QuadGT Overclocking problems

[PangoKen]

Hi

I'm tying to overclock a Q6600 2.4Ghz with the QuadGT board & 4Gb Corsair Dominator 4-4-4-12 memory and have run into two problems. The first is when I up the FSB to anything above 290MHz I get a 4 second beep & the POST cycle gets stuck at C1. I've followed the sticky guide posted by Clunk and have confirmed:

• CPU: DRM ratio is 1:1
• Mutliplier is set to 9
• all items in advanced bios>>CPU Feature are set to disabled
• DRAM timings are set to: Manual, 4, 4, 4, 12, 2T, 22, V1.0a, Disabled & PCI Slot respectively
• Voltage Control is set to: (CPU Core) 1.2475V, (DDR2 voltage) 2.400V, (CPU VTT) 1.20V, (MCH) 1.25V, (ICH) 1.05V, (ICH10) 1.5V, (DDR2 ref volt) 0%

Can anyone suggest what's going wrong? do I have to tweak the voltages? what sort of overclock should i be expecting from this setup?

The second issue is the temps reported by CoreTemp. using Orthos to test the stability (at 290Mhz*9), the temp difference between cores0+1 & 2+3 are 10degrees after about half an hour. 0+1 reported 59 & 2+3 reported 48/49. I'm using a Zalman 9700 cooler. Could this be down to the fitting of the cooler +/or the thermal paste?

I'd appreciate any help/advice anyone can offer on this as I'm a bit of a noob and this is my first (feeble) attempt at overclocking.

Thanks

[EtheAv8r]

If it is stable at 290, but won't post above, then this suggests the CPU requires some more voltage to go further. More voltage will = more heat of course. I don't know the Q6600 default volts but my E6700 has to be upped to 1.5050v.

You don't say what type of Dominator you have and their requirements vary.
Twin2x2048-6400C4D are 4,4,4,12 2T 2.1v
Twin2x2048-6400C3DF are 3,4,3,9 2T 2.4v
Twin2x2048-6400C4D are 4,4,4,12 2T 2.1v
Twin2x2048-8500c5D are 5,5,5,15 2T 2.2v (mine are happy at 5,5,5,12 2T 2.1v 2:3 CPU at 10*356)

With 4 sticks you may need looser timings, but fast timings do not make much difference with Core2... unlike AMD CPUs.

Yes the difference in heat is probably down to HSF fitment - Clunk has posted elsewhere how to 'adjust'.

Hope this helps.

[PangoKen]

Hi

Thanks for the quick response &, yes, it does help!

I've noticed that my RAM Volts are set too high - I'm using Twin2x2048-6400C4D memory. I think I'll fix that first, reseat the HSF and then play with the CPU volts.

Do you know roughly what sort of overclock would be achievable with the set up I have?

Thanks again

[DratUK]

Going to naff you off now.
Same set up as you accept 2 x 1Gb Geil Ultra. Timings are the same as yours though. Ram voltage 2.00 Timings 4 4 4 12 Trfc 40. Disabled CPU features. All other voltage at stock. Started Ram at 533 now on 667, cant remember the dividers but you get my drift.

Running at 3.01Ghz no sweat Orthos stable. I have pushed it to 3.2 Ghz with the above settings and it has been stable Orthos 4 hrs.
I know I shoud run it overnight but its stable for day to day use, thats all I ma looking for.

Temps same issue as you on difference in core temps, did the clunk, and now within 2 degs.
Temps at 3.01 40 deg on 2 cores 38 on the other 2 @ idle. OS is Vista 32.
CPU is Q6600 B3.

I have had to alter the CPU volts or any other voltage.

Cant suggest anything other than set as I have and see what happens. IE run at stock volts run 1:1 divider etc and see what happens.

[EtheAv8r]

Hi

Thanks for the quick response &, yes, it does help!

I've noticed that my RAM Volts are set too high - I'm using Twin2x2048-6400C4D memory. I think I'll fix that first, reseat the HSF and then play with the CPU volts.

Do you know roughly what sort of overclock would be achievable with the set up I have?

Thanks again

I have seen Q6600s reported at 3.3 - but there are so many variables, and just because another's hits 3.3 - even with identical components, does not mean yours will. Cooling is important. With my E6700 I wanted to get to 3.1 (initial target OC), with 3.3 being great, and 3.4 wonderful and 3.5 bloody fantastic and as I went further...... 3.6 became the dream target (unthinkable for me at the start). But I can't get beyond 3.56, any further and stability is gone! A lot more volts may do it - but I don't want the extra heat, and I actually think I have hit a limit with the CPU. (The Custom PC E6700 that they have used for some time in their motherboard reviews won't ever go above 3.6 on any board in any setup).

However This is my first successful (stable) overclock - and I am well pleased!

Try and loosen the RAM to 5.5.5.12 and 2.1v.

[Johnny Bravo]

Hi

I'm tying to overclock a Q6600 2.4Ghz with the QuadGT board & 4Gb Corsair Dominator 4-4-4-12 memory and have run into two problems. The first is when I up the FSB to anything above 290MHz I get a 4 second beep & the POST cycle gets stuck at C1. I've followed the sticky guide posted by Clunk and have confirmed:

• CPU: DRM ratio is 1:1
• Mutliplier is set to 9
• all items in advanced bios>>CPU Feature are set to disabled
• DRAM timings are set to: Manual, 4, 4, 4, 12, 2T, 22, V1.0a, Disabled & PCI Slot respectively
• Voltage Control is set to: (CPU Core) 1.2475V, (DDR2 voltage) 2.400V, (CPU VTT) 1.20V, (MCH) 1.25V, (ICH) 1.05V, (ICH10) 1.5V, (DDR2 ref volt) 0%

Can anyone suggest what's going wrong? do I have to tweak the voltages? what sort of overclock should i be expecting from this setup?

PangoKen just a couple of things, your cpu is pretty low as well bump it up to maybe 1.36-1.38volts for now. your memory voltage is correct for this type of ram but you can get away with leaving the DRAM timings to auto - they'll go stock and you won't have to worry about them being a problem.

The other voltages a re sensible enough so you can leave them as they are.

Also just to rule out alot of other things try lowering the multiplier to say 8 then repeat to see if the system locks at 290MHz again. If it does then there is a problem with the memory or other settings.

Tell us how it goes

John

[daza]

Hell no, theres no way the 1.25v on the north-bridge is enough try bumping it up a couple of notches and the cpu V-core way to low.

To give you an idea I'm running a Q6600 at 378x9 with the v-core at 1.50 in bios (1.47 in xp) \nd the mch at 1.45 (1.48 in xp).

As long as you watch the temps you should be OK and Im using water-cooling so watch the temps on the pwm's (125c is the safe limit anything over and you could cook them), and the north-bridge just don't use over 1.35v on stock cooling and it should be fine.

[StoX]

My PWM's roast on my QuadGT. It's such a shame as it's a great board otherwise. I'm going to change it soon due to this

[BUFF]

the digital PWM does run hot but it's specified accordingly - 125C is the warning level ...
Stick a fan blowing over it & it'll drop.

[Johnny Bravo]

Out of interest what version of the BIOS are you using?

[PangoKen]

Hi

After my last post, I updated the BIOS to 15, reseated the CPU and applied the grease as per clunk. I'm using a Zalman 9700LED and it doesn't have the 4 way screw tightening so after doing the best job i could, i got the 4 cores within 4 degrees of each other after running Prime95 on defaults for most of Sunday.

I'm gonna break it in this week and not push it, then see what i can do next weekend. Might have a think about replacing the heatsink as well :-(

thanks for all the advice so far - I'll keep you posted on progress