Old Q6600 G0 on a new Asus P5Q Pro Turbo

[Redbeaver]

so my lovely second-wif....errr..... machine had died

It was a Q6600 G0 on DFI Blood Iron P35-T2RL, plus 2 kits of 2x1Gb OCZ PC-6400 DDR800 Platinum XTC for a total of 4Gb of RAM. Plus 8800GTS 640MB. The G0 was running at 3.6Ghz (400x9, 1:1 w/RAM, +225mhz on Vcore, 1.4 on NB, 2.0 on RAM, etc...)

Then one day the board just died (long story short, it was popping BSOD on Win7 - i know...weird, eh? - then it just won't even POST), and yes, it was the mobo since I swapped the RAM and VGA and PSU, and its just dead.... (i read somewhere that high polymer caps has 5,000hrs life expectancy at 100C, and running it at 3.6ghz constantly for the last 3.5 years probably took its toll)

So I went and grab a new board... the one on sale and has MIR nonetheless.... the Asus P5Q Pro Turbo. I thought, hey, nice copper heatsink, 2x PCIex, why not...


Couple hours later... and voila. stock 2.4Ghz running solid under prime with the followings set manually...
CPU ratio = 9
FSB freq = 266
PCIE = 105 (why? i dunno.... a habit i guess lol)
DRAM freq = 800
DRAM timing = manual (set CAS to 4, others to auto)(coz the manual said so)
DRAM Static Read Control = Disabled
DRAM Read Training = Disabled
CPU volt = 1.4 (preparing for overclock I suppose. i got a Thermalright 120extreme anyway so temp is no a problem)
DRAM volt = 2.0 (thats what it was on the old system. default 1.8 doesnt seem to gettin jiggy with 4 sticks...)
NB volt = 1.2
CPU Spread = Disabled
PCIE Spread = Disabled

and thats it! the rest is Default.


So far so good......................

So, I thought, maybe it's time to up the challenge.....
400x9 = 3.6Ghz
DRAM = 801
NB volt = 1.4
post, boots, primed, oh wow this is awesome!!
reboot = no post
actually, now it wont even post at all lol.....

OC failed. go into BIOS.

333x9 = 3Ghz
DRAM = 800
boots, primed, but won't reboot. again.

OC failed.
Vcore = 1.4625....

nope.

NB = 1.5...

nope.

So ok... at this point i thought i should be dabbling with more settings since the NB is extremely hot to the touch....
but where do i go? there're so many unfamiliar settings! (ironic coming from a DFI-fanboi that used BloodIron and a couple LanParties in the past), and Im hesitant on using the same PLL or GTL settings from the BloodIron since theyre different chipsets and different boards....

So....... that's it.

Anybody kind enough to point me into the right direction on my journey back to 3.6? (or point out the stupid mistakes I did with this unfamiliar board? lol)

Thank you very very much in advance

ps: http://forums.overclockersclub.com/i...c=152180&st=24 my old discussion on occ on my BloodIron and the same Q6600 if that's any help...

[Redbeaver]

alrite.... best prime stable is now 2.88Ghz (as in, 2hr primed.... thats stable enough for me), using:

Q6600 G0
Asus P5Q Pro Turbo BIOS 0602 (08/04/2009 - shipping BIOS)
4x1GB OCZ Plat XTC (2x OCZ2P800R22GK)
eVGA 8800GTS 640MB
Thermalright 120extreme with Kaze Jyuuni

ratio:         	9
fsb:        	320
pcie:   	105
fsb strap: 	auto
DDR2: 		DDR853
manual RAM:	4-5-5-15-auto the rest
DRAM static read:	Disabled
DRAM read training:	Disabled
Mem OC Charger:		Auto
AI Clock twister:	Auto
Trans. booster: manual	level 05

vcore:		1.35
GTL:		Auto
PLL:		1.58
FSB termination	1.22
DRAM:		2.12
vNB:		1.28
vSB:		Auto
vPCI:		Auto

LoadLinebalancing	Enabled
CPU Spread		Disabled
PCIE Spread		Disabled
Skew:			Auto (both)
Margin enhancement:	Performance

so.... questions of the day....
1.the 266/76wutever divider works best with this mobo? wth? lol... i had to oc the RAM to 853 just to make it boot... any lower divider to set it on stock DDR800 just wont POST. anyone know a better divider? my goal is 320FSB to hit 3.6ghz... i dont care about RAM. as long as its stable im good....
2. fsb strap: help? What the hell is this setting?
3. DRAM static read and read training: huh? it says disabled for better DRAM oc... so i did lol.... what are these?
4. OC charger and clock twister? wha...? leaving auto is good?
5. trans booster: i set to lv5 coz i saw it on the P5Q deluxe.... said lower level is better and all 4 of my cores said they're level 08? (i think...)
6. GTL: wth? no .67? thats what i used on my bloodiron to hit 3.6ghz... now its only .61, .63, and .65??
7. Margin enhancement? Performance/Optimized/somethinelseicantremember....

Anybody can help?

[Leeghoofd]

you have performance level on manual (transaction booster) and set to 05... set it to auto and try to post again... I would try to go for 450FSB with 8X and rams at 900Mhz ( strap auto ) Otherwise try 400FSB and see if you can post with 1000mhz eg on the rams with 5-5-5-18 TRFC 55 set...

[THOMO]

transaction booster set at 5 will be very hard to acheive, and is most likely your boot issue.

I am in the exact same boat as you (as far as hardware goes). I too had a P35 which just died on me one morning after 2years of running Q6600 at 3800mhz-4ghz. I then replaced the mobo (after much testing) with a P5Q-pro. I even purchased a TRUE like you have..........infact you sure you ain't me? lol

Anyway.....back on topic. I run with a transaction booster of 9 or 10 on this board now as it is nowhere near as good at clocking my ram as the p35 was.
Try setting your trans booster manually to 10 and see if this helps you. You can then reduce it slowly if it fixes your issue to see if you can run it any lower.

Also, unless your ram states 4,5,5,15 as it's timings I'd stick to 5,5,5,15 or 5,5,5,18.

[Redbeaver]

you have performance level on manual (transaction booster) and set to 05... set it to auto and try to post again... I would try to go for 450FSB with 8X and rams at 900Mhz ( strap auto ) Otherwise try 400FSB and see if you can post with 1000mhz eg on the rams with 5-5-5-18 TRFC 55 set...

nice to know its possible to hit that high! on my DFI BI the CPU wouldn't hit anything higher than 415... but then again now that i think about it, it could be the RAM...

which, speaking of which, is a DDR-800 incase u missed it... u sure it's possible to hit that high? it's 4 sticks too.... <- pessimistic.

it is rated (on the sticker and OCZ site) for 4-4-4-15, though i achieved better stability on lower volt (1.82) at 4-5-5-15... so i dont mind.

i'll try 5-5-5-18-55 later. any recommended voltage? it will primed 48+hrs on 2.0v at 810-ish 4-4-4-15 on my BloodIron... nothing less...

i'll try it to Auto and try again.

transaction booster set at 5 will be very hard to acheive, and is most likely your boot issue.

I am in the exact same boat as you (as far as hardware goes). I too had a P35 which just died on me one morning after 2years of running Q6600 at 3800mhz-4ghz. I then replaced the mobo (after much testing) with a P5Q-pro. I even purchased a TRUE like you have..........infact you sure you ain't me? lol

Anyway.....back on topic. I run with a transaction booster of 9 or 10 on this board now as it is nowhere near as good at clocking my ram as the p35 was.
Try setting your trans booster manually to 10 and see if this helps you. You can then reduce it slowly if it fixes your issue to see if you can run it any lower.

Also, unless your ram states 4,5,5,15 as it's timings I'd stick to 5,5,5,15 or 5,5,5,18.

well hello,.... me!

i'll try it at Auto first on 320fsb-DDR853 and see if it primed for an hour or two... then i'll level 9 or 10.

as for sticks, like mentioned above, its rated 4-4-4-15 for DDR800.... i'll go low with 5-5-5-18 first on lower level and see if it works. then i'll go higher on FSB before going tighter timings.




Thank you both of u!

anybody else wanna take a shot at my other questions?

2. fsb strap: help? What the hell is this setting?
3. DRAM static read and read training: huh? it says disabled for better DRAM oc... so i did lol.... what are these?
4. OC charger and clock twister? wha...? leaving auto is good?
6. GTL: wth? no .67? thats what i used on my bloodiron to hit 3.6ghz... now its only .61, .63, and .65??
7. Margin enhancement? Performance/Optimized/somethinelseicantremember....

[CryptiK]

2. fsb strap: help? What the hell is this setting? FSB Strap is basically a set of MCH tmings that influence memory subsystem performance including bandwidth and latency - a lower strap ie: 200 is 'tighter' than a higher ie: 333 strap, and will give better performance but require more vNB to stabilize. Strap chosen also dictates your memory speed options.

3. DRAM static read and read training: huh? it says disabled for better DRAM oc... so i did lol.... what are these? Both are another set of MCH performance controls - enabling them gives a slight (difgferes board to board) gain but will require more vNB to stabilize

4. OC charger and clock twister? wha...? leaving auto is good? OC Charger from my testing seems to increase drive strength for to the ram - often helps overclocking the ram higher, enabling this can also allow you to run a lower vdimm for a given ram speed

5. trans booster: i set to lv5 coz i saw it on the P5Q deluxe.... said lower level is better and all 4 of my cores said they're level 08? (i think...) Probably tRD aka 'performance level' - sets the overall performance of the MCH, and has a very large effect on memory bandwidth and latency - setting this to a lower value gives higher performance, but will require more vNB to stabilize, although depending on ram strap used, only certain options are available. Setting to a 'not allowed' option will result in no post, regardless of vNB used

6. GTL: wth? no .67? thats what i used on my bloodiron to hit 3.6ghz... now its only .61, .63, and .65?? See my thread on GTL Refs if you want an in depth explanation, but your board has very limited options here as its not an enthusiast OCing board - just choose what works best

7. Margin enhancement? Performance/Optimized/somethinelseicantremember.... I think this has something to do with optimizing the performance of low grade CPU's - leave it at default, I've never seen anyone report any gains by changing it

[Redbeaver]

2. fsb strap: help? What the hell is this setting? FSB Strap is basically a set of MCH tmings that influence memory subsystem performance including bandwidth and latency - a lower strap ie: 200 is 'tighter' than a higher ie: 333 strap, and will give better performance but require more vNB to stabilize. Strap chosen also dictates your memory speed options.

3. DRAM static read and read training: huh? it says disabled for better DRAM oc... so i did lol.... what are these? Both are another set of MCH performance controls - enabling them gives a slight (difgferes board to board) gain but will require more vNB to stabilize

4. OC charger and clock twister? wha...? leaving auto is good? OC Charger from my testing seems to increase drive strength for to the ram - often helps overclocking the ram higher, enabling this can also allow you to run a lower vdimm for a given ram speed

5. trans booster: i set to lv5 coz i saw it on the P5Q deluxe.... said lower level is better and all 4 of my cores said they're level 08? (i think...) Probably tRD aka 'performance level' - sets the overall performance of the MCH, and has a very large effect on memory bandwidth and latency - setting this to a lower value gives higher performance, but will require more vNB to stabilize, although depending on ram strap used, only certain options are available. Setting to a 'not allowed' option will result in no post, regardless of vNB used

6. GTL: wth? no .67? thats what i used on my bloodiron to hit 3.6ghz... now its only .61, .63, and .65?? See my thread on GTL Refs if you want an in depth explanation, but your board has very limited options here as its not an enthusiast OCing board - just choose what works best

7. Margin enhancement? Performance/Optimized/somethinelseicantremember.... I think this has something to do with optimizing the performance of low grade CPU's - leave it at default, I've never seen anyone report any gains by changing it

i can see now how u got that nickname.

thank you bunches, good sir!

@GTL: darn, i thought i had the good board with Pro Turbo....

[Leeghoofd]

In general for 400-450FSB Nb tweaking isn't that much of a necessity with the asus DDR2 boards... if you wanted more options the P5Q-E or Dlx would have been a better option... Cryptik is what we call a ram freak :p

[CryptiK]

i can see now how u got that nickname.

thank you bunches, good sir!

@GTL: darn, i thought i had the good board with Pro Turbo....

I tried to be as clear as possible, they are somewhat complex features to explain in depth but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it once you play around with your board.

Your choice of board is fine, but only the really top end ones have much control over GTL Refs. Not to worry though as you really need to start pushing things for them to be of much benefit.

In general for 400-450FSB Nb tweaking isn't that much of a necessity with the asus DDR2 boards... if you wanted more options the P5Q-E or Dlx would have been a better option... Cryptik is what we call a ram freak :p

[Redbeaver]

Update!

After wasting most of my weekend with this board; conclusion: happy!

First off, i got my old settings back: 400x9 with DDR2-800 on stock.
Second, i can push a little higher on the RAM, reaching 439 FSB (using low 6x CPU multi to make sure im testing the RAM) primed for nearly 2 hours! Haven't got a chance to use high multi and see if the CPU can keep up, but i want to reach 450 first on the RAM so i can hopefully hit a solid 3.6 (or even 4...).

Now, onto more details...

3.6Ghz 400FSB w/ DDR2-800

manual RAM:	4-5-5-15-auto the rest ---> 4-4-4-15 won't primed while 4-5-5-18 won't even load OS. 5-5-5-15/18 works too but i can pass with tighter timings.
DRAM static read:	Disabled
DRAM read training:	Disabled
Mem OC Charger:		Auto
AI Clock twister:	Auto
Trans. booster: manual	level 10 ---> Auto works too, but i like to keep things manual, and 10 seems to work fine (with no Superpi performance loss between the 2). haven't got the chance to try 9...

vcore:		1.42 ---> lower won't primed (well, i skipped 1.40 altogether, but 1.38 won't primed) at 3.6Ghz. but i dont mind, load max temp is 69 on any cores.
GTL:		Auto
PLL:		1.52
FSB termination	1.22
DRAM:		1.82 ---> nice and cool!
vNB:		1.35 ---> very hot to the touch when priming! I'm a little worried. so i'm kinda cranking the case fan a little bit more when i play games. any lower can't b primed. boots the OS just fine though. and its still better than the 1.5 needed on my BloodIron to hit 400+... (altho i had a Jing-Ting NB cooler on that thing!)(should i move that to the new board? hmmm......)
vSB:		Auto
vPCI:		Auto

That's all. Now i'll be testing a couple more timings to see if i can hit 450. 439 is primestable with 2.2v at 4-5-5-15. Will update later.

[Leeghoofd]

I would up FSB term voltage mate to 1.26 and Pll to 1.56... Try rams with 5-5-5-18 TRFC 55