Noob here tryin to OC my Q9550 for first time :D

[Brigs]

Ok, so I decided to start the thread early cause I couldnt wait Just so you know I am a total "greenhorn" at OCing my processor and have never OC'd any of my builds, so this shall be a first, and well.... interesting
I am wanting to do just a mild OC to like 3.0-3.2Ghz and see how I like it.

So, first off is my sig at the bottom with all my specs, and second, here is my Current BIOS settings ( I have my 1066 ram stable at 800Mhz cause 1066 was having problems on my previous thread as you might have noticed from the 20 pages ). Screen shot of Memset and ET6 below this as well. Also, if any of my settings dont look optimized enough, (getting best performance), plz let me know!

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 8x
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.+0.5
CPU Frequency ...........................: 2.83Ghz (333x8.5)


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Disabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 333Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:100
C.I.A.2 .................................:[Disabled]


Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: <<< 800
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: <<< 900
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: <<<
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: <<<


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: [Disabled]
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: [2.40B]
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1066 800 DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................5 [4]
tRCD .........................................7 [4]
tRP'...........................................7 [4]
tRAS..........................................20 [12]

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................4 [3]
tWTR..........................................4 [4]
tWR............................................8 [6]
tRFC...........................................68 [52]
tRTP...........................................4 [4]
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:0 [2]

Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength ............................ [1066]

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:6 [7]
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:0 Auto
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:0 Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:0 Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:0 Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:6 Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:6 Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:5 Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:8 Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto
Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:6 [7]
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:0 Auto
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:0 Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:0 Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:0 Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:6 Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:6 Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:5 Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:8 Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto

Motherboard Voltage Control

CPU
Load-Line Calibration.....................: [Disabled]
CPU Vcore….……….........................: 1.25000v [Auto]
CPU Termination….........................: 1.200V [Auto]
CPU PLL………………….......................: 1.500V [Auto]
CPU Reference.………….......................: 0.760V [Auto]

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: [1.200v]
MCH Reference….…….0.760V...........: [Auto] MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: [Auto]
ICH I/O……………….....1.500V............: [Auto]
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: [Auto]

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: [2.000v]
DRAM Termination .…0.900V............: [Auto] Channel A Reference 0.900V............: [Auto]
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: [Auto]

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled]

[Brigs]

And now for Memset and ET6 ~

Thanx guys!

[Sunburn74]

First of all, you need to use a 2.00 multiplier and not a 2.40 multiplier. As you start increasing fsb speed, you'll far too quickly be pushing your ram beyond its limit. For example at 2.0 and 400 mhz fsb, your ram will be at 800 mhz. But if you are at 2.4 multiplier, it'll be running at 960. You'll only be 10 or 20 mhz away from the upper rated limit. There is NO benefit to running your ram faster than your cpu other than potential instability.

Your voltages aren't too bad. Anyway, punch in 1.3 for your mch voltage and 1.3 for your cpu voltage and you're gonna need around 1.34 for your cpu vtt. That'll get you up around 3.8-4 ghz stably with a q9550 e0. Once you have the cpu stable at a speed you're satisfied with, start dropping voltages until you can't drop them anymore.

[Lsdmeasap]

Let us know how things go with the above suggestions, if you run into issues please post the full settings you tried and we will advise back

[Chike]

I would have explored the possibility of stabilizing ram on DDR-1066 with 400FSB first, you might have more success with the 2.66D multiplier.

[Conners]

I'd say what is your goal speed. 3.83/3.91 works for me well with very little voltage changes...

You could probably get up to 450 FSB (3.825 GHz) on a 2.4B strap which would be a little OC of the memory @1080...

Strike this post.......I see he wants a 3.0/3.2 now...

[Conners]

At 3.2 you’re severely limited by your memory @ only 800 MHz. 2.00 B or D only gets you 760 MHz. 400 MHz FSB according to your memory limit would be the max you could go. And may be the better choice for you.

[nate42nd]

Watch this series of videos. He is not an expert but his methods work fine. It will get you started.

YouTube - Gigabyte EP45-UD3P Overclocking Howto - Part Two - 720P HD

[Brigs]

Wow, well thanx for all the posts guys From all this information I am a bit overwhelmed. I really have no idea what the different straps like a,b and d do and I'm trying to understand the relationship of the FSB and clock speed of my processor in relation to my ram. I am assuming that whatever the FSB is , that means that that is the multiplier for my CPU speed and ram speed? How do I know what strap I want to use, and since I finally got my system stable runnin this memory at 800Mhz, I assume I have to change all my ram settings witih CPU settings to OC?

I'm just trying to understand what it all means, like vtt, load line calibration and CPU termination and that kind of stuff? Or do I need to know what those are?

The reason I said I wanted to do a mild OC is cause I thought it would be best to start out small like 3.0-3.2Ghz and go up incrementally, also making sure my temp stays within range; I'm afraid if I go right to 3.8-4Ghz thats quite a leap and I dont want to blow my CPU up, just paranoid I guess Just didnt know if starting at higher speeds and going lower is the way to OC or starting low and going higher is the way.

Sorry I'm such a noob at this and have no idea what it all means, I just have a schematic like brain that likes to know exactly what I'm doing step by step (like a flow chart) ,and why I am doing it, and what would be the reasons to not do it a certain way.

Sry I'm such a tard guys, just tryin to understand the basics so I can get a little grip on what I am doing so I do it right, and thanx for all the reply's!!!!

[nate42nd]

The best way is to watch those videos. If you are not going to get extreme, it's the same board as you have (if your signature is current) and you really don't need a lot of settings to get a great OC) just some basics. It will get you started and you can start reading from there. I am doing the same thing right now. The RAM is the hardest to understand for me. I think I have good RAM but will probably not OC it until I know what the heck all these settings are. Good luck.

I tried the same exact stuff on my P55-UD4P and i7 860 and I'm running @ 3.36 stable with almost no heat gain (about 3-4C) so it seems to work fine.