C2D Overclocking Guide for Beginners

[Clunk]

Is it the system from the other thread or the one in your "my system"? If its the latter, you might be better off starting a thread about it, youll get more specific answers as this is a c2d overclocking thread

[Jud666]

ah yes silly me, ill leave my caveman Pentium d out of this..

[Dorza]

Bought a new system last week (see left) and I've had a tinker. Thanks for the guide clunk, it is very well explained.



I could probably go a bit higher if I fiddled more with the Memory Timings but I can't be arsed at the moment . By the way is the Tjunction temp in CoreTemp normal? It stays at a constant temp of 85 degrees.

[Clunk]

Looking good that mate, glad you found it useful

[abrasion]

I thought memory dividers let you run the memory SLOWER when you have a high FSB to reduce overclocking the ram?!?!?!!?

"If you haven't used a divider before on a C2D board, there isn't much to it really, on Intel chipsets, they only go upwards, in other words, they will only let you run your RAM faster than the CPU."

WTF?
So a 500FSB for an extreme overclock, the dividers are useless? and if you used them you'd need EVEN FASTER ram?

ugh!

[Dorza]

Looking good that mate, glad you found it useful

Thanks, I'm actually more happy with my RAM than anything else; a bargain at £50 and it has OCed nicely.

[Clunk]

I thought memory dividers let you run the memory SLOWER when you have a high FSB to reduce overclocking the ram?!?!?!!? Nope.

"If you haven't used a divider before on a C2D board, there isn't much to it really, on Intel chipsets, they only go upwards, in other words, they will only let you run your RAM faster than the CPU."

WTF?
So a 500FSB for an extreme overclock, the dividers are useless? and if you used them you'd need EVEN FASTER ram?

ugh!

What system do you have?

500fsb is a lot to expect for a stable 24/7 overclock for most people, and not really what is intended for anyone reading this guide. Further down it says...

"(If you are reading this bit and thinking “3ghz? Is that all?”, this guide isn’t for you, try XS for something not aimed at first time over clockers )."

However, I will try and help you if you get stuck

[abrasion]

What system do you have?

500fsb is a lot to expect for a stable 24/7 overclock for most people, and not really what is intended for anyone reading this guide. Further down it says...

"(If you are reading this bit and thinking “3ghz? Is that all?”, this guide isn’t for you, try XS for something not aimed at first time over clockers )."

However, I will try and help you if you get stuck

I appreciate the help, this is more about me trying to understand the 'rules' in the backend, once I get that I'll be fine

Ok let me re-phrase my initial comment.
If I chose even 'only' 400mhz as my overclock, this will mean my 667mhz ram will run at 800mhz right?

[Clunk]

Yes, if your FSB is set to 400, your RAM will run at 800Mhz when set to 1:1 on an Intel based chipset board.

667Mhz RAM will let you get to 333FSB before you start to overclock it, and not all RAM will overclock well, so it isnt ideal.

For overclocking purposes, I would recommend a minimum of PC2-6400.

And dont forget that 400Mhz on an E6600 is 3.6Ghz. A lot of E6600 CPUs will need a lot of extra voltage to be stable at that speed, so its best to set your sights a bit lower to start off with.

[abrasion]

Yes, if your FSB is set to 400, your RAM will run at 800Mhz when set to 1:1 on an Intel based chipset board.

667Mhz RAM will let you get to 333FSB before you start to overclock it, and not all RAM will overclock well, so it isnt ideal.

For overclocking purposes, I would recommend a minimum of PC2-6400.

And dont forget that 400Mhz on an E6600 is 3.6Ghz. A lot of E6600 CPUs will need a lot of extra voltage to be stable at that speed, so its best to set your sights a bit lower to start off with.

I am at a total loss, wtf?!!?!?!?!?
I SWEAR I saw options for DIVIDERS on my Gigabyte board which clearly allowed me to SLOW DOWN my ram when I exeeded 333mhz? I'm sure of it!?!

So realistically the maximum FSB for me is 400mhz and only if I purchase 800mhz ram (I hate overclocking ram)

[Clunk]

You need to post your system specs.

[abrasion]

You need to post your system specs.

I don't have one!

I'm going to get a P5K, use my Kingston 667mhz ram (2x1gb) and hopefully a CPU with at least an 8X multiplier.

I want about 3.2ghz on air, either E2160, E4300, E4400, E6420 etc - not sure!
I do NOT want to overclock my ram or if I do, by very very little.

[timizere]

Ok, i understand everything here and i think all my settings are right (mem at 1:1 ratio etc).... but i cant seem to boot past 320fsb. i should technically be able to push fsb to at least 333 right? also i can barely raise my fsb at all without upping my pci bus freq. despite the fact that it is set in 'A-sync' mode.' i think this is possibly whats holding me back.
any ideas or am i just being a dumbass????

[Clunk]

I think its possibly the board that you are using. Asrock boards, arent really made for overclocking, and yours also has the 945 chipset which isnt ideal either.

Another thing that could be stopping you is your RAM. I'm not 100% sure how your board sets the RAM, but I'm guessing that at stock, it sets the RAM to 667mhz automatically?

When you start upping the FSB, the RAM speed will automatically rise, and your RAM is instantly running out of spec, and that could be another cause of your problems.

If that is the case, the only thing you can do really, is either not overclock it, or change the board and RAM for something that overclocks well

[timizere]

i had a feeling it might be that crappy mobo..oh well thatll teach me ay..and i spose you cant complain for under £40 the memory does default to 333, but i changed it to 266. i always found the pci bus thing a bit odd tho, i never heard of anyone else being forced to increase values at such a modest oc.

[Clunk]

Its a decent board, just not for overclocking

So, the pci bus doesnt lock properly? Strange.