Overclocking this new system.
My new PC I recently built has this:
C2D E7300 cpu, Gigabyte EP45-DS3R motherboard, 4 GB of Corsair XMS2 PC8500 ram, and Windows XP Home.
Stock cpu speed is 2.67 Ghz. The Gigabyte mb includes an Easy Tune 6 program, which can adjust settings and monitor temps and stuff.
I haven't overclocked any DDR2 systems yet, so I'd like some ideas on what to adjust first. I'd like to get it between 2.8 and 3.0 somewhere.
The Easy Tune 6 window has sliders for all sorts of things, but I'm not sure what to adjust first. Ideas?
Or should I adjust it directly in the BIOS instead of using the Easy Tune screen?
One thing I've noticed is that the system and cpu temps appear to be reversed. Either that or the case temp is 40 C while the cpu is 22C!
Under the Memory tab, it lists my memory as CM2X2048-8500C7, but it shows it as PC2-6400 400 mhz also for max bandwidth.
C2D E7300 cpu, Gigabyte EP45-DS3R motherboard, 4 GB of Corsair XMS2 PC8500 ram, and Windows XP Home.
Stock cpu speed is 2.67 Ghz. The Gigabyte mb includes an Easy Tune 6 program, which can adjust settings and monitor temps and stuff.
I haven't overclocked any DDR2 systems yet, so I'd like some ideas on what to adjust first. I'd like to get it between 2.8 and 3.0 somewhere.
The Easy Tune 6 window has sliders for all sorts of things, but I'm not sure what to adjust first. Ideas?
Or should I adjust it directly in the BIOS instead of using the Easy Tune screen?
One thing I've noticed is that the system and cpu temps appear to be reversed. Either that or the case temp is 40 C while the cpu is 22C!
Under the Memory tab, it lists my memory as CM2X2048-8500C7, but it shows it as PC2-6400 400 mhz also for max bandwidth.
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Comments
Use CoreTemp or RealTemp to check CPU temps, ignore pretty much anything else.
Core2 is a relatively straightforward OC. Drop your multiplier to it's lowest setting, find your highest stable FSB while keeping your RAM 1:1, raise your multiplier and only bump voltages when needed.
Test stability with Orthos or OCCT.
So what's the purpose of the EasyTune program them? Just to look at the numbers and not change anything? I'm fine with doing it in the BIOS, that's what I did on my old NF-7.
noobs. http://icrontic.com/articles/why-cpu-z-doesnt-match-your-memorys-advertised-speeds
Also, absolute max temp for that CPU is 74C.
I downloaded Coretemp, and at idle, the 2 cores are between 0 and 6%, but core 0 shows 44 degrees C and core 1 shows 21-22. Is that right? Why such a difference?
Also, if you can, try to overclock from the BIOS, what I have found is some boards overclock nice and stable in the BIOS, some, not so much. Its a game of trial and error, but its fun, and rewarding when you get it figured out. If you having trouble setting a stable overclock from the BIOS there are a few good tools for using inside of windows, but I find that this to be a little less a permanent fix than hitting a good stable BIOS setting and just keeping it set full time.
Like I said though, on a locked CPU, great RAM is paramount, and an overclocker friendly Bios allowing you to tweak your voltages is important as well.
Usually you'll want to go through a sequence where you test each component for max speed. This means setting both the CPU multiplier and memory to lowest settings, and then raising the FSB until you encounter issues, to find the northbridge's limit. Once you have that, turn up either the CPU OR the RAM multiplier/divider and then tweak to find its limit. Then set that one back down and turn the other up to find the final limit. Once you know the threshold values for all 3 components you can aim for a reasonable compromise value. Note that the max when all components are overclocked is typically lower than individual components, due to things like bus loading and voltage droop (don't worry about it, it's not that important to understand unless you're going for records).
Now, the extremely good news in your case is that you've got a motherboard that has official FSB settings higher than your CPU's official FSB. So, you've got the potential for some pretty easy and stress-free OCs there. It means if you're not out to go crazy setting benchmark records (most people aren't) you can get an easy and stable OC without too much fuss.
So, first thing you might want to try is the official 1333 FSB. Keep your RAM at 800 for now, and leave the CPU at defaults, which should give you 9.5x333 = 3163. This is probably within the reasonable range for an E7200 at stock voltage. If the system boots fine, try running some stress tests like prime95 or superpi etc to make sure it's not going to fall over as soon as it heats up.
Now, if you're fine with that, you can just set your RAM to the 1066 divider and be set. Generally most 1066 RAM will not OC a huge amount past the default settings, maybe 50MHz or 100 if you're lucky, but these days most chips that make that get rebranded and sold as DDR2-1100, DDR2-1150, DDR2-1200, etc to try and milk the value out of them. I wouldn't bother tweaking RAM too much, and if you really want to mess with the gigantic list of manual timing settings, feel free but get ready to spend a week on that for a barely measurable performance increase. Note even 1066 is still "unofficial" so you may have to manually increase the voltage. My XMS2-8500s like 2.05v but you may want to try 2.1. Some RAM likes higher voltage (my Mushkins like 2.27) and some lower. Increasing voltage will not always increase maximum OC, it can sometimes decrease it due to heat.
This voltage issue also applies with the CPU. If your CPU was unstable at load but fine at idle, it may be within range to stabilize with a voltage increase. Note that power (and thus heat) increases proportional to frequency but the square of voltage. This means a 10% increase in clockspeed corresponds to a 10% increase in power or heat, but a 10% increase in voltage is a 21% increase in heat. 25% voltage is 56% increase and 50% overvolt would be more than double (I used to run a Q6600 @3.66GHz 1.7v that put out over 300W thermal load, 240% of its 125W rated TDP). So always use voltage as a last resort, and only if you have the cooling capacity to handle it. Water cooling doesn't magically make the CPU run faster, it just gives you the option to use more voltage without overheating.
That said, most chips will tolerate a 20% voltage increase without a serious issue if you can cool them, but I rarely find the need to add more than 10% to reach something reasonably stable. If you go for the option of 1600FSB that your EP45-DS3R is rated for, that would give you 9.5x400 = 3800MHz, and you may want to bump the voltage slightly if it's unstable. Remember, you can always lower your multiplier if you want the higher FSB or need it to run a more optimal memory setting.
Is 3800 feasible? Depends, each chip has a number of variables ranging to the core revision and stepping (CPUs have minor bugfix revisions and these can increase OC headroom), to where the core was on the wafer when it was etched (due to physical laws the optical etch process is more in-focus in the center than the edges so these cores have better tolerances). So there's always going to be a random element involved, you can't just say "Well this other E7200 on the same board clocks X MHz so mine will too!", it doesn't work that way. I recently had an E5200 running 4.0 (12x333) at stock voltage, so I wouldn't rule out 3800 in your case. You can probably even get a bit more if you want to play with it but it comes down to a tradeoff between a few more percent performance vs the effort of constant tune, reboot, tune, and then having to track down any stability issues that may not pop up until you run certain things.