Question about q9650 + P5B OC

[calpolyarc]

After reading some beginner OC'ing guides I was able to OC my q9650 to 3.6 fairly easily just by changing the CPU speed to 4.0 x 9. I also enabled/disabled everything recommended by the guides and put in my basic RAM timings. What I didn't do is mess with any of the voltages. I was very happy with the results of the 3.6 OC but of course wanted to see if I could get more...

Long story short one of the cores on the quad died after I tried to push it to around 3.8 so I RMA'd it. The new chip will be here on friday and what I'm wondering is if it's ok for me to just OC it to 3.6 as I described above or am I going to hurting it by no fussing with the more advanced settings? I assume it would be beneficial to drop the vcore as low as I can due to heat reasons, is that right?

If it really would be beneficial to adjust the more advanced settings are there any somewhat 'safe & standard' values I can just plug in?

From Intels Processor Spec finder:
Thermal Design Power: 95W
Thermal Spec: 71.4 C
VID Voltage Range: 0.85 - 1.3625 V

My RAM Specs:
Timings: 5-5-5-15
Voltage Range: 1.8 - 1.9 V

Thank you very much for any advice!

 

[bebopin64]

i find it really hard to believe that one of the cores died after that. if it simply wouldnt post then you just needed to reset cmos. and with some vcore upping you could get a bit more OCing. the 9650 should be able to 4.0 a lot of the time.

 

[Shane]

i find it really hard to believe that one of the cores died after that. if it simply wouldnt post then you just needed to reset cmos. and with some vcore upping you could get a bit more OCing. the 9650 should be able to 4.0 a lot of the time.

yeah i agree,sometimes when i try diffrent overclock settings on my rig two cores will go missing and dont show up in windows.
resettng the bios and trying again usualy worked,not sure why it does that but all my cores show after my overclock now.

 

[calpolyarc]

After I tried OC'ing to 3.8 and the computer wouldn't post, I did reset the bios and then got into windows. Then I ran cpu-z, real temp, and cpuid and it was clear that one of the cores had died somehow?!

 

[lovely?]

After I tried OC'ing to 3.8 and the computer wouldn't post, I did reset the bios and then got into windows. Then I ran cpu-z, real temp, and cpuid and it was clear that one of the cores had died somehow?!

the core isnt dead, i dont think its likely that the computer would even turn on if the core had gone out. i mean, if one core could be disabled that easily, then Intel would be making tri-cores like AMD.

but anyways, a safe bet would be 400X9, you'll get 3.6ghz and 800mhz on your ram. its the perfect setting for you.

 

[calpolyarc]

well the new cpu came a day earlier than expected... imagine that!

To get everyone up to date here are my specs:
q9650 in Asus P5B with Xigmatek HDT-S1283 HSF
4 x 2Gb GSkill DDR2 800, 5-5-5-15
Quadro FX 1500 GPU
Antec 500w Earthwatts

1. First boot with default bios:
idle temps = 26-31 degrees C
idle vcore = 1.3v
load temps = 44-51
load vcore = 1.22v
DRAM frequency = 333 timings = 5-6-6-15

2. First OC:
FSB=360x9=3240
vcore=manual=1.2375v
DRAM=720(1:1) voltage=manual=1.85 timings=5-5-5-15
typical disabling of extraneous mobo settings.

idle temps = 25-31
idle vcore = 1.18 - 1.2
load temps = 41-47
load vcore = 1.12

Result: successful.

3. Second OC:
FSB=400x9=3600
vcore=manual=1.25v
DRAM=800(1:1)
everything else left as is.

Result: wouldn't boot into windows. When I went back into bios it wouldn't let me manually set the vcore anymore, 'auto' was my only option. I set the FSB back to 360, saved and exited and went back into bios, I could then manually set the vcore again. This booted into windows just fine as before.

4. Third OC:
FSB=380x9
vcore=manual=1.2375
DRAM=760(1:1)
everything else left as is.

Result: wouldn't boot into windows, but got a lot closer than the last attempt. When I went back into bios it wouldn't let me manually set the vcore anymore, 'auto' was my only option. I set the FSB back to 360, saved and exited and went back into bios, I could then manually set the vcore again. This booted into windows just fine as before.


Obviously there's some problem here as the q9650 shouldn't 'max' out at a 3.24 OC!! Any ideas?? During the third OC attempt while it was trying to boot into windows I got an error, something like, "can't load (or find?) the specified file: <windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe". I had a couple weird windows issues last time I OC'd (see the first post in this thread), ie: I had to reinstall Avast antivirus and my ftp program wouldn't connect to my web server anymore (both internet related?) Anyways, I don't think these are the reasons why the OC isn't working right? Should I do a windows repair?

Thanks a bunch, your time is appreciated!