Yeah, sure... I took a look at that too... honestly, it didn't seem worth the headache. I flashed the F6 BIOS, which recognized the E2200 just fine. Set the FSB to 200, multiplier to 11, kept everything else at default and locked... I wasn't about to mess around with CPU voltage there.
And look, this piece of junk is running perfectly fine with everything enabled; zero issues so far.
I spent all last night and this morning tinkering with the rig again, and finally, everything is rock solid at 400x8 = 3.2GHz. FSB is 1600, SPD is 2.0, so the memory is sitting at 800. I set the voltage to 1.4000V in the BIOS, but CPU-Z reports it at 1.36V...
In Prime95, the voltage drops to 1.328V, and Ortho shows 1.344V. Temps aren't even hitting 66C...
It’s not some massive overclock, but jumping from 2.2GHz stock to 3.2GHz? Not bad at all.😉
I could probably push it to 420x8, but I'd have to crank the voltage, and then temps would likely go nuts again. Since it can handle up to 73.3C, and with Prime95 running full tilt it stays under 66C, I think I'm in the clear and the voltages aren't too high.
With BIOS at 1.38125, CPU-Z shows 1.344, Prime95 hits 1.312, and Ortho sits at 1.328—Prime95 works, but Ortho crashes after about ten minutes...
And that's using the TT Blue Orb II... haha... yeah, I know it's garbage, but I got it in a bundle and frankly, I can't be bothered to swap it out for something else... though, being honest, I bet the CPU would actually stay cooler with the stock cooler.😉... But the thing I like about the Blue is the massive fan; even if it doesn't cool the CPU that great, it creates a damn windstorm that you can feel throughout the whole case... and that's just idling at 900rpm. At 1500rpm, it feels like a gale in San Diego...😉 and surprisingly, it's actually pretty quiet. When I think back to those Zalman cases (I think it was the 8500), man, those things sounded like lawnmowers under full load.
Anyway, Ortho has been running for over 4 hours now and it's staying steady at 63-64C.
I'm gonna go try this right now. My son jumped on my other PC, so I've been stuck wrestling with these temperatures all day. Turns out my CPU is absolutely cooking at 1.45V without me even realizing it. Dammit, I honestly thought the BIOS was just setting it to default voltage, same as the FSB and multiplier...
Don't use the plural with me, I'm flying solo here... 😉
Yeah, it's definitely 1.45... that's how it's been set since I slotted it into the motherboard... and as for that > stuff... I just didn't feel like doing the math myself. I figured if you're smart enough to follow along, you'll get it... 😉
I had my E2200 running at 280x11 = 3.08GHz with temps sitting at 76°C TAT and 72°C during Orthos. I couldn't push it any further without messing with the voltage, and since that was plenty for me, I didn't feel like forcing it...
Anyway, I read somewhere about undervolting—not the usual way where you drop frequency just to cool things down or quiet the fans, but actually lowering the CPU clock voltage without killing performance. Since I had some free time today, I figured, why not give it a shot...
Using an 11 multiplier, I achieved absolutely nothing... except concluding that this CPU is pretty resistant to undervolting... 😉 At the default 1.45V, CPU-Z shows 1.45V with a Vdrop of 1.344V. At 1.43125V, it shows 1.392V with a Vdrop of 1.360V. Then at 1.425V, it’s exactly the same (!)... everything still runs at 280x11 and the temperatures don't budge... (?) It's a little weird, but whatever...
So then I thought, let's play around with the multiplier instead...
(Quick side note: I already found out that bumping the CPU voltage while keeping the 11 multiplier doesn't let me push the FSB even 1 MHz past 280!)
After a lot of tinkering and trial and error, I couldn't break anything 😉 and finally hit a winning combo:
410x8 = 3.28GHz, FSB = 1640 Voltages: BIOS is 1.44375V, CPU-Z shows 1.408V, Vdrop is 1.392 / 1.376V (mostly stays at the latter, 1.392 rarely pops up) SPD = 2.0, KingMax 410 (1:1), timings 5-6-6-19 2T (auto)
Stable under Orthos, been running for over three hours now...
Temperatures
TAT 66/66 and didn't go a single degree higher CoreTemp 68/68 HWMonitor - tmpin0 48, tmpin1 63, core#0 68, core#1 68, GPU core 59, HDD0 45, HDD1 36
The cooler is a TT Blue Orb II spinning happily at 1500 RPM (795 idle) Motherboard is a P35-DS3, RAM is 2x 2GB KingMax 800, and the GPU is a Gainward Bliss 8800GTS 320
Now, I have no clue what dropped the load temperatures by 10 degrees (!) — whether it's the higher FSB combined with a lower multiplier, or just a slight undervolt on this specific setup... but the fact remains that the temps are much more reasonable now...
Also, worth noting the drive temperatures from startup to after about 8 hours of running with light load:
Seagate 320 HDT725032VLA360: started at 30, now 45 Samsung T166 400 HD403LJ: started at 24, now 36
It’s easily the best bang for your buck... you get plenty of extra features, it's rock solid, and there are tons of overclocking options... a total best buy... just like the ma69g-s3h was for Athlon builds, even if there are other, more expensive ones out there... the whole point isn't to blow as much cash as possible, it's about finding that sweet spot component... anyone with deep pockets can afford to buy whatever they want... 😉
Just grab a decent motherboard without that "L" branding—it's the only real $27 difference here. Go with the P35-DS3. Pick up an Intel Core 2 Duo E2200 for $200 and you can easily overclock it to 3GHz using the stock cooler. If the temps actually start creeping up, you can always pick up a better cooler later, but I doubt you'll need to... and just stick with that Kingston memory at 800 MHz...
For next to nothing, you’ve got two cores running at 3GHz that'll hold their own whether you pair them with an HD3870 or an 8800GT...
That leaves you with enough cash left over for a solid hard drive and a decent monitor... maybe a 20" one... that's where your friends are gonna have to chip in.😉
Look, if you’re seeing a host frequency of 333 but it’s booting at 200x11, you probably didn't even bother enabling the CPU host clock control. That host frequency value fluctuates—it goes up and down. The "x11" part you're looking at is just the processor frequency itself. I think that's where the confusion is coming from. As for the EIST stuff, wiredmarlin5 is right; it works the same way on my end too. It’s just that some motherboards are total headaches and refuse to play nice with it.
Look, if you don't disable EIST and C1E, those settings are just going to override all your manual tweaks. Your machine is going to boot up using the factory defaults regardless of what you think you've set—it'll happen exactly how the error message says. You can mess with the settings all you want, but it won't matter. Sure, your temps might look fine, but try pushing it to 240 or 250 x 11; if that isn't reflected in the post, then nothing is working. Leave the latency alone, just focus on the multiplier...
I hope you've got some decent temp monitoring software that actually gives you readable numbers... definitely grab Intel's thermal analysis tool, plus Core Temp or HWMonitor. With a bus speed of 240-260 on that board, you shouldn't run into issues, especially with an 11 multiplier... and to be safe, maybe set the memory divider a bit lower than 800 so it doesn't screw you over.
Once everything looks good and you've confirmed the system is rock solid under a full load using TAT or whatever else, then you can start pushing for max memory performance.
Just watch those temperatures like a hawk...
Make sure you disable EIST and C1E in the BIOS. Also, check the POST screen to see if the CPU frequency is what you expected after it accepts the settings... oh, and don't forget to lock the PCIe bus at 100, absolutely essential.
Look, overclocking is easy if you actually have a clue what you're doing... which clearly you don't, since you don't even know which motherboard you're running and you failed to mention one of the most critical things for overclocking: your cooling setup...
First, head over to a tech forum and actually study an overclocking guide properly! Then, do a little Googling to see how people handle these types of processors and what speeds they hit. After that, try finding the actual overclocking settings hidden in your BIOS—though I bet you won't even find those. Next, get some software to actually monitor your system performance, along with temperature monitoring tools. Use a few different ones to figure out which provides the most accurate readings so you can compare your temps against other users and make sure you aren't making a mistake. And just so we're clear, bumping up the voltage is the absolute last step after you've exhausted every other option.......
So honestly, don't touch anything until you've mastered the theory. Otherwise, you could easily end up needing a new CPU or motherboard, which isn't exactly cheap....
Once you've actually done your homework and figured out where to start, then you'll know which parameters you need to post here so we can actually help you...
Come back then and ask again; we'll be happy to help...
Oh, and one more thing: if you want to overclock because you need the performance or just want to see what it can do, fine.... but if you're just doing it to brag about your clock speeds so you can feel superior to someone else, then don't. Don't mess with a perfectly good machine for no reason...
Hey, while you're working, try turning the lights on and watching them closely. See if they flicker right when the PC restarts... you might be dealing with some nasty voltage drops in your house wiring. That’ll do it. I know a decent power supply should handle it, but you can never be too sure...
You could also try stripping out your graphics drivers and doing a clean reinstall. It’s free, and if something got messed up during the initial setup—not that I'm blaming you 😉—that could definitely be the culprit...
Just don't run it like that for too long... you might actually trip a breaker. If you care about your CPU, your next move should definitely be picking up a decent cooler...
I’ve been browsing some forums lately and seen all kinds of comments... people go way overboard with this stuff. There are a few unknowns I don't even want to bother with, so I'll just leave things as they are. It works for me...
First off, even though my PSU is decent (in my book), I can't be certain it won't crap out under overclocking (Corsair Commander Series). Then there seems to be an issue with those 2GB memory sticks; they're finicky, and everyone suggests sticking to 1GB when you're OC-ing. And then there's the tt blue orb II...
Plus, I was keeping my RAM too high while testing FSBs. People also say that Gigabyte boards demand higher NB voltage at higher FSBs, which isn't something I feel like messing with... and yeah, there are probably another 100 things like that...
The only solid takeaway is that you need to keep the multiplier at max. There's zero point in cranking up the FSB if you're dropping the multiplier; you gain nothing and just stress the motherboard for no reason...
All in all, like you said—don't go looking for trouble just to squeeze out an extra 100-200 MHz! On Def 2.2, I managed to hit 3.08 relatively quickly and without any headaches, so I'm stopping there. I'm happy. 😉
Look, for $33 difference, I jumped from an Intel Core i7 @ 2.7 that was running crazy hot to an Intel Core i7 @ 3.08 that never even breaks 65C... and it handles the 8800GTS perfectly fine. When I get the itch again, like I said, I might play around with it a little more...
The AsRock setup looks solid... and it actually has Wi-Fi too...
But my rig crashed again... (pretty sure it's the PC) I had it set at 285x11... looks like it just won't go past 280x11... what gives? Does that mean bumping up the voltage isn't doing anything? Or am I just constantly screwing with the memory by keeping it too close to 800... what should I even set it to?
@ Harold Lopez31
Man, my old E4300 used to hit over 75 easily at 333x9 without any issues... I kept it at 300x9 though, and it was pretty decent there...