How to Overclock ( noob edition )

P12776 with PhysX, P11205 without. I definitely won't be hitting anyone's score who has a QX9300 with PhysX turned off since my proc has more than half the clock rate of most running those chips and half the cache on top of it.

I'm going to see how high I can get a stable overclock on the proc now... Hoping for 2.5 but we'll see.

Oh and I won't use the DOX drivers because they supposedly break hybrid SLi which is working fine for me with the 186.81 drivers.

 

Correct. I don't use the 9400M.

 

Hybrid sli = fail

bios control/choice = win

 

Why is hybrid SLi a fail?

EDIT: And no matter what I do, I can not pass a 325 FSB with this chip. I guess that is the max I will get out of it. Memory and FSB in a 1:2 or not, it will not pass 325. 2437 is the max OC I can get with this chip and OCCT linpack kills it after just 2 1/2 minutes.

 

Well, looks like I'm looking for the CMOS battery. I tried holding down the right shift key and it just gets to the Alienhead logo and sits there (RAM too high). Sucks. Won't be able to use my computer until I get home and take it apart!

 

I love hybrid SLI. The extra battery life when I am on the road is nice.
Now for general gaming ye just turn it off.

 

My CPU Multiplier stays on 10,5 (with the Nvidia tool)
do i need to change this in the bios ?

 

I would try it again. If it still doesn't work there are two other things that work before pulling the cmos battery.

1. Boot the system plugged into AC with no battery.
2. Remove system battery, remove AC, hold power button down for 20 seconds, add battery and AC back and boot.

Then the third option is pull cmos battery. Option 1 of holding down shift works for me. Try it multiple times. Eventually it should work.

 

325 is pretty high for a Q9000, nothing to be ashamed of there dude

There is a reason that chip is binned at that speed and not a qx9300 speeds, intel deemed it uncapable of the higher speed (and although you can OC, Intel usually knows what they are doing)

 

I had to leave it off for a minute and then it magically started working. I'm running stable at 1290 on core and mem.

Yeah I know. I'm not ashamed, I just am greedy.

 

Hey guys, I have managed to OC my q9000 to 2.44 GHZ (FSB @ 1304) and completely stable at this clock. --> Via BIOS
I want to push it even further but I got a problem.

If I push it pass FSB 1304 then the screen goes blank after I put in my password at the windows login. -(not black, just blank with back light still on).

I can't do anything after this. The system doesnt crash. I can still hear the vista music and everything. I just cant see anything.

Tips/Suggestion?

 

Driver issue ...

 

you are nearing the limits of what you will get out of that cpu.....you have to understand that there is a unnegotiable barrier to an OC that you can do nothing about

for me, it is 3180 MHz unless a new bios with more voltage comes out

 

and how do you run these overclocked settings then if you go through nvidia? when i do what you explain i have to use nv profile? when i use it my screen turns black, does that mean i go to high? how high can i go with my t9600?

 

are you trying to overclock the cpu or gpu using nvidia stuff

I have NST 6.02 loaded on my system but do all my CPU overclocking via BIOS and all my GPU overclocking via BIOS flash using nvflash and NiBiTor

 

i am trying to oc the CPUs but if i even go up a little bit and apply the profile my screen starts flickering in all colours or sometimes goes black

 

I would recommend just doing it via the BIOS as I just trust that more and it always works haha, no drivers in the way that have to be dealt with

 

okay thx for all your help

 

I have the same chip and have the same problem at that FSB. The max stable setting I have found is 1290.

 

you recomend raising memory by 10, do you also recommend this for fsb?

 

for the best stability keep the FSB and mem the same

 

Moo,

I read a post where you said you could OC the T9600 to 3.6 GHZ. Is that just changing the FSB or with changing mem timings?

 

depends


you may be able to reach it by just upping your FSB

each system is unique

 

I am a bit confused. I am trying to overclock my graphics cards through the nvidia performance part of the control panel, I only raised it by 10 as suggested but that only changed for one card. So I switched to my second GTX280m to change that too (they run in SLI so I assume they need the same speeds), then I switched back to the first to make sure it was right but it had reverted back to the original clock setting. I have to click apply to get it to stay as I have it, which means I can only change one card at a time. I did that and the screen when kind of weird, semi-flashing blue and green colors. I hit control alt delete and it locked the account, I logged back in and overclocked the second card to the same speed, so it seems to be working ok. I really don't know what I am doing though >.<

I also don't know what I am doing regarding stress testing or whatever. I downloaded hte ATITool but don't understand how to use it. If I click scan for artifacts it doesn't seem to stop, just keeps going : / Also only one card heats up and then stays at about 60-63 while the other card doesn't seem to be doing anything as it is at its usual temp of 33-34 or so.

Help is much appreciated thanks.

 

Oh, and what would I want to use to overclock the CPU? The BIOS or the nvidia performance thing?

 

Bios is better to oc your CPU

 

Ok, and what am I doing wrong regarding my GPUs?

 

Try different set of clocks ... Someti
mes gpus just won't run at a certain clock

 

Ok, so if the screen goes green and blue and stuff its not that I have done it wrong, but that I need to try a different set of clocks? And just to make sure, am I using the nvidia performance thing to overclock my GTX280ms right or is there a way to overclock them both at the same time?

 

I haven't worked with sli but when I had xfire I overclocked the slave first

And yes system tools is where u need to overclock them from

 

Since you asked for input, I'll share my thoughts...

Jeffa, while everyone can provide you with their own pointers and tips, its best for you to read online info specifically about using the NVIDIA System Tools for OCing your system. You should be familiar with how NST functions and the way to change the individual settings. I strongly suggest reviewing this DOC/User Guide.

When you overclock your GPUs via NST, you want to select GPU#1 - set the clocks, hit apply and then pull down to GPU#2 and set the SAME clocks and hit apply.

With respect to OCing using the BIOS, be aware this can brick your system. If bricked, you will need to disconnect the CMOS battery/main battery/AC Power - once done depress the power button for 5-10 seconds and then reconnect everything. This typically will clear your settings and bring you back.

Until you become more familiar with OCing I suggest sticking with NST. Overclocking can be a lot of fun but stick with small increments and take your time to test stability.

Have fun!

 

Ok, thanks for the help guys, I am really new to this and appreciate the info.

 

Argh I am still having problems >.<

I read the DOC/User Guide and I have followed your instructions. I increased core clock by 10, saved, increased the second gpu core clock by 10, saved, and then loaded the profile, the screen just went funny again. I locked the computer somehow (I don't remember what I pushed) so I logged in again and everything was fine, the gpus were running at the speed I set and the temps were fine. I tried resetting to the default but the same thing happens with the screen going funny. Just black or flashing kind of blue or green. Does that happen when you overclock?

On my desktop when I overclocked by gpu via the evga overclocking utility I never had any problems, I just applied my changes and that was all, the screen didn't even flash or anything. Could the problem be the hybrid SLI? Should I try disabling the 9400 in bios?

 

Hmm, I disabled the 9400m in bios and now I can apply my changes without the screen going wonky. The screen still starts flashing dark blue or black when I load a profile though.



Jw, I believe I would want to use furmark to stress test right? Would I want it on default settings? And for how long should I run it, 30min, 1hr, what?

thanks

 

usually it will crash within the first 10 mins

i would use furmark or OCCT

both of those are linked in the benchmarks thread on the first page

 

Ok thanks. I am just wondering, how do I find the max for the gpu core? I know to increase at 10mhz and then stress test and then do that over again, but how do I know it is the max?

I suppose I should OC until it becomes unstable? What would it being unstable look like exactly when using furmark? I'm jw so I can recognize when it happens.

 

either it will freeze and crash or the screen will flash black and it wil say the driver stopped responding

 

Ok thanks. One last question lol, When I OC the core, say the temps stop rising at about 70 or something, later on, when I have found max for core, memory and shaders and I OC all three, will the temps max at 70 or would they go much higher because all three are OC?

 

they will rise but you will not have to worry since the cooling is good.

 

I got up to 690MHz for the GPU core before experiencing any problems. At 700MHz the driver stopped responding. I dropped it down to 690MHz and ran furmark on default settings and default resolution for 30min. I didn't notice any graphical glitches or anything. After 30min the temps were 69C for one card and 68C for the other.

Is that pretty good for the GPU core?

 

That is average, so your fine.

 

now run us some vantage runs!

 

Im going to retry overclocking mine. What should i do first? upping both by 10 or should i up the fsb by 10 and leave the memory freq. what it is. or the exact opposite?

 

experiment. that's the fun part.

 

My wife is not going to like that haha

 

your wife shouldn't even know what that means.

 

and what about things like alien sense. is it better to turn these things off while ocing

 

well all my runs were done in windows 7 without any AW software at all except for OSD

So can't say I missed them

You can manage all the same power settings in windows if you are diligent

 

stange, if i oc just by 10 it boots but at the logon the screen stays black. ive been higher before and i did have to reset bios, is there anything else you have to do besides putting HDDs back in raid and changing back time amd date when you reset bios?

 

What is the default multi for the T9600?