Some Help with Q6600 & Corsair Dominator

After putting my system together, I noticed that my CPU was running underclocked. So, I tried to get it to stock speed, and I was having a problem with my RAM.

I could not get my FSB past 270MHz because my RAM was then running at about 1100MHz and I guess it can't take that.

I started messing with lots of settings and the only way I can get my CPU speed up and run my RAM at near 1066MHz is to set my FSB to 400MHz. I was able to get my RAM stable at 1064MHz. The only problem is that now my CPU is at 3.2GHz with a 1600MHz FSB.

Is this going to affect the CPU life?

My Idle Temps are: 26/24/22/24
My Load Temps are: 49/48/45/45

I read that vCore being too high is bad, so I lowered that to 1.28125 or something like that....

 

Newer chips (Including the Q6600) include speedstep. Speedstep is a power management device of the chip that reduces clock speed and power consumption when the CPU is idle. Generally it is good to keep this on and this is likely what you are seeing as the chip is sold at its retail clock speed. You're right about voltage though. You risk a lot more with voltage than you do with temperatures as the chip will throttle itself if it gets too hot and can generally take temperatures far higher than most people will admit to. Still though, I would advise running temps up in the 80's and 90's.

Load temps are fine. My VCore under load is 1.256 and 1.144 idle. You can google official Q6600 threads on some other sites to get an idea of where people are topping out their voltages at.

 

I bet it was the multiplier....

2133/8 = 266.625
266.625 * 9 = 2399.625

So probably setting the multiplier to 9x would do it.

It ran at 1600MHz idle and 2133MHz when I ran some software.

I lowered my vCore one notch back, so I am at 1.2725 (I think that's the number )

I also lowered my RAM voltage to 2.08v. It is rated at 2.10v.

If leaving my CPU at 3.2GHz and 1.2725 volts with RAM at 2.08v will not affect the life, I will leave it there. At stock, my CPU was 1.3125 volts and the RAM at 1.80v. So, the CPU is now lower voltage and the RAM is higher, but the speed of my CPU is 800MHz higher with the FSB 533MHz higher.

Will my setup now affect the life of the CPU? Should I try and push voltage lower, or is 1.2725v fine? Will the RAM voltage affect it's life? Here is what everything looks like from EasyTune (BTW is this a good monitoring app for voltage?).

 

Sorry for the long post but this should give you a good sampling for OC and voltages.
-----------------------------------------------
10acjed - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.43Vcore
64bitmania - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.43Vcore
±PinK=FloYd± - Q6600 G0 @ 3.72Ghz
-Dan- - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.4025Vcore
=Digger= - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.35Vcore
//bullet - Q6600 @ 2.8Ghz @ 1.350Vcore
//MPower - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.3Vcore
A_N_T_H_O_N_Y - Q6600 G0 @ 3.16Ghz @ 1.37Vcore
Abrajam - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.42Vcore
Acquanw - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz
alex98uk - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz
AndrewBEJ - Q6600 G0 @ 3.91Ghz @ 1.6Vcore
Anth0789 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.456Vcore
Anqt31 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz
anzudragon - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.296Vcore
Ao2 3lit3 snip3r - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.325Vcore
Arakasi - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.43Vcore
Archangel - Q6600 @ 3.44Ghz @ 1.46Vcore
ArchCorsair - Q6600 G0 @ 3.8Ghz
Archetype - Q6600 G0 @ 3.1Ghz @ 1.45625Vcore
armada741 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.3650Vcore
Asce - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz
astraelraen - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.4Vcore
avercros - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.248Vcore
awdrifter - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.375Vcore
aznchowboy650 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.325Vcore
aznofazns - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.35Vcore
balchy88 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.456Vcore
benko - Q6600 G0 @ 3.7Ghz @ 1.4Vcore
Betrivent - Q6600 G0 @ 3.82Ghz @ 1.4Vcore
BigWhit - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.344Vcore
binormalkilla - Q6600 G0 @ 3.8Ghz @ 1.496Vcore
Bitemarks and bloodstains - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz
BlakHart - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.4Vcore
bleachigo - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.525Vcore
bLinkZor - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.184Vcore
blooder11181 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.45Vcore
bluelion86 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.352Vcore
bobalobabingbong - Q6600 G0 @ 2.4Ghz Stock Vcore
boydyboyd - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.5Vcore
brian1337 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.5Ghz @ 1.424Vcore
bumsoil - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz
burning-skies - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.40Vcore
Captain Skyhawk - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.28125Vcore
Cas6236 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz
Chickenman - Q6600 G0 @ 4.0Ghz @ 1.59Vcore
CL3P20 - Q6600 G0 @ 4.0Ghz @ 1.52Vcore
clbkdaz - Q6600 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.34Vcore
Chromey - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.30Vcore
codibick - Q6600 G0 @ 2.4Ghz @ Stock Vcore
conflikt - Q6600 G0 @ 3.5Ghz @ 1.3Vcore
CorryBasler - Q6600 G0 @ 2.4Ghz Stock Vcore
cquinndesign - Q6600 G0 @ 2.4Ghz @ 1.163Vcore
Crazy geezer - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.360Vcore
Cryptedvick - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.328Vcore
Csquared - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.44Vcore
Cubeman - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz
Cukies - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.51Vcore
DAF - Q6600 @ 3.69Ghz @ 1.51Vcore
Danylu - Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.4825Vcore
DarkkHero - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.506Vcore
DennisC - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.16Vcore
Dillinger - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.36Vcore
DigitalBear - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.28Vcore
DK_mz - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.47Vcore
DKK - Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.34Vcore
DoubleOhEvan - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz
drewbreezy - Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz
Drivr3g - Q6600 G0 @ 3.42Ghz @ 1.5Vcore
Duckydude - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.376Vcore
DullBoi - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.240Vcore
ecaftermath - Q6600 G0 @ 3.3Ghz @ 1.475Vcore
Ecchi-BANZAII!!! - Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz @ StockVcore
eflyguy - Q6600 G0 @ 3.33Ghz @ 1.465Vcore
elko - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz
error10 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.48125Vcore
fade2green514 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.325Vcore
FieryCoD - Q6600 G0 @ 3.3Ghz @ 1.30Vcore
flowtek - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.424Vcore
Foot - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.312Vcore
FooFoo - Q6600 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.30Vcore
Fox_Smash - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz
FozzieBlair - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.2875Vcore
frankzotynia10 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.464Vcore
Gaiin - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.4Vcore
ghost - Q6600 G0 @ 3.02Ghz @ 1.30Vcore
Giggers - Q6600 G0 @ 3.15Ghz @ 1.408Vcore
GSingh - Q6600 G0 @ 3.1Ghz @ 1.20Vcore
hal515 - Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.30Vcore
HAYWIREFIVE - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz
Heru - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.4Vcore
hiiyah777 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.375Ghz @ 1.384Vcore
hitrun222 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.440Vcore
HomicidalTripod - Q6600 G0 @ 2.4Ghz @ Stock Vcore
hoth17 - Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz
hout17 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.49Vcore
hyde - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.31Vcore
infinite illusions - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.475Vcore
Innocent Bystander - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.4125Vcore
ivanov3333 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.360Vcore
Jaffa Cakes! - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.424Vcore
Jasonx010 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz
jcettison - Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz
JESTER1973 - Q6600 @ 4.0Ghz @ 1.7Vcore
johan.lab - Q6600 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.2875Vcore
johnim - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.288Vcore
joman2055 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.344Vcore
Jorand - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.488Vcore
jrharvey - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.31Vcore
K3VL4R - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.408Vcore
KarmaKiller - Q6600 G0 @ 3.8Ghz @ 1.55Vcore
killin - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz
KingsidePressure - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.384Vcore
kkbob33 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.496Vcore
klg1128 - Q6600 G0 @ 2.95Ghz @ 1.264Vcore
KusH - Q6600 G0 @ 3.9Ghz
Lazman1 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.47Vcore
Lipservice - Q6600 G0 @ 3.8Ghz @ 1.376Vcore
Livinstrong - Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.44Vcore
ljason8eg - Q6600 G0 @ 3.7Ghz @ 1.488Vcore
lonnie5000 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.42Ghz @ 1.44Vcore
losttsol - Q6600 G0 @ 3.9Ghz @ 1.432Vcore
luca662 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.23Ghz
Lukeatluke - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.416Vcore
M4DM4N - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.46Vcore
Mad Bomber - Q6600 G0 @ 2.4Ghz @ Stock Vcore
maddogmark - Q6600 G0 @ 3.46Ghz @ 1.416Vcore
MarineRevenge - Q6600 G0 @ 2.952Ghz @ 1.25Vcore
MasterFire - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.4Vcore
maximus7651000 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.4Vcore
mc09090 - Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz
Mechkiller31st - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz
meta||ic - Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz @ Stock Vcore
mfb412 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.33Ghz @ 1.375Vcore
mnishimura00 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @1.35Vcore
monkey8209 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.25Vcore
mothow - Q6600 G0 @ 3.8Ghz @ 1.4Vcore
MrDeodorant - Q6600 G0 @ 2.4Ghz
MrSpock2002 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @1.285Vcore
mugan23 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.8Ghz @ 1.55Vcore
munaim1 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.9Ghz @ 1.59Vcore
Mustardsky - Q6600 @ 2.6Ghz
Mxbn0 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ Stock Vcore
nado319 - Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.47Vcore
nelson4354 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.71Ghz @ 1.52Vcore
Nepalese - Q6600 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.47Vcore
nepas - Q6600 G0 @ 3.8Ghz @ 1.42Vcore
NEvolution - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.45Vcore
ninjinsamax3 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.4875Vcore
Nolander - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.40Vcore
noldevin - Q6600 G0 @ 3.42Ghz @ 1.408Vcore
NuclearCrap - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.42Vcore
OCec3 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz
okorn - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.328Vcore
om3n - Q6600 G0 @ 3.15Ghz @ 1.3Vcore
Papa.Smurf - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.376Vcore
PeaceMaker - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.23Vcore
philbrown23 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.366Vcore
pifive - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz
Pingu12 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.300Vcore
PinkPenguin - Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.44Vcore
pohtangina - Q6600 G0 @ 2.4Ghz @ Stock Vcore
PR1M3R - Q6600 G0 @ 3.7Ghz @ 1.4Vcore
ProjecT TimeZ - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz
proTip - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.39Vcore
Rab1t_K1ll3r^ - Q6600 G0 @ 2.67Ghz @ 1.325Vcore
RaHuLYD - Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.325Vcore
rammunition - Q6600 G0 @ 2.4Ghz @ Stock Vcore
raven117 - Q6600 @ 2.6Ghz
razr7 - Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
reezin14 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.1Ghz @ 1.152Vcore
Retoric - Q6600 G0 @ 3.28Ghz @ 1.425Vcore
rex4223 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.475Vcore
rhkcommander959 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.7Ghz
R00ST3R - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.381Vcore
Route6600 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.360Vcore
ru7hl355 - Q6600 @ 3.0Ghz
Ruslan - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.456Vcore
Russkiy - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.4Vcore
s1kat - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.325Vcore
sabermetrics - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.45Vcore
SacredChaos - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.500Vcore
sailerboy - Q6600 G0 @ 3.42Ghz @ 1.45Vcore
sam95ta - Q6600 G0 @ 3.8Ghz @ 1.504Vcore
scottath - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz
se7en56 - Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.35Vcore
sepH - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.496Vcore
sgdude - Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz @ 1.264Vcore
Sgt.Collins - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.3Vcore
SharkFin - Q6600 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.3125Vcore
shiloh - Q6600 G0 @ 3.8Ghz @ 1.440Vcore
skatingrocker17 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.4Vcore
Slinkey123 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.28Vcore
slim123 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.384Vcore
smoke12291 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.28Vcore
SoccrSnipe - Q6600 G0 @ 3.26Ghz
SomeDooD - Q6600 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.40Vcore
SonicJoe - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.352Vcore
Sparky6string - Q6600 G0 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.360Vcore
sprawlnbrawl - Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
stan - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz
steverngallo - Q6600 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.322Vcore
Stianby - Q6600 G0 @ 3.28Ghz @ 1.264Vcore
Surefire - Q6600 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.375Vcore
Sylon - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.375Vcore
tehpwn4ger - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ Stock Vcore
TheCh3F - Q6600 G0 @ 4.0Ghz @ 1.56Vcore
thedummy - Q6600 @ 3.0Ghz
The Fury - Q6600 G0 @ 3.5Ghz @ 1.44Vcore
thenailedone - Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz @ Stock Vcore
The_0ctogon - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.425Vcore
tibor28 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.1Ghz @ 1.184Vcore
TnB= Gir - Q6600 G0 @ 4.0Ghz
Tricky - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.45Vcore
Tylerjon7485 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.27Ghz
Tzapone - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.425Vcore
wannabe_OC - 3 x Q6600 G0 + 1 x Q6600 @ 2.7Ghz @ Stock Vcore
waqasr - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.344Vcore
Warrimonk - Q6600 @ 2.8Ghz @ 1.35Vcore
We Gone - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz
whe3ls - Q6600 G0 @ 3.8Ghz @ 1.425Vcore
whtwrnglrx06 - Q6600 G0 @ 3.8Ghz
wierdale24 - Q6600 @ 3.1Ghz @ 1.35Vcore
wire - Q6600 G0 @ 3.55Ghz @ 1.44Vcore
UkGouki - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz
universalremonster - Q6600 G0 @ 2.4Ghz @ 1.040Vcore
unreachable - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.352Vcore
veki92 - Q6600 @ 3.3Ghz
VincentJ - Q6600 G0 @ 3.3Ghz
VinhDiezel - Q6600 G0 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.375Vcore
Vinovvi - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.44Vcore
X1L3D - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.35Vcore
xelakon - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.36Vcore
xMxTHellord - Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz @ 1.39Vcore
xtascox - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz @ 1.36Vcore
xtnod - Q6600 G0 @ 3.0Ghz
xxArcangel117xx - Q6600 G0 @ 3.46Ghz @ 1.33Vcore
yhssenior05 - Q6600 @ 3.51Ghz @ 1.42Vcore
YOSHIBA - Q6600 @ 3.3Ghz @ 1.34Vcore
yukiz - Q6600 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.4500Vcore
ZealotKi11er - Q6600 G0 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.35Vcore
zhevra - Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz @ Stock Vcore
ZombieZomG - Q6600 @ 3.4Ghz @ 1.38Vcore

 

Wow, thanks for the list! Lots of data there.

It looks like my settings are similar.

What is a good temp while running Prime95? It is running now, and I am getting 45/44/40/40

Idle is something like 23/21/19/20 (I set vCore 1 notch below 1.25000).

Now, with voltage, is it dangerous to have voltage too low? For instance, my CPU has a VID of 1.3125. Is running it below this value bad? It seems like dropping from 1.275 to 1.25 dropped temps about 4 degrees, so it is possible that dropping voltage more, would drop temps below 40 degrees while running Prime95.

 

You want your voltage as low as possible. You won't damage you equipment if you take it too low, you'll just have an unstable system. Your temps are great. Mine max out around 65, and some(few) people even run them into the high 70's 24/7.

 

Thanks for the info!

The temps are probably so low cause the case is opened and laying on it's side. I don't have a SATA HDD, so the DVDRW and HDD are sharing the same IDE cable and the cable is not long enough for the DVDRW to fit in the case Also, I tightened the hell out of the mounting screws on the Tuniq (come to think of it, I don't thing the case will close as the Tuniq is HUGE).

I had to up voltage a bit though. Seems like the RAM has a problem with my setup. Strange, because it is running at 1066 which is technically default...

I ran Prime95 with small FFT for 4 hours and it was fine. With Blend, it messed up in between 30 minutes to 5 hours (wasn't home when it failed). I assume failing in Blend means that there is a RAM issue also the system went more stable when I upped DRAM vCore to 2.08 from 1.8. Been running it for 1 hour so far and it looks good. Temps are holding at 45/43/40/40 with vCore at one notch up from 1.2500v (BIOS).

With system stability, does that just cause programs to fail if I overwork the system, or will it cause hardware problems?

 

If your voltage is too low I would assume your system would spontaneously shut down under high load or fail to boot in the first place. I suppose it might just hang the system as well but not individual programs. You'll only want to be adjusting one thing at a time though if your system isn't stable because of your memory fix that first. And then see how far down you can tweak the CPU voltage before you run into problems.

 

It seems like it might need more voltage. Prime95 blend got an error in core 3 at 2 hours 15 minutes.

The system can boot with lower voltage than what I have, but it seems to be less stable. I think when I tested it with small FFT, it was with lower voltage and it was fine for the 4 hour test. With DRAM at 1.8, Blend failed in about 3 minutes. DRAM to 2.1 it lasted about 30 minutes.

When I upped vCore 1 notch, it failed while I was gone, but the system rebooted, so I could not see how long it took.

The most recent is the 2:15 session with core 3 getting the error. My guess is that vCore should be raised more, but I don't know much about this. I don't want to take the RAM higher than 2.08, because in the Motherboard it shows pink, which I am assuming means an overvolt or at the very least, risky voltage levels. The RAM does go over 2.1 in Windows when it is set to 2.1 in the BIOS.

Maybe I can do more testing tomorrow with vCore up 1 more notch... Are there any other settings that I can tweak to get the system more stable? There is MCH and ICH which I think are northbridge and soutbridge... They are stock at 1.10v. There is also ICH I/O, which is set to 1.50 at stock.

There are also advanced CPU setting which include CPU skew and MCH skew. I have no idea what those mean. SHould I do anything with that?

 

I did an overnight test, and it crashed at some point (man I wish there was a log of some type). I ran 2 instances of Blend to use 3.8GB of RAM and 1 instance of Large FFT to max temps.

There is a chance that there is some type of log as there is something called results.txt and they are all a little different, but it does not show a crash time Here is an example of one (looks like one of the two Blend tests):

Code:

[Wed Dec 10 02:14:13 2008]
Self-test 1024K passed!
Self-test 1024K passed!
Self-test 1024K passed!
Self-test 1024K passed!
[Wed Dec 10 02:30:22 2008]
Self-test 896K passed!
Self-test 896K passed!
Self-test 896K passed!
Self-test 896K passed!
[Wed Dec 10 02:45:53 2008]
Self-test 768K passed!
Self-test 768K passed!
Self-test 768K passed!
Self-test 768K passed!
[Wed Dec 10 03:02:53 2008]
Self-test 640K passed!
Self-test 640K passed!
Self-test 640K passed!
Self-test 640K passed!

 

You do realise your CPU wasn't running underclocked before right? It's intel's power saving feature, the multplier drops to 6x (1.66Ghz for a Q6600) until it's used, but once you apply load, it instantly changes to full speed, no delay noticeable whatsoever.

Your vcore is extremely low for overclocking, 1.4V is common for a Q6600, so trying to get below 1.25 is only going to cause issues.

 

It was underclocked, but not FSB. The Multiplier was set to 8x.

I noticed the power saving stuff and that was the first thing I turned off. It still only peaked at 2133MHz and I was a little stupid in not seeing that the multiplier was set to 8x It's the 2nd setting I think in the BIOS You should see me try to find my glasses.... Sometimes, I search for 5 - 10 minutes and it ends up I am wearing them.

Prime didn't have an issue yesterday. I ran two instances of Blend so I can use 3.56GB of RAM and it was fine for 10 hours. I didn't want to leave it overnight again because the fan on the Tuniq is louder than a vacuum cleaner! I'd probably go deaf in my sleep

Temps peaked at 47/45/44/44, but averaged about 45/43/41/41.

I raised vCore to 1.26875v; MCH to 1.16v, and ICH to 1.20v (all settings done in BIOS). Those were the setting I ran Prime95 with yesterday.

I also tried TAT to see what max Temp was and Core 1 peaked at 49, core 2 at 46. That doesn't test more cores, so I didn't run it too long; like 5 minutes.

I ran OCCT for 1 hour 5 minutes that showed that it was stable, but the reason I really did that was to see all the graphs There was one temp that went from 17 to 37. Don't know what that was...

Clock is at 3203MHz; FSB is at 1601MHz and idle temps are 24/21/17/20. So, all of the overclock comes from FSB. The RAM ratio is 4:3 (2.66 in BIOS), I guess 400MHz x 2.66 = 1066MHz or 400MHz x 2 x 1.33 = 1066 ???

What kind of issues can arise from low voltage? Can the components get damaged?

 

That is correct, that is how intel's powersaving works, but it's odd to see it at 8x, I would have expected 6.

Low voltage won't damage anything, you just run the risk of crashes. It's high voltages that are preferred for stability, but cause risk of damage.

 

The way it seemed to be going was 6x at idle and 8x at load, so the processor never got faster than 2133MHz, but the idle speed was 1666MHz or something like that.

WHen I shut off power saving, it was at 8x and I didn't notice that the multiplier was set at 8x in the BIOS. This is what caused the initial issue. I was close to returning it, but then I thought about all the trouble I went through installing the Tuniq (that thing is HUGE) and I thought, why not overclo9ck it to 2.4GHz... Really, all I had to do was change the multiplier to 9x. I don't know why default was 8x.

It kind of seems possible for this chip to make it to 3.6GHz. All I have to do is change the multiplier to 9x and probably pump some major voltage into it Actually, I'll give it a shot and see what difference it makes in CPUMark (Passmark). Right now it scores a 4315, which is around what a QX9650 scores. Of course this is just a benchmark. I can do my own testing (at 3200MHz) once I get a SATA HDD.

 

Ok, so I upped the Multiplier to 9x and upped the Voltage to 1.4250v something (1.440v in CPU-Z). Idle temps are pretty low still:

28/25/22/24

Load temps are 52/51/48/48 (actually don't seem too bad).

CPUMark was 4836, so a jump of 500 points. This is about the level of a QX9770, so that's impressive for a $180 CPU

Actually Memory Mark and 3D mark also went up about 10% or so. I guess a faster CPU helps everything a bit.

I will take it back down to 3.2GHz. Maybe if I have time I will see if I can get a stable setting at 3.6GHz, but I just pumped the voltage up so I could boot on the first try.

 

If you can even boot at 3600, you've got a better CPU than me. I had to use more than 1.51V (which is as high as I wanted to go) to even POST at that CPU speed.

 

I guess I got lucky. I don't know how stable it would be at 3600 though. I just ran Prime95 Blend for 5 minutes to get load temps. I didn't want to push it too much at that high of a clock speed or voltage.

Wow, you had it at 1.51v? There is a chance that your booting issue has to do with the RAM. All of my booting issues were RAM related. If you'd like I can take pictures of my BIOS settings (or if taking a picture doesn't work, I can write them down in order) and you can give them a try with your setup and see if you can get it to boot at less than 1.5v at 3600MHz.

 

That's quite possible, as I had all four slots populated when I was using that CPU. The memory was timing loosened and overvolted, but I suspect that the FSB was the limitation when all four slots were filled.

 

I didn't even think about that Yeah, 4 slots filled makes it more complicated as there are more variables, so it is harder to pinpoint the culprit. It seems like you made a beast of a build though!

So far, I am very impressed with the Q6600. I can't wait till I get a new HDD so I can finally install something that will use all 4 cores.

The only thing I did testing wise was correcting IFO navigation using IFOEdit and it was slower than my 6 year old system IFOEdit only uses 1 core, so there is no benefit from having a Quad. Also, I think the HDD is starting to show a little slow down sharing the IDE cable with the DVDRW. I would really be able to tell if I use FixVTS. That always works at 100% HDD speed. I used to get 54MB/s on my old system and I think that is max speed for ATA133 drives. I guess I can use FixVTS on the DVD I was working on last night.

 

I'm not sure about there being a limit on the speed of ATA-133 explicitly, but IDE Hard drives are old, so they may not run much faster than that regardless.
As far as the system goes, I only changed from Q6600 to Q9550 because the 6600 wasn't enough to run Crysis Warhead on Enthusiast, and I found a reasonably priced E0 stepping version of the CPU. They seem to be popping up into mainstream now, but at the time they were rare, and I didn't pay over the odds to get one (£250 to be precise). The way PC parts prices are going up lately, it's just as well...