I have a few questions regarding overclocking

[Leeky]

Hello Techspot.

Since I now have my Q8300 up and running again using a Gigabyte motherboard, I thought I would do a spot of overclocking to make it a little bit more snappy. Its also now fitted with a Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro (Rev2).

I'm completely new to this though, and despite spending hours online searching hundreds of threads I've come to realise it doesn't matter what everyone is achieving because its not my hardware.

So I started up EasyTune6 and have a look at what the boosted settings would give me, and then entered advanced and changed things myself from there.

So far I've got it to just under 3.30GHz, just by increasing the multiplier to 7.5 and the FSB to 436MHz.

Using OCCT I've run the Linpack test for 10 mins just to check it wasn't cooking the CPU, and it seems fine. Its not crashing, or slowing down in anyway, it actually feels quicker, and now the CPU idles at 2.6GHz, instead of the usual 2.0GHz so seems much quicker to do things from idle.

The max temps I'm seeing are 67-68'C, but before I go ahead and do a 1-2hr full stress test, I just want to make sure everything is fine in regards to voltages and temps.

So anyway, some screens for you to view (I couldn't resize as it blurred the readings, so will link if they're too big):

1. PC at idle...

http://www.leekaelin.co.uk/downloads/Forum Pics/TechSpot/CPU_idle.jpg

2. PC at full load (after approx 2-3 mins)

http://www.leekaelin.co.uk/downloads/Forum Pics/TechSpot/CPU_full_load.jpg

As I said it seems 100% stable in use so far, but I've not tried to stress it too much as worried I'll kill it if its wrong. lol. Plus the PSU is a crappy Dell supplied one so I don't want to push it too hard at all really.

Does it all seem OK voltage wise?
How about the FSB?
Anything else I should be aware of, or could try?

I'm quite happy with it, but I'd rather hear from those with inifinitely more experience in this area than me.

Thanks in advance.

 

[red1776]

Hi leeky,
I see 58c on your load screen-shot, but if you are hitting 68c you may want to turn the fan up as the max temp for the 8300 is 71.4c.
secondly pay no attention to the 12v reading on OCCT, it gets it wrong very often.
third, I would be careful OC'ing with a Dell OEM PSU, they are always hideously poor quality. You would do well to replace it with a decent quality power supply.
Other than that, that is not a bad OC for the Q8300. That is probably all you will get from it as the Q8200/8300 were not known as great overclockers. It is true that "your results may vary" and each chip can vary, however, the vast majority are going to have very similar OC headroom characteristics unless you win the binning lottery and got one that was 'rebinned' to fit a price point demand and has more headroom than the norm. Anyway, Nice job!


****if you want a better reading on the rail voltages, download HWmonitor from here.
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
and you can check idle voltage in your BIOS.

EDIT: I just noticed you ran the Linpack not the standard OCCT CPU stability test, so its not surprising that it hit 68c. If its staying below 70c running linpack your doing well.

 

[Leeky]

Thanks Red.

Yeah, I just loaded it up for a couple of mins to give an idea of temps and voltages more than anything. I think I would be wise to increase the fan speed - I reckon I could get more than I have though, but I reduced it down from about 3.55GHz as the temps were getting too hot for my liking.

The 68'C is a typo on my part, as the temps don't really increase much from the load screen, I might just nudge 60'c but no more than that at this clock speed. It was hitting 68'C running at 3.55GHz.

I know the Dell PSU is crap, I was planning on purchasing one, but the money went on a new motherboard unfortunately - Hopefully I'll be able to get one in the next couple of months, but getting something powerful enough to run SLI GTX460's (my end goal) means spending more money than I can afford while I'm out of work recovering.

Whats the best way of increasing my CPU fan speed then? I'm quite happy running it at full speed when I'm at 100% load, as its not often it is anyway.

I've OC'd my GPU as well since writing the first post, seems to make a nice difference running Crysis - It seems much smoother all round at the same settings as before. Bonus!

P.S. I have HWMonitor, but for some reason its showing the 12v as the same as OCCT.

P.P.S. I've also noticed my setup seems to prefer both of my side fans exhausting air out of the case, rather than sucking it in. Temps are dropping 4-5'C when I changed them to exhaust.

 

[red1776]

I've OC'd my GPU as well since writing the first post, seems to make a nice difference running Crysis - It seems much smoother all round at the same settings as before. Bonus!

Indeed...bonus!
Check your bios for fan speed adjustment, or you could try speedfan or software you may already have. if you only hit 58c running the Linpack test though, you are good with temps, the linpack is rather harsh and you will most likely never have your CPU loaded like that in actual use.
If you would like to objectively measure the increased performance from your OC while gaming, download FRAPS and run a bench or three.

http://fraps.com/

If you want anymore OC'ing assistance, just holler

P.S. I have HWMonitor, but for some reason its showing the 12v as the same as OCCT.

don't sweat it, voltages are notoriously ill measured by 3rd party software. I will see if I can find another program that will connect with your system voltages.

P.P.S. I've also noticed my setup seems to prefer both of my side fans exhausting air out of the case, rather than sucking it in. Temps are dropping 4-5'C when I changed them to exhaust.

Also not uncommon, Negative case pressure moves more air through the case and is usually a few degrees cooler than positive case pressure. The disadvantage is that negative also draws more dust in.

Greg

 

[Leeky]

Indeed...bonus!
Check your bios for fan speed adjustment, or you could try speedfan or software you may already have. if you only hit 58c running the Linpack test though, you are good with temps, the linpack is rather harsh and you will most likely never have your CPU loaded like that in actual use.
If you would like to objectively measure the increased performance from your OC while gaming, download FRAPS and run a bench or three.

http://fraps.com/

If you want anymore OC'ing assistance, just holler

Thanks mate.

I'll download Fraps now, I knew I was missing something when I started the game up! haha.

I'm running the standard test on OCCT now, and its barely nudging 55'C, so I think I'll leave the extra cooling for now, and maybe once I have a decent PSU I'll push the clocks higher, I don't have much faith in my PSU to cope with it all for too long though, as I have an almost identical (Dell Studio) Q8200 thats already in need of a PSU replacement - thats only a week or so out of warranty now, and this Dell (if I can call it that now! lol) is 6 months older than that.

don't sweat it, voltages are notoriously ill measured by 3rd party software. I will see if I can find another program that will connect with your system voltages.

That would be very kind of you Sir.

Also not uncommon, Negative case pressure moves more air through the case and is usually a few degrees cooler than positive case pressure. The disadvantage is that negative also draws more dust in.

Greg

I'm rather shocked it was so easy in the end to be honest.

Oh that's OK, I have the case open almost weekly to clean it, so that won't be an issue.

Thanks for the advice and help Greg.

 

[red1776]

anytime Leeky,
Try Speedfan and see if you get different voltage readings. I usually don't like speedfan for voltages, but OCCT and HWmonitor are obviously not connecting with your system, so I wonder if Speedfan will.
http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

 

[Leeky]

Speedfan is showing the same bad 12v readings, and I couldn't seem to get the fans to speed up either, but thanks for the suggestions.

All is not lost though, as Gigabyte's Easy Tune 6 reads the voltages fine, so I'm using that to check them; not that I know whats good or not. haha.

Its 10 mins off finishing its 1hr stress test (OCCT) now, the CPU temps have crept up to 60-61'C at certain points, but not any higher so I'm happy with that.

I probably shouldn't have been, but I've been using the computer while its been doing the test, and it doesn't even seem bothered that its running. Must be a good thing I guess!

All in all, I'm well chuffed at getting a stable 3.296GHz, that's an improvement of 3/4 of a GHz on stock, for about a 8-10'C increase in CPU temp at 100% load.

EDIT: The results:

I'm happy with that, hit max CPU temps of 61-62'C, not bad for 1hr's continious load.

Gonna go have some gaming fun now and see how much different it really is!

 

[red1776]

As far as the voltages, you don't want them varying more than 5% +/- ( ideally inside 1% ripple) but 5% as a practical matter. in other words your 12v rail should be no lower than 11.4v under load and no higher than 12.6v, same for the 5v and the 3.3v (5%)

Here, learn more about whats inside your case than you ever wanted to know
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1398/EVEREST_Ultimate_Edition_5.02_.EXE_Package.html

 

[Leeky]

Thanks Greg, I'll download it now and have a good look later.

The voltage rules are easy enough to remember, and thankfully they look fine. I've got my results above as edited them into my original comment.

 

[red1776]

As the voltages are not being read correctly, I don't know if OCCT will give you a 'ripple' reading or not, but on the 12/3.3/5v charts OCCT generates, there is a reading at the top that reads 'ripple and then a percentage...if you have that reading, it will tell you how your PSU is holding up under load. If its really high 5% or more, have a care, that is really damaging to your components, CPU/Chipset/GPU/NB etc.

 

[Leeky]

My Voltages are:

The 12v readings look horrendous, but it's not reading correctly anyway so I guess it can be ignored. By all means give me your feelings/opinions in regards to the others though.

Its also worth pointing out that OCCT records the same voltages as Easy Tune 6 for all voltages except 12v. 12v only seems accurate using Easy Tune 6 for some reason.

Can the vcore ripple be reduced by increasing the voltage slightly, or is the ripple nothing to do with the power draw of the components and everything to do with how "smooth" the power delivery is from the PSU?

 

[red1776]

Well you have a lot of ripple there. The 3.3 and the 5v look okay, the 12v is obviously not correct but is probably in the 3-5% range. the one that would be cause for concern is the CPU voltage ripple, that's awfully high...it should be a rather flat line. I would invest in a PSU as soon as the wife wont beat you about the head and neck for dropping fifty quid for one

 

[Leeky]

Maybe I'll invest in 500w PSU instead of the planned 850w then. I just wanted to purchase the 850w one and then not have to worry about it, but I guess as long as it will happily run a GTX460 I can always get another one later.

The speed this PC is now running at is quite shocking, so if I can get a better cooler (I'm considering watercooling anyway) and change the PSU I can push it slightly further, and then hold off on going for a i5 for a year or so longer. Its hard to imagine 0.75GHz making so much difference, but everything seems to be instant now, the only delay is when it first boots.

Is the vCore ripple going to put my cpu at risk of damage in the short term? I'll take your word on this as I have no idea. lol.

 

[red1776]

Its not going to go boots up on you this afternoon or anything, but in the long term ripple damages and separates the alternate layers of conductive/non conductive material. It creates heat and leads to electro-migration, latchup, etc. In a way it rattles your silicone apart if you will.

 

[Leeky]

Oh thats a relief.

I have to purchase a new PSU for my other PC for her indoors first unfortunately, I wouldn't dare swapping out this PSU and getting a new one for myself as I'd never hear the end of it if I handed her my old PSU. haha.

So I'm going to get her a half decent 450-500w psu in a day or so, and then I'll be hunting for one for myself. It means finding something now, and deciding all over again as I had my mind set on either a HX/TX850 from corsair.

What PSU's are recommended in the 450-550w range, sub £50-60 mark?
Do you think my system would be OK running a 550w with a GTX460? (I'm not so sure!)

Sorry for all the Q's Greg, this sort of caught me on the backfoot as I promised the missus she'd get a new psu as she always gets my old stuff! lol.

EDIT: Would this be OK you think... OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply

 

[red1776]

no problem, cant have the missus giving you the cold shoulder (or knee) for the next week.

I would recommend these if you have them over there.
They will handle your gtx 460 with ease

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371020

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

***yes, the mod stream is a good PSU as well

 

[Leeky]

Thank you mate. I'll try and get one sorted ASAP.