My best advice would be to not OC it because the boards power components are old. Mine refused to post after 9 good years. I then realised that my GPU (r7 260x) was the bottleneck and i ocd cpu for nothing.



Thank you very much for the useful advice!
I was afraid all of the time of dying of my mobo.
I will listen to your advice and I won't OC my CPU.
Thank you again. 

Edit: I wanted to OC my CPU mainly for getting more FPS while playing ArmA2.

My GPU is Nvidia Gigabyte 9400 GT 1GB GDDR2, I have 4 GB DDR2 RAM.

Edit 2: I have already OC my GPU.


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## Mac2580 (Dec 23, 2018)

HiTech_32 said:


> My GPU is Nvidia Gigabyte 9400 GT 1GB GDDR2, I have 4 GB DDR2 RAM.


Your graphics card is very likely to be the bottleneck, although ive never played arma 2. I had a 9300gs,  9800gt which died, gt 440  and then the r7 260x paired with mine(2x2gb ddr3). R7 260x was a great buy and was a good match for cpu.

Edit: The above is my personal experience, but i wouldnt advise you to buy graphics card unless you plan on using it when you eventually upgrade, GTA V and Witcher 3 were heavily bottlenecked by cpu.


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

Mac2580 said:


> Your graphics card is very likely to be the bottleneck, although ive never played arma 2. I had a 9300gs,  9800gt which died, gt 440  and then the r7 260x paired with mine(2x2gb ddr3). R7 260x was a great buy and was a good match for cpu.



You know I have big problem with my finances ,and I must adapt to that situation. 

About ArmA 2,as far as I know it is a CPU intensive game and that's why I wanted to OC the CPU.


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## storm-chaser (Dec 23, 2018)

Another option would be to purchase a Q9650 CPU. This will get you a clean 3.0Ghz right out of the box.
Plus, it's 45nm so it would run a little cooler and you could even overclock it further if you wanted more performance.
They run about $25-$30 on ebay.

EDIT: I have a Q9650 running at 4.3Ghz 24/7


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## Ware (Dec 23, 2018)

HiTech_32 said:


> as far as I know it is a CPU intensive game


The Arma games came be CPU hogs, especially when too many AI's are involved.
Setting 'Maximum Pre-Rendered Frames ' to 8 might help with FPS(at the cost of some latency).
Dialing back the view distance can have a huge impact sometimes.


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## HiTech_32 (Dec 23, 2018)

Ware said:


> The Arma games came be CPU hogs, especially when too many AI's are involved.
> Setting 'Maximum Pre-Rendered Frames ' to 8 might help with FPS(at the cost of some latency).
> Dialing back the view distance can have a huge impact sometimes.



Thank you for the great advice!


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## Mac2580 (Dec 23, 2018)

HiTech_32 said:


> You know I have big problem with my finances ,and I must adapt to that situation.
> 
> About ArmA 2,as far as I know it is a CPU intensive game and that's why I wanted to OC the CPU.



You shouldnt let what happened to me stop you from OCing should it help with Arma 2. My board likely died of old age, it was stable for many years at the same settings, it literally didnt post one day when I got home. I would follow storm chasers advice, he has quite simply the highest stable OC ive ever seen with a core 2 quad.


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