Gigabyte X38/P35/P965 (DS* DQ* S3) Overclocking and General BIOS tweaking Guide

[Lsdmeasap]

Gigabyte X38/P35/P965 (DS* DQ* S3) overclocking and BIOS tweaking Guide

The Gigabyte P35 boards and X38 use a bios and chipset that is so identical to the P965 this guide is perfectly usable for the P35 and X38, you might find minor differences and a few extra high end tweaking options but it will not be anything critical.

A Guide to Gigabyte Overclocking and BIOS Tweaks

DRAFT

If you follow the steps of this guideline you can expect to:

• Have a good set of tools installed to know exactly how fast and how hot your computer is running at all times.
• Verify that even at stock speeds you are getting as much out of your machine as you can.
• Get quite a bit of extra performance for free with no loss of reliability or stabiity with a minor or medium overclock. (with no major noise increase)
• Obtain the most from your machine possible without compromising reliabiity or stability.
• Some tips for making minor modifications to your board for maximum performance. If you have not built your machine yet, you should check that out first.

To do properly this will take some time, a lot actually, but it does not all have to be done at once.
And it is so easy a Cave...

I welcome constructive comments, suggestions for improvments and definitely let me know if you find any errors. I have a DQ6 it is very similar but its not a DS3 so a few things I have had to rely on others experiences.

This guide assumes you can get the board to boot at default "out of the box" settings and you can get into the BIOS without issues. It also assumes the OS is installed and the latest drivers video have been installed, Windows is completely updated and a working internet connection is available. This guide will also be helpful if you are experiencing random lockups or BSOD's (Blue Screen Of Death) as the first two sections will make sure your basic hardware settings are correct and tested.

We are going to reset your board to factory defaults and proceed in a methodical way that is assured to take you to the the non-bleeding edge of your boards performance. The manual is that little book that was in the box with the motherboard, go pull it out of the drawer, blow the dust off, and keep it handy please.

We are going to proceed in 4 phases:

• Preperation
  • Collection of Software Tools, Utilities, Drivers etc. -post 1
  • Tool Installation - post 1
  • Update BIOS - post 1
• Standard High Performance Setup With no Overclock - Recording the Baseline.
  • Memory Timings Example - post 2
  • Complete List of Recommended BIOS Settings - post 2
  • Settings to Record. - post 2
  • BIOS Clearing and Recovery Tricks.- post 3
• Small or Medium Overclock for Increased Performance With no Loss of Reliability or Stability
• High Performance Overclocking.

Preperation
We are now going to gather some standard tools and information we need. You may have some of them already and can skip that tool. I do not have Vista installed (and will not until SP1 arrives ;) ) and there is a work around that works with the Coretemp utility and should work with the others so they will run under Vista. As a last resort Gigabyte provides a tool we can monitor temperatures with but in general it is a bloated resourse hog and should be avoided if possible.

Collection of Tools.

• Make a new folder on your desktop and name it "OC Utils" or something like that.
• Download the following into the new folder. Please do NOT install yet.
  • Download cpu-z to monitor speeds and memory settings. The DL link is at upper right.
    CPUID
  • Download Coretemp to monitor temps. (updated to work in Vista :) )
    http://www.thecoolest.zerobrains.com/CoreTemp/
  • Download Orthos to stress test.
    Orthos_20060420.zip
  • Download Intel TAT (Thermal Analysis Tool) for extreme stress testing. (Download will start immediately.) - (Designed for XP, Dual Core CPU detection only)
    [url=http://www.overclock.net/attachments/downloads/36838d1165737331-intel-tat-tat.zip[/url]
  • Download MemSet to investigate memory sub-timings. Click the "MemSet" link in the first post.
    New memory tweaker for chipsets Intel. - XtremeSystems Forums
  • Download Memtest86+ to test memory. Different download versions at the bottom of the page. This utility is different than the previous ones. It contains its own operating system and you boot with it. I recommend the .iso file and burning a CD but the floppy version works just as well. You should use the one you have the best ability to create. Go ahead and create your Floppy or CD after the download, label it, and trash the downloaded file.
    Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool
• Visit Gigabytes web site, find the product page for your exact board and bookmark it.
  • Go here: GIGABYTE - Product - Motherboard - Main Page
  • In the "By Series" drop down box choose "GA-9xxxx "
  • In the "Model Name " drop down box find your exact MB and version.
  • CAREFULL! This is most likely NOT your board, see the "G" ? GA-965G-DS3
    This is the one with onboard graphics. Do Not use this unless this IS your board.
  • Once you are postive you are on the correct product page for your board, please click the "Drivers" link on the upper right. Let the page load. I have noticed at my screen resolution it appears nothing happened but if I scroll down I find the new information.
  • Bookmark (Add to Favorites) this page please. You will be coming here often.
• Make a new folder on your desktop and name it "Bios and Drivers" or something like that.
• Double check that this page is for your exact board and version. Carefully look over the list of drivers and paying careful attention to the operating system each driver is intended for, get the latest copy of each driver and download into the folder you just created. Make a note of the driver version number in your notes, this is a MUST as you will notice the version number is not present in the driver file name. Later when you come back it will be difficult to remember if you have the latest driver and this will save you a lot of clicking in hardware manager. For the Realtek Audio driver notice that if you are running Windows 2000,Windows XP,Windows Sever 2003 you need the Microsoft UAA driver and it should be installed first (but not now). If you never intend to run a RAID array there is no need to grab those but you should anyway (Hmm that makes a lot of sense /shrug)
• Please click the "BIOS" link on the upper right. Download the latest BIOS file for your board into the new folder. If you want some earlier ones grab them as well, some are reported to give better overclocking but for this guide we will leave that for your investigation after we do what we can with the latest version.

For reference only, in case we do get desperate, come back here and do this. But not now.

• VISTA - If using Vista download the utility EasyTune 5 from Gigabytes webs site but do not install, its going to be saved for a last resort, I have found tips for making better tools work under Vista and we want to try them first, but grab it while we are here.
  • (click the "Utility" link on the right hand side of page then click "Utility" link on the left hand side to get to it. Weird huh ? )
  • A Quick overview of how to use it is here:
  • EasyTune 5
  • (Play with it until you understand what is what and where is what. do NOT use it to attempt to overclock, find the temps and voltages, thats what we need to monitor.

Tool Installation

Note: Most of these utilities have been updated for use with Vista and the procedures below are not needed. I leave them in place just in case.

In order for some of these tools to install and work with Vista the following procedure has to be done. XP people should skip this.
64-bit Vista needs steps 1 and 2
32-bit Vista needs just step 2 (but if it does not work, restart and do steps 1 and 2
Here is a web page that describes what must be done:
ALCPU Forums :: View topic - Get Core Temp running on Vista x64 - A workaround

In case the web page is not available.

Step 1:

Restart your system, and start hitting the F8 key until you get to the Windows boot menu.

Select "Disable Driver Signature Enforcement"

Hit the Enter key and Vista will continue to load.

Step 2:

Go to your "OC utils" folder and right click on each program and select "Properties". In properties go to the "Compatibility" tab and check "Run this program as an Administrator".

64-bit Vista users will have to do step 1 every time they start Vista and want to use these programs.
32-bit Vista users and step 2 for 64-bit Vista users, I am not sure, you will find out quick enough

[Lsdmeasap]

OK, everyone install the programs, several just unzip so just let it expand in place creating an sub-folder and then move the compressed download package down into its folder for safe keeping or trash it. If the program did a "normal" install trash the download package. Find or make a shortcut for each of the actual programs and place it on your desktop. Start each one and take a look if you have not used them before.

Updating the BIOS

First we are going to update the bios to the latest version (skip if not needed).
This procedure uses the flash utility built into the BIOS and a floppy drive (you can use a usb drive or the HD see the manual - only FAT file systems are supported) . Other methods are available but NOT recommended. The internet and windows based utilities have killed many a board. Do NOT update the bios with the machine overclocked. Get into the bios and reset to factory defaults, reboot and then flash.

• Prepare a floppy by doing a full format in the A: drive. If any bad sectors occur or any odd things happen, trash it and get another floppy disk. Use new ones if at all possible.
• Go to your "Bios and Drivers" folder and find the bios file you want to use, it should be named something like " motherboard_bios_ga-965p-ds3_f10.exe". Notice the BIOS version is part of the file name.
• Double click (or whatever) to run/execute the file.
• A window should pop up with an "install to" data bar and a "browse" button. Use the "browse" button to indicate to the extraction program that the A:\ is the destination (or wherever). I will assume the A: drive, use what you use. Click the "install" button.
• Open the A: drive in File Explorer and look at the file named like 965PDS3.F10, notice again the version is part of the file name, right click on it and look at the "Properties", It should be exactly 1MB (1,048,576 bytes) , If not ABORT, download again, and restart at the beginning of this section. do NOT proceed until this is resolved.
• Save anything you were doing and shutdown the machine and restart
• Start tapping the "Delete key" like a crazed woodpecker and get into the BIOS main screen.
• Open your manual GASP! and find the appendix concerning Q-Flash and follow the directions carefully. This is easy, do not panic. Ok. When finished the machine should reboot.
• Make like a woodpecker again, and when in the main BIOS screen select "Load BIOS Fail-Safe Defaults" and press "Enter" when prompted. Select "Save and Exit" from the menu and respond "Y" and the machine will reboot.
  Let it boot to windows. (**NOTE** DO NOT Let it boot to windows if you are Using a RAID setup, your RAID WILL FAIL)

STOP

A lot of people are having perceived issues with (mainly DS3's) and what is called the cold boot issue.

This issue seems to consist of 2 issues as far as I can tell.

Failure to boot, clear cmos does not work, board is boat anchor.

Bios settings not retained on reboot.
(Several users have found that legacy USB devices are the cause of this issue. Try removing all un-needed USB devices and see if the issue goes away).

Actually the second problem is the classic "cold boot" as first reported.

I highly recommend you install the Xpress Recovery2 untility with a small partition size. It appears the bios recovery utility is part of the Xpress Recovery progam and if the hidden partition exists, when flashing the bios a backup copy of the bios is put in the hidden partition. This might help avoid the issue of the board becoming unbootable. It is not clear if you are required to actually back up your HD data or not, I think not. However I cannot test this due to my hardware configuration. Note that the Xprerss Recovery will not work if your primary (boot) disk is a RAID.

Guess what Woody ? Peck away again at "Delete Key" and get the main BIOS screen but now we will have some fun.

[Lsdmeasap]

Well, I lied about the "fun" part.

Standard high performance setup with no overclock - recording the baseline

You need to know your rams specified speed and voltage ! If you do not, go find out now.
It is almost always given as a series of four hyphenated numbers corresponding to the CAS latency, RAS-to-CAS delay, RAS precharge, and active-to-precharge delay, like 5-5-5-15, 4-4-4-12 etc.

The good news is that they are entered in the same order as typically given in specs.

Example
Assume memory with rating of 4 - 5 - 3 -15 using 2.1V, (programmed with SPD settings of 5 5 5 15), it will be used in this example and below in the bios settings listing as an example, you should of course find and use your memory timings and voltage as recommended by the manufacturer.

CAS latency (CL) — CAS latency refers to the delay between when a read operation is issued and when the data returned by that read is considered valid. ( 4 in our example)

RAS-to-CAS delay (tRCD) — The RAS-to-CAS delay occurs between the time a row is activated and when the first read or write operation is performed. (5 in our example)

RAS precharge (tRP) — The RAS precharge is the delay between when a precharge command is issued to close a row and when the next active command can be issued. (3 in our example)

Active-to-Precharge delay (tRAS) — This latency actually spans several steps in the memory access process. The active-to-precharge delay refers to the minimum number of cycles that must elapse between an active and precharge command. (15 in our example)

There are more, commonly called sub-timings but it will be a while before we get into that, leave them on [AUTO] as changes require some serious tweaking and testing and you can render your board un-bootable.

From the main BIOS screen press the <Ctrl> and <F1> function key (Ctrl+F1) at the same time to enable advanced settings under the M.I.T. sub menu.

Modify your BIOS settings per below.
Example BIOS Ver.: GA-965P-DS3, F10a (your menus may differ slightly but nothing you can not figure out)

The column of memory timings under SPD in the M.I.T screen is a recent addition, you might not see it on some BIOS versions. SPD is a chip on the memory stick with preprogrammed memory timings to help the computer first boot up. These timings are usually much looser than what the manuf advertises and what the memory can actually do, performance wise. That is why we change the memory timings settings to manual control and manually put in the manufacturers advertised high performance timings settings and voltage setting.

Red items are changes from default settings that directly affect overclocking or optimal operation.
Orange items are items you need to set based on your unique hardware
Green items are items that do not affect overclocking and seldom if ever need to be changed
No color used are items that may or may not, mostly not, need to be looked at. Check your manual if unsure.
References and notes about an options will be in Blue so that the Red items needing your attention stand out.

Any comments by me are either beside the item with an "<---" or directly below the item I am commenting on.

[Lsdmeasap]

Standard CMOS Features
All you should need to do here is set the date and time, verify your drives are all there and if you have a floppy the correct type is shown, 1.44M, 3.5 has been the standard floppy for many years. Take a look and make sure the total memory shown agrees with what you have installed.


Advanced BIOS Features
Hard Disk Boot Priority [Press Enter]
First Boot Device__________ [CDROM] <-- use whatever device you have memtest created on.
Second Boot Device_________ [Hard Disk]
Third Boot Device__________ [Floppy] <-- if installed or CD if first is floppy, its not critical.
Password Check_____________ [Setup]
HDD S.M.A.R.T. Capability__ [Disabled]
You can turn this on if you want I am not sure if OCing is affected or not. I would wait till we are all happy then turn it on later.
CPU Hyper-Threading________ [Disabled]
C2D's do not Hyper-Thread, two cores are really there.
CPU Multi-Threading________ [Enabled]
Not to be confused with the above, some BIOS's offer one or the other. Hyper-Threading is for older P4 CPU's, and can be disabled unless you are using one. Multi-Threading should be enabled if you have this option and a Core 2 DUO Based CPU in order to enable all cores.
Limit CPUID Max. to 3______ [Disabled]
For using new CPU's with old Operating Systems, not needed.
No-Execute Memory Protect__ [Disabled]
Security Feature -Prevents the execution of code in data-only memory, do not need just now .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NX_bit
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)____ [Disabled]
Disable for for now - Thermal management
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2)_ [Enabled]
Per my understanding of data sheets this will only affect the CPU when it is way too hot. If it affects overclocking it is because the CPU cooling is inadequate so it is set to Enable for safety. If you have proper cooling it should have no effect on overclocking unless you are at extreme temps and we do not want to go there and MB temp alarm should go off first anyway
Enable for now - Thermal management
CPU EIST Function__________ [Disabled]
There is some discussion that EIST does not affect overclocking as the processor will run full speed when needed and slow down when idle reducing temps and in general being a well behaved nice thing. It does take some system memory. For now we will disable it until we have the machine characterized because the FSB jumping around will drive us nuts. It can be turned on later once we know what the machine will do and if we take notes as recommended you will immediately be able to see the results of enabling this, for now, disabled.
Virtualization Technology__ [Disabled]
If you need this, you know it.
http://www.intel.com/technology/virtualization/
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtualization_Technology
Full Screen LOGO Show______ [Disabled]
Logo thing is a personal preference If you like it, leave it enabled, I like to see whats going on.
Init Display First_________ [PEG]
Enable PCI-e Video card first.

Integrated Peripherals
SATA AHCI Mode__________ [AHCI] <-- see the link below, if you use AHCI make absolutely certain you drive is set up (jumpers, manuf config utility, etc.) for 3.0Gb/s operation
http://www.intel.com/support/chipset.../cs-015988.htm
SATA Port0-3 Native Mode [Enabled] <-- if XP SP2 or newer otherwise [Disabled]
USB Controller__________ [Enabled]
USB 2.0 Controller______ [Enabled]
USB Keyboard Support____ [As your hardware requires]
USB Mouse Support_______ [As your hardware requires]
Legacy USB storage detect[As your hardware requires]
Unless you have a USB hard drive attached disable USB storage (will not affect thumb drives).
Azalia Codec____________ [Auto] <--- Disable if you have a sound card.
Onboard H/W LAN_________ [Enabled]
SMART LAN_______________ [Press Enter]
Onboard LAN Boot ROM____ [Disabled]
Onboard SATA/IDE Device_ [Enabled]
Onboard SATA/IDE Ctrl Mode [IDE]
IDE/RAID if running a raid on the jmicron controllers.
Onboard Serial Port 1___ [Disabled unless you have a need for it]
Onboard Parallel Port___ [Disabled unless you have a need for it]
Parallel Port Mode______ [SPP]


Power Management Setup
ACPI Suspend Type [S1(POS)]
Soft-Off by PWR-BTTN [Delay 4 Sec.]
Highly recommended, you MUST hold the power button in for 4 sec to turn off the machine, this allows time for disk drive buffers to flush. Short push should put computer into sleep mode or shutdown if Windows set up to allow it.
PME Event Wake Up_________ [Disabled]
Power On by Ring__________ [Disabled]
Resume by Alarm___________ [Disabled]
x Date (of Month) Alarm Everyday
x Time (hh:mm:ss) Alarm 0 : 0 : 0
HPET Support (Note)_______ [Enabled]
Supported on Vista operating system only. But no problems with it being enabled
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Precision_Event_Timer
http://www.intel.com/hardwaredesign/hpetspec_1.pdf
HPET Mode_________________ [32-bit mode] <-- 64-bit mode on 64 bit OS's
Power On By Mouse_________ [Double Click] <-- this is nice check it out:p (may not work with wireless or USB mice)
Power On By Keyboard______ [Disabled] <-- if you have a fancy Kb do it.
KB Power ON Password______ [Enter]
AC Back Function__________ [Soft-Off]


PnP/PCI Configurations
PCI1 IRQ Assignment [Auto]
PCI2 IRQ Assignment [Auto]
PCI3 IRQ Assignment [Auto]

PC Health Status
Reset Case Open Status [Disabled]
Case Opened No
Vcore OK
DDR18V OK
+3.3V OK
+12V OK
Current System Temperature 40oC <-- thermistor located near the end of the 16x PCI-3 slot.
Current CPU Temperature 47C <-- thermistor located in or near the cpu socket.
Current CPU FAN Speed 3375 RPM
Current SYSTEM FAN Speed 0 RPM
Current POWER FAN Speed 0 RPM
CPU Warning Temperature___ [80oC / 176oF] <--Never set above 80 (I use 70)
CPU FAN Fail Warning______ [Enabled] <--stock HS-fan or 3/4 wire HS-fan, otherwise disable if CPU fan has no rpm monitor lead (2 pin fan)
SYSTEM FAN Fail Warning___ [Enabled] <--Disable if no rpm monitor on fan
POWER FAN Fail Warning____ [Disabled] <---Use it if ya got it.
Smart FAN Control Method__ [Disable] <--Forces CPU fan to always run full speed.
Smart FAN Control Mode____ [Auto]
Once Method is disabled it does not matter what Mode is set to, fan should run 100% all the time. Later once you determine how the temps are running with your over clock you can come back and enable this and EIST as well to keep the fan noise under control.

[Lsdmeasap]

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster___________ [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio (Note)____________ [XX] <<<----CPU Multiplier
This should be set to your processors highest multiplier, for now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...icroprocessors
The option will display "Locked" and read only if the CPU ratio is not changeable.
CPU Host Clock Control_ [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz)__________ [266] <<<----FSB Speed (Front Side Buss)
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz)_______ [102]
C.I.A. 2__________________________ [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)____ [2.00]
This is a 1:1 divider, memory speed will be 2x FSB.
Memory Frequency (Mhz) 533
Your actual memory operating speed is always show above.
DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD __ [Manual]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Presence_Detect
CAS Latency Time_____________ 5 ____ [4] <--use your rams values, (CL)
Dram RAS# to CAS# Delay______ 5 ____ [5] <--use your rams values (tRCD)
Dram RAS# Precharge Delay_____5 ____ [3] <--use your rams values (tRP)
Precharge Delay (tRAS)________15 ____[12] <--use your rams values (tRAS)
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)_______4 _____[auto]
Rank Write to READ Delay______3 _____[auto]
Write to Precharge Delay______6 _____[auto]
Refresh to ACT Delay________42 ______[0]
Read to Precharge Delay_______4 _____[auto]
Memory Performance Enhance__________ [Normal]
This setting tells the BIOS to look at your memory for the existence of an EPP
(Enhanced Performance Profile) stored in your memories SPD chip.
I have confirmed this works, if the memory has EPPs, and improves performance. Leave set to Normal for now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Presence_Detect
http://www.corsairmicro.com/corsair/...cation_v01.pdf
High Speed DRAM DLL Settings________ [Option 1]

******** System Voltage NOT Optimized ******** <<---IGNORE This.
System Voltage Control____ [Manual]
DDR2 OverVoltage Control__ [+0.300V] <-- default is 1.8V, 1.8 + 0.3V = 2.1V set this to add up to your ram's voltage requirement.
PCI-E OverVoltage Control_ [+0.1V] <--- a little extra for stability
FSB OverVoltage Control___ [+0.1V] <--- a little extra for stability
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control [+0.1V] <--- a little extra for stability
CPU Voltage Control_______ [Per chart below] <--- very mild overvoltage so we can start playing soon SEE WARNING BELOW !
DANGER - Intel spec for Vcore absolute maximum is 1.55V. The BIOS will let you set a ridiculous high voltage, be careful. !!
Normal CPU Vcore 1.3250V

CPU Voltage chart. (minor overvoltage for stability)
E4300 1.35
E6300 1.35
E6400 1.35
E6600 1.375
E6700 1.375
X6800 1.375
Q6600 1.38
QX6700 1.38

After making these changes press <Esc> to return to the main menu and STOP!
PRESS THE <F11> KEY
Type in "Baseline" (without the quote marks)
Press <Enter>
Save Changes and Exit CMOS.

Let the machine load windows.
[LIST][*]Start CPU-z: make a note of Core Speed, Multiplier and Buss Speed. (Core Speed should be your Intel CPU stock speed)[*]Start coretemp: make a note of Core #1 temp and Core #2 temp they should not be above 40C typically.[*]Leave coretemp running and start Orthos, run the Blend test and watch your temps, remember anything over 65C (and at these almost stock settings you should not be anywhere near that) is cause for concern and you should shut the system down.[*]Let Orthos run for 5 minutes if temps seem reasonable and then record your load temps for both cores.


I make a spreadsheet kinda thing on graph paper and record the critical values in columns, marking the one I change on the next test. I strongly suggest you do something similar. These are the critical settings we are going to be adjusting.

CPU Speed
CPU Voltage
CPU Multi
FSB
Divider
Mem Speed
Mem Volts
CAS
RAS to CAS
RAS Precharge
Precharge Delay
ACT to ACT
Write to READ
Write to Precharge
Refresh to ACT
Read to Precharge
Memory Perf Enh
High Speed DRAM
DDR2 OverVoltage
PCI-E OverVoltage
FSB OverVoltage
MCH OverVoltage
Core 1 temp IDLE
Core 2 temp IDLE
Core 1 temp LOAD
core 2 temp LOAD
super PI 2M time.

Hang in there ! Almost playtime

Gigabytes Gone WILD !!!


In preparation for our little adventure we need to make sure we understand what happens when the board is "not happy". We will try to avoid "not happy" by being methodical but it is going to happen, a lot. The first thing is that when we change something important in the BIOS, the board will try very hard to use our settings and begin a cycle of powering off and attempting to reboot, after several cycles it will either find settings that work or reset the CPU back to stock speeds by disabling the "manual" settings for CPU frequency and PCI frequency and using the "safe" SPD memory timings. When it does this you will get the single "BEEP" indication the POST succeeded. Be ready to hit the "Del" key to get back in the BIOS and fix where we went to far. So get used to hitting Ctrl+F1 at the main BIOS screen. You will have to redo the three items below as well as address whatever it is we did to cause the problem. The good news is that no other settings should have changed. (Also see "Using Stored Profiles.." below, it eliminates the need to manually fix most things.)

Normally, under the M.I.T. sub-menu the settings below is all that needs to be checked and reentered/enabled.
(and fix whatever it is we did to make it un-happy)

CPU Host Clock Control____________ [Enabled]
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz)_______ [102]
DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD _[Manual]

Now the bad news. Sometimes we can really freak it out and it will just keep cycling, no worries, I give it 5 cycle tries and with my finger on the power switch on the back of the power supply, catch it when it powers down and flip the switch off. We will be forced to clear the CMOS/BIOS and this will erase a lot of our settings back to factory defaults. :eek: You did take notes on all your setting changes, right ? Bah, I warned ya.

[Lsdmeasap]

But here are a couple of tricks to make the recovery from insanity quicker and much less painful:

Clearing the CMOS/BIOS (Restoring the BIOS settings to factory defaults and a neat trick)

Please check your manual for the procedure for Clearing the CMOS, pgs. 29 and 30 of the DS3/S3 manual I have, and usually in the Troubleshooting section. pg 82. also. OK, look on your board and find the jumper pins for clearing the CMOS. Now in your manual find the diagram that shows where the front panel switches and LEDs connect to the motherboard (pg 25) and take note of where the reset switch is plugged into the motherboard header, on current versions its on the bottom, closest to the edge of the board and the one to the right toward the front of the board. Yank it off ! Now connect it to the CLR_CMOS pins ! Huh ? Yep, we do not need reset, the computer tries to do that on its own and hitting reset from the front panel is hecka lot easier than messing with the battery etc. We will put it back when play time is over, although I do not have a good reason why we should even bother. So now, to clear the CMOS, just hold in the reset button and count to 10. This works great on my DQ6, as I mentioned I do not have a DS-3 but there is no reason it should not work.

Saving Our Baseline BIOS Settings

Using Q-Flash to Save our Initial BIOS Setup

Read page 60 of the manual concerning Q-Flash, it will work with a floppy or USB drive formated with FAT32. I will talk about using a floppy, you do what you have to do. Find a new floppy, do a full format, if anything weird shows up, trash it and try another, and reboot, tapping the "End" key to get into Q-Flash immediately or "Del" to go into the BIOS main menu and then hit the "F8" key. From the menu select "Save BIOS to Drive" and when prompted give the file a name like baseline.f10 or overclock.f10. Please add the .XYY of the bios version just like the original BIOS file from Gigabyte so if you tell them apart if accumulate a lot of them. Since they are 1MB in size you can only get one BIOS file on a floppy. OK so now if everything goes south we can get back to our baseline. I have flashed my machine a lot with Q-Flash and a floppy but any BIOS flash is inherently dangerous (My DQ6 has a backup on board, really sweet). So I strongly suggest you take a look at the next section, it makes things sooo much easier.

Using Stored Profiles is the Preferred Method

As there is some risk with the full flash method above, after you make a hard BIOS backup, see if your board supports this feature and use it. It will save a LOT of time. From the main BIOS screen, look at the bottom and see if there is an "F11: Save CMOS to BIOS", if so this is a great thing to use. Go ahead and hit F11, an 8 slot menu should pop up, you use your arrow keys to move up and down. Highlight one of the "Default" entries, and type in "Baseline" or something like that, space over any remaining letters of the "default" if they exist, and hit the enter key to close the menu. From the main BIOS screen hit "Exit and Save Settings", your are done. On reboot hit "del", get into the BIOS and change something easy to find. Now go back to main menu, hit "F12: Load CMOS to BIOS", select the entry you just made with your arrow keys and hit "Enter". Go look at what you changed a minute ago, its back to what it was! Neato. This is great for OC testing, I have a "TEST" profile I use and a "Stable OC" and a "Baseline" profile. This does NOT eliminate the need to write stuff down but you should get comfortable using this. Just every time you make a change, BEFORE "Exit and Save Changes" use F11 and save your stuff to the "TEST" or whatever you named it profile. Tip - don't mess with your "Baseline" profile, ever, make another one. With 8 slots you can figure out a method that works for you.

----------- work in progress below here, use at own risk ---- There is nothing horribly wrong or incorrect in the following I have just, not finished, double checked the logical progression and am basically getting a first cut down and it needs to be gone through again simplified and triple checked for errors.

Instant Gratification

As a reward for wading through all this stuff, lets take a minute and "play toys". We are just going to do a "quickie" overclock try to boot and load into windows. As soon as you can get Coretemp fired up in windows and check you temp. If the heatsink is installed correctly you should not be over 55C even with stock heatsink. We have our baseline profile saved, right ? right!.

Find your CPU in the table below on the left and move right until you get to the column that is your memory.

The values listed are CPU clock ratio (multiplier) - Memory Divider - FSB (Host Clock Speed) and at the very end the speed your CPU will be running. For example if you have an E6400 and PC6400 memory set your multiplier to 8, your memory divider to 2.0 and and FSB to 333MHz in the M.I.T menu and after rebooting it should run at about 2.664GHz.


Example using E6400 and PC6400 settings from the table below:

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)

Robust Graphics Booster___________ [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio _________________ [8] <<<----CPU Multiplier from table for E6400 + PC6400
CPU Host Clock Control____________ [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz)_________ [333] <<<----FSB Speed (Front Side Buss) from table for E6400 + PC6400
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz)_______ [102]
C.I.A. 2__________________________ [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)_____ [2.00] <<--- Memory Divider from table for E6400 + PC6400


_________PC2-5300 ____ PC2-6400______ PC2-7200 ____ PC2-8000 ___ PC2-8500___aprox speed

E4300__9 - 2.5 - 266 __ 9 - 3.0 - 266 __ 9 - 3.3 - 266 __ 9 - 3.3 - 266 _9 - 4.0 - 266_2394

E6300__7 - 2.0 - 333 __ 7 - 2.0 - 366 __ 7 - 2.0 - 366 __ 7 - 2.5 - 366 _7 - 2.5 - 366_2664

E6400__8 - 2.0 - 333 __ 8 - 2.0 - 333 __ 8 - 2.5 - 333 __ 8 - 3.0 - 333 _8 - 3.0 - 333_2664

E6600__8 - 2.0 - 333 __ 7 - 2.0 - 400 __ 7 - 2.0 - 400 __ 7 - 2.5 - 400 _7 - 2.5 - 400_2800

E6700__9 - 2.0 - 333 __ 8 - 2.0 - 375 __ 8 - 2.0 - 375 __ 8 - 2.5 - 375 _9 - 2.5 - 375_2997

X6800__10 - 2.0 - 333 __ 8 - 2.0 - 400 __ 8 - 2.0 - 400 _ 8 - 2.5 - 400 _8 - 2.5 - 400_3200

Q6600__8 - 2.0 - 333 __ 7 - 2.0 - 400 __ 7 - 2.0 - 400 __ 7 - 2.5 - 400 _7 - 2.5- 400_2800

QX6700__9 - 2.0 - 333 __ 9 - 2.0 - 375 __ 9 - 2.0 - 375 _ 9 - 2.5 - 375 _9 - 2.5- 375_2997

Back out ot the main menu, F11- Save it in a new profile, Save and Exit and a short prayer during the power cycle and reboot cant hurt.

With a little luck you should now be running with a mild overclock. Grab your notebook and jot down the results of the following. Start cpu-z and record your CPU speed and FSB, Start coretemp and check your temps both at idle and with Orthos running for a couple of minutes. If under load you are at or over 65C shut it down. Click on the "memory" tab of cpu-z and jot down the information, it should correspond to the manufactures timings we manually placed into the BIOS settings. If your temps are good, play around some. Come back when you feel like it, I will go take a nap. No hurry.

[Lsdmeasap]

Memory Characterization and Validation

The most critical aspect of overclocking your CPU is to determine just how far you can overclock you memory (and your board in general). Once we know exactly what our memory can do, it is no longer part of the variables. If you do not do this, you can never quite be sure what is limiting what and spend a lot of time changing random things and spinning in circles. With this board design the MCH (Memory Controller Hub) also becomes overclocked as FSB speeds increase and this actually tends to limit overclocking the entire system as well. There will be a more in-depth discussion in the extreme overclocking section. Regardless of the level of overclocking desired, all should go through the following steps and just quit when you are at your comfort level. First, a few words about what is normally limits the overclock on these boards.

Memory and MCH Heat Issues.
If you intend to do serious overclocking start the process now to get a fan on the MCH. Screw it on, hot melt glue, tye wraps, whatever. You must cool the MCH for reliable FSB's over 333. If you cpu has a multiplier of 9 or more its not quite as much an issue but you may find the super duper fast memory you bought was a waste of money. More on that later. During the next set of tests we need to employ the highly sensitve thermal probe located on the end of your hand. You have 10 of them so if one gets damaged its of no concern, to me :p. Each time you increment the FSB and establish a new "highest" FSB let memtest run for a few minutes and take your thermal probe (finger) and place it on a memory stick, either directly on a chip or if with heatspreaders place it in the middle of the spreader about 1/2 way down. If you can count to ten without removing your finger due to heat. you are good, if you hae to let go at 5 you are very warm and it could use some more air, how is up to you. If you cant make it to 3, you are killing your ram. You need to back off and get some air on it. We are still at stock voltage and extreme overclocking requires raising the memory voltage which produces a LOT more heat than we are creating now. So this is a serious problem if you are already running hot. Do the same thing for the MCH heatsink. It is the heatpipe/heatsink about in the middle of the board. It will probably be much hotter than a memory stick, dont damage your probe. Same deal, I think you will quickly find a fan is needed as we ramp up the FSB. Deal with it if you intend to OC. See the Hardware tweaks section for tips on putting a fan on the MCH. Repeatedly check the temp of these parts as you establish new FSB "records". The first and best thing you can do is tear off that ridiculous "bling" thin sheetmetal cover on the MCH so air can get to the fins. Flatten it back out and superglue it to your case for a "super sized" case badge, or not.

Memory/MCH Testing Strategy
Basic strategy, we will reduce the CPU multiplier to under clock the CPU and increase the Memory Mulitplier (for higher memory speeds) and raise the CPU Host Frequency (FSB) speed while we test the memory until we get errors. All of these settings are under the M.I.T. sub-menu in the BIOS. The first runs should be done at the manufactures recommended voltages. Take notes but it is probably not necessary to use the full listing I presented earlier, just keep track of CPU Host Frequency (FSB) speed, Memory Speed (FSB x 2.5) and Memory Voltage. We are going to test to find the following.

Max speed at auto timings and stock manuf specified voltage.
Max speed at auto timings and manuf highest recommended voltage.
Max speed at manual timings and stock manuf specified voltage
Max speed at manual timings and manuf highest recommended voltage.

For example my Corsar XMS is rated at 1.9V in the specifications as a stock voltage but Corsair recommends and warranties it up to 2.1V. As mentioned before, you need to know these values for your ram. Make a post in the memory forum if you have too but rely only on manufactures data sheets or the company representative. Advice from Ub3r_HzAxO8R and his buddies, etc. is to be avoided. If like me, you have more time than money, you can test each stick individually. Its not unheard of to stick a little piece of tape to the stick with the max OC info like "850FSB [email protected]".


The Memory TEST

Reboot if you have to and get into the BIOS.
From the main menu press the "F12 Key" key and load your "Baseline" profile.
Now enter the "Advanced Chipset Options" sub-menu and check that the first boot device is set to the drive that can boot Memtest.
(Easier than trying to hit the Boot Menu key during restart, hitting "Delete Key" in time is hard enough. )
Find your Memtest CD or floppy and place it in the drive

Go into the M.I.T sub menu and make ONLY the following changes:

CPU Clock Ratio __________________ [6] <<<----Set to 6, all CPU models, for testing
CPU Host Clock Control_____ [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz)____________ [Per table below]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)____ __[Per table below]
DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD __ [Auto]
DDR2 OverVoltage Control__ [+0.1] <-- default is 1.8V, 1.8 + 0.1V = 1.9V set this to add up to your ram's manufacturers stock voltage requirement. This example shows my Corsair XMS at 1.9V stock.

Verify that:
Memory Performance Enhance__________ [Normal]


Values in this table will result in a 10% (aprox.)increase in memory speed over stock.

Rating (stock spd)_____ New FSB ___ Mem spd______ New CPU spd
PC2-4300 (533Mhz)_______ 234______( 585) _________ 1.40GHz __ use 2.5 multi
PC2-5300 (667Mhz)_______ 292______( 730) _________ 1.75GHz __ use 2.5 multi
PC2-5400 (675Mhz)_______ 292______( 730) _________ 1.75GHz __ use 2.5 multi
PC2-6000 (750Mhz)_______ 330______( 825) _________ 1.98GHz __ use 2.5 multi
PC2-6400 (800Mhz)_______ 293______( 880) _________ 1.76GHz __ use 3.0 multi
PC2-7200 (900Mhz)_______ 330______( 990) _________ 1.90GHz __ use 3.0 multi
PC2-8000 (1000Mhz)______ 275______(1100) _________ 1.65GHz __ use 4.0 multi
PC2-8500 (1066Mhz)______ 325______(1130) _________ 1.95GHz __ use 4.0 multi

<Esc> to the main BIOS menu after making the changes above.
From the main BIOS screen press <F11> to save your new settings
If a "Testing" profile exists, use your arrow keys and select/highlight it.
If a "Testing" profile does not exist create one by selecting a slot and type in "Testing"
Press <Enter> to save the baseline + the new settings to the "Testing" profile.
Select/highlight "Save and Exit CMOS", press <Enter> twice.

OK, I have spent days trying to come up with tables and procedures to step through what needs to be done. Its almost impossible (for me anyway) to come up with anything simple that can cover all situations so we will rely on your brain, as it is the most powerful computer we have available. As mentioned above the point is to find out where your memory starts to have issues at stock timings and voltages. We will then repeat the testing with other timings and voltages but we need to know it all. If you change boards, processors etc. this information is worth its weight in gold. The settings in the table above are agressive, do not become discouraged if you fail the first time.

What to do

Max speed at auto timings and stock manuf specified voltage.

You should have rebooted into memtest. If not, fix it. We are going to slowly raise the CPU Host Frequency (FSB) and each test we will boot into memtest and let it run just the first 3 tests. If memtest gives you no errors, reboot, get into the BIOS and raise the CPU Host Frequency by 3MHz , save and exit, reboot into memtest, and keep repeating this procedure until errors appear. Do NOT change anything else, just the CPU Host Frequency (FSB). Take note of the CPU Host Frequency. Write it down every time you change it because its almost certain the last try will require you to reset the CMOS and the value in the BIOS will be lost. Ok, at some point errors are going to show up. We now have memtest errors, reboot into the BIOS if you can, if not Clear CMOS, boot into the BIOS and load your "testing" profile. Go into the M.I.T menu and put in the last "Good" CPU Host Frequency. Save and exit, and let memtest run for at least one full testing pass. If you get no errors, circle that last "Good" CPU Host Frequency. If you get errors, go back in the bios and reduce the CPU Host Frequency by 2MHz and keep doing this with a memtest run until you get at least 1 full memtest pass with no errors. The CPU Host Frequency you end up with, times the CPU mulitplier from the table that you used for testing gives you the maximum actual speed your memory will pass this test at.

[Lsdmeasap]

More What to Do.

Max speed at auto timings and manuf highest recommended voltage.

Load your "testing" profile and change ONLY:

DDR2 OverVoltage Control__ [+0.3] <-- default is 1.8V, 1.8 + 0.3V = 2.1V set this to add up to your ram's manufacturers maximum voltage. This example shows my Corsair XMS at 2.1V which is what Corsair recommends for my memory for overclocking.

Do the exact same procedure as we just did above. Hopefully you will come out with a higher CPU Host Frequency. Be sure to take note of this number and that it is for auto timings, OCing voltage. If you multiply this number times the value of the Memory Multiplier you used in the BIOS from the table, this number represents about the highest actual speed you are going to get out of that memory without going to extreme methods.

Max speed at manual timings and stock manuf specified voltage

Load your "testing" profile and change ONLY:

DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD __ [Manual]

Do the exact same procedure as we just did above. You should will come out with a lower CPU Host Frequency due to the tightened timings. Be sure to take note of this number and that it is for manual timings, stock voltage. If you multiply this number times the value of the Memory Multiplier you used in the BIOS from the table, this number represents about the highest actual speed you are going to get out of that memory if you go with a conservative OC.

Max speed at manual timings and manuf highest recommended voltage.

Load your "testing" profile and change ONLY:

DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD __ [Manual]
DDR2 OverVoltage Control__ [+0.3] <-- default is 1.8V, 1.8 + 0.3V = 2.1V set this to add up to your ram's manufacturers maximum voltage. This example shows my Corsair XMS at 2.1V which is what Corsair recommends for my memory for overclocking.

Do the exact same procedure as we just did above. You should will come out with a slightly higher CPU Host Frequency due to the increased voltage, but maybe not. Be sure to take note of this number and that it is for manual timings, OCing voltage. If you multiply this number times the value of the Memory Multiplier you used in the BIOS from the table, this number represents about the highest actual speed you are going to get out of that memory with tight timings without going to extreme methods.


You should now have four CPU Host Frequencies circled, mulitply them by the memory divider you used from the table and those numbers are pretty close to the speed limits of your ram:
Max speed at auto timings and stock manuf specified voltage. xxxxxxMHz
Max speed at auto timings and manuf highest recommended voltage. xxxxMHz
Max speed at manual timings and stock manuf specified voltage xxxxxxMHz
Max speed at manual timings and manuf highest recommended voltage. xxxxxMHz
With additional testing we can refine those numbers a little bit but it is not worth the time now. Hopefully you did not have to reset the cmos and your "testing" bios profile still contains the manual memory timings and the the recommended overclocking voltage. If you did have to clear it, load your "Baseline" profile and enter the setting just like you did above in the last memory testing run.

Reference Materials:


Intel:

http://download.intel.com/design/pro...x/31368502.pdf
Thermal and Mechanical Design Guidelines
– Supporting the Intel® Core™2 Duo desktop processor E6000
and E4000 sequences and Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 651
January 2007

http://download.intel.com/design/pro...x/31559402.pdf
Thermal and Mechanical Design Guidelines
– Supporting the Intel® Core™2 Extreme quad-core processor
QX6700 ? and Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q6600

http://download.intel.com/design/pro...s/31321402.pdf
Voltage Regulator-Down (VRD) 11.0
Processor Power Delivery Design Guidelines
– For Desktop LGA775 Socket

http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets...umentation.htm
All the P965 chipset docs


BIOS settings

Memory Performance Enhance
http://www.corsairmicro.com/corsair/...cation_v01.pdf
Enhanced Performance Profiles, (EPP)


Thermal Considerations
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/...res-core2.html

Quick Facts and FAQ

Fact: It is impossible to run the memory slower than the CPU FSB as there is no memory divider less than 1:1 (shown as 2.0 in the bios because with DDR true memory speed is twice the base clock speed). For example; If you set the CPU clock (FSB) at 333MHz the slowest you can run memory is 2 x 333MHz = 666MHz

Fact: If you do not cool the MCH/Northbridge you are going to have issues with anything over a mild OC.

Fact: Easytune 5 blows chunks for monitoring CPU temperatures (at least on my DQ6) see FAQ below.

Fact: I do not know everything, make mistakes all the time and cannot spell worth a damn.

Fact:With Speedfan - Vcore2 is actually vdimm.
Temp 2 is related to cpu temp, best quess is that it is a thermal probe/thermistor located under the cpu in the "well" in the middle of the socket. This is easy to verify as you can run some cpu stress testing software and it quickly raises temp 2. However it does not exactly correspond to the cpu core temps and reacts a bit slower, thus the conclusion its a thermister under the cpu.
Temp 1 is also a thermister on the board that is reading "system temp" and on DS3's it is located on the board near the end of the PCI-e 16x slot (video card slot) and rises no where near a quickly as the cpu related ones. It is more of a general "case temp" kinda thing.
Temp 3 is hooked to nothing and is completely "wacko" disregard it.

[Lsdmeasap]

C2D specs. (CPU highest default multi, stock speed, cache, highest factory Vid, default FSB)
E4300 9X 1.800MHz 2MB 1.325V 200MHz
E4400 10x 2.000MHz 2MB 1.325V 200MHz
E6300 7X 1.866MHz 2MB 1.325V 266MHz
E6320 7x 1.866 MHz 4MB 1.325V 266MHz
E6400 8X 2.133MHz 2MB 1.325V 266MHz
E6420 8x 2.133MHz 4MB 1.325V 266MHz
E6600 9X 2.400MHz 4MB 1.3525V 266MHz
E6700 10X 2.667MHz 4MB 1.3525V 266MHz
X6800 11x 2.933MHz 4MB 1.3525V 266MHz
Q6600 9x 2.400MHz 4MB 1.372V 266MHz
QX6700 10X 2.667MHz 4MB 1.372V 266MHz

MCH default voltage is 1.25V
VCC 1.25 V Core Supply Voltage with respect to VSS - 1.375 V max (.15 deta default to max.)

What is the performance difference between 2MB and 4MB of cache?
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu...o-e6420_3.html
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...spx?i=2795&p=4


On first boot everything powered up, it POSTed, but my CPU fan was not turning!
With all the thermal stuff enabled and the cpu fan on auto, the C2Ds at stock settings on a cold boot run so cool (and the HS is cold too) that it takes a few seconds to warm up enough (15-30 seconds) to signal that the fan needs to turn. Give it 30 sec and if it does not start by then you may need to look at your build. The bios guide has settings to force the fan to 100% from the word go. The CPU has internal temp trip that will prevent you from killing it no matter how hard you try.


Sometimes when I make changes in the BIOS the machine powers off , is this normal ?
Yes, it depends on what you changed but sometimes the board determines a need to power off and reboot, with other changes it just reboots. With a radical change it might even go through several cycles of powering down and rebooting, this usually means it is having trouble with your new settings. After the 3rd try it should reset basic items to defaults and reboot in basically a non-overclocked configuration. Occasionally it gets "stuck" in the power off, reboot cycle and all you can do is switch the power off and reset the CMOS.

Does upping the PCI-express clock really make a difference?
Absolutely maybe, but I am not sure. Here is my take on it from the reply to GPUCommando. I welcome comments. This was mainly a fix for earlier DS3's with bad stability issues. I believe it is probably fixed in the bios by now. But several posts over at XS (they have a HUGE DS3 and some DQ6 thread BTW if you got a week to read it) indicated anecdotally it helped quite a few people back when things were in really bad shape BIOS wise. So I have taken the same conservative approach as I have in the entire guide. Basic reasoning is, eliminate any concern the PCI lock might not be working by putting in something other than [auto] and give a a few MHz that any decent video card can handle just in case it helps with stability. Pretty poor answer I am afraid. I have never had an issue on my DQ6 and all I can say for sure is that on my board the only thing it does is freak out my ATI at about 112, no help on CPU overclock.

What software should I use for monitoring my temperatures ?
The temp readings in the bios should immediately be looked at the second your machine boots up for the first time. After that first use to make sure you didnt put the heatsink on upside down, its worthless. Once you have windows up and running there are several to pick from, I did a comparison for accuracy. Here is what I found on my DQ6:
http://mysite.verizon.net/ressdxka/id5.html
There are reports that EasyTune5 may be more accurate on DS-3s compared to what I found on my version 1.0 DQ6, I welcome input but need to know exactly what you compared (program version numbers) and your exact board model and version and bios. I recommend TAT for stress and temp readings while testing, Coretemp for constant monitoring because of the temp readings in the tray. Both read the internal CPU diode and are accurate. EasyTune reads something else and constantly reads lower temps. Be aware that TAT does not correctly support Quad core CPUs and perhaps some newer C2Ds, the issue is that the TCC (temp at which the core shutsdown to protect itself) has been raised on some cpus from the 85C that was standard to 100C.

My temps are very high, I am using the stock heatsink. Is it really that bad ?
No, it should be fine up to 2.8GHz maybe even 3.0GHz depending on your processor model. See the Hardware section.
(A common error with the Intel stock HS is that the push pins are not seated well, or after pushing were rotated/turned in error. The pins are rotated only to remove the heatsink. Correct procedure is to make sure they are in the insert/install position and pressing VERY hard, so hard it will hurt your thumb, until you hear a distinct click. Press them in with a "X" pattern, do NOT go around in order. So much pressure is required that I do not recommend doing this with the board mounted in the case because it flexes the board to an alarming degree. The heat sink should be firmly attached if done properly. If it moves with minor "wiggle" force, something may be wrong. )

VISTA
If your install is freezeing at some point or you are having random crashes during the Vista installation then try this.

Integrated Peripherals
SATA AHCI Mode__________ [Disabled]
SATA Port0-3 Native Mode [Disabled]
...
Onboard SATA/IDE Device_ [Enabled]
Onboard SATA/IDE Ctrl Mode [ACHI]

Connect your HDD to the jmicron/Onboard controller - Purple ports.
It should Installm afterwards you can move it to the yellow ports controlled by the Intel ICH if you like.
Regardless I strongly recommend you install the Jmicron F6 pre-install driver during OS install its hard to install it later.
ftp://driver.jmicron.com.tw/jmb36x/Win2k_xp_Vista/

Hardware Modifications.

(You will need regular hand tools and thermal paste before proceeding with most of these "improvements". Make sure your board has been booted and run at least overnight to ensure everything is OK before you try any of them, your warranty could be affected.)

Two primary considerations will limit your ability to overclock.

The CPU Heatsink.



The MCH (Memory Controller Hub) previously know as the Northbridge.
Put a fan on it, asap !
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.ph...7&postcount=10

In short, the MCH is being just as OCed as your CPU and it needs the same or more attention to cooling as the CPU. See Heatpipe improvements.

.

Heatpipe improvements . (MCH is the major benefactor)
(this is a quickie, more detailed instructions soon, I hope, but its very easy to do, needle nose are nice for squeezing the pins on the backside and then the darn thing will fall right off. Take it easy on the push pins if you intend to reuse them. )
Rework the Heatpipe assembly by removing it, the little push-pins are easy to remove from the back of the board, and clean the heatsinks and the chips with alcohol and and apply good HS thermal compound to the chips. The chip is the square black or gray thing in the middle http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/p965/p965.jpg you do not want HS grease on any of the "little bits" just a thin layer on the large thing in the middle. I suggest replacing the push-pins with 4-40 nylon screws washers and nuts found at Lowe's in the specialty hardware drawers. Remove the thin sheet metal "bling" cover off of the MCH heatsink and hot melt glue a 40 or 50mm fan on. Cooling the NB is the critical key to stable OC's on this motherboard. This was discovered early on and its a problem now that the knowledge has been buried under all the posts about the board since. I think its the heart of most users frustrations with the board. Spend an hour and tweak that Heatpipe out and I think you will be very surprised and pleased with the results.

Case Airflow.

[Lsdmeasap]

Before You Start

This guide is written for the complete novice, if you truly know what you are doing, please, by all means skip parts etc. etc. If you are new to computers I suggest you follow along exactly as this guide is written. If you do not understand something, make a reply to this post because that means I did not explain it well enough, that is my fault and I want to fix it.

Disclaimer: I accept no responsibility, for anything, anytime, anywhere. My beloved wife could not make me into a responsible person, you do not have a ghost of a chance.

There are only 3 things I am aware of that could even start to damage any of your computer components.

1) For reasons unknown Gigabyte allows the CPU voltage (commonly referred to as Vcore) to be set to ridiculous values. For Core 2 Duo chips the Absolute Maximum Voltage rating is 1.55 Volts (Intel datasheet). In this guide I will NEVER recommend going over 1.45 Volts. Some people set Vcore to very high levels, its your stuff and you do what you want but some friendly advice, you would be well advised to investigate the consequences. Electro-migration and "Transistor junction voltage stress" are two terms you should Google for starters. Oddly its NOT the heat, see #3.

2) It is possible to set your memory voltage at a level that with eventually damage your memory. We must rely on your memory manufacturers data for proper working voltages and you need to know/find this information. The manufacturers web site will have it. Most memory is lifetime warrantied and the reputable manufacturers make known for their high performance products what the standard working voltage is as well as "overclocking voltages" that will not void the warranty. If you cannot find this information a post in the memory forum will usually do the trick.

3) The CPU and several of the important chips on the motherboard have built in thermal sensors and the chips will just shut down to prevent damage if temperatures are too high. However heat is the true killer of all electronics and overclocking in a mini-tower case with only the power supply fan to provide airflow for the case is a death sentence. It will not die today, or even tomorrow, but by next year its a goner. In addition to the CPU, the MCH (Memory Controller Hub, previously known as the North bridge) generates considerable heat. It is one of the chips under the Heatpipe assembly. For moderate or high overclocking it requires a fan. See the Hardware Tips post for more information on heat mitigation/reduction measures.

The only other really bad thing that can happen is to corrupt your Windows installation. This is annoying as all getout. If it happens and you are using XP, try this, its a little faster than a reformat and full reinstall.
Boot with the windows CD
Tell it you want to do a New Install
It will come back and tell you there already is a Windows installation and ask if you want to repair it. (we hope).
Tell it yes.

Works most of the time and all your data should be intact. Er, hopefully since we are messing with the machine big time, you are not storing your lifes work on the boot drive. If so, get that onto CDs before you start OCing.

Absolutely CRITICAL for anything other than a small Overclock.

This board was designed for a 266MHz FSB. The board manufactures have allowed us to overclock the the FSB to frequencies far above what the board was designed to do. A fact of the board design is that the MCH (Memory Controller Hub), a critical chip that is just as important as your CPU is also run/clocked from the FSB clock and there is no way to "unlink" this.

If you overclock your CPU by raising the FSB (and there is no other way to do it) YOU ALSO OVERCLOCK THE MCH. The MCH requires as much attention to cooling as your CPU.

See the hardware section.


Enjoy
William "Bill" Parrish
B.S. EET

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BillParrish @
http://www.hardforum.com