GA-EP45-DS5 & Q9550 Overclocking Settings!

[balliance]

Hi All,

Recently built myself a new rig over xmas and im looking to squeeze the most out of this system.

Ive built computers before and consider myself an advanced user but ive never ever delved in to the world of overclocking, never had the need to personally.

Was just wondering if theres anyone out there with my mobo, ram and cpu (all in my signature) thats had a decent stable OC? Ive read around and seen people cranking this beauty up to 3.4-3.8ghz with good stability!!

Just looking for a little help with what to do, wether someone has some settings to share or has a rough idea what i would need to do?

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

p.s. Im running at stock speeds atm

**Edit - Ive Overclocked it to 3.41GHz ... Runs stable (intel burn test & 2hours of prime)

[balliance]

Re: GA-EP45-DS5 & Q9550 Overclocking Settings!

Sorry forgot to add bios settings ... find them below :)


MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 8x
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................: .5
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.41GHz


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 402Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........: 100

C.I.A.2 .................................:[Disabled]


Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: 700mV
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: 700mV
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: 50ps
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: 100ps


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: STANDARD
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: 333MHz
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.40B
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1066 965
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: **AUTO** <<<< Set to auto as i was having boot problems with custom settings.

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

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................: Auto
tWTR..........................................: Auto
tWR............................................: Auto
tRFC...........................................: Auto
tRTP...........................................: Auto
Command Rate (CMD) ....................: Auto

Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength ............................: Auto

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:**AUTO** << All set to auto as i had troble booting with custom settings.
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.........................:**AUTO** Same, trouble while booting.
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….……….........................: 1.35v
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: Auto
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.........: Auto
CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: Auto

CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......: Auto

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: 1.2v
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........: Auto
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: Auto
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: Auto
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: Auto

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 2.0v << My ram sticker says 2.2v , i havn't tried this setting yet!!
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]

Integrated Peripherals
Legacy USB Storage Detect ..............[Disabled] </pre>



As stated above, ive oc'd to 3.41GHz ... Guess im just looking for a little help with my ram timings. Ive tried useing RAM settings from people here but it just failed to boot properly.

So any help would be appreciated :)

[balliance]

Re: GA-EP45-DS5 &amp; Q9550 Overclocking Settings!

Been fiddling again with my ram timmings, just cant seem to get it to work!! Anyone around to give it a quick glance ?? LSD?

Many Thanks

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-EP45-DS5 &amp; Q9550 Overclocking Settings!

Please start over, as I see you have loaded Fail Safe Defaults. Please load Optimized Defaults and set your ram voltage ONLY, then save/apply/reboot BACK to the BIOS. Once in the BIOS you will need to set your SATA/Disk settings again so do that first. Then go set all your other settings again, then go in MIT and put back what you had stable and save/apply/reboot Back to the BIOS. This time on the MAIN page hit F11 and save that as a stable profile, like 3.4 stable or something. Then start making the following changes and save that for now as a separate profile by going back to the main page and hit F11 again and name this one "Tweaking 3.4" or something like that.

To load or switch between profiles anytime just go to the main page and hit F12 and choose a profile. Be sure when saving profiles that you do not overwrite your other saved ones. And be sure when loading or switching back and forth between profiles that before you save/apply you always check your ram multi as sometimes when switching profiles or loading one this gets set to auto which can often be a too high multi to boot with. So just keep a eye on that when using profiles.

Here would be suggested optimal settings for the above settings you listed. A link to your ram would be great incase I need to edit anything in this template >>>>

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto or Fast
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 8x
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................: .5
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.41GHz


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 402Mhz
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)....................: 50ps << I would start with Zero
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: 100ps << I would start with Zero


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: STANDARD
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: Auto
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.66D <<< After 400 FSB 333/B Straps get harder and harder to use, best to use 400/D strap until you get stable, then you can work on trying to get a B Strap stable

Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1066
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: Manual

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................: 5
tRCD .........................................: 5
tRP'...........................................: 5
tRAS..........................................: 15/18

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...........................................: 3-4
tWTR..........................................: 3-6 (Set 12 first if you have issues)
tWR............................................: 4-6 (Set 14 first if you have issues)
tRFC...........................................: 52-62
tRTP...........................................: 3-5
Command Rate (CMD) ....................: 2

Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength ............................: 800/1066 (Test/Bench both last, set 1066 now)

Channels A & B Should match below

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
Voltage Type.………... Manual
CPU
CPU Vcore….……….........................: 1.35v
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: ALWAYS SET when overclocking, Auto WAY Overvolts this (Suggested, depending on speed and vcore, 1.2-1.34) 1.2-1.28 should be good for this speed

CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.........: ALWAYS SET when overclocking, Auto WAY Overvolts this (1.35-1.6) 1.45-1.55 should be fine

CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: Auto

CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......: Auto

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: 1.2v << 1.2-1.3 (1.22-1.26 is usually good, depends on the strap and ram multi you are using, and the speed of course. Some straps/Multi's will need more others will not work without it being less.) Forgot to ask, is this 2x2 or 4x1 ram?

MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........: Auto
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: Auto
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: 1.5-1.6
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: 1.1x-1.2

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 2.0-2.1 << 2.2V is just max allowed under warranty, not usually what is needed at all, and generally never needed until you highly overclock the ram

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]

Integrated Peripherals
Legacy USB Storage Detect ..............[Disabled]

[balliance]

Re: GA-EP45-DS5 &amp; Q9550 Overclocking Settings!

Thanks dude ill do what you said! Also below is a link to my RAM!! Maybe this will help :) .... Also im useing 2x2GB, so 4GB in total.

OCZ Technology | Products | Memory | OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500 Reaper HPC 4GB Edition

Many thanks

[balliance]

Re: GA-EP45-DS5 &amp; Q9550 Overclocking Settings!

Hey LSD,

Ive done what you said, reset everything and loaded optimnized defaults and also saved a profile for Stable-Stock-Settings and Overclocked!

Heres what ive done for my overclock:

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 8x
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................: .5
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.41GHz


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 402Mhz
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
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: Auto
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.66D <<< Set it to this like you said!

Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1066
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: Manual

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

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...........................................: 4
tWTR..........................................: 6
tWR............................................: 6
tRFC...........................................: 62

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-EP45-DS5 &amp; Q9550 Overclocking Settings!

Ya BIOS profiles are a very nice thing MANY people do not know about or take advantage of. I make note of it to users when I think of it and have the time

Looks good, now you can start lowering things >>>

Channel A & B
Static tRead Value.........................: 12 << Start with this, 8-9 should work then you can work on the rest of the advanced timings

Ya, you can for sure clock further if you like. If you do leave the ram loose as you have it so it is not a issue then once you get where you want you can start lowering timings and possibly voltages