DRAM Voltage; X48 system

Q

quantum112

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 20, 2010
Messages
392
Hello fellas, I'm trying to get some more juice out of this now somewhat aging X48 system, I've attempted overclocking before but never made it past 3.2 GHz. The past few months it's been running stock as I've just had not had time to fiddle with it and I wanted it fully stable.

The players are:

Intel Core2Quad Q6600 G0
Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6
Mushkin 996599 PC-8500 DDR2 1066 4 GB (2+2)

Now, the thing that I am trying to get out of the way first is this. The RAM is rated to work at 2.1V. With all the voltages left in stock in BIOS, (DDR2 Overtoltage: Normal), the BIOS will report that the RAM is running at 2.06V or something around that value.

However, all Windows utilities keep telling me the RAM is running at 1.8V, and on other forums I was told to set DDR2 Overvoltage to +0.30V to bring the RAM to the factory rated value of 2.1V (as it was supposedly undervolted on stock settings).

But when I do this and the PC turns off to apply the settings, when it turns back on, I hear a *click* from the case, and then it just shuts off. Sometimes it makes it into Windows, but usually upon the next restart, it will just click again and shut down.

Should I trust the BIOS and assume the RAM is already running at spec despite that the Windows utilities report it being undervolted and these recommendations everywhere to add +0.3V to the RAM?

Thanks
 
Unfortunately, software is notorious for reporting incorrect voltage readings. If you board has measuring points (like the ROG boards do), pull out your DMM and take a direct reading. It's really surprising what the differences can be.
 
My board won't post with more then 2.05v to my ram. Similar reboot aswell. ITs a known problem with my board though, I dunno if its an issue across the board with silent pipe based Gigabyte boards.

Mine does report proper voltage to CPU-Z and such though.

Edit: +0.3 would bring your to 2.36v, aka WAY too much. Verify your settings.
 
Even if your DDR2 spec is 2.1V, I would be surprised if it cannot handle 2.2V. I used to run Corsair 4x1GB DDR2 at 2.25V for 5 years 24/7 without issue.

1) What is the RAM voltage spec for X48, that should be the default the board uses, plus an offset = your final value
2) Latest BIOS for the mobo?
 
First, thanks for your replies so far, tested a few more things out.

When you set the memory to run at 1066 MHz and leave the memory straps at auto (must run 266 FSB), the board will automatically give the DRAM 2.06V (as shown in AIDA64).

If you set the DRAM strap manually (2.00B, 2.00D etc.) the board will only give the reference 1.8V (in AIDA) and you have to add +0.25 to the DRAM voltage to have the specified 2.06V for this RAM.

But that's the least problem.

The motherboard won't post on anything past 450 FSB no matter what the settings though loosening memory subtimings seems to get it posting at 450 easier. I don't mind this that much, it' a quad-core and that's a lot for a quad etc etc.

What I am really trying is to get 400x8 stable so I can run 4-4-4-12 on this memory and get 3.2 GHz. I am doing stress testing in Prime95 and Intel Burn Test.

I seem to have a very bad chip. This has got to be the worst Q6600 I have ever seen, most people OC these things to 3.6-4.0, I can just dream of that. And I have good cooling; HAF 932 & Prolimatech Megahalems with about 5 fans inside total. But apparently that was a waste of money.

The processor won't do anything past 3.2 GHz without insane voltage. It will do 2.8 at 1.28 something volts (it is a 1.32500 VID chip) but after that the voltage requirement goes exponential and you need ~1.48 in BIOS and 1.440V Windows Idle CPU-Z to have a HOPE of being stable at a mere 3.2 GHz.

Now, here's the fun bit, at that voltage, 356x9 will pass all 10 runs of Intel Burn Test on maximum and Prime95 blend for as long as I care to run it.

Did 400x7 to test the higher FSB, used 4-4-4-12 and some pretty tight subtimings, no overvoltage to FSB or MCH, passes all tests. So 400 FSB is stable at x7.

BUT, when you try 400x8, same memory settings as 400x7, and same Vcore as what works for 356x9, that will fail 2nd or 3rd test of Intel Burn test (but is passing Prime95 blend so far). If you up the MCH and FSB overvoltage to +0.2 both, it survives 8 or 9 tests but always fail before the end.

Why is 3.2 GHz stable on 356x9 but not stable on 400x8 with same Vcore, IF that FSB is stable on a lower multiplier? Anyone have a clue what to try here? :confused:

TL;DR:
356x9 - STABLE
400x7 - STABLE
400x8 - FAIL

What do?
 
Wow, that's pretty terrible. What stepping is your Q6600? I know the B3s performed FAR worse then the G0s. My wife's B3 will not do more then 3.0 stable, but her mobo is a pile of shit. I kinda wanna put her chip on my board and see what it can do, but I've gotten my OC tweaked perfect, so I don't want to fuck it up. Also, with the FSB issues, my quad is running at 480mhz FSB, so your board should have no problems atleast matching what mine can do.

G0s can sometimes get as high as 4ghz on air, but I've never seen a B3 break 3.4ghz on air. Check your stepping.
 
In CPU-Z it says:
Stepping: B
Revision: G0

But from what you say the performance is far more similar to a B3 than a G0...

Actually at this point I'm not even sure it's the CPU, maybe the motherboard sucks? As I say you can get 3.2 GHz if you keep the FSB low (356x9)... you can run 400 FSB with a x7 multi but with a x8 it all falls over.

I was really excited before getting this proc 4 years ago hearing how everyone was getting mad overclocks and pretty disappointed when I couldn't even push past 3.2. Haven't really tried anything with it all these years because I just figured it was cr**.

Now that it started to get a bit weak in games I decided to give it another shot thinking I did something wrong back then, but from what I can see nothing's changed.

How are you setting your RAM timings when going 480 FSB? I've tried the loosest settings I could, as well as auto, I believe once I got it to post at 455 MHz, I can fairly often get into Windows at 450 MHz but nothing I do will get it stable, instant freeze on any stress test.
 
I'm running no name (OEM Nanya, no heat spreader) DDR2-800 at 900 something at 2.05v a 6-6-6-18 1T. I'm rock solid stable on my system. My wifes will randomly cough up ram problems, but usually stable aswell.
 
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