P5KR + C2Q9550. What is the limit?
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Hello forum members!
It's been a long time since I've been here, to be honest, I've been very busy lately. The reason for this post, as the title suggests, is to find out approximately what the overclocking limit is for my computer. Let me tell you a little story...
At home, there are two computers, mine and my sister's. If everything goes well, in two-three months I'll be leaving home, so my father will be left with my sister's computer. So far, it has served very well, since everything I've been removing from mine as I've been updating it, I've passed on to hers, except for the processor, which still has the old Pentium D 915 from the factory.
My main idea was to have bought some LGA775 processor that was a bit more modern or powerful, just enough to move around more freely, since the one I have now, once you take it out of office tasks and some internet, you can tell it's scarce. Looking at the prices and considering options, and keeping in mind that with these things, we never have enough, I decided to put my current Core 2 Quad (Q8200) into my sister's computer and look for a better processor for mine.
Finally, I bought a Core 2 Quad Q9550 on ebay. Without counting the Core 2 Extreme (they are way out of budget), it's one of the best for LGA775 on the market.
I already had the Q8200 with a pretty good OC (Overclock en Asus P5KR + C2Q 8200 - HardLimit) and the Q9550 was not going to be any less.
I didn't want to push the Q8200 any further as I think that although it had margin, the temperatures both in Idle and under load were close to the limit. But, I've realized that this Q9550 is a bit cooler, and for the same OC as the Q8200, it works at a few degrees less, so I've considered pushing it a bit more, to see what you think.
I should mention that the setup as it is now has passed MemTest86 4.0, 20 passes of IntelBurnTest, reaching a maximum CPU temperature of 58ºC, and a maximum motherboard temperature of 42ºC.
The computer consists of the following elements:
Motherboard: Asus P5KR
Processor: Intel Core2 Quad 9550
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212+
RAM: 2x2Gb Kingston DDRII 800Mhz
Graphics: Asus Radeon HD 6670 1Gb
Power supply: Corsair CX500 V2
Case: Cooler Master Elite 371 (with 5 fans, 3 intake and 2 exhaust)Here I leave you some screenshots.
This one is with the Q8200 with an OC of approximately 20%.
Factory: 2.33Ghz / 7x333Mhz / FSB 1333Mhz / Ram DDR2 800Mhz
OC: 2.8Ghz / 7x400Mhz / FSB 1600Mhz / Ram DDR2 960Mhz
This one is with the Q9550 with the same OC.
Factory: 2.83Ghz / 8.5x333Mhz / FSB 1333Mhz / Ram DDR2 800Mhz
OC: 3.4Ghz / 8.5x400Mhz / FSB 1600Mhz / Ram DDR2 960Mhz
As you can see, with the same case, same number of fans, and with the computer turned off all night and just started in the morning, the temperatures in IDLE of both processors with the same OC are quite different. And not only the processor, you can see how the motherboard and even the hard drives are working at lower temperatures, and the fans spinning at fewer revolutions.
And with all this (and sorry for such a long post) this is what I wonder, will the Q9550 have more OC margin than the Q8200??
Asus sells its P5KR to work with an FSB of 1333Mhz, and being able to work in OC up to 1600Mhz (in part, this is the reason why I've decided not to increase the OC any more), but, if I keep increasing the OC, will it hold up well??
Another doubt I have is that, of the whole set, I think where I sin the most is in the RAM, which is the only component that I haven't updated since I bought the computer. It's a simple Kingston ValueRAM, starting from DDR2 at 800Mhz and I already have it working at 960Mhz, and I don't know how much more it can handle.Well, folks, thank you very much for your time, and let's see what impressions you give me, if I can push it a little more, or on the contrary, better leave it as it is.
Goodbye! Agur
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Well, I decided to increase it a little more and try it out.
I gradually increased it by 5 Mhz at a time, and at 415, the Intel Burn Test didn't pass. At first, the temperatures were correct, so I ran the MemTest and indeed, it didn't pass, so I lowered the memory to 667 as you said.
I ran the Intel Burn Test again and this time, without problems, so I continued. 420 stable, and 425 stable too. But with 425, I already had the last box in the Asus AI Suite in red, and I didn't like it at all, so I lowered it by 1 Mhz at a time until it turned off, and the figure was at 422 Mhz.
I ran the MemTest 2 times, and the Intel Burn Test, and everything is correct, here are the screenshots.
Here are the data at IDLE, with Aida64 Extreme and CPU-Z
Here after passing the Intel Burn Test, along with Core Temp and the temperature log of Aida64
And the last one, the one I mentioned of the Asus AI Suite with the last box turned off, mostly, to have a margin
As you can see, the maximum temperature that the processor has reached is 58ºC, which I think is very good, and the motherboard 33ºC. As for the processor voltage, the maximum has been 1.336V which I don't know if it's much or little but well, these values are at full load, although it's a 24/7 computer it's not usually demanded too much.
I look forward to your comments. Let me know what you think of the OC. Regards. Agur!
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Hello!
Well, after a forum member recommended that my Vcore was a bit high (in the BIOS it was on AUTO), I set it to manual and lowered it step by step until the system became unstable.
The result was that it can run stably at 1.2750V. It passed the Intel Burn Test. As you can see in the following screenshot, the temperatures have dropped between 2 and 3ºC compared to previous screenshots, so I consider it an achievement.
I think, at this point, I can hardly improve the OC in general. Although I listen to opinions and suggestions.
Goodbye! Agur
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I would run Prime95 Small FFTs all night and if it doesn't reach 60°C on the hottest core, I would give it a bit more juice. If it fails, you give it a bit more voltage, which you could also do with memory (1.85 for example) if you start raising FSB (don't pay attention to the red color, that board can handle more). When you find the maximum OC at 60°C, if you want, you can lower the memory voltage and test in Blend mode.
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Hello! Well, today I had a busy morning. I'll explain a bit, and you can give me your opinion.
I read on the internet that by lowering the processor multiplier, you could continue increasing the OC to the extent that the motherboard allows, but without forcing the CPU, so I went for it. I lowered it from 8.5 to 8 and started to gradually increase the FSB. At 441 it was unstable, but to my surprise, no matter how much I increased the Vcore or even the NB voltage, I couldn't get stability, so I lowered it to 440 and that was it, since I don't want to get into more voltage hassles or mess something up.
The thing is that I felt like trying that same FSB but with the maximum multiplier (8.5) and well, it would start up but wouldn't pass the intel burn test, I would get a blue screen, so I went step by step increasing the Vcore until I got stability.
Once the motherboard and processor were stable, I decided to push the memory a bit more. I have DDR2 at 800Mhz, which with the OC I have would leave me at 1067. From 960 it gave me an error so I decided to lower them to DDR2 667 in the BIOS and forget about them, but I wanted to give the matter a twist.
I put them back at 800 (1067) and started increasing the voltage, 1.8V unstable, 1.85 also, 1.90 also, 1.95 also and I was afraid to keep going up, since I don't know what limit these memories reach, so I left them at 667 (880) and lowered the timings. They came from the factory at 6-6-6-18, and I lowered them to 5-5-5-15. Without modifying voltages it started up without problems, and passed the MemTest. I tried at 4-4-4-12 and increasing voltages but again there was no way, so I didn't want to touch it anymore.
I think I've found the reasonable "limit" for 24/7 use for this set of Motherboard + CPU + RAM. Here I leave you some screenshots for you to take a look. Anything you want to comment, I'm open to suggestions.
Goodbye and thank you very much! Agur
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Memory at a minimum, multiplier at a maximum.
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Hello Obione!
I already have the multiplier at the maximum (8.5) that allows me to configure the BIOS.
Regarding the memories, I don't know what you mean by "minimum". As I have already explained, although they are DDR2 800, since I have increased the FSB so much, from 333 to 440, and even by increasing the voltage several steps, I have not achieved stability, so in the BIOS I have lowered them to DDR2 667 (which in reality with the OC are working at 880) and what I have done is modify the timings. They came from the factory at 6-6-6-18, and I can lower them to 4-4-4-12 but I have not managed to leave them stable even by increasing the voltage, so they have remained configured at 5-5-5-15 and the voltage at AUTO (which I suppose is 1.80V).
Thanks for your help. Goodbye! Agur
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Aamijoo, it's just that I only read 2 lines :ugly:
I would run Prime95 on Small for a night.
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I would run an OCCT 24 hours in normal mode and linpack, the Prime95 is also good, but in my case, I got more optimal results with the OCCT, it has given me blue screens faster than in Prime95, that is to say that it squeezes it to the maximum, the Prime95, on the other hand, doesn't tickle it much to my liking, but I'm not saying it's bad :troll: Saludos -
Thanks for the replies. I will download Prime95 and run the test. Regards
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I have that CPU, the same E0 revision, and I managed to overclock it to 3.9Ghz stable with good temperatures. Look closely to see what the maximum level is with that P35. It will be similar to that of the P45.
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If I think the topic goes to another site. There are several options regarding voltages, which I have not wanted to touch due to ignorance, but I know people who have overclocked this micro to 4.0Ghz, and I have also seen tests on the internet with a P5K (with worse cooling than my P5KR) reaching 520 Mhz FSB, and I am still at 440Mhz, so there is margin, what is not known is exactly where I have to touch.
And to tell the truth, in my day to day and with the use I give to the computer, I think I also do not need more. You always get the curiosity to know the limit of this hardware configuration, but, I also do not want to risk damaging any of the components unnecessarily, so unless I see very clearly how to proceed, the OC will stay like this, which I think is already quite achieved considering that I am an amateur in these parts.
Goodbye, and thanks for the help. Agur
