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Test Notes --
***It is extremely recommended that you read and follow this guide before you begin to overclock your C2D or C2Q safely.
http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/...mputronix.html
- Disabled : C1E Support, Max CPUID Limit, Vanderpool Technology, CPU TM function, CPU Spread, PCIE Spread Spectrum
- Enabled : DRAM Static Control, Voltage Damper
*Settings not listed are to be assumed to be either at default settings, on auto, or not available in bios.
Legend
| = denotes field whereby various settings were tried and unsucessful at acheiving stability
- = denotes field whereby reading is either unmeasureable and or not applicable
The following core clocks will be tested:
Test 1: Stock @ 2.4
Test 2: Slight Overclock, stability @ 2.7
Test 3: The "hump" -- stability at @ 3.2
Test 4: The brink -- aiming for 3.4 GHz
Test 5: Shooting for fun."Dream on" -- aiming for 3.6 GHz on my air cooler
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Test 1
I felt 4 Hours indicated stability since everything was running at stock settings.
Screenshot:

Test 2
As you can see, without any bios voltage changes, the voltages dropped from 1.25 idle and 1.17 load to 1.24 / 1. 6 v when raised to 2700 MHz. In addition, as the FSB is raised to 300 Mhz, our FSB/DRAM divider has now changed running at 720 MHz and at a 5/6 Ratio. Depending on your motherboard, your divider will change. At this point, try to keep your ram as close as possible to its specified rating, or lower. In my case, I had the option of running at 5/6 at 720, or running higher than 800 Mhz. I opted for the lower setting so that when I overclock next, I can effectively reach 3.2 Ghz without my RAM being the bottleneck.
Likewise, It is clear that the more you overclock and the more that you run your processor out of spec, it is imperative that you 1) watch voltages, (so that they aren't too high, or too low) -- too high could cause instability and high temperatures, and too low could result in instability; and 2) adjust them accordingly. With that in mind, increased voltages means increased temperatures. As in the case of my Processor, I know that the Thermal specification on my G0 is 72 C. It is advised that you do not exceed these temperatures.
It is likely that in our next Test, we will have to up the ante to give the processor more juice, while keeping a close eye on our temperatures.
I also felt 4 hrs indicated stability as it was a slight and modest overclock
Screenshot:

Test 3:
With the FSB now effectively at 360 MHz, there is officially at a 1 / 1 Ratio between the FSB of the Q6600 and the frequency of my RAM, also running at 720 Mhz (360 MHz x 2). As well, there was a drastic increase in voltage needed in order to run Prime95.
I had to up the vCore from stock 1.2875 v to 1.4375 v, knowing full well that at these kinds of Core clocks, we needed alot more voltage, bearing in mind our vdroop (voltage drop / discrepancy between bios vCore and Idle/load vCore). As vCore is increased dramatically with the FSB, so too did the Quad's temperatures at 63,63,58,58 on load. These temperatures are high, but, not to worry, as mentioned in the article above, the C2Q G0 is Warm when Tcase is at 65 / and Tjunction does not exceed 75 C:
Quote:
Scale 2: Quad
Q6x00: Tcase Max 71c, G0 Stepping, Tjunction Max 100c, Vcore Default 1.372, TDP 95w, Delta 10c
-Tcase/Tjunction-
--70--/--80--80--80--80-- Hot
--65--/--75--75--75--75-- Warm
--60--/--70--70--70--70-- Safe
--25--/--35--35--35--35-- Cool
Screenshot:

Test 4:
Was unable to attain stability under varoius settings, as indicated in the above table. Adjusting vCore upto it's limit at 1.5 saw no improvement. Attempt at different dividers of either 1/1 or 5/6 also would not help. Loosening RAM timings and adjusting NB voltage saw no gain as well. With more vCore, and higher NB settings, and a higher FSB with different combinations of the above settings could not achieve stability and thus resulted in high temperatures reaching as high as 66 C in some cases.
Test 5:
Was able to post at 1.5 v vCore, got into windows, but it was almost an instant fail on Prime95.
Observations / Conclusions
1.It is extremely obvious that the voltage on the Asus P5K is "Leaky" and is in need of a voltmod.
2.To ensure greater cooler efficiency, a new Heat Sink is clearly required for more serious overclocks; ie the Tuniq Tower 120, or the TRUE, or even a water cooling setup.
3.I have ordered the Tuniq Tower and it will be shipping within the week. As I wait for my Tuniq Tower 120, I will be doing a pencil mod to see if I can get rid of / lower my vdroop.
4. I will also post Results for when I get the Tuniq, as well if I have any further temperature / voltage problems, I intend to lap either the processor, the heatsink, or both if need be.
Just for fun, I did a nice little benchmark with 3Dmark06 to see where I stood with my settings at 3.4 Ghz and got 14379:
Screenshot:

Link:
http://service.futuremark.com/orb/re...0&UID=13887491
--- Recording all of my Overclocking on my Q6600 was done so as to illustrate overclocking to newer members in an informative and effective way. My experience entails vcore, vdimm, fsb/dram dividers, and very pertanent information to show users the dynamics and methodology of overclocks, in an attempt to help clarify assumptions and misconceptions about overclocking Q6600's and the type of clocks to expect given the specifications and cooling solutions provided.
This post / thread is merely a rough guide to give users an idea of how to overclock, and what settings I used. It is very important to note that you should never, ever attempt to merely "plug in" someone else's bios settings, and cross your fingers.
Doing so is dangerous and not recommended.
In addition, it is advised that while reading my experience with the Q6600, it is to be used at your own risk; I will not be held responsible for those who do not adequately research and understand overclocking.
The recording strategy was used to show the methodolgy and intricate variables at play while overclocking, and it is assumed that users to that choose to heed advice from this a) know the basics of overclocking and b) have researched the issue adequately.
I hope this was a good guide / help in understanding the Q6600. This is not meant in anyway to be the exact / right way of overclocking, and it is clearly my own interpretation of the overclocking process.
With that in mind,
Cheers!
I hope this helps....
Shawnj0











