Getting my x6800 past 3.67ghz

[Ecca Ecca]

Let me start off with my system.
core2extreme x6800
foxconn blackops
corsair xms3 TR3X3G1600C9 DDR3 1600
cooling with water 3x120mm rad, swiftech mcp655 and Aquaextreme MP-05. Only the CPU is in the loop.

And now the overclock
Right now I have the ram lowered to like 900mhz and the speed / voltage default by the mobo.
My multiplier is unlocked and I have only messed around with 10x370fsb (3.7ghz) and it wasnt stable so I am now back on 11x333fsb (3.67ghz). I have upped the vcore to the max my wc loop can handle which is 1.6v and I run 55c idle and 70c full load. (highest I want to go)
I was wondering if there were any combinations / any other voltages or settings I could increase to get closer to my goal of 3.8ghz.
I am very new to overclocking and I have gotten a good OC so far but I would just like to push it and learn how to get the very max out of any system I overclock.

Any suggestions or questions are welcome and appreciated.

 

[soccerballtux]

If I were you I'd ebay that processor and buy an e8400 or a Quad and go from there.

 

[Ecca Ecca]

I appreciate the reply.

I agree it is outdated and I will consider selling it. However, I am still interesting in increasing my knowledge and want to push it to 3.8!

 

[GprophetB]

Careful with the voltage, sometimes only a slight bump is needed. What other multipliers have you tried and RAM settings

 

[KeypoX]

i just ebayed my old 6400 and bought a 8200 from microcenter for $99. Ebayed for about $90 Though you maynot be happy with a e8200 so far i got mine stable at 3.6ghz at 1.250v, 1.128v with vdrop. I think 1.40v is safe with the 45nm so i bet i could hit 3.8 if i upped the vcore some more. But im happy with the 3.6.

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: Ecca Ecca
I appreciate the reply.

I agree it is outdated and I will consider selling it. However, I am still interesting in increasing my knowledge and want to push it to 3.8!

Overclocking the e8400 will be the same as the x6800 you just won't be able to volt as much. Your performance will be ~15-20% greater clock/clock though, and it's highly likely you'll go further than 3.8Ghz (probably 4.0)

 

[Gillbot]

With mine, I can hit 4GHz using 500x8 with only 1.5v core and 1.44vtt I believe.
It will also hit 3.5GHz with everything set to auto in bios. Try lowering the voltages a bit and see how far you can get it before you start applying serious voltages. sometimes less is better.

 

[Ecca Ecca]

whoa, thanks for all the replies guys.

"Careful with the voltage, sometimes only a slight bump is needed."

Gotcha, will try lowering voltages and playing around a bit more with lower vcore.
"What other multipliers have you tried and RAM settings"[/quote]
I have just tried 10x370 which failed. I will try more multis and different combos

With mine, I can hit 4GHz using 500x8 with only 1.5v core and 1.44vtt I believe.
It will also hit 3.5GHz with everything set to auto in bios. Try lowering the voltages a bit and see how far you can get it before you start applying serious voltages. sometimes less is better.

I am going to do that right now. I tried lowering my voltage before work on 3.67 and it wasnt stable. I am going to start from scratch though and take notes of what I tried.

For the ram, I just have it set to around 800mhz with default timings and voltage.

 

[Ecca Ecca]

I just spend the last hour with the following settings
1.45vtt, CPUPLL 1.659, CPU Clock Amp 1000mv, ram under 1000mhz
Results:
11x345 (3.8) stepping up in vcore .025 each time. Went from 1.4-1.6 and all were unstable. 1.4-1.55 BSOD on boot and 1.55, 1.575 and 1.6 BSOD on IntelBurnTest.

10x380 (3.8) stepping up in vcore .025 each time. Same exact boot / burn crashes with voltages.

I am now running the 9x multiplier. I am on 400FSB right now (3.6) going to up the FSB and see if I can even make it to 3.8

Also a member from XS suggested I up my NB to 1.6 I got that up now too. Going to retry some of the other combos after I play with 9x

 

[AzN]

You shouldn't go higher than 1.45 volts for every day use.

 

[Ecca Ecca]

4 hours of testing and I have yet to find anything over 3.67ghz

A user on OCF recommended I play with CPUGTL and there are 50 settings for each and 4 total so I was wondering if someone could give me an idea on where to start with the numbers

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/7710/img0552f.jpg

It goes from +1 to +25 and -1 to -25.

I tried all of em on +1 and then +2 and tried 3.7ghz (300mhz from a tested stable OC on 1.6v) and got crashes both times.

 

[GprophetB]

Hmmm 3.67 is still a really solid clock man

If you're not happy with it still keep tinkering with it but you may want to try a different CPU , or just be happy with 3.67 which is still quite a bit!

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: Azn
You shouldn't go higher than 1.45 volts for every day use.

You know I have yet to see you make a single useful post?
Text
1.5v is fine for 65nm.

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: Ecca Ecca
4 hours of testing and I have yet to find anything over 3.67ghz

A user on OCF recommended I play with CPUGTL and there are 50 settings for each and 4 total so I was wondering if someone could give me an idea on where to start with the numbers

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/7710/img0552f.jpg

It goes from +1 to +25 and -1 to -25.

I tried all of em on +1 and then +2 and tried 3.7ghz (300mhz from a tested stable OC on 1.6v) and got crashes both times.

IMHO, not needed. I still stand by my suggestion that less is more. Set EVERYTHING to auto and start pushing the FSB up slowly until you lose stability, then tweak from there. If you start listening to too many suggestions, you are just going to get too many settings out of whack and you'll never be able to trace the source of your instability.

 

[brblx]

with a c2d i'm not sure i'd mess with anything other than ram, fsb, and vcore. i would agree with going auto, picking a reasonable multi (maybe try 12 or 13 and see if the lower bus gets you any farther), and seeing what the chip will do. only thing you may have to change is ram timing and voltage (if it's specced for overvolt). 3.67ghz is not shabby, and there's nothing wrong with that chip- there's no way i'd pay for just 2mb more l2 cache and a process shrink, even if it _might_ get him over 4ghz.

 

[VirtualLarry]

You want 3.7 or 3.8? Buy a cheap E5200 and drop it in.

 

[vj8usa]

Originally posted by: brblx
there's no way i'd pay for just 2mb more l2 cache and a process shrink, even if it _might_ get him over 4ghz.

Thing is, you could most likely sell an x6800 for more than what a new e8400 would cost. You'd be making money to move to a much better CPU.

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: vj8usa

Originally posted by: brblx
there's no way i'd pay for just 2mb more l2 cache and a process shrink, even if it _might_ get him over 4ghz.

Thing is, you could most likely sell an x6800 for more than what a new e8400 would cost. You'd be making money to move to a much better CPU.

I don't know about that. I tried to sell mine for a while and couldn't even get a bite at a price below what E8400's were selling at used.

 

[evolucion8]

That's what I did, I sold my QX6850 Extreme Edition in ebay, and bought this CPU also on ebay, and it was pretty much a switch since I for free. Conroe architecture is far from being outdated in a performance perspective, it's pretty strong, but the Penryn's power consumption, much lower heat dissipation and possible performance improvements when SSE4 is used makes it so attractive, that is very easy to make the switch. This CPU at 3.80GHz consumes the same amount of power as my QX6850 at 3.20GHz, that's a plus for me.

 

[vj8usa]

Originally posted by: Gillbot

Originally posted by: vj8usa

Originally posted by: brblx
there's no way i'd pay for just 2mb more l2 cache and a process shrink, even if it _might_ get him over 4ghz.

Thing is, you could most likely sell an x6800 for more than what a new e8400 would cost. You'd be making money to move to a much better CPU.

I don't know about that. I tried to sell mine for a while and couldn't even get a bite at a price below what E8400's were selling at used.

I was just going by ebay prices - there's an auction for a used x6800 that's reached $165 and hasn't ended yet. Looking at completed auctions, some of them surpass $200, which is insane.

 

[evolucion8]

I sold my QX6850 at $255, and I know that I was able to sell it at higher prices, but there was a lot of competition, lots of guys selling the same CPU. I bought this CPU at $270.