EP45-DS3R and Q6600 overclock stability

[gomango]

Hello Lsdmeasap and anybody else who may be able to assist,

I'm having difficulty overclocking my Q6600 and EP45-DS3R stably at a relatively modest 3.20Ghz (i've read enviously about others achieving 3.60!). I've been benching and reading and adjusting and benching for almost a couple of weeks now and still can't get Prime95 stable for more than 7 hours 48 mins (I read that 24 hours is considered stable).

Could you please have a look over the settings below and see what you might be able to suggest (I've filled in the template you normally use).

First of all, my setup is:
* Q6600, G0 stepping, 1.325V VID
* EP45-DS3R, F10 BIOS
* 4GB OCZ Platinum PC8500 / 1066 (2x2 GB kit)
* Corsair HX620 Power Supply
* Asus 7300GS 256MB Video
* Freezer Pro 7 HS (temps 65-70 full load, 40-45 idle)
* RAID0 (2x320GB) and 1x640GB system drive
* Anything else you'd like to know?

Note from the settings below that "Performance Enhance" is set to "TURBO", unlike the recommendation you give to most people. I've tried "STANDARD" but that only seems to reduce the time Prime95 is stable (2:04 on Standard, 7:48 on Turbo, all other settings the same). Perhaps this is a clue?

Due to the character limit for posts, my BIOS settings will follow in the next post.

[gomango]

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-DS3R and Q6600 overclock stability

Try this, and yes performance enhance should be on Standard what you found was just caused by something else or random crash

Test your ram one at a time first with memtest86+ to be sure you do not have a faulty stick >>>
Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

That is with one stick at a time manually set Main timings, perf. Enh. standard, manually set ram voltage to spec and stock CPU Speed with 4.00A ram multi (266x9 CPU/4.00A ram @1066) And be sure static Tread is not below 7, everything else Auto. 5-10 passes for each stick to be sure you did not get DOA ram

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)

Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Fast
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 9
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.0
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.20Ghz


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 356
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)....................: <<< 0-150
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: <<< 50-250


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [Standard]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.40B << try 3.00A for 1066
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 854
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................5
tRCD .........................................5
tRP'...........................................5
tRAS.......................................... 15


Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................3-4
tWTR..........................................3-6
tWR............................................4-8
tRFC...........................................52-62
tRTP...........................................4-6
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:2

Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength ............................800-1066

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................: 7-10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< 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.........................: 7-10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< 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
Voltage Type.………... Manual
CPU
CPU Vcore…. CPU-Z reading 1.504v (Idle) and varying between 1.44-1.72 (load). This is 1.5625 in BIOS. You should not need this much for 3.2 too much can cause issues as well

CPU Termination…..... 1.400V 1.3-1.5
CPU PLL…………………....1.6500V << 1.4-1.55

CPU Referen.…………....0.911V (65% of VTT) AUTO


MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: 1.300V (1.24-1.28)
MCH Reference….…….0.760V...........; Auto
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: Auto
ICH I/O……………….....1.500V............: 1.55V


DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 2.18 BIOS (2.12-2.14 in ET6) Set 2.0-2.1
DRAM Termination .…0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel A Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: NOT AVAILABLE
x C4/C4E State Support..................: NOT AVAILABLE
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled]

Integrated Peripherals
Legacy USB Storage Detect .............. Enabled << Disable this for now to be sure it is not causing you issues

[gomango]

Re: EP45-DS3R and Q6600 overclock stability

Thanks for your suggestion. I will run the memtest tests and let you know the results.

Cheers.

[gomango]

Re: EP45-DS3R and Q6600 overclock stability

Well, you were right Lsdmeasap! One of the 2GB sticks consistently failed memtest86 tests 5 and 6 on every pass. I've taken the RAM back to the shop where I bought it and they're going to test it and hopefully replace it sometime next week. In the mean time, they've lent me a stick of DDR2 667 to keep me running.

It's amazing that I was able to bench Prime95 for almost 8 hours with faulty RAM. And I really can't believe how many hours I've wasted trying to get this rig stable only to find out that one of the 2GB sticks was faulty!

I'll let you know when I get my memory back. Thanks for your help so far.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-DS3R and Q6600 overclock stability

Great to hear you found your issue, Sorry to hear you have to RMA. But at least it sounds like they are a good shop as they lent you some ram.

What Prime95 test was you running? If Small or Large FFT not much ram would be used if any in those tests so that may be why it passed. If you used Blend tests???? I dunno.

What Memtest86+ version did you test with? Hope it was 2.01 or above

Ya, please do post back and let us know how you get along

[gomango]

Re: EP45-DS3R and Q6600 overclock stability

Well I've been testing my system over the weekend with the stick of DDR2 667 the store leant me while they test my OCZ, by adapting my settings for the lower speed RAM - using 2.0B to get a 712 RAM speed (I memtested first and all seems to be fine with the temporary stick).

What I've found however is that the system is performing exactly the same regarding the overclocking:
- the system is more stable with "Performance Enhance" set to "Turbo" than when set to "Standard"; and
- 7hrs Prime95 on "Turbo", 2hrs Prime95 on "Standard", all other settings the same as posted above (apart from 2.0B divider).

In answer to your questions Lsdmeasap:
- I've been benching with Prime95 set to "blend"; and
- I've been memtesting with memtest86 ver2.10.

My personal, unproven, theory regarding why I was still benching the same times with the faulty OCZ stick is that as I had 4GB of RAM and was running Windows XP 32 Bit either:
- the faulty part of the RAM was in the part above the 3.2GB of the 4GB that 32 bit XP can use; or
- Prime95 doesn't access the whole 3.2GB available to XP 32 bit (I think most programs can't use more than 2GB - photoshop is like that).

In any case, different memory hasn't fixed my overclocking stability issues and I'm still in need of help.

You mentioned that being more stable on "Turbo" than "Standard" must be due to some of my other settings. Could you please tell me which settings you suspect I should look at / change in order to get this right?

I suspect it might be the memory timings. Both the new stick and the OCZ are rated at 5-5-5-15 and the new stick has successfully completed 10 passes of memtest at stock speed. Should any of these, or any of the sub/advanced memory timings be altered when overclocking the CPU?

BTW, in regard to my Vcore being high for 3.2Ghz (1.44-1.472 under load as reported by CPU-Z, 1.508 Idle), my Q6600 G0 has a very high VID of 1.325 and from what I've read, requiring high Vcore is consistent with being high VID? I read that Vcore within 15% of VID is reasonably safe? In any case, it becomes even more unstable at lower Vcore.

Thanks again for all your help.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-DS3R and Q6600 overclock stability

Well turbo disreguards your settings you manually set, and may set many things Higher/looser then you set manually anyway so that could be the cause.

You would need to check your voltages and ram vs the BIOS in each with EasyTune (For voltages) and memset to see what timings are being used. For example if you manually set 555-15, on standard that will be used. On turbo that may or may not be used, 444-12 or even 577-20 may get used you never know without looking. Aside from main timings Performance enhance also changes Static tRead Value (tRD/Performance Level in Memset) and MCH and or Ram voltages get changed as well no matter what you set

Yes, all advanced timings should be set when overclocking, especially if you want best performance or stability

Ya, high VID usually does mean that, just looked high to me and I did not think about many newer Q6600's having a high VID

[gomango]

Re: EP45-DS3R and Q6600 overclock stability

Hello Lsdmeasap and all,

I'M BACK!

I finally got my OCZ Platinum RAM replaced, have memtested it to make sure it isn't faulty, and have been benching with different settings to find a stable OC. I've so far got a stable overclock of 3.168Ghz (352x9) - it's Prime95 "Blend" stable for 29 hours (error), and Prime95 "Small FFT" stable for 9 hours (stopped by me).

I'm so, so, so close to my target of 3.2Ghz but just can't quite get it stable - the extra 4mhz on the FSB (352-->356) kills Prime95 much quicker - 2 hours on small FFTs.

I've pasted my current settings below. Can you seen any changes that you think could get me the extra mhz?

I think there may be some more potential there as:
- VTT is still low at 1.20v
- CPU/MCH clock skew are still at 0
- Latch is still 266Mhz ("A" setting)
- RAM is rated upto 2.15V and I'm still at 2.1V
- MCH is at 1.32V and could go higher

The problem is I've tried playing with these settings based on suggestions from other threads but nothing seems to work / things become even more unstable. From my description of being stable at 3.168Ghz on the settings below, are there any clues to look for? Or is my CPU at it's limit?

I can post a screenshot with the memset output and Easytune voltages of that would provide useful information.

Thanks in advance for your continued help.


MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 9
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.NOT AVAILABLE
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.16Ghz


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 352
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...................: [STANDARD]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 3.00A
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1056
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................5
tRCD .........................................5
tRP'...........................................5
tRAS.......................................... 15


Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................4 (read from SPD using memset, and below)
tWTR..........................................4
tWR............................................6
tRFC...........................................71
tRTP...........................................4
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:2

Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength ............................OC-1200

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................: 7
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< 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.........................: 7
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< 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 ControlCPUMCH/ICHDRAMAdvanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: NOT AVAILABLE
x C4/C4E State Support..................: NOT AVAILABLE
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled]

Integrated Peripherals
Legacy USB Storage Detect .............. Enabled
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