Throttlestop overclocking Desktop PCs

[Hardrock351w]

Ok will do tonight, but it should be noted that the w3505 that was in it was only showing 1066mhz for ram and once I changed it shows 1333mhz.

 

[Retrorockit]

Intel doesn't list the Xeons as unlocked either. Maybe they they just marked Xeons as 990x as needed. With the memory controller on the CPU RAM speed always varied with the level of CPU purchased. But pleasant surprises are always welcome. I've been too busy to play with my T3500/5500 lately. I did order a couple spare W3680 from China. Anyway it's nice to have a new member here. I always wonder what someone would have to Google to even find this thread!

 

[unclewebb]

@Hardrock351w - What bios version are you using? CPU-Z should report that too. Some motherboards have bios options that are duds and do not actually do anything. It will be interesting to see what speed your ram is running at.

@Retrorockit - I went to Google and typed in overclock dell T3500 and this website was the 6th entry. That's not too bad. This thread has become a great resource for people that want performance at a budget price.

 

[Hardrock351w]

Anyway it's nice to have a new member here. I always wonder what someone would have to Google to even find this thread!

Actually, it was because you linked this thread/forum on another forum about a guy building a t3500.
Also if you google "overclock t3500" this thread is about halfway down the results
It's at the top of the list if you google "throttlestop t3500"

@Hardrock351w - What bios version are you using? CPU-Z should report that too. Some motherboards have bios options that are duds and do not actually do anything. It will be interesting to see what speed your ram is running at.

I'm running A17

 

[unclewebb]

DDR3 - 1333 it is. Thanks for posting that pic.
I trust CPU-Z more than the Intel docs.

 

[Retrorockit]

Also if you google "overclock t3500" this thread is about halfway down the results
It's at the top of the list if you google "throttlestop t3500"

That requires pre knowledge of Throttlestop, and T3500 overclocking. Two thing most overclockers have never heard of !

 

[Hardrock351w]

Anything to help out unclewebb

That requires pre knowledge of Throttlestop, and T3500 overclocking. Two thing most overclockers have never heard of !

I've been out of the game for a while, but once I threw in this 990x it took me all of 10 minutes to find this page and clock it to 4.1ghz.

 

[Retrorockit]

I guess the people who need it can find it.

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

Came over from Overclock.net as discussion for this method of overclocking is lacking over there...haven't got my unlocked CPU yet, but here's a photo of my T3500 board in a standard ATX case...the purple RAM is eventually going to be black...and the plan is to just get a W3570 for now until I get some more cash, then I'll get an unlocked 6C/12T Xeon. Currently just running a W3565. Also...I need another 2GB of RAM to fill out the slots. GPU is a R9 290X 4GB.

 

[Caring1]

Has anybody worked on that suggestion of putting together a list of unlocked CPU's?
I've got an E.S. E5-2650 that appears to be locked and the BIOS on the Motherboard is locked down even tighter.
I would like to play with it without buying a new board, CPU's can be cheaper.

 

[Retrorockit]

Has anybody worked on that suggestion of putting together a list of unlocked CPU's?
I've got an E.S. E5-2650 that appears to be locked and the BIOS on the Motherboard is locked down even tighter.
I would like to play with it without buying a new board, CPU's can be cheaper.

Here's a thread on the newer unlocked Xeons.
https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/xeons-with-an-open-multiplier.15983/page-3
LGA775 and LGA1366 are pretty well covered here. I would love to see some results using TS on newer stuff. The hard thing about making a list here is I can't go back and add to it later. So as new ones are discovered I give them a mention. But that's about it for now. The fact that they're "sort of secret" helps keep the prices down also.

Came over from Overclock.net as discussion for this method of overclocking is lacking over there...haven't got my unlocked CPU yet, but here's a photo of my T3500 board in a standard ATX case...the purple RAM is eventually going to be black...and the plan is to just get a W3570 for now until I get some more cash, then I'll get an unlocked 6C/12T Xeon. Currently just running a W3565. Also...I need another 2GB of RAM to fill out the slots. GPU is a R9 290X 4GB.

View attachment 100943

Glad to see you here. TS overclocking just gets lost in the discussion of RAM timings, and QPI settings at OCN. I see you've got a water loop out the top. Hard to do in a Dell Case.

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

Anyone notice the price jump on the T3500 boards? They are up at $80 Canadian now from $60 less than a month ago...

 

[Retrorockit]

Most people buy whole systems for that. Try a T5500 board. I got one for $40 and it uses cheaper RDIMMs also.

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

Cheapest T5500 board on Ebay, at a glance at least, is $100 (I always include shipping when I mention prices). Building the girlfriend a PC soon...just not sure what yet...and trying to keep things cheap as possible. The registered RAM being cheaper is a plus though.

 

[Retrorockit]

There are some server supply and Dell surplus outlets that can have better prices sometimes. Shopping by Dell part numbers helps. Dell community forums is one source of those. They're listed elsehwre in this thread also. Look on E bay and take notes on the part numbers and then Google those. Stuccu.com and Dell part numbers works well sometimes also. D883F produced this.
https://www.ebay.com/i/263619584713?chn=ps Later version T5500 MB with 2 active chipset coolers $45 shipped.
I'm jealous that one has a heatsink on the VRM. Mine didn't.

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

Thanks for the tip, it'll definitely come in handy when it comes to saving a few bucks! Also...I keep heatsinks from all sorts of old hardware just for these kind of things...will be adding some to my current T3500 setup once I get to overclocking it.

 

[Susquehannock]

Came over from Overclock.net as discussion for this method of overclocking is lacking over there...haven't got my unlocked CPU yet, but here's a photo of my T3500 board in a standard ATX case...the purple RAM is eventually going to be black...and the plan is to just get a W3570 for now until I get some more cash, then I'll get an unlocked 6C/12T Xeon. Currently just running a W3565. Also...I need another 2GB of RAM to fill out the slots. GPU is a R9 290X 4GB.

Welcome. Nice set up thus far. Care to share steps you took to make the board work in an ATX case? Been wanting to do this for a while now.

https://www.ebay.com/i/263619584713?chn=ps
I'm jealous that one has a heatsink on the VRM. Mine didn't.

That D883F with heatsink is probably a very early one. The very early T3500 were that way as well. Not sure why the sinks were omitted later on. Perhaps Dell deemed they were not needed?

Here are some T5500 boards at $40 - $51 Canadian. Later CRH6C version which is what I have.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Preci...rd-0CRH6C-10-AVAILABLE-FREE-SHIP/123128509904

 

[unclewebb]

I bought my T3500 from this guy.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-desktop-com...x-4-500gb-4gb-ddr3-fx580-win-7-pro/1352317470

Hard to go wrong when it only costs $80 CDN ($62.50 USD).

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

Welcome. Nice set up thus far. Care to share steps you took to make the board work in an ATX case? Been wanting to do this for a while now.

Was pretty simple, actually...well, depending on your definition of simple, I guess...all I had to do was remove the 5.25" bays, and chop down the 3.5" HDD cage so that only two HDD's can be mounted. Drilled out the rivets to remove said bays/cage...and used a dremel to chop down the HDD cage and reinstalled it. Oh...almost forgot the most important bit...5 of the standoff's matched up with the standard ATX form factor, and thus, the board is mounted with only 5 screws. Could have drilled and tapped the remaining mounting spot for standoffs, but it's been working fine with just the 5 standoffs.

 

[Retrorockit]

That D883F with heatsink is probably a very early one. The very early T3500 were that way as well. Not sure why the sinks were omitted later on. Perhaps Dell deemed they were not needed?

I'm guessing about the age of the T5500 board based on the assumption that D follows C. But I could definitely be wrong. Active chipset cooling is very real though.
From trying to add heatsinks to mine I've discovered it's not as simple as it could be. Not all the MOSFETs are the same thickness which can cause gaps unless you're using the foam tape. Also there are some capacitors in between that are taller than the MOSFETs so this is another complication. Add in considerations for the metal heatsinks expansion and contraction and I can see why Dell gave up on it. I would love to see what Dell actually did when they put heatsinks on them.

 

[Susquehannock]

Was pretty simple, actually...well, depending on your definition of simple, I guess...all I had to do was remove the 5.25" bays, and chop down the 3.5" HDD cage so that only two HDD's can be mounted. Drilled out the rivets to remove said bays/cage...and used a dremel to chop down the HDD cage and reinstalled it. Oh...almost forgot the most important bit...5 of the standoff's matched up with the standard ATX form factor, and thus, the board is mounted with only 5 screws. Could have drilled and tapped the remaining mounting spot for standoffs, but it's been working fine with just the 5 standoffs.

Thanks for sharing that. All makes sense. Was wondering about the rear I/O panel. And especially how you dealt with the front daughter board and power button since the BIOS looks for that at boot. Have an empty server height ATX case with removable motherboard tray that is itching to be used again.

I'm guessing about the age of the T5500 board based on the assumption that D follows C. But I could definitely be wrong. Active chipset cooling is very real though.
From trying to add heatsinks to mine I've discovered it's not as simple as it could be. Not all the MOSFETs are the same thickness which can cause gaps unless you're using the foam tape. Also there are some capacitors in between that are taller than the MOSFETs so this is another complication. Add in considerations for the metal heatsinks expansion and contraction and I can see why Dell gave up on it. I would love to see what Dell actually did when they put heatsinks on them.

Far as I know the progression for US release T5500 boards goes > D883F > CRH6C > W1G7K.
As for the MOSFETS between the VRM. Had always assumed Dell used thermal tape on that sink, or smaller MOSFETS were used in the early boards. Wonder if I can find a part number for that heatsink. Have some extra tape lying around. Notching the sink for clearance then using premium paste may be an option too.

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

In regards to heatsink on the MOSFETs, I will probably just use a few individual RAM sinks...you know, the ones used on GPU memory. Have a decent stash of those.

Thanks for sharing that. All makes sense. Was wondering about the rear I/O panel. And especially how you dealt with the front daughter board and power button since the BIOS looks for that at boot. Have an empty server height ATX case with removable motherboard tray that is itching to be used again.

Rear I/O cover is missing, but the ports are in the proper ATX location, so no issues there. And the front daughter board is also missing, though I did figure out which pins are used to power the board, I don't have a power switch connected. The board auto powers on when it receives power, so I just use the PSU rocker switch to power the system on. Has worked fine like that for me.

 

[Retrorockit]

I've been carving up some Enzotech copper chipset coolers for this purpose. I also chopped up a skived fin copper GPU cooler. Not sure which i'm going to use. But custom VRM cooling is normal for me.
I went with the D883F because I liked the added chipset cooling. I don't see a date code on it to confirm it's age. It's also normal for me to test theories and find out the hard way.

 

[storm-chaser]

New member here. Recently built up a Lenovo T61p using the Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000.
Using ThrottleStop I was able to achieve a stable overclock of 4.0Ghz @ 1.4v just for fun. I run it more like 3.4Ghz on a daily basis.
TS is definitely a gem of a program and I really cant wait to get another rig built with a core 2 extreme and do the same.

 

[unclewebb]

Looks good @storm-chaser

There is usually no need to check both Clock Modulation and Chipset Clock Modulation. Some laptops use one or the other, some laptops do not use either and I cannot remember seeing any that used both of these throttling methods.

Run a TS log file while testing. If both of these report 100.0 when both boxes are clear then no need to check either one of these. Dell was big on using both of these throttling methods depending on the laptop. Lenovo not so much, if at all.