X3350 / Q9450 Overclocking Thread

[tenax]

yep, i've read that before..only problem is i have not seen anything definitive yet on this..really would love if people were more focused on this so we starting seeing some guides on this like we see overclocking guides.

 

[ArizonaSteve]

So far - I have my X3350 prime95 stable (for a couple of hours) at 3GHz. Tried 3.2Ghz, but core #3 disn't even go through one iteration of Prime95. Since I don't want to up the voltage (I'm generating enough heat as it is!), I'm going to stay at 3GHz for now.

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: tenax

Originally posted by: bryanW1995

Originally posted by: tenax
it's the abit ip35-pro, revision 1, using the 2nd latest beta bios available for it (last official was not penryn quad compatible) so i use revision 16 b09. the basic specs on my system otherwise are:

penryn quad 9450 rev B1 (Engineering sample revision)
vid of 1.018
4 gigs g.skill 8500 memory (4 x 1 gig)


i am using an enzotech extreme cooler with variable speed scythe 120mm fan and mx2 paste

hey, where did you get your beta bios? I'm going home tonight and want to update to the beta bios in preparation for the (supposed) arrival of an x3350 from moogr.com in the next week.

it's available here, bryan:

http://forum.abit-usa.com/showthread.php?t=124502

go down the page and you'll find 2 of the 16 versions..otherwise, you'll have to dig through that thread a bit to or try a search of b09 or b10 and you'll find the newer ones. i'm b09 is better than b10. also, you the bios doesn't come with the flash file so you need to take the one from the 14 bios and edit the ini or whatever it is in the file page and rename the bios so it's a .bin extension, and you call it 14, rather than 16b09 so the flash program sees it. my explanation may not be the best..sorry..there are lots of tips on how to do this at that thread if you need it and lots of good help to be found there.

so, um, heh heh, I updated the bios and, um, the computer won't boot now. I got lazy and used the windoze abit flash menu b/c I've done it before without incident. I'm getting a C1 error upon boot (memory detect). Am I screwed permanently or is there a fix for this?

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: lopri
If your boards support VTT/GTL value selection, do take advantage of it. Quad-core overclocking is all about those little tiny signal voltages. I also learned the oft-observed huge difference of temps between cores are partly dependent on GTL value. Once you find the right GTL values for FSB and NB, things get whole lot easier.

what are vtt/gtL? I think that I've seen them lurking around in the bios but I've always been too scared to mess with them.

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: tenax
good screenie to be had here from another guy with one:

http://www.hardforum.com/showt...2289565#post1032289565

I finally broke down and registered for hocp forums thanks to you tenax! I want to post on that link to see if any of the other ip35 pro owners have had bios issues, too. Please post that question if you get this before I get "added". Hopefully kyle doesn't remember some of my video posts...

 

[LittleNemoNES]

I'm doing 3.2Ghz @ 1.18 vcore; all else stock on an x3350

my Ram is holding me back. I'm using 8GB DDR2 800mhz.
I'm going to return it for faster DDR2 1066 ram
HUGE oversight on my part. It was late and all I was thinking about was cutting cost

 

[bryanW1995]

is it 5-5-5-15? you could try upping vdimm a little bit and inch it up to 850/900 range. 8x425 would net you 3.4 while 8x450 would get you 3.6. That would be a great oc with that much ram imho.

 

[lopri]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
what are vtt/gtL? I think that I've seen them lurking around in the bios but I've always been too scared to mess with them.

I gotta go to bed now so just a couple pics for now.

For example, while I was trying to lower my vCore I fiddled with the GTL values of vTT/vFSB as well as vNB. See what's happened in the pics below. (red rectengles)

1. Before
   
   After

A lot of boards seem to set the GTL level too low or too high, causing instability, no POST, high temps, or huge discrepancy between cores. Calibrating the GTL values per core seems to be the key for quad-core clocking.

 

[Foxery]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
so, um, heh heh, I updated the bios and, um, the computer won't boot now. I got lazy and used the windoze abit flash menu b/c I've done it before without incident. I'm getting a C1 error upon boot (memory detect). Am I screwed permanently or is there a fix for this?

Did you reset the CMOS after flashing? I just updated my IP35-Pro to version 16b09 today, and I had to flip the little switch under the keyboard port before it would POST. Everything's been peachy since then.

 

[dasracht]

Looks like mine runs stable 8+ hours in prime at 3.2 (800x8) with 1.175 vcore at 53c max under load.

These processors are outstanding!

 

[tenax]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995

Originally posted by: tenax
good screenie to be had here from another guy with one:

http://www.hardforum.com/showt...2289565#post1032289565

I finally broke down and registered for hocp forums thanks to you tenax! I want to post on that link to see if any of the other ip35 pro owners have had bios issues, too. Please post that question if you get this before I get "added". Hopefully kyle doesn't remember some of my video posts...

i'm always a few steps behind you it seems, bryan need to get in sync..lol...anyhew, i hope you got it resolved..i've gotten so used to seeing a million cautions at the abit site about not using the abit windoze program to flash the bios. i've set up a usb stick to flash and will go that route when i update next time.

 

[tenax]

Originally posted by: lopri

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
what are vtt/gtL? I think that I've seen them lurking around in the bios but I've always been too scared to mess with them.

I gotta go to bed now so just a couple pics for now.

For example, while I was trying to lower my vCore I fiddled with the GTL values of vTT/vFSB as well as vNB. See what's happened in the pics below. (red rectengles)

1. Before
   
   After

A lot of boards seem to set the GTL level too low or too high, causing instability, no POST, high temps, or huge discrepancy between cores. Calibrating the GTL values per core seems to be the key for quad-core clocking.

this is an ok explanation of gtl and such:

CPU GTL Voltage Reference: CPU: Auto, 0.63x, 0.61x, 0.59x, and 0.57x. NB: Auto, 0.67x, and 0.61x. CPU Gunning Transceiver Logic (GTL) voltages are nothing more than reference levels that the CPU uses when determining if a data or address signal is either high (1) or low (0). Precision voltage dividers generate these voltages and are usually specified as a percentage of VTT. In the case of 0.67, this would be 67% of VTT. For example, if VTT is 1.20v then a CPU GTL Voltage Reference of 0.67x would result in a GTLREF value of 0.67 x 1.20V = ~0.80V.

These reference values are particularly important when overclocking quad-core CPUs, especially when venturing above about 450FSB. The ability to tune these values per die can mean the difference between 475FSB and 500FSB. Unfortunately, ASUS' implementation of this functionality is rather incomplete as manipulation of only a single GTLREF value is possible (and in a somewhat imprecise manner). The real power in GTLREF tuning comes in the ability to provide each quad-core die with separate reference values. (Recall that current quad-cores are an MCM consisting of two dual-core dies on a single package.) Unfortunately, this is not a matter of future BIOS modification as providing two distinct voltages to separate pins on the CPU would require nothing less than a PCB revision. As such, this board will most likely never see its full potential when clocking quad-core CPUs but it still performs admirably.

edit: found a good link to more infor on the gtl related specifically to the abit ip35 pro.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=533451

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: Foxery

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
so, um, heh heh, I updated the bios and, um, the computer won't boot now. I got lazy and used the windoze abit flash menu b/c I've done it before without incident. I'm getting a C1 error upon boot (memory detect). Am I screwed permanently or is there a fix for this?

Did you reset the CMOS after flashing? I just updated my IP35-Pro to version 16b09 today, and I had to flip the little switch under the keyboard port before it would POST. Everything's been peachy since then.

yes, I reset the cmos using the external switch. That didn't work, so I manually removed the battery as well. no luck, still getting the c1 error. I think I'll meander over to the abit boards to see if others have had this same issue.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Any suggestions on running this memory at ~900mhz? I'm pretty lousy with mem timings so the only thing I've tried is upping the voltage on the NB to 1.4
(default voltage for @ 800mhz). I also upped the vdimm to 2.2 (from 1.8)
I have 4x 2GB stick (8GB total) @ 1:1 800Mhz
Here's a pic of memset:

http://i31.tinypic.com/166lnd3.jpg

 

[bryanW1995]

you probably don't need 2.2v, if the ram will even do that for any length of time before going kaput. If you do up the vdimm that much then you probably need to put a fan on the ram to keep it cool. try going to 6-6-6-18 with 1.8v at 450fsb. run memtest for 5-10 minutes just to see if it's relatively stable. If so, then tighten up the timings gradually and or slowly increase the vdimm as necessary.

 

[ArizonaSteve]

I did some further experimentation this morning, and it's looking like I can get 3.2 GHz by pushing the voltage 3 notches above stock in the BIOS (CPU-Z reads 1.168V under load). Temperatures haven't increased significantly (around +3C to +4C), and so far it's been running prime95 for about an hour with no issues.

I'm probably going to leave Prime95 running another four hours or so. If everything is good, I'll declare this system stable and end my overclocking efforts. Well, at least until faster graphics cards come out and my system becomes CPU-limited...

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
you probably don't need 2.2v, if the ram will even do that for any length of time before going kaput. If you do up the vdimm that much then you probably need to put a fan on the ram to keep it cool. try going to 6-6-6-18 with 1.8v at 450fsb. run memtest for 5-10 minutes just to see if it's relatively stable. If so, then tighten up the timings gradually and or slowly increase the vdimm as necessary.

2.2 was an experiment to see if voltage was what was setting me back.

 

[bryanW1995]

if you couldn't get it to 450fsb at 2.2v then that's a problem

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
if you couldn't get it to 450fsb at 2.2v then that's a problem

Well I can get into windows now @ 3.4. What I changed this time was the GTL and VTT settings. They are totally new to me so I didn't think to change them or what they even meant. I read the AT article on the DFI P35 ti figure these out and I'm doing 850 5-5-5-15 @ 1.9 vdimm. wish me luck!

 

[bryanW1995]

first you need to isolate your problem. gtl and vtt, from what I've seen and heard, are more about the cpu. Normally in overclocking you're supposed to take memory out of the equation by using very relaxed timings and find you max fsb, but I think that in this case you might be better served finding your max mem speeds up front. by that I mean run memtest using 7x425 to isolate the memory at your 5-5-5-15 @1.9 vdimm settings. If that makes it 5-10 minutes then you can inch it up per the typical oc guidelines. hopefully you have more luck than I've had thus far since I seem to have broken my ankle during warmups

 

[LittleNemoNES]

I'm thinking 3.4 is my sweet spot. Anything higher may be doable but there's no point if the NB, etc are too damn hot. Besides, it feels like summer in Miami already

Not bad -- an 800mhz OC.

Now I have to tighten the timings.

My CPU is obviously a winner. It's doing 3.4 @ 1.2volts :shocked:
if someone wants my chip, they can have it for a hefty premium

 

[Tutto]

I have a q9300 C0 that runs 3.6GHz with 1.51 vcore totally stable and my temps top out at around 60C. I bought an X3350 C1 that I can only get to 3.65 stable and I can only get that on my P5K WS, not my P5E WS, but the temps are much higher. I'm wondering if the bios isn't fully compatible with the C1 stepping. Speed Fan shows much more reasonable temps. I'm running high end water cooling. PA120-2 with 4 fans. My 9650 runs at 4GHz with 1.4 vcore and at full load my temps barely go over 55C. So far my experience with the 3350 are extremely dissappointing. I'm hoping a bios update will help.

 

[GarfieldtheCat]

Originally posted by: Tutto
I have a q9300 C0 that runs 3.6GHz with 1.51 vcore totally stable

:shocked:

 

[fleshconsumed]

Originally posted by: GarfieldtheCat

Originally posted by: Tutto
I have a q9300 C0 that runs 3.6GHz with 1.51 vcore totally stable

:shocked:

That is WAY too much.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: fleshconsumed

Originally posted by: GarfieldtheCat

Originally posted by: Tutto
I have a q9300 C0 that runs 3.6GHz with 1.51 vcore totally stable

:shocked:

That is WAY too much.

+1 too much voltage, also too much heat under a small foot print.

Also how are you keeping that under control? @ 1.5Vcore my water has a hard time racing the temps.