QX6850 Extreme Restoration Blog

[storm-chaser]

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!

 

[hat]

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.

 

[agent_x007]

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 ?

 

[storm-chaser]

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.

 

[agent_x007]

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.

 

[hat]

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

 

[newtekie1]

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

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.

 

[phill]

Looks like an interesting build to me!!

 

[hat]

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.

 

[agent_x007]

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

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

 

[newtekie1]

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...

 

[storm-chaser]

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.

 

[AlwaysHope]

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.

 

[AlwaysHope]

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+

 

[newtekie1]

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.

 

[storm-chaser]

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.

 

[agent_x007]

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 :

 

[newtekie1]

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.

 

[storm-chaser]

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.

 

[agent_x007]

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)

 

[storm-chaser]

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.

 

[AlwaysHope]

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.

 

[storm-chaser]

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!

 

[hat]

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...

 

[storm-chaser]

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.