Hi, I've been wanting to overclock my Intel E8400 3.0ghz for a while now, but havent attempted it yet, I was going to try 3.6ghz first as apparently its very easy to get to, then maybe 4.0ghz If I buy a better cooler,

IDLE - 22°C and each core is 35+/42+°C

FULL LOAD - 32°C and each core is 44+/51+°C

I think up until around 70°C is safe? According to Intels website the Thermal spec is 72°C

My CPU runs at 0.97-98V Idle which stays at 0.96-97 Full load, its voltage range on intels website is 0.85V – 1.3625V..

Im using a XFX 750i SLI Motherboard which is rated 1800FSB max, my cpu is currently at 333.33x9.0 which makes 3.0ghz, Can anyone help me to overclock my CPU? Im totally clueless as to what to set the Voltages at etc. and how to overclock correctly with the Ram I have (800mhz)..

So can someone help me to overclock my CPU, I hope I have provided the needed info, Images are up, Lol at the spelling error

One last thing, there are new motherboard bios availiable, can I just burn it to a CD and flash it like normal and it wont affect my PC as its already up and running? Sorry if thats a silly question
Thank you!

Anyone? lol, I tried to change the FSB from 1333 to 1400, saved and exited, but in windows it just says 1333 still

Will try again

Did you try to put it on load in windows? Might be a power safe method or whatever.
If the FSB does not go up, maybe try to increase the voltage a bit, because it might not get enough, and the PC resets the FSB.

You can better put the BIOS on a USB stick if you got one, format/empty it, and put the BIOS stuff only on it, in the root, and run that. No idea with your mobo, but in mine, I go to a program in Bios called EZflash, where I just browse the Bios file in my USB stick. Go look for yourself on your motherboard to see if you got any bios flashing utilities.

If you want to overclock you have to increase the FSB from 333 MHz to 400 MHz to get 3.6GHz. I've done it easily on my E8400. But as soon as you overclock, the BIOS disables SpeedStep, so it doesn't go into low power mode when it's idle, it continuously runs at 3.6 GHz, which I personally don't like since my computer is idle most of the time.

Technically, you don't need to increase the voltage unless the computer becomes unstable. Just slowly increase the FSB (and multiplicater if the processor is unlocked). Then, at some point, one of two things happens: it becomes too hot, or it crashes because of lack of voltage. Increase it slightly then.

Thanks for the replies, however I did try to increase the FSB to 1500 which is 1500/4 (375) x 9 which makes 3375, it booted up fine but CPU-Z just said 3.0ghz still

I was going to try that speed first, then 1600/4 (400) x 9 which makes 3600, too see what happend, if it doesnt boot how much more voltage should I add? As at stock 3.0ghz the CPU uses 0.96-8 ?

Thanks!

Try 1.296v.

Quote from Bose321 :

Try 1.296v.

This pic shows my current voltage at 3.0ghz, Link

This one shows where I should enter 1.296 correct? Link

I will try slightly lower than 1.296, maybe 1.196

Also what temperatures should I look at? The CPU? or Each core?

Ok, I tried to go straight to 1600, but the PC failed boot and automatically dropped it to 1400, so my CPU is now running at 3.150mhz and the temperatures are perfectly fine,

So Im guessing I need to increase the CPU voltage to get to 1600, however in the bios there is only the option for CPU Voltage 0.0000v, max 0.30000v ?! So Im very confused as how I set the voltage to 1.296 for example, does that 0.30000 add onto my current value of 0.96?

Also can someone recommend me a good cheap CPU Fan? I've been looking at the Cooler master 212 Plus which is supposed to be very good for its price (£19), you can also add another fan to the opposite side..

Quote from shiny_red_cobra :

If you want to overclock you have to increase the FSB from 333 MHz to 400 MHz to get 3.6GHz. I've done it easily on my E8400. But as soon as you overclock, the BIOS disables SpeedStep, so it doesn't go into low power mode when it's idle, it continuously runs at 3.6 GHz, which I personally don't like since my computer is idle most of the time.

I take it you're talking about this particular board, my P5Q Dlx leaves the choice to me. I'm running my Q9450 stable at 440x8 with EIST and C1E enabled

Blindly increasing the voltage won't do any good, what you'd really need to do is adjust the GTLref, which unfortunately doesn't seem to be adjustable with this board. The gist of this whole thing is that certain voltage/clock combinations result in different wave propagation times and the resulting ringback might cause a configuration to malfunction that should work in theory. As a result, you must find a voltage that satisfies the CPUs power requirements without causing clock signal irregularities.

To dumb it down: Sometimes lower voltage or higher clock is more stable than what appears to be a reasonable compromise. To provide a hands-on example:
My Q9450 runs fine at 470x8 at 1.32v and a termination voltage of 1.22v (can't remember GTLref), but not at 450x8 with the same voltages or any lower ones. Ultimately I had to settle for 440x8 because while it primed perfectly stable for 18 hours at 470, it also reached 72°, which it could endure but I don't want to torture it for a practically insignificant performance boost.

Quote from lukelfs :

I think up until around 70°C is safe? According to Intels website the Thermal spec is 72°C

Try not to go over 60°C

I got E8200, default is 2.66Ghz. I got it on 2.8Ghz right now, going higher will make it crash. I dont want to mess around with volts, so im stayng with current clock. I got Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro on it. People have got it to 5.2Ghz with stock air cooler

Edit: My idle temp is about 24°C and on max load its about 52°C

Quote from hazaky :

Try not to go over 60°C

I got E8200, default is 2.66Ghz. I got it on 2.8Ghz right now, going higher will make it crash. I dont want to mess around with volts, so im stayng with current clock. I got Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro on it. People have got it to 5.2Ghz with stock air cooler

Edit: My idle temp is about 24°C and on max load its about 52°C

I was also looking at the Freezer 7 pro Rev 2, but according to some reviews the 212 plus is better, but it is out of stock atm,

I have read on the internet that for my motherboard to increase the voltage works like this,

cpu voltage= 0.0000 (this is in addition to the core voltage of x.xxxx)

So if im currently running at 0.96/8 then how much should I add to allow a higher fsb? Should I go up in 0.0010's?

Edit- Ok, If I add 0.200 Cpu Voltage that will give me 1.176V compared to 0.976, So this should allow me to get a higher FSB right? but at the cost of temperature?

Yeah, should be able to higher FSB now. And Voltage and FSB BOTH increase temperate.

You definitely don't want to go from 0.9x to 1.3x or something like that. You want to take baby steps. 1.3x is probably over the specifications of the CPU.

My default core voltage is 1.35v, and I'm currently 500mhz over default settings without increasing Vcore. If I was going to get more mhz, I'd maybe increase the Vcore, but probably not over 1.40v.

Also, keep in mind that, unlike increasing the multiplier (which I guess isn't an option for you), increasing the FSB actually overclocks the whole board, not just the CPU. So every bus is actually working faster. That's nice, but you definitely want to be careful with that.

Quote from boosterfire :

You definitely don't want to go from 0.9x to 1.3x or something like that. You want to take baby steps. 1.3x is probably over the specifications of the CPU.

My default core voltage is 1.35v, and I'm currently 500mhz over default settings without increasing Vcore. If I was going to get more mhz, I'd maybe increase the Vcore, but probably not over 1.40v.

Also, keep in mind that, unlike increasing the multiplier (which I guess isn't an option for you), increasing the FSB actually overclocks the whole board, not just the CPU. So every bus is actually working faster. That's nice, but you definitely want to be careful with that.

What do you mean the 'Whole' board, as I am just changing CPU settings, my memory is still at 800mhz, and my PCI-E is still 100mhz,

So if I want to get more OC, then I should slowly increase the voltage in small steps until the PC boots on the wanted FSB?

Edit- I tried to go at about 1.096v * May have been 1.196v *, and FSB at 1500, the PC started to boot then went to a funny bluescreen, so I rebooted into Bios, dropped the voltage to 0.99v and back to 1400 FSB, boots up fine, might wait and buy a better cooler to go abit further than this :/

Quote from lukelfs :

What do you mean the 'Whole' board, as I am just changing CPU settings, my memory is still at 800mhz, and my PCI-E is still 100mhz,

The FSB increases the speed of not only the CPU, but also other devices on the board (such as memory). If done correctly, you should in fact see the memory frequency increase.

Quote from lukelfs :

So if I want to get more OC, then I should slowly increase the voltage in small steps until the PC boots on the wanted FSB?

Other way around. You'll want to increase the FSB until the system becomes unstable. At that point, increase the Vcore slightly. There's no point in increasing the Vcore if the system doesn't require it. Of course, by stable system, I mean at 100% load.

Quote from lukelfs :

Edit- I tried to go at about 1.096v * May have been 1.196v *, and FSB at 1500, the PC started to boot then went to a funny bluescreen, so I rebooted into Bios, dropped the voltage to 0.99v and back to 1400 FSB, boots up fine, might wait and buy a better cooler to go abit further than this :/

Did you try with a voltage around 1v and the FSB over 1400? Again, try not touching the voltage until you really need to. My voltage here is the default one, despite the CPU being overclocked 500 Mhz. As for the cooling, the best way to check if it's alright is to get the computer under 100% CPU load, and see how high it goes. If it's within the specifications of the CPU, you're pretty fine. I think mine is said to be fine until 65C or something like that, and it goes up to about 55C under intense load.

Quote from boosterfire :

The FSB increases the speed of not only the CPU, but also other devices on the board (such as memory). If done correctly, you should in fact see the memory frequency increase.

Other way around. You'll want to increase the FSB until the system becomes unstable. At that point, increase the Vcore slightly. There's no point in increasing the Vcore if the system doesn't require it. Of course, by stable system, I mean at 100% load.

Did you try with a voltage around 1v and the FSB over 1400? Again, try not touching the voltage until you really need to. My voltage here is the default one, despite the CPU being overclocked 500 Mhz. As for the cooling, the best way to check if it's alright is to get the computer under 100% CPU load, and see how high it goes. If it's within the specifications of the CPU, you're pretty fine. I think mine is said to be fine until 65C or something like that, and it goes up to about 55C under intense load.

Ok, I will put the voltage at 1v, and try to to get higher than 1400, Will report back with what happens , According to Intels website the CPU can go up to 72C, and the voltage range is 0.85V – 1.3625V, So I am kinda safe to stay in these areas, this image shows my CPU at 3.1 ... mps, lowest and highest

Will try to increase the FSB until it becomes unstable now

Ok, I put the voltage at 1.0V, and tried the FSB at 1500, the PC started to boot into windows, then bluescreened saying something like, windows prevented ur PC to start to protect hardware Or something along those lines

So I dropped the FSB to 1450 and the PC started and I am typing this now

iirc it said something about memory/ram, Could it be the case that my ram timing settings are Auto, should I enter these manually?

I read on a forum that I should..

Edit- Ive tested my PC with Prime95, the temperatures are now much higher that before, maybe I will start over at stock volts and fsb, and increase the fsb until it is unstable :/

Edit2- Ok I have reset my PC to stock speeds, I have left the voltage as it is at stock, and increased the FSB to 1400, running at 3.15ghz stock volts, will try higher soon

Well i have an E8500 which stock is 3.16GHz, i have it running at 4.3GHz with no probs. Stable and all and i havent even changed the Voltage yet

The way i went was:

1. Up the FSB to an insanely high number (for me it was 470), tho i knew it wouldnt start (and a too high FSB cant hurt the proc).
   
2. After i started the comp at that FSB (didnt start tho duuh), i continued to lower the FSB by increments of 10 until it started and went into windows stable.
   
3. Rebooted and RAISED the FSB by 1 or 2 at the time and checked the highest possible FSB.
   
4. After that its just a mather of getting the right FSB:RAM ratio, as i only have 800MHz RAM it wont go over 921 or 931MHz :P
   

So tbh its mostly trial and error all the way xD Got it up to 4.5MHz without Voltage raise, but didnt stay stable for more than 4 mins..

SuperPI 1M PB @ 10.937s =D

Quote from Feffe85 :

Well i have an E8500 which stock is 3.16GHz, i have it running at 4.3GHz with no probs. Stable and all and i havent even changed the Voltage yet

The way i went was:

1. Up the FSB to an insanely high number (for me it was 470), tho i knew it wouldnt start (and a too high FSB cant hurt the proc).
   
2. After i started the comp at that FSB (didnt start tho duuh), i continued to lower the FSB by increments of 10 until it started and went into windows stable.
   
3. Rebooted and RAISED the FSB by 1 or 2 at the time and checked the highest possible FSB.
   
4. After that its just a mather of getting the right FSB:RAM ratio, as i only have 800MHz RAM it wont go over 921 or 931MHz :P
   

So tbh its mostly trial and error all the way xD Got it up to 4.5MHz without Voltage raise, but didnt stay stable for more than 4 mins..

SuperPI 1M PB @ 10.937s =D

Hey, I will try to change my FSB to 1600, which would give me 3.6ghz with stock voltages to see what happens, then try what you said,

I dont understand the FSB:RAM ratio stuff, as in Everest my 'Overclock' section says, DRAM:FSB Ratio 8:7, CPU FSB 350, Memory Bus 400 *Stock*

So i dont see how my ram is increasing when its not? lool

Edit- Ok I cannot get any higher than 1450 fsb with stock volts, my PC fails to start on anything higher :/, Should I increase the voltage slowly to see when 1500 fsb boots?

Edit2- I change my voltage to 1V again, now it boots in 1500 FSB, but is starting to get hotter now, So I will stay here until I buy a better CPU cooler , thanks for the help guys

My E8400 maxed out @ 4.65ghz
and q9550 @ 4.00ghz but now runing on 3.61ghz 24/7

My friend record : http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=285292

Well at 1V and 1500 it crashed after a few minutes on prime95, does that mean I need more voltage? it only got to 50/57C which isnt very hot,

I put it back to stock volts and 1400 for now, till I get sufficient cooling

Quote from lukelfs :

Well at 1V and 1500 it crashed after a few minutes on prime95, does that mean I need more voltage? it only got to 50/57C which isnt very hot,

I put it back to stock volts and 1400 for now, till I get sufficient cooling

If its stable in windows and apps and such, then try it in a demanding game. i ALMOST never use prime to check my oc's, i try it with games and that sort of things

And about the voltage i have no idea, i have NEVER increased my volt on the cpu. THAT'S one part of oc'ing i hate :P if i ever get watercooling i might change the volt and try to get closer to 5gigz..

EDIT: Gz btw, with ur first ( i suppose? *spelling*) overclocking

Feffe if the temps in your sig are correct, why wait for water?

Quote from Feffe85 :

If its stable in windows and apps and such, then try it in a demanding game. i ALMOST never use prime to check my oc's, i try it with games and that sort of things

And about the voltage i have no idea, i have NEVER increased my volt on the cpu. THAT'S one part of oc'ing i hate :P if i ever get watercooling i might change the volt and try to get closer to 5gigz..

EDIT: Gz btw, with ur first ( i suppose? *spelling*) overclocking

Hehe ty, I just ordered a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus and some Artic cooling 5, I will add another fan to the cooler,

Also what temperatures do u take for ur readings? The overall CPU or each core?

As the overall CPU temp is much lower than each core

CPU - 25C, Core 1 - 42C, Core 2 - 48C