The Vector Kid

As is my habit, when I get a new CPU I overclock the hell out of it (see sig for my previous chip), and then I post the results up here. My latest processor, a nice Q9450, has unfortunately gotten the best of my system. I could only take it to an FSB of 444 before my system refused to even get into windows.

The chip in question has a VID of 1.1875. I never went under it, just kept going higher to see what FSB I could reach on stock voltage, then escalated the vCore until I hit the Motherboard wall. This CPU has a maximum multiplier of 8x, which means the highest I could get it to run before the motherboard went on strike was 3.55 GHz at 1.35v in the BIOS.

I don't know the week or batch number, you'll have to ask grunion about that as it used to be his. 'Tis L812A528, thanks grunion!

All of these clocks were verified stable by 8 hours of Orthos small FFTs (yes, I used 2 instances of Orthos and yes, I set the affinities properly.) At 440-444, small FFTs ran fine. As soon as I tried large FFTs or blend it froze, indicating that the CPU was not the problem. It was the motherboard.

Much more information is available, including RAM timings, NB/VTT voltage, idle/load/ambient temps, and Super PI times. PM me if you want the extra stuff.

*Disclaimer*
By now you should know that every chip is different, so just because you have a Q9450 does not mean you can simply copy these specs. It does, however, provide you with a good baseline for comparison to gauge your chip vs mine, or if you're just curious about the general ability of the new 45nm chips.

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grunion

L812A528

Nice work

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Megahalems > TR Ultra Extreme
How do I uninstall Video Card drivers?
How do I see my in game temps?

The Vector Kid

Thanks. Now I need a motherboard. Suggestions are extremely welcome.

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sarcsid

Great work,

I'll use this as base when I oc =)

The Vector Kid

Just make sure to read the disclaimer. Welcome to overclock.net.

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IM0001

Can't say anything bad about any X48 based ASUS board. Or even a X38 board for that matter. Also have had good experiance with P5K boards and the old P5B's

Blameless

I'm not certain using the BIOS voltage is the best way to compare. Various boards can have a huge range of actual voltages at the same BIOS setting, depending on temperature, PWMs, and special options.

My dead Blood Iron (which I just discovered was killed due to a short, not excessive current draw as I previously thought) had a droop of almost 0.075v with my quad @ 3.71GHz in high ambient temps. Boards with vdroop control or load line calibration may actually increase voltage under load.

I think the BIOS setting and actual load voltage should be listed, so the CPU and boards can be isolated somewhat.

Anyway my X3350 went up to 407x8 (3.256GHz) on stock volts (1.2125 BIOS, ~1.156v load), 450x8 (3.6GHz) with 1.3125v BIOS (1.256v load) and 463x8 (3.707GHz) with 1.3875v BIOS (1.31v load), on my Blood Iron. I don't currently have more detailed notes.

I will do further testing in a few days when my ASUS P5Q Deluxe arrives.

The Vector Kid

Taken into consideration, I'll make a chart with the CPU-Z load voltage as well... but I mean, we all know how notorious software-based voltage monitors are.

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Blameless

I've compared my multimeter readings to what CPU-Z says, and they are very close, at least on a Blood Iron.

I doubt the margin of error on most boards is going to be any greater than the variations in vdroop.

The Vector Kid

Okay, I put up a CPU-Z variation. Yes, I have ridiculous vDroop.

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