Asinorum Posted January 18, 2011 Posted January 18, 2011 (edited) I've had this system since July 2008, but now I want to mess with it a bit and see what it can do before I build a new system in a year or so. I'm new to overclocking and I've been consulting my friend who has more experience for advice. The only problem is he is an AMD guy and doesn't have much experience with Intel. So I'm coming to seek the advice of the experts =). My system is as follows: Case: HAF X PSU: Corsair TX850 MB: EVGA 780i CPU: Q9450 @ 3.53GHz (2.66 stock) CPU Cooler: H70 (35-38C Idle and 50-55C load) RAM: 2x2GB DDR2 Crucial 800MHz 6-6-6-18-24 GPU: EVGA GTX570 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit My goal with this system is a solid 3.6 - 3.8 GHz. However, we were trying to get it stable @3.6 today and failed. It would fail the prime95 test within a few minutes (mostly core 1). We backed it down to 1764 QDR and it was stable in prime95 for 2 hours. I've been gaming with it for a couple hours too and have had zero issues along with 3dmark benchmarks. When we were overclocking it, the RAM seemed really grumpy, it didn't like being changed from its stock clocks. I'm not sure if the RAM is the issue or something else and how to get past it. Here are my volts @3.53GHz: CPU: 1.38750v in BIOS CPU-Z reads: 1.344v RAM: 1.85v FSB: 1.3v SPP: 1.45v MCP: 1.525v HT SPP <-> MCP: 1.30v Do those voltages seem appropriate for the overclock? My temps look good so far, I think, 35-38C idle and 50-55C under 100% load. I want a stable 3.6-3.8GHz for everyday use that will last another year. Because I'm new at this I'm not sure how to go about moving forward. Any advice will be very much appreciated. Edited January 18, 2011 by Asinorum Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVIYTH0S Posted January 18, 2011 Posted January 18, 2011 Might be the motherboard, I had a 780i paired with my Q9450 and it was a quick divorce to say the least. I'd recommend picking up a P35 or P45 board for much more headroom and assured stability . 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asinorum Posted January 18, 2011 Posted January 18, 2011 *UPDATE* Messed around with this a bit more last night. I'm @ 3.6GHz with these volts: CPU: 1.425v in BIOS CPU-Z read 1.376v RAM: 2.15v FSB: 1.4v SPP: 1.45v MCP: 1.525 HT: 1.3 I'm worried about my RAM volts. I'm not real sure if it is okay to up the voltage on them? I thought they would need some more volts because I have my RAM synced and linked in my BIOS which overclocked my RAM to 900MHz. Running 1:1 ratio and my timings are set to "optimal" in my BIOS. The BIOS has them set to 6-7-7-21-28 2T. Ran prime95 small FFT's last night for 12.5 hours no problems. Seems rock solid, temps were 38-39C idle and 56-58C @ 100% load. Also did blend on prime95 for 30minutes and no problems. Anyone see any problems so far? Note: I do have one issue that is bugging me, I can't get Super Pi mod to run sometimes. It just seems intermittent. If it doesn't work, it will let me load the program and when it starts the first loop it freezes and Windows stops the program. Any ideas on why? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVIYTH0S Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 what is their stock voltage?? most higher end sticks are 2.1v for DDR2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asinorum Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 (edited) what is their stock voltage?? most higher end sticks are 2.1v for DDR2 1.85v... No heat sinks on them either. Going to buy some if I don't destroy them, haha. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148160 Link to my RAM. Edited January 19, 2011 by Asinorum Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVIYTH0S Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 haha , just run em hard and if they die get some sticks that run at 1066mhz for OC'n a Q9450 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asinorum Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 haha , just run em hard and if they die get some sticks that run at 1066mhz for OC'n a Q9450 This is a stupid question I'm sure, but does running my RAM hard like that have the potential to damage other components? Replacing RAM is one thing but I'd rather not have to replace a CPU or MB so quickly because of a stupid rookie error... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVIYTH0S Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 No you arent hurting anything else, I bet the memory will even last for quite a while Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wevsspot Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 Since you pass extended stress testing at your current settings I wouldn't worry too much about it. The additional high vdimm will eventually degrade your memory and someday it will quit, but that's not going to happen overnight. One thing you might consider is loosening your primary memory timings and trying a slightly lower vdimm. High frequencies and/or tight timings can call for some extra vdimm to achieve stability. So if you loosen your primary timings to say 7-8-8-24 2T you might be able to drop your voltage some but keep the same operating frequency. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercuryDoun Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 Ram probably will run for awhile fine, wont hurt nothin just like Iviy said... you could pick up a cheap set of copper heatsinks at newegg.com or something. Here is a link to memory heat spreaders, Just be sure you buys some that is for desktop memory and not video card memory, lol. Ive used a solution like this for some laptop ram that really made a big difference i nthe temp of the underside of the laptop. And ive used some random brand all copper one for my buddies desktop DDR2 ram. I dont see them anymore on newegg but im sure they are all pretty much the same. After over clockin his phenom II(non Black edition) i had to do what you did, and good speed and voltage bump on his ram. Bought the copper heat spreaders, ram has been fine for almost 2 years now even thought its been .15v higher than its rated at for that long. Not sayin yours will last that long, but still, some $10 heat spreaders might give you that 1 year life span you wanted out of the system. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wevsspot Posted January 19, 2011 Posted January 19, 2011 Asin, I've got a either 2 or 4 aftermarket heat dram heat spreaders that aren't being used. If you want them you can have them for the cost of shipping (assuming I can find them when I get home). They were a gift and they are just collecting dust. Where is your location? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asinorum Posted January 20, 2011 Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) Asin, I've got a either 2 or 4 aftermarket heat dram heat spreaders that aren't being used. If you want them you can have them for the cost of shipping (assuming I can find them when I get home). They were a gift and they are just collecting dust. Where is your location? Hey I really appreciate that, but after talking with my friend I'm probably just gonna throw in some decent RAM that is rated for 1066MHz and 2.0+volts. However, I would like everyone's opinion on some RAM to pick up. I don't want to spend over $100. My choices so far: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104098 ----Kingston HyperX or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231246 ---G. Skill Pi One thing though. I heard 1066MHz RAM, a lot of it is really just 800MHz that has been factory tested to run at 1066MHz and you will have to overclock it to run at 1066MHz. Is that true? If so, should I just buy really good 800MHz RAM and just overclock it? I live in Michigan btw Edited January 20, 2011 by Asinorum Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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