# Help with Gigabyte 945GCMX-S2 and Core 2 Duo



## LoneReaction (Jan 6, 2008)

System Info

Mainboard: Gigabyte 945GCMX-S2
CPU: Intel Core 2 duo E6420
Memory: 2 x 1GB DDR2 667
Graphic card: 8800GT 512MB (XFX brand, OC version - 640 core 950 mem)
PSU: HEC ACE 480UB
Monitor: 19" Samsung SyncMaster 931bf

I've read quite a few articles about overclocking E6420 or similar processors, and I understand it is basically playing with numbers.

However, in my BIOS on my motherboard, there doesn't seem to be a FSB multiplier setting. I can only see FSB speed, and Memory speed.

I have tried pushing this FSB value to 300, but that is as far as it will go. If I put it any higher, upon saving to CMOS and restarting the computer would revert to defaults. Of course I changed the memory multiplier to make sure it doesn't exceed 667Mhz.

Anyone got any experience with this mobo? Thanks for reading!


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## Mussels (Jan 6, 2008)

No experience with that board, but you have done a few things right.

Multipliers cant be changed upwards to overclock, only down on intel chips.
your PSU (you didnt mention a brand) may not be enough for the OC
Dropping ram speed was good. Thats the right way to do it.

Have you watched temperatures, to make sure the CPU hasnt gone over 60? Did you increase voltages to the CPU and/or the motherboard? (more voltage helps, but makes things run hotter)


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## LoneReaction (Jan 6, 2008)

My bad. I opened up comp and found the model. It's a 480w HEC ACE 480UB.

I went and try increasing the voltage (to around 1.4) but I have no idea what is a good number. It didn't affect whether the setting was successful though.

Using speedfan, the highest value was "Core: 52c".


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## Mussels (Jan 6, 2008)

speedfan can read wrong, try using coretemp.
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

Does that motherboard support a 333 FSB? (1333FSB in intel terms) if not, its possible it just cant overclock that high. Try raising the motherboard (NB, or northbridge) volts to see if that helps.

For reference, the highest volts i use is 1.425V, and thats with a VERY big CPU cooler. i suggest staying below 1.4V if possible, around 1.35V should get you some overclocking on the stock cooler.


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## LoneReaction (Jan 6, 2008)

Wow, nice program there. I got around 28-32celcius for both cores.

The website states:
* GA-945GCMX-S2 (rev. 6.6) is able to boot with Intel® Core™2 Duo supporting FSB 1333MHz (OC).

I guess the answer is yes!
I will  have to try again later. Hmm. =D

This is a picture of my bios, the highest I can go to is 300, with a memory multiplier of 2x. If I go any higher the system just goes back to 266.


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## Mussels (Jan 6, 2008)

well it shows 333 there... CPU temps are low.

Try 333, 'mem multi' is a made up name, just go by the MHZ (667 is fine)

try 1.425V on CPU and turn the memory to 2.7V (or up two notches, however it works)
FSB overvoltage would be the motherboard one, so up that too.

To be honest i think its just CPU volts, i HAVENT used your exact CPU so i am unsure how hot its gunna get at these voltages. run OCCT or orthos (google them, they are CPU test programs) and see what temps you get at load.


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## LoneReaction (Jan 6, 2008)

Hmm. The highest number I can boot at is 312, and I increased the voltages as you said. When stress testing with orthos I get around 57c.

I tried 3DMark06 and after a few seconds the dreaded BSOD appeared. I guess I'll stick to non-overclocking for now.

Maybe I just need a better motherboard =(


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## Mussels (Jan 7, 2008)

its possible that board cant overclock very well. but hey, 300 is still a decent OC to get somewhere!


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## kwchang007 (Jan 7, 2008)

Any options to raise nb voltages?


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## Mussels (Jan 7, 2008)

we already discussed/tried that, its called FSB overvoltage


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## kwchang007 (Jan 7, 2008)

Mussels said:


> we already discussed/tried that, its called FSB overvoltage



Sorry my bad.


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## LoneReaction (Jan 7, 2008)

Mussels said:


> its possible that board cant overclock very well. but hey, 300 is still a decent OC to get somewhere!



I'm gonna try again when I get home from school. Hopefully dropping from 312 to 300 will make the BSOD go away!

Update: Woo, so far it looks good with 310. 3D Mark run succesfully (with a score of 10.5k, up from 9.1k!!). Hopefully there won't be any issues!

Update2: I get errors from orthos when stressing ram and cpu, and Team fortress 2 hangs. Oh welll..


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## Scrizz (Feb 20, 2008)

dude i have this same board, make sure you press "Ctrl+F1" to enable advanced settings, I've gotten the board to 350 no problem, you just need to give the cpu some juice and make sure you mem timings are loosened. oh and make sure you update to the latest bios.


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## Mussels (Feb 20, 2008)

Scrizz said:


> dude i have this same board, make sure you press "Ctrl+F1" to enable advanced settings, I've gotten the board to 350 no problem, you just need to give the cpu some juice and make sure you mem timings are loosened. oh and make sure you update to the latest bios.



oh yeah.. duh. Gigagbyte boards always hide it under F1, have since the pentium 3 days.
All i can say is be careful, some giga boards hide faulty/unstable options in there and they require a CMOS clear to fix (its rare on the modern ones, but i saw it often on 478/early 775)


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## Scrizz (Feb 20, 2008)

I'm just saying, you never know


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## Mussels (Feb 20, 2008)

oh i know, i just cant beleive i forgot to mention it as well.


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## LoneReaction (Feb 21, 2008)

Scrizz said:


> dude i have this same board, make sure you press "Ctrl+F1" to enable advanced settings, I've gotten the board to 350 no problem, you just need to give the cpu some juice and make sure you mem timings are loosened. oh and make sure you update to the latest bios.



Wow, how did you do it? I updated to the most recent bios just incase, and even with more options after pressing "ctrl f1" I still can't get the settings to stay. It keeps resetting itself to defaults once the computer restarts. What settings do you use?

Also, what you mean by mem timings loosened? Thanks.


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## Mussels (Feb 21, 2008)

LoneReaction said:


> Wow, how did you do it? I updated to the most recent bios just incase, and even with more options after pressing "ctrl f1" I still can't get the settings to stay. It keeps resetting itself to defaults once the computer restarts. What settings do you use?
> 
> Also, what you mean by mem timings loosened? Thanks.



the options should hide, unsure about the resetting. They settings are only visible when you hit F1.

Loosening the timings is raising the numbers - its slower, but more stable/OC's better.


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## LoneReaction (Feb 21, 2008)

Hmm, I tried raising the ram timings, but still can't get over 312. I'll post again after I change my PSU, gonna get a new one anyways and hopefully it is the problem.

Thanks again both of you!


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## Mussels (Feb 21, 2008)

no problems. good luck with it.. once you learn to OC, and buy the right hardware its damned easy. i just got my 2nd quad core, and managed to reach 3.2GHz on stock cooling within 15 minutes


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## Scrizz (Feb 21, 2008)

if you look at my sig, proof.
I'm gonna try to go higher today, wish i had a Tuniq Tower.
Usually it resets itself when either ram timing are too tight, cpu doesn't have enough vcore voltage.

btw what kind of cooling are you using, stock?

edit: meh 360 now, lol


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## Mussels (Feb 21, 2008)

Just so you know scrizz, double/triple posting is frowned upon. Edit your messages into one, to prevent this.


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## LoneReaction (Feb 22, 2008)

Yea I'm using stock cooling. Got my new PSU today, a sweet Thermaltake 750w modular PSU.

Maybe I'll spend an afternoon trying to overclock it. =O


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## Scrizz (Feb 22, 2008)

no wonder, you need better cooling.
I'm using an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, they're pretty cheap and a good cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134


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## LoneReaction (Feb 22, 2008)

But the problem is that the bios resets itself if I try more then 310. Currently I'm  using 310, + the same ram timings as yours though, I fail orthos at around 3mins but I am able to play games and stuff. Hopefully it's stable!

Oh and Scrizz, how did you get a 1:1 ratio for the ram? The lowest I can go for the memory multiplier is 1.5.


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## KIdDynamite (Feb 22, 2008)

LoneReaction said:


> System Info
> 
> Anyone got any experience with this mobo? Thanks for reading!



I have one, I spent a couple of weeks banging my head against a wall with it.

Same board, running a E2160, 1.8Ghz.

All I could ever get it to is 2.4. not bad for a budget board, but It looked to me that there is just a wall you hit on the board. It would do the same thing as yours when I tried 2.5 2.6 Ghz. Boot, crash, revert. 

I don't think I saw a multiplier setting in there, but mine is boxed at the moment or I would check. 

Wish I could help more.


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## Mussels (Feb 23, 2008)

LoneReaction said:


> But the problem is that the bios resets itself if I try more then 310. Currently I'm  using 310, + the same ram timings as yours though, I fail orthos at around 3mins but I am able to play games and stuff. Hopefully it's stable!



if you fail orthos, even after 6 hours, its unstable.


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## Scrizz (Feb 23, 2008)

i've gotten the board to 360 no problem, put the ram on [2.0]
bump the ram voltage up and vcore.
Maybe you have a board that doesn't work well, rma?


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## LoneReaction (Feb 24, 2008)

Hmm I never thought of that. But I think I'll just use a more noob friendly board next time. Hehe


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