C2D Overclocking Guide for Beginners

Ive found that my E4300 showed much cooler temps in all the monitoring programs than, say, the 6600 at the same voltages.

The 55c is there as a rough ballpark figure, mainly so that if its much higher, you know that there is something wrong and you can turn it off and see whats what.

Do an average of the temps and stick to it if you like. As I say, its just a bit of a safety net :)

Edit: And I've changed it to 65c, still well within the safe limit, but allows for the AUTO setting of the vcore in the bios as well. Thanks for pointing it out :)

Ok I put the ram ratio to 1:1. didn't work.

then I tried dropping the multiplier to 8 and upping the fsb.
Now its running so far so good at 376 fsb, which is 3008Mhz at 1.45V. and lasted a while on 1.4V, whilst with the fsb at 333, and multiplier at 9 it barely gets into windows at 1.45v.

So i've finally gotten 3ghz. I just don't get how.
Should i just now leave the multiplier well alone at 8 and keep increasing fsb or, or still tinker with the multiplier?

If it works at 376fsb with the 8x multi, I would say that it would work with the 9x multi at lower fsb. maybe its just an fsb hole?

Did you run orthos?

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Originally Posted by Clunk

Everything that you have asked is in the guide.

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No, it isn't.

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Originally Posted by GDB2222

Sorry to ask stupid question, but is the 4300 the 'obvious' one to go for from the point of view of overclocking? I would say yes, if you dont need the virtualisation technology It's got a multiplier of 9, and just putting the FSB at 266 gives it the same clock speed as a stock E6600. Yes

Can you reasonably expect to overclock this chip to a FSB of 300 using the standard cooler and so on? See the guide In fact, without going bananas about this, and using standard hardware, what is a reasonable FSB to aim for that will give a stable system? (This is for a normal situation. I appreciate that you may occasionally come across components that will not overclock as much as usual.) Again, see the bit in the guide that says "Every piece of hardware is unique. No two CPUs, no two sets of RAM, no two motherboards will give exactly the same results, so keep this in mind when you start overclocking because you might have a friend that has all the same gear as you, and yet he can overclock his quite a bit higher, a lot of it is pot luck, some of it is selecting the correct parts, and a small part of it is patience. The rest of it, you will pick up as you get a feel for how things work." YMMV.

Finally, I can't see much point in spending a shedload of money on a motherboard in order to overclock the CPU. So what do you brains recommend as a good value for money motherboard that will allow a bit of overclocking without costing the earth? Hundreds of posts in general hardware about this. Use the search :)

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Originally Posted by GDB2222

Just to follow up on the previous posting, an E4300 costs £98, whereas an E6700 costs £329.

If I can overclock the cheaper processor to nearly the same performance, I will be well happy. If I up the FSB on the E4300 to 300, then I should be on the same CPU clock speed as the standard E6700. The FSB will be at 1200, which is slightly faster than the E6700's 1066. I will have less cache, but I would hope for similar levels of performance.

Having got to that level, I am not interested in an extra few percent more. I should notice the 50% extra performance, but not the small increments after that.

What I will notice is a less stable system, so I only want to overclock up to a level where I am still getting a system that is as stable as the stock E6700 or E6600.

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All of that was a statement, so theres nothing for me to answer.

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Originally Posted by GDB2222

No, it isn't.

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Yes it is.

Hi, Clunky, and thanks for the guide. You shouldn't get ratty with newbie overclockers asking questions. After all, you chose to write a guide for 'Beginners'.

I have read your guide and all the comments, and I am pretty sure that the questions I asked before are not answered. If they are, just please bear with me and try to help. (Of course, that's optional, it's up to you.)

Along with lots of beginner overclockers, my aims are:

First, a modest speed increase - I am not after the last clock cycle
Second, a stable system at the end of it
Third, modest cost.

Bearing these 3 points in mind, can you confirm or deny the following propositions, please. All I ask is a simple yes/no/don't know.

E4300 or E6300? : E4300 is better for overclocking.

Use standard heatsink? : I know that proprietary heatsinks are better. (I built the present system with a Zalman Flower, and very nice it is too.) Can I reasonably expect to get a 50% overclock on the E4300 with a standard heatsink?

RAM: Will DDR2 5400 be okay?
Or will I be cursing because I should have ordered something a tad faster?

I need to try to get the CPU and RAM choice right first time. If I try it with the stock cooler and it doesn't work, I can always go out and buy a new cooler afterwards.

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Originally Posted by Clunk

If it works at 376fsb with the 8x multi, I would say that it would work with the 9x multi at lower fsb. maybe its just an fsb hole?

Did you run orthos?

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fsb hole?

any tips on what to do?


Orthos is currently running in its 4th hour.

on previous settings (9x333fsb) if I actually get into windows it will last 5 minutes. so a massive improvement. hopefully it will last the distance.

Hey ho, you answered the questions whilst I was still writing them :)

What about RAM? DDR2 5400 is fast enough for a beginner, or spend a few Pounds more for 6400 and not have to worry? Actually, 6400 RAM is about 25% more than 5400, so that's a fair bit more money just to be on the safe side.

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Originally Posted by sswats

fsb hole?

any tips on what to do?


Orthos is currently running in its 4th hour.

on previous settings (9x333fsb) if I actually get into windows it will last 5 minutes. so a massive improvement. hopefully it will last the distance.

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Have you tried 9x376? It may just be that your board doesnt like the 333fsb area, try around 350 (or just up it a notch until you hit a stable fsb). Its just a case of experimenting, all systems are slightly different, so you need to have a play around and find what works best with your setup :)

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Originally Posted by GDB2222

Hi, Clunky, and thanks for the guide. You shouldn't get ratty with newbie overclockers asking questions. After all, you chose to write a guide for 'Beginners'. I'm not ratty. This is ratty. http://www.invectis.co.uk/family/ratty_211099h.jpg

I have read your guide and all the comments, and I am pretty sure that the questions I asked before are not answered. If they are, just please bear with me and try to help. (Of course, that's optional, it's up to you.)

Along with lots of beginner overclockers, my aims are:

First, a modest speed increase - I am not after the last clock cycle
Second, a stable system at the end of it
Third, modest cost.

Bearing these 3 points in mind, can you confirm or deny the following propositions, please. All I ask is a simple yes/no/don't know.

E4300 or E6300? : E4300 is better for overclocking. I would say the E4300 if you dont need virtualisation technology

Use standard heatsink? : I know that proprietary heatsinks are better. (I built the present system with a Zalman Flower, and very nice it is too.) Can I reasonably expect to get a 50% overclock on the E4300 with a standard heatsink? As I mentioned in the second line of the guide "The stock Intel coolers are fine for running at stock speeds, but they aren’t too great for overclocking." What I mean by this is that they are noisy and inefficient. You may get a mild overclock, but if your cpu is one of the ones that needs more volts than normal, then you will really struggle with the stock cooler. Again, search the forums, there are hundreds of posts about coolers as well :)


RAM: Will DDR2 5400 be okay?
Or will I be cursing because I should have ordered something a tad faster? This is definately covered in the guide - "To give you a rough idea of what Ram to buy, PC2-6400 ram, will give you a theoretical CPU overclock of 3.6ghz on an E6600/E4300, 3.2ghz on an E6400 and 2.8ghz on an E6300, these figures represent the maximum CPU overclock without even overclocking the ram. More on the ins and outs of that later on.

For the purposes of overclocking, grab yourself something like PC2-6400 ram as a minimum, try and avoid cheap, unbranded, generic RAM, from experience, it is more trouble than it is worth. RAM is quite cheap at the time of writing this guide (13/03/07), so no need to scrimp on the RAM either really."

I hope that sheds some light on it for you.

I need to try to get the CPU and RAM choice right first time. If I try it with the stock cooler and it doesn't work, I can always go out and buy a new cooler afterwards.

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So, the bottom line....If you buy an E6300, you will need a motherboard that will hit high FSBs due to the low multi. You will also need faster ram (see above). This is why I would say that the E4300 is the best choice.

Thanks. Ratty is nice.

I'll get the E4300.

Also, at an overclock of 50%, it looks as though the 5400 memory will just be running at its rated speed, and I can save the 25% extra for faster RAM.

OTOH, if I get the 6400 RAM, I have a bit in hand in case the processor proves a bit more over-clockable than I was aiming at. Ho hum. I'll toss a coin.

Thanks again.

Now to choose a motherboard and PSU ....

First of all thanks for the great guide. But I do have one question:) My drr800 ram (Super Talent) timings are 4-4-3-8.
Should I set my bios ram timings to 4-4-3-8 or to the ones you suggested (5-5-5...)

I found different xplanations on this on several web pages, or so I think. Maybe I just didn't understand them well.

Thanx again!

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Originally Posted by Emso

First of all thanks for the great guide. But I do have one question:) My drr800 ram (Super Talent) timings are 4-4-3-8.
Should I set my bios ram timings to 4-4-3-8 or to the ones you suggested (5-5-5...)

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Set them to whatever the manufacturer says to set them at. :)

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Originally Posted by Clunk

Have you tried 9x376? It may just be that your board doesnt like the 333fsb area, try around 350 (or just up it a notch until you hit a stable fsb). Its just a case of experimenting, all systems are slightly different, so you need to have a play around and find what works best with your setup :)

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I tried:
376x9 - crashed on loading windows
365x9 - crashed on loading windows
360x9 - crashed on loading windows (but a bit further in)
350x9- wouldn't post, bios goes to default.
345x9 - wouldn't post, bios needs resetting.

Now its on 385x8. and its good (so far) but 390x8 didn't post.


One more question I have a setting on my bios (DS3P motherboard) in the power settings called HPET with option to enable or disable, then a second option for 32bit or 64 bit mode.

no idea if that should be disabled or not.

Did you set the ram voltage (Vdimm) to whatever it is supposed to be?

Did you et the ram 1:1?

Have you tried giving the NB a touch more voltage?

No idea on the power settings for that board, but for now, I would suggest to keep them at default, and google the name of the settings and see if anyone is having any problems with them.