My Q9400 Overclocking Adventure

[Gillbot]

so far on all of mine, that's my 24/7 setup. 1.4core/vtt and see what I top out at, then let it run there 24/7.

 

[Big Lar]

Well, messin with it again, I adjusted the ram volts Down 1 notch with the new bios, just testing max at voltages I have set with Linpack, 10 runs, 482fsb just passed will try 884 a bit later.

This board/cpu is kinda fussy as to punching any old voltage in, for instance, if I go 1 notch higher on a stable clock with cpu voltage, I'll actually Lock in Prime Blend.. figure that 1 out!

Larry

 

[Gillbot]

I had a similar issue when I started OCing the Q9400. It was VERY picky with volts. If i'd get one setting off one tick up or down i'd lose all stability.

 

[Big Lar]

OK... went back to 803 bios/ 8x485fsb Stable in linpack with 1.30625v with LLC enabled

Larry

ps.. newer beta bios is flakey for this board.

 

[Gillbot]

i'm still too chicken to try linpack

 

[Big Lar]

Worse that can happen is ya fail, just don't tell anyone Don't run the new 1 I here.. I am running 1.4 and it works.

Larry

 

[Gillbot]

i'd know and then i'd spend forever trying to get it not to. Same thing happened when aigo got me to try occt.

 

[Big Lar]

Ehh, stability is as 1 see's it, quit Squawkin and run it

Larry

ps.. if it wasn't for failure I would not have gone this far

 

[Gillbot]

I can get it "stable" in everything I do at 3.85G but for arguments sake I took it down to 3.7 for OCCT. I just don't have the time to tweak it all the way, an 8 month old tends to gobble up free time!

 

[Big Lar]

Put youe child to bed tonight and get er done J/K... In my thoughts anything over 3.6 is a blessing.

Larry

 

[Gillbot]

Yeah, I'm happy at 3.7G. No point in taking hours and hours of tweaking to get an extra 100-200MHz IMHO.

 

[Big Lar]

Exactly

Larry

 

[Big Lar]

Heres 1 for ya, I am now running a Mod'd bios by Ket over at Xtreme/ anyhow, its based on the same 803 bios I have been running and as I had a short day today, figured I'd mess with the oc a little as to lowering voltages.

Long story short, I readjusted my 0/2 gtl from 0.665 to 0.670, keep in mind this did nothing for me doing this when finding my OC initially, anyhow, I did need to up my cpu volts 1 notch,(still pretty low volts there), and I have been able to drop my VTT from 1.30 to 1.26 so far Stable with Prime Blend and Linpack! Fuggin Aye! I am off to test 1.24vtt now. I think my other settings were so far off when I tried my gtls before that now that its stable I can reorganize my clock, and possibly get it higher

Larry

 

[Gillbot]

My mobo doesn't have GTL adjustments I'm stuck with generic bios options but getting to 3.7 with limited options is OK in my book!

 

[Rubixtoo]

Gillbot, I'm glad you played with that setup! I just ordered a PC with the Q9400 with the MSI P45, 1 4870, and 4GB RAM. I am on the amature side of overclocking, I have read about it and tinkered with it a little on an old computer. My question, when I get my PC, what do I need to do to OC this setup to a very stable setup? I don't need to max it out, as I do not do the high end games, but I'd still like to take it as far as I can without going too far. I'm air cooling it with a thermaltake duo orb.

The other side is that I'm also thinking of calling them up and editing my CPU choice, since they havn't even started building it yet. As I said, I don't do the bleeding edge games (I don't even own crysis), I enjoy my MMORPG's, multitasking, encoding DVD/Blu-rays to H264, etc. Price isn't really an issue (although it would take $740 to jump up to the next step Extreme line, so the 9400 is the highest I'll pay atm). I could switch to the Q6700/6600, and the E line. They aren't even offering the 9450/9550 anymore since they seem to be phased out ><. So, is my 9400 the best choice after all?

Thanks for any/all advice with both questions!

 

[Gillbot]

Depends on your goals really. As for overclocking it, you'd be better off to read through the overclocking guide. Any overclock is hit or miss and there are no "generic" setups that will work 100% for everyone. Just read through the guide and play around to see where it gets you. If you are happy with what you hit, leave it there. Sooner or later the bug will bite you to tweak it more though. That's where the real headaches begin as the tweaking is never ending.

Overclocking Guide: http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2057083&enterthread=y

 

[imported_Champ]

Well I have joined you guys with a Q9400...my E8400 was a joke...max was 3.8...already without tweaking, im booting the Q9400 at 3.7


Awesome chip...i also got a true for it with 2 120s blowing on it

 

[EvilSponge]

Nice OC Gillbot! it takes me 1.52 vcore to meet that speed granted I'm Q6600

-sponge

 

[imported_Champ]

I think I'm in love with my chip

the 3.7 was a pipe dream sad to say...but 3.68 looks really good...settings on auto except vcore which is at 1.264v with droop...tried to go higher even going into the dangerous voltage area (only for a second) but its no use...i guess a vanilla p5K was never meant for 470FSB with a quad...but i'm still happy

4 instances of orthos have been going for over 1 hour without a problem...my lapped true is keeping the cores at 51, 51, 47, 47...I'm gonna leave it for the night and see how it goes then I'm gonna sick linpack on it while im at class tomorrow

 

[Gillbot]

The problem that I have found with the 45nm quads is, they need serious voltage tweaking to really run. Most leave all settings on auto except vcore. Unfortunately, this is where most people get disappointed. They see many chips running certain speeds and they get goals stuck in their heads.

I know I fell for this also when I bought my G0 Q6600 and struggled to get it to 3.4GHz, let alone the fabled 3.6GHz. I kept my expectations low with the Q9400 chip and was pleasantly surprised with it's progress. After LOADS of tweaking on the VTT, Vcore and many other voltages, I got it to 3.7GHz. I'm sure with further tweaking I could get more but I don't have the patience to tweak any more.

 

[Shingoshi]

I think you guys just convinced me to buy one of these! I was going to buy an X3360. But the Chicken Coup just raised the price two days ago. I'm not sure if I should just go ahead and get this now, or wait until Monday and see if the price comes down on either of these (Q9400 or X3360). They just released the Intel X3380, bumping the X3370 off the site. So I'm not sure what the future is for these. But the Q9400 seems like a good way to quick satisfaction. I'm currently running an E1200 from 1.6GHz to 2.4GHz overclocked. That won't seem like much of anything to most of you. But the point is that I'm running it at 400 FSB. So the Q9400 should drop in the socket running at 3.2GHz with no trouble.

Xavian-Anderson Macpherson
Shingoshi

 

[Gillbot]

Wow old thread necro!

Don't base a current purchase on a thread that is over 6 months old. Research for current info first!

 

[Shingoshi]

Originally posted by: Shingoshi
I think you guys just convinced me to buy one of these! I was going to buy an X3360. But the Chicken Coup just raised the price two days ago. I'm not sure if I should just go ahead and get this now, or wait until Monday and see if the price comes down on either of these (Q9400 or X3360). They just released the Intel X3380, bumping the X3370 off the site. So I'm not sure what the future is for these. But the Q9400 seems like a good way to quick satisfaction. I'm currently running an E1200 from 1.6GHz to 2.4GHz overclocked. That won't seem like much of anything to most of you. But the point is that I'm running it at 400 FSB. So the Q9400 should drop in the socket running at 3.2GHz with no trouble.

Xavian-Anderson Macpherson
Shingoshi

Well, I did go ahead and get the Q9400. The only problem is the board's NOT very good for overclocking. I have an EVGA 730i, and the BIOS is buggy and unsupported. It's kind of like the bastard child of EVGA. Anyway, the highest stable clock I'm current able to get is 2.95GHz. But I'm going to order a Thermalright AXP-140 and top it off with a Scythe Kara Maru @1900rpm. The big problem has been getting the chipset cool enough to overclock and be stable. But I think that heatsink and fan combination should do the job.

Shingoshi