C2D Overclocking Guide For Beginners

[supershanks]

Hi
Try putting your Ram voltage up to 1.9v Auto leaves it at 1.8v which is the jdec standard.
You do this by setting DDR2 Overvoltage Control (see your 3rd bios shot) to +0.10v
The logic here is 1.80v Standard +0.10v = 1.9v

If that's not stable try upping (G)Mch overvoltage a bit more.
your bios is pretty similar to the Gigabyte GA X38 DQ6 you might get some ideas by looking at the voltages etc., shown in the bios settings shown in the links in the Key POsts & tuning & tweaking sections.


You should also try & determind what is failing CPU or Ram. Try running Prime95 25.6 and read the

How to Use Prime and interpret prime failures

link to help establish reason for failure.

Let us know how it goes

[Clunk]

Edit: beat me to it.

[supershanks]

[buda_noob]

I've set my ram back to 5, 5, 5, 18.

Upped the DDR2 Ram Voltage, 0.1+, 0.2+, 0.3+, unsuccessful.
Upped the MCH Voltage control, 0.1+, 0.2+, 0.3+, with same results. After I save , it reboots, 5-7 secs with dark screen, reboots again with the overclocking back to auto, same as the ram settings, but the voltages & features disabled stays the same.

Maybe I've reached the threshold?

I will run prime 95 tonight with it clocking at 9x345 for 12 hours and see if i can find out any issues!

[affiliate13]

You might well have reached the CPUs max frequency, but maybe bump the vcore up a little.
If your at 1.4v try 1.45v vcore. Leave RAM timings and vdimm 5/5/5/18 1.9v.
MCH can go to a touch higher but keep it where you had it last.
Check CPU doesn't clock higher with the RAM in the other slots too, sometimes it does.

Also try setting FSB to 375 just in case theres a hole between 350 and a bit higher.

Keep an eye on the heat, use realtemp/coretemp.

[buda_noob]

YEP! I think I have reached the max frequency,
i've bumped up the vcore to 1.45, 1.5, 1.55.
didn't worK. I've tried 350, 355, 360, 365, 370, 375, 380, 385. None worked as well.
LOL

at 345 right now, full load temp highest is 61 degrees celcius.

I think I might be asking too much from my first ever overclock. I'm happy with with my virgin 1.83ghz=3.10ghz oc. Just thought I would push it to the max.

Thanks for all the tips and advices!!!
Maybe i will just purchase e8400 in the future and hit that 4.0ghz mark. LOL Hehheh

[affiliate13]

Thats a great clock from 1.8Ghz. I'd be happy with that too.
E8400s can be brilliant clockers, but i wouldnt drop one into a 965 board as you might not get it to the FSB you want, might be best to look at replacing board and chip if you need to go higher.
If you dont need any higher just now then maybe just enjoy what youve got and let us know what your planning next, im sure everyone will want to lend a hand.

[Gambit]

Hi all, just working thru the guide, i'd previously over clocked my E2140, but havent set or change memory timings, my p5n-mx board isnt as flexable as i'd like, and am limited to 1.8 or 1.95 as the voltage options for mem, and nothing for the cpu. What i'd really like to know, is ocz platignum OCZ2P800R21G is my ram, i have two sticks of 1mb, but am not sure what timings to enter to start with, normally i just leave it to auto, but would appreciate some tips on choosing the starting timing, and then i need to understand what would be the ideal direction to move in for each timing.. for instance, i know that to make my cpu run faster the fsb must go up.. but memory timings.. i guess down is better.. ? anyways.. hope i make some sense.. great guide so far A++

Gambit

[Clunk]

Welcome to the forums

You can find the correct timings and voltage on the label on the side of the modules.

Tighter timings = lower numbers and this can often give you a little better performance, but quite often, you will need to add extra voltage to get the modules to run at their rated speeds with tighter timings and I don't recommend this for a beginner. The gains aren't that great anyway - go for the CPU overclock, it's much more beneficial

[Gambit]

I'l set the timings as per on the module.. i dont remember seeing any, as they have heatspreaders fitted as standard, but i'l whip em out and have a look and continue from there.. , will report back later

Thanks

Gambit