Overclocking a Q8300 on a Gigabyte EP43t MB

[pitin]

( I hope I don't get in trouble for copying this post here, because it was originally in the Overclocking section, forgive me i'm making something illegal to the forum)

Hi to everyone reading this post. I'm new to this forum, and to the whole overclocking thing, and I have some doubts about it. Since some months ago, I adquired a Core2 Q8300 (@2.5mhz) proccesor, a Gigabyte Ep43t motherboard, 3x 1gb DDR3 @1333mhz Corsair and a 1x 2gb @1333mhz Kingstone RAMs working at the default settings, and a V8(Cooler Master) proccesor cooler. I'm confused, because I saw on hwbot.org, a guy that OCd this proccesor to 3,9mhz, with a GA-EP45-UD3R MB with Air cooling method (pileto's 3952.76 mhz CPU-Z run with Core 2 Q8300 (2.5Ghz) @ 3952.8MHz), while I'm only able to reach 3.1 mhz... The problem is, that in the site, there are no specifications about what he did to reach this, and, in the CPU-Z screenshot, doesn't appear the voltage set up for the proccesor. So, without touching too much, I reached only 3,1mhz by changing the multiplier to 7.0, the "fine" to 0.5, so the multiplier final value is 7.5. The FSB Clock to 419 and the VCore to 1.45v. Can someone help me to reach a higher clock speed, because when I turn up the voltage, and the FSB, my computer won't start :(. Fortunately, after a new configuration fails, the motherboard put automatically the older values to make it start... Any ideas/suggestions

(I'm really sorry if my post it's difficult to understand, my english is not the best)

Edit: By the time I wrote this post... I didn't run any "stress test" to my CPU... so when I arrived home, i used Intel Burn Test... and at the second round, an error message appeared, telling me that my cpu wasn't stable! D:! So that means, that my 3,1mhz "achievement" was worthless 8(

[Chike]

3.1GHz i about all you can get from this motherboard(P43 chipset) FSB limit is around 420MHz.
You may need to even lower the FSB few notches to get stable.
Please follow steps 1-4 in this post to provide more info about your specs and settings (post 2 MemSet spd screen shots onr for the Corsair and one for the Kingstone).

[pitin]

Ok so, I've already updated my signature;

Here's the link for the Corsair RAMs:

XMS3

And for the Kingston RAM, I only got this, from the store where I bought it, because the Kingston site wasn't very helpful...

-Model: KVR1333D3N9/2G
-Type: DIMM SDRAM-DDR3
-Standard: DDR -1333 (PC3 - 10600)
-Timings:
*CAS (CL): 9
*RAS - CAS (tRCD): 9
*Preload Time RAS (tRP): 9
-240 Pins, 1,5 Volts

Here's the BIOS template with my data:

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster -------------- : [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio ---------------------- : [7x]
Fine CPU Clock Ratio ----------------- : [+0.5] <-- ignore if not available
CPU Frequency ---------------------: 2.50Ghz(333 x 7,5) <-- this is set by your bios

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

Advanced Clock Control ------- [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive ---------------------- : [800mv]
PCI Express Clock Drive -------------- : [900mv]
CPU Clock Skew (ps) ------------------ : [0ps]
MCH Clock Skew (ps) ------------------ : [0ps]

DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance ------------------- : [Standard]
Extreme Memory Profile --- (X.M.P.) --- : [Disabled] <--- Wasn't in my BIOS
(G)MCH Frequency Latch ---------------- : [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier -------------- : [Auto]
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ---------------- : 1333 1333
DRAM Timing Selectable ---------------- : [Auto]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time -------9----------- : [Auto]
tRCD --------------------9----------- : [Auto]
tRP ---------------------9------------ : [Auto]
tRAS ------------------- 24 ---------- : [Auto]

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD ------------------- 5 ---------- : [Auto]
tWTR -------------------5 ---------- : [Auto]
tWR --------------------10 ---------- : [Auto]
tRFC ------------------- 74 ---------- : [Auto]
tRTP ------------------- 5 ---------- : [Auto]
Command Rate (CMD) -------------------- : [0]

Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength --------- : [Auto]

Channel A
Static tRead Value -----------------------: 7 [Auto]
tRD Phase0 Adjustment ------------------ : [Auto]
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 --------------------- : 7 [Auto]
tRD Phase0 Adjustment ------------------ : [Auto]
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
Voltage Types------------ Normal -------- Current -----
Load-Line Calibration ----------------- : [Disabled]
CPU Vcore --------------- 1.2875v ---- : [Auto] ( I had it on 1,45v when I had the FSB clock on 419, but like it was unstable, I just put the original value)
CPU Termination --------- 1.200V ----- : [Auto]
CPU PLL ----------------- 1.550V ----- : [Auto]

CPU Reference ----------- 0.805V* ----- : [Auto]
CPU Reference2 ---------- ?.???V* ----- : [Auto] <- wasn't in the BIOS, all the CPU values are the "Optimal Settings" values.

MCH/ICH
MCH Core ---------------- 1.100V ------- : [Auto]
MCH Reference ----------- 0.760V ------- : [Auto]
xMCH/DRAM Ref ------------ ?.???V ------ : [Auto]
ICH I/O ----------------- 1.550V ------- : [Auto]
ICH Core ---------------- 1.100V ------- : [Auto]
DRAM
DRAM Voltage ------------ 1.500V ------- : [Auto]
DRAM Termination -------- 0.750V ------- : [Auto]
xChannel A Reference ----- ?.???V ------- : [Auto] no channel references
xChannel B Reference ----- ?.???V ------- : [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]

All values in the Advanced settings are the same that on the Template.

Integrated Peripherals
xLegacy USB Storage Detect ------------- : [Disabled] wasn't in the BIOS

CoreTemp SS

[pitin]

Easy Tune 6 SS



CPU Z MB SS



CPU-Z CPU SS



MemSet for Corsair RAMs



MemSet for Kingston RAM



so... Any suggestions on how to OC this CPU? What to move/ What not to move... help me! please!

[Chike]

Here is the link to the kingstone module specs.
So you are currently not overclocked at all?
How are the DIMMs populated?

[Chike]

OK I swee how they populated, need to check Intel's site to see the best way to populate them.

[pitin]

Noo, not overclock at all... after I realized that my system was unstable I set all settings to default. Not even with the ET6 OC. Thank you for replying :)

[Chike]

Don't OC with ET6.
If you have not loaded optimized defaults it is suggested to do so.
Try the following changes in MIT

Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control --------------- : [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) --------------: [400]

DRAM Performance Control
System Memory Multiplier -------------- : [3.33D]

Motherboard Voltage Control
CPU
Voltage Types------------ Normal -------- Current -----
Load-Line Calibration ----------------- : [Disabled] <<< may enable
CPU Vcore --------------- 1.2875v ---- : [1.3-1.365]
CPU Termination --------- 1.200V ----- : [1.22-1.26] 
CPU PLL ----------------- 1.550V ----- : [1.55-1.57] 


MCH/ICH
MCH Core ---------------- 1.100V ------- : [1.2-1.24] 

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ------------ 1.500V ------- : [1.5-1.6] <<< note: with auto actually 1.6 was applied

All the rest same as you have posted.
If you have any question involving failed settings please post full settngs.
Try the higher values for Vcore, MCH Core, and DRAM Voltage first, for the rest try lower values first.

[pitin]

Ok, I'll try the settings when I arrive home, right now, I'm in class. Again, thank you very much ...


PD: Another question... For how long is recommended to run stability tests, on a software like OCCT (for example)??

[Chike]

IBT(Intel Burn Test)/LinX 10 runs with max memory (if temperatures allows it).
I use Prime95 myself, 1-2 hours small and large FFT in place and 8+ hours blend.
For 400x7.5 IBT/LinX should yield 39+ GFlops.