3.8Ghz stable, but i want some 4 :D

[noobster]

First of all, hi guys:D I've been reading a lot on this forum, and found some usefull guidelines in OC, but i couldn't go more of 3.8Ghz. I've seen that
setup simillar to mine could 4Ghz+ with some tweaks, but it's a crackin problem for me:( I know there are a lot of same threads about Q9550, but
all seem to be on DDR2 board and almost not one on DDR3. Some people
say they are practically the same, but in my opinion and testing i'm not quite sure they are. Here are my curent settings, and any suggestion on how to get 4Ghz would be nice :D

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto 
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 8
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.0.5
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.82Ghz   450x8.5


Clock Chip Control 
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled] 
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 450Mhz
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)....................: <<< 0
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: <<< 0


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [Turbo]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [400]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.66D
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1200
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................        Auto
tRCD .........................................Auto
tRP'........................................... Auto
tRAS.......................................... Auto

Set all Suggested below to highest Values first.  Then later you can lower, one at a time, testing as you go

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................
tWTR..........................................    ALL ON AUTO
tWR............................................
tRFC...........................................
tRTP...........................................
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:2

Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength ............................

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:6/7-10 333/B MCH - 8/9-12 400/D MCH
 tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:Auto <<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
 tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
 tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto 
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto 
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto 
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto 
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto  ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto  ps

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:6/7-10 333/B MCH - 8/9-12 400/D MCH
 tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:Auto <<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
 tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
 tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto 
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto 
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto 
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto 
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto  ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto  ps

Motherboard Voltage Control

CPU
CPU Vcore….……….........................: 1.25

CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: 1.30
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......:     1.50
CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: 0.863
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:dont have this option
MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: 1.30
MCH Reference….…….0.760V...........; 0.863
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: Auto
ICH I/O……………….....1.500V............:  Auto
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............:   Auto

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 1.70
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] Enabled if you use Vmware/Virtual PC

Integrated Peripherals
Legacy USB Storage Detect ..............[Disabled] *Note* Must be enabled to flash from USB

here is a screenshot of my ram settings



If you need some more info about my rig, just ask will put them up :D
Tnx in advance,
noobster

[Lsdmeasap]

I would say just push the FSB up to 475 and then raise the Vcore in large steps until you find one that boots. Maybe try 1.3.1.42

You will need to drop your Memory multi down though to 2.00D

Then you would just need to tweak things a little, then once done with that you could set your own memory timings which would improve performance.

You may also need a bit more Vtt (1.32-1.36) and PLL (1.55-1.6)

[Psycho101]

Like Lsd says, get it booting using brute force then fine tune when you have a system that will start.

Set tRead to 11 also for now to completely eliminate that. Put the SMM to 2.00D. Right away you need to set Performance Enhance to standard, not turbo. Consider also setting tRFC to 78 for now and leaving it there along with tRead - 11. When you have the CPU running at 4GHz you can then move the RAM multi back up to give as close to 1333 as possible, then tighten timings again.

I also recommend setting manual timings right away. Looking at that picture of Memset, it's little wonder you get boot problems at higher FSB. Your RAM is rated to 9-9-9-20 at 1333MHz. Set it manually to 9-9-9-20 and you may find all your problems with not booting disappear.

For Vcore, turn on LLC and set 1.3625V. Set between 1.28 and 1.36V for CPU termination. You may want to test all these if there are still boot problems. PL can go straight up to 1.61V, also setting 1.59V for ICH I/O and 1.2V for ICH core helps. You can lower these later to see if you're stable with them at stock.

With MCH core, I'd personally start testing at 1.24V even though you're OCing the FSB. The P45 MCH IME doesn't need much voltage to OC well. 486 FSB came easily for me at 1.26V on a Q8200. Start at 1.24V and go to a max of 1.38V. Also, more isn't always better. There seems to be a certain "good value" for some, and any more/less fails.

[noobster]

@Lsdmeasap and @Psycho101, tnx for the tips, will try some of those settings. One more thing, what about Cpu ref and MCH ref, should i leave them on AUTO or something else? :)

[Lsdmeasap]

Leave CPU ref until much later, you can try MCH ref now if you like though, there is a link in my signature on how to properly set that.

It can be tricky though, so you may want to leave that until later as well.

[Psycho101]

Yep, I'd leave both on auto for now. You should be fine up to around 4GHz with them on auto.

[noobster]

Ok, done all the things you suggested and tried some tweaking:D
I've tried CPU term from 1.30 to 1.36, and MCH core from 1.24-1.36
Vcore was on 1.40 all the time. All i got from this was numerous reboots
and BIOS went to default settings after that :(

Then i've changed the SMM back to 2.66D and i got to Windows :D
but when i tried Prime95 blend the bugger frozed after 10sec

here is a picture of settings that got me in WIndows

[Lsdmeasap]

You need more vcore then, and then try all that testing again. MCH Does not need to be more than 1.24-1.28 It is likely that even less would be usable and possibly better since you only have 2B of ram, but you may need a bit more to push a quad that high

[Psycho101]

Yes, maybe more Vcore is needed. Not all E0 stepping CPU's can manage high clocks and low voltages unfortunately.

Also try going up to 1.38-1.4 CPU termination, trying all steps along the way 1.32, 1.34, 1.36, 1.38, 1.4. Also increase Vcore to 1.4V (if temps are good) then again, try CPU Terminations the same as above, including lower ones from 1.22 upwards. it's not so much about increasing CPU Term, but just finding the actual value. Also as CPU Term increases, CPU and MCH Ref change with it. As well as adjusting them separately, there seems to be a need for a finite value for them set with a combination of manually altering Refs and scaling them up with CPU Term.