# Q6700 Oc?



## mk_ln (Nov 28, 2007)

hi, i recently upgraded from an E6600 to the Q6700. one thing which i noticed is that my OC is quite limited as i can only achieve 3.3GHz regardless of the vCore and other settings. is my mobo the limitation to OCing this processor? temps are fine and even lower than those of my E6600. CPU and cores1-4 are 27/40/40/36/36 respectively. while running 4 instances of prime95, the max temp for the cores is 60 and the IHS is barely above 40ºC.

thanks in advance.


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## pbmaster (Nov 28, 2007)

I don't know about exact numbers, but I do know that the Quad core tend to OC less than dual core CPU's. 3.3 GHz is pretty good though.


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## ntdouglas (Nov 28, 2007)

mk_ln said:


> hi, i recently upgraded from an E6600 to the Q6700. one thing which i noticed is that my OC is quite limited as i can only achieve 3.3GHz regardless of the vCore and other settings. is my mobo the limitation to OCing this processor? temps are fine and even lower than those of my E6600. CPU and cores1-4 are 27/40/40/36/36 respectively. while running 4 instances of prime95, the max temp for the cores is 60 and the IHS is barely above 40ºC.
> 
> thanks in advance.



Did you rule out the ram? I have read its hard to oc when all 4 dimms are populated.


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## hat (Nov 28, 2007)

If you're not running the 2T command setting... run it


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## mk_ln (Nov 28, 2007)

ram is already at 2T.

4 dimms being used should only stress the northbridge more, so the solution should be to increase the MCH voltage...but that doesn't seem to help.

thanks for the replies though. any more suggestions?


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## Random Murderer (Nov 28, 2007)

disable hyperpath 3 in bios. it should be in the chipset section.

also, you may want to enable SPD timings in the same section...


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## mk_ln (Nov 28, 2007)

ya, i already have HP3 disabled and have also already tried w/ enabled SPD timings; both w/o success.

thanks for the reply 

any other ideas?


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## Random Murderer (Nov 28, 2007)

mk_ln said:


> ya, i already have HP3 disabled and have also already tried w/ enabled SPD timings; both w/o success.
> 
> thanks for the reply
> 
> any other ideas?



volt mod?


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## Mussels (Nov 28, 2007)

FSB strap settings? It sounds more like a mobo limit than anything else, so fiddle with any settings that may help overclock the FSB/mobo more.


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## Random Murderer (Nov 28, 2007)

Mussels said:


> FSB strap settings? It sounds more like a mobo limit than anything else, so fiddle with any settings that may help overclock the FSB/mobo more.



by disabling hp3 and enabling spd settings you put the chipset on the loosest timigs and best strap for overclocking.


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## mk_ln (Nov 28, 2007)

regarding the volt mod: i dont think it is a voltage issue as i have even tried with 1.6V and i still crash on the same screen after POST; the vista loading screen with the green bars moving left to right.

random murderer:
what is the max stable OC you have achieved w/ the Q6600 on the P5WDH? and what voltage was required?

thanks for the replies.


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## Random Murderer (Nov 28, 2007)

mk_ln said:


> regarding the volt mod: i dont think it is a voltage issue as i have even tried with 1.6V and i still crash on the same screen after POST; the vista loading screen with the green bars moving left to right.
> 
> random murderer:
> what is the max stable OC you have achieved w/ the Q6600 on the P5WDH? and what voltage was required?
> ...



to be completely honest, i haven't even tried past 3 GHz; i'm waiting for the weather to get nice and cold. at 3GHz though, i only need 1.3 vCore and 1.65 vMCH. try upping your vMCH, quads require more MCH voltage because of the bandwidth, AND you're running 4 sticks of ram. i recommend 1.75 vMCH, or 1.85 if you have a fan on it.


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## hat (Nov 28, 2007)

vMCH = northbridge voltage?


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## mk_ln (Nov 28, 2007)

well, im currently at 1.65MCH. i've also tried to 1.75 and 1.85...still nothing. i've read a few posts over at XS and it appears that the mobo (specifically the 975x chipset) is the limiting factor in OCing quad cores. iirc, someone said that 'the FSB wall is around 340-380 depending on how lucky you are'.

i dont plan on swapping out this mobo anytime soon as there are still no major improvements in the newer x38 mobos to justify the price. i suppose ill just wait at least till nehalem to make my next upgrade.

thanks again for the replies.


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## mk_ln (Nov 28, 2007)

hat said:


> vMCH = northbridge voltage?



yes, vMCH is northbridge voltage


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## Random Murderer (Nov 28, 2007)

mk_ln said:


> well, im currently at 1.65MCH. i've also tried to 1.75 and 1.85...still nothing. i've read a few posts over at XS and it appears that the mobo (specifically the 975x chipset) is the limiting factor in OCing quad cores. iirc, someone said that 'the FSB wall is around 340-380 depending on how lucky you are'.
> 
> i dont plan on swapping out this mobo anytime soon as there are still no major improvements in the newer x38 mobos to justify the price. i suppose ill just wait at least till nehalem to make my next upgrade.
> 
> thanks again for the replies.



a lot of people believe that about the 975x chipset, but it's not true. it just takes a little more work to get a respectable oc on a 975x with a quad. think of it like an oskar wu situation; it's a bitch to get it running how you want, but once you do it'll own anything else.


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## hat (Nov 28, 2007)

Well you could try it with only 2GB of ram. If I were you I would have gotten a Q6600 and just 2GB and ran it at 3GHz. Saves money, you might loose an fps here and there. It's not really that much.


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## bcracer220 (Nov 28, 2007)

thats a good o/c for a p965 board, ud need to get a p35 board to go higher. abit ip35-e is a very good budget option


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## Ketxxx (Nov 29, 2007)

Updated your mobo BIOS to latest? Asus often fix OC issues in new BIOS revs even if they dont mention it. The fastest I've seen a quad on normal cooling is around 3.6GHz, so 3.3 isnt so bad.


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## ntdouglas (Nov 29, 2007)

What about fsb termination voltage? Have you tried upping that a little?


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## Random Murderer (Nov 29, 2007)

for everyone who disbelieves in overclocking a quad on a p5w dh, or any 975x board for that matter.


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## hat (Nov 29, 2007)

Hm yeah with a x14 multi... engineering sample ftw


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## mk_ln (Nov 29, 2007)

Random Murderer said:


> for everyone who disbelieves in overclocking a quad on a p5w dh, or any 975x board for that matter.



if you noticed though, the FSB is still low so i still believe that this board has a low FSB wall w/ quads.



			
				Ketxxx said:
			
		

> Updated your mobo BIOS to latest? Asus often fix OC issues in new BIOS revs even if they dont mention it. The fastest I've seen a quad on normal cooling is around 3.6GHz, so 3.3 isnt so bad.



ya, BIOS is the latest (2406). i think it was released last week or 2 weeks ago.



			
				bcracer220 said:
			
		

> thats a good o/c for a p965 board, ud need to get a p35 board to go higher. abit ip35-e is a very good budget option



the board i have is a 975x board . the p965 boards are better OCers iirc.



			
				ntdouglas said:
			
		

> What about fsb termination voltage? Have you tried upping that a little?



i thought i had posted earlier that i tried that. guess not. but ya, i have already tried that.



			
				hat said:
			
		

> Well you could try it with only 2GB of ram. If I were you I would have gotten a Q6600 and just 2GB and ran it at 3GHz. Saves money, you might loose an fps here and there. It's not really that much.



going to 2 GB is not really an option for me as i feel the need for 4 since i am using vista x64. i was considering, though, that it may be a better option to get 2x 2GB sticks. however, i've noticed that with higher density modules, the latency increases as well. is it noticeable though?


thanks again for all the replies and suggestions people.


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## Mussels (Nov 29, 2007)

mk_ln said:


> going to 2 GB is not really an option for me as i feel the need for 4 since i am using vista x64. i was considering, though, that it may be a better option to get 2x 2GB sticks. however, i've noticed that with higher density modules, the latency increases as well. is it noticeable though?
> 
> 
> thanks again for all the replies and suggestions people.



4x1GB to 2x2GB has a very minor speed difference, and only noticeable in your wallet.

Must say... honestly, can people stop linking to random Q6600 OC's on this board. we know it has an FSB wall and we're looking for ways around it, not engineering samples or ones with high multis.

A few things to try: 

FSB holes - example, 310 may work, 311 312 and 314 315 dont - 313 might. I did see this OCing my quad on my P965 mobo. try a few options, just in case.

PCI-E/PCI lock. if the mobo has options for PCi and PCI-E frequency, try adjusting them. raising (or lowering) them may just help out here.

voltages: you may be OCing the ram too far, or the NB too much (with 4x sticks) so raise the ram volts as well as the NB volts.


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## Random Murderer (Nov 29, 2007)

Mussels said:


> PCI-E/PCI lock. if the mobo has options for PCi and PCI-E frequency, try adjusting them. raising (or lowering) them may just help out here.



yea, i found it to be best with pci at 33.33 (obviously) and pcie at 115.


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## Davidelmo (Nov 29, 2007)

Honestly, 3.3 isn't a bad overclock if it's stable. If it's not a cooling or voltage problem, you migh just have to accept that it is the limit of the chip or the motherboard. The question is, is adding another couples 100 mhz worth changing motherboard and paying more for it?

Also, stick with your 4Gb of RAM. I'm on Vista 64 and upgraded from 2Gb to 4Gb and it runs much smoother and games load quicker.


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## hat (Nov 29, 2007)

Agreed.^^


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## intel igent (Nov 29, 2007)

ur board use 975x chipset?

if so question answered.


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## hat (Nov 29, 2007)

intel ignet, raise your FSB by one. :/


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## intel igent (Dec 1, 2007)

hat said:


> intel igent, raise your FSB by one. :/



wat r u sayin HAT??

975x dont like quads too much for OC'ing thats prolly y u cant OC as far as another board/chipset


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## allen337 (Dec 2, 2007)

Had similar problems on p35, setting mch voltage and pci/e to either 101/105/110/115 helped alot. And as previous stated 400fsb blue screen 403 stable up to 415 blue screen 416 threw 436 stable. In chipset turn off all speedstep,memory,intel controllers. There is like 5 different ones in my bios. Try setting multiplier down 1X and upping fsb more.  ALLEN


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