help OC'ing E8400 with ASUS Mobo

LukaszR

Guru of Gaming
Member
Ok here's the story. I have the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 running at 3.00Ghz. I would like to run it at 3.75Ghz stable...and be able to run it at 4.00Ghz stable for gaming purposes. I have read around the web of people being able to clock these chips to 4.00Gh with ease and some even have it going up at 4.40Ghz too.

So i am not very skilled when it comes to OC'ing, this will be my first OC. Could some help me out here. I don't know too much about voltages...and the other settings that go along side when OC'ing a cpu.

As of now, all i have it change the FSB to acheive 3.6Ghz and above (but unstable). Well any help would be great appreciated. My Rig specs are on my profile for those of you who need it.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Mobo: ASUS P5N-T Deluxe
RAM: OCz @ 800Mhz
PSU: 750W Corsair
VGA: 9800GTX+ (SLI)

Please keep it very simple for me, as i do not know the entire vocabulary when it comes to talking about OC. So simple instructions please :)

Thanks inadvance :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz (E8400)
    Motherboard
    Asus P5N-T Deluxe
    Memory
    OCZ Platinum 8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    BFG Geforce 9800GTX OCX\BFG Geforce 9800GTX OC [SLI]
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung T220
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1050
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair 750W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    7 Fans, ASUS Triton 79 Edition (for cpu cooling)
    Keyboard
    Logitec G15
    Mouse
    Razer Krait
First off you should google Overclocking and find as much about it as possible.

Right were ready to begin :D The e8400 has a 9X multiplier and a base FSB clock of 333. So 9 X 333 = 3GHZ with 4 X 333 = 1333MHZ FSB.

You want to acheive a 1:1 ratio between your cpu and ram. In your case your ram is 800mhz so a setting of 400 for the fsb is what you want.

RAM = FSB x 2

So 400 x 2 will give you 800mhz

If the E8400's FSB base clock is increased to 400 you get an OC of 3.6GHZ (400 X 9) with a FSB of 1600MHZ (4 X 400).
 

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Go to your bios and reset to default values then boot and restart and go back into bios.

To acheive RAM of 400 x 2 and cpu of 400 x 9 go into your bios. Disable speedstep for your cpu http://www.vistax64.com/overclocking-cooling/177111-speedstep-guide.html Then go to your tweaking tab and set the cpu, ram and AI overclocking values to manual. At this stage you can leave voltages at auto. The cpu value will be 333 you can try a setting of 343 which is a step up of 10 and ensure your ram is at 686mhz. Save changes and boot. If all went well go back into the bios and try 353 which means your ram will now be at 706. Continue this process until you reach 400 or until you hit a point it wont boot.
 

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till the point it won't boot? that would mean its unstable...so then i would track back to the stable point before it didn't boot?
I will try this when I get home tonight. Thank you for the help, please check back here as i will probably have some more questions to ask later this evening.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz (E8400)
    Motherboard
    Asus P5N-T Deluxe
    Memory
    OCZ Platinum 8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    BFG Geforce 9800GTX OCX\BFG Geforce 9800GTX OC [SLI]
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung T220
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1050
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair 750W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    7 Fans, ASUS Triton 79 Edition (for cpu cooling)
    Keyboard
    Logitec G15
    Mouse
    Razer Krait
If all went well youv achieved a fsb of 400 and its now time to tweak the voltages.

Go to the cpu voltage and see what it currently is by setting it to manual. Your cpu is rated for operation between 0.85V – 1.3625V but really you dont want it near 1.3625V. Take it down one setting at a time and save changes and boot. Once you reach a value that it doesnt boot properly, lets say 1.125 then set it two places higher than that as thats normally enough to ensure good performance.
 

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Yeah if you reach a point it wont boot its unstable so go back to your last stable overclock and post here listing where it wont go past.
 

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great info there stew2.....;)


whilst finding you highest ''stable'' FSB i would loosen the RAM timings right off to 6-6-6-18, this will remove the possibility of your RAM becoming unstable as you raise the FSB on a 1-1 ratio, so it basically allows you to just work on the CPU for now...

i'd leave all other voltages on ''Auto'' for now except ''VCORE & VDIMM''

raising the FSB in increments of 10mhz or 20mhz, keep going till it fails to post, then start adding in more VCORE, if it still fails to post no matter how much extra voltage you feed the CPU, add a little VDIMM (not too much, RAM frys very quickly), but this should allow you a few more increments...

if it stops posting no matter what settings the above voltages are on, this is when the other ''sub'' voltages will come into play....... unfortunately every rig is different so from this point on its a case of trial & error :(

now its impossible for you to fry the chip, the board has voltage fail safes to prevent damage. ;)

once you've reached your highest FSB (hopefully 4ghz+) this is when you can start to mess around with RAM settings, bring the timings back in to 5-5-5-15, if your able to run CL4 thats even better..but unlikely if its CL5

another setting to look at is the ''command rate'' if your RAM is good stuff it may be able to run ''1T'' timings instead of ''2T'', this will further increase performance, but again only certain RAM can do this...

remember your RAM will be the first component to fail, so treat it with a little more love than anything else....lol :p, be ready for at least 40-50 reboots to get it stable, but its all part of the fun...




:)SK
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    ME.....
    CPU
    Q9450 @ 3.6ghz
    Motherboard
    P5K PREMIUM
    Memory
    8GB 1066mhz buffalo firestix
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD 5970
    Monitor(s) Displays
    20'' syncmaster
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    160GB 7200RPM SEAGATE BARRACUDA IDE
    160GB 7200RPM SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA 2
    PSU
    XCILIO 850w
    Case
    unknown ATX
    Cooling
    Arctic cooler pro 775
    Keyboard
    logitech EX110
    Mouse
    logitech cordless optical
    Internet Speed
    2mb
thanks for the details guys. I will be playing with this tonight :). I will post back with results and screenshots :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz (E8400)
    Motherboard
    Asus P5N-T Deluxe
    Memory
    OCZ Platinum 8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    BFG Geforce 9800GTX OCX\BFG Geforce 9800GTX OC [SLI]
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung T220
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1050
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair 750W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    7 Fans, ASUS Triton 79 Edition (for cpu cooling)
    Keyboard
    Logitec G15
    Mouse
    Razer Krait
Cheers skunksmash :)

LukaszR remember this is what you have just now:

CPU 333 x 9 = 3 Ghz
FSB 333 x 4 = 1333 Mhz
RAM ??????
RATIO ??????

This what you are aiming for:

CPU 400 x 9 = 3.6 Ghz
FSB 400 x 4 = 1600 Mhz
RAM 400 x 2 = 800 Mhz @ 5-4-4-15
RATIO 1:1
 
Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz (E8400)
    Motherboard
    Asus P5N-T Deluxe
    Memory
    OCZ Platinum 8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    BFG Geforce 9800GTX OCX\BFG Geforce 9800GTX OC [SLI]
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung T220
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1050
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair 750W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    7 Fans, ASUS Triton 79 Edition (for cpu cooling)
    Keyboard
    Logitec G15
    Mouse
    Razer Krait

this is the EXACT RAM i have (check sig, i have the GOLD but they're the same) in an 8gb config....:cry:, these sticks don't clock well AT ALL, they're currently holding my rig back from 4ghz, i can only manage to get them to 890mhz @ 6-6-6-18 :eek::eek: (for 8gb)

the most i can muster is about 3.6ghz, but i have an 8x multi so you'll be able to get closer than me but i don't think you'll reach 4ghz with those sticks...:(, if you remove 4gb they will clock further but it defeats the object really... ive even tried bumping the NB voltage right up to help with the large amount of RAM, but it has no effect.

hope you get luckier with your RAM ICs than i did.





:)SK
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    ME.....
    CPU
    Q9450 @ 3.6ghz
    Motherboard
    P5K PREMIUM
    Memory
    8GB 1066mhz buffalo firestix
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD 5970
    Monitor(s) Displays
    20'' syncmaster
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    160GB 7200RPM SEAGATE BARRACUDA IDE
    160GB 7200RPM SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA 2
    PSU
    XCILIO 850w
    Case
    unknown ATX
    Cooling
    Arctic cooler pro 775
    Keyboard
    logitech EX110
    Mouse
    logitech cordless optical
    Internet Speed
    2mb
well i am sure if i can't hit 4.00Ghz, i should be able to hit 3.75ghz with ease tho. So i will work towards that :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz (E8400)
    Motherboard
    Asus P5N-T Deluxe
    Memory
    OCZ Platinum 8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    BFG Geforce 9800GTX OCX\BFG Geforce 9800GTX OC [SLI]
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung T220
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1050
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair 750W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    7 Fans, ASUS Triton 79 Edition (for cpu cooling)
    Keyboard
    Logitec G15
    Mouse
    Razer Krait
well i am sure if i can't hit 4.00Ghz, i should be able to hit 3.75ghz with ease tho. So i will work towards that :)

3.8ghz should be easily attainable....;)

all sticks are different though, even matching ones can differ...







:)SK
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    ME.....
    CPU
    Q9450 @ 3.6ghz
    Motherboard
    P5K PREMIUM
    Memory
    8GB 1066mhz buffalo firestix
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD 5970
    Monitor(s) Displays
    20'' syncmaster
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    160GB 7200RPM SEAGATE BARRACUDA IDE
    160GB 7200RPM SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA 2
    PSU
    XCILIO 850w
    Case
    unknown ATX
    Cooling
    Arctic cooler pro 775
    Keyboard
    logitech EX110
    Mouse
    logitech cordless optical
    Internet Speed
    2mb
Those chips offer so much bang for your buck.

3.6 to 3.8 should be achieveable. With good stability.

I managed to get an 8500 stable at 3.8. With 8G of very, very generic ram. It could go higher, but the machine wasnt worthy.

The 8 gig of ram does make things a little more difficult however. Gave me a lot of headaches.

I put an identical cpu in my brother in law's PC, with 4g of ram, on the SAME model mobo and it hit 4ghz straight off the bat. Stable, cool enough...nice.

But with tweaking to find your sweet spot, you should be fine. Just take your time, note down all your settings on each restart so you know exactly where you are at.

@ 3.6 and above, that 8400 is flying. Really good value.

Have fun. :p
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    My build
    CPU
    Core2Quad Q9550 yorkfield C1 3.8G
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R
    Memory
    8gig Kingston HyperX 8500 CL5
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GTX280 1G...generally stock.
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 24" 2433bw + Benq 19" FP91G+
    Hard Drives
    2 x Samsung 500G Raid0
    1 x Samsung 1TB 32
    PSU
    Thermaltake Toughpower 850W
    Case
    Antec twelve hundred.
    Cooling
    Air...a lot of air. Thermalright 120 push/pull,8 case fans,
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    ADSL2
Work towards getting the fsb to 400 and a ratio of 1:1. Once you manage that if you want to go higher youv two choices, either change the ratio or up the fsb.

I dont recommend either as changing ratio will lower system performance and overclocking ram i think is just a no no lol. If you want more performance id recommend tightening the ram timings if its possible.

But its up to you. :)
 

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1:1 ratio isn't always the best ratio. Best to test different ones and see which is best when benchmarking. I've seen a few people over on the SLI forums saying they get better performance in games with ones like 2:3.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
    Motherboard
    XFX MB-750I-72P9 NF750i
    Memory
    4096MB Corsair XMS2 PC-5400
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS Nvidia Geforce GTX470
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xonar DX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 24" S2409W & Dell 20" E207WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 & 1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    750GB Western Digital Caviar Black & 500GB Samsung
    PSU
    750 watt Thermaltake Toughpower
    Case
    Coolermaster Dominator 690 Nvidia Edition
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9700-NT Cooler, 6x 120mm Chassis Fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G11 Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Laser Mouse (2007 edition)
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Other Info
    abit airpace 54mbps wireless PCI-E x1 card
@ 1532 fsb (quad pumped) and 766Mhz for ram....so far going so good :)


Question tho, i disabled all the energy saving things in the Bios but yet my multiplier in cpuz still fluctuates. Why?
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz (E8400)
    Motherboard
    Asus P5N-T Deluxe
    Memory
    OCZ Platinum 8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    BFG Geforce 9800GTX OCX\BFG Geforce 9800GTX OC [SLI]
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung T220
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1050
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair 750W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    7 Fans, ASUS Triton 79 Edition (for cpu cooling)
    Keyboard
    Logitec G15
    Mouse
    Razer Krait
@stew2
Alright i will double check yet again...

Update:
I am running @ an FSB of 1572 (3.54Ghz) and memory at 786Mhz....running prime95 right now.

When i hit an FSB of 1612 and memory 806Mhz, i would BSOD. So now my question is....what do i need to do to hit over the 3.54Ghz?
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz (E8400)
    Motherboard
    Asus P5N-T Deluxe
    Memory
    OCZ Platinum 8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    BFG Geforce 9800GTX OCX\BFG Geforce 9800GTX OC [SLI]
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung T220
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1050
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair 750W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    7 Fans, ASUS Triton 79 Edition (for cpu cooling)
    Keyboard
    Logitec G15
    Mouse
    Razer Krait
You shouldnt be going past 400 yet as that is overclocking the ram and cpu at the same time and is harder to do. Have you tried an FSB of 394, 396, 398 and 400?.
 

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