E8400 + Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 starting OC

[dttuner]

Originally Posted by polobunny

My preferred way too. Although you can probably squeeze 3.6GHz right out of the box from most Wolfdales, without adjusting the voltage.

This is what I'm looking for. I'd never jump straight to max, or close to max performance. Just looking for a good starting point, rather than waste time at 3.1ghz, 3.2ghz, etc.

Originally Posted by One4yu2c

Keep in mind that even on two setups sporting identical components, individually results can vary wildly. Rather than simply mimic what someone else is running, ideally you want to understand the 'hows' and 'whys' and then find your ideal settings.

Absolutely. Well aware of this, and I do not expect 4.0ghz out of my setup... only hope :)

Thank you for the specs on your setup.

.

[screwballl]

thats the tough call.... it is best to start around 3.1 or 3.2GHz because your limit may be 3.4GHz... of course it may be 4.2GHz... thats why you start low and work your way up, to be on the safe side.

[drew and not u]

There's still absolutely no point in that. In the ridiculous off-chance that his chip is somehow limited to a near-stock speed, he'll quickly find that out when it won't boot at those settings, and he has to work his way down instead of up, still saving him no time. The way I see it, you can either just start trying at whatever your target is (which is what I typically do) or roughly halfway. No need to muck around jumping from 3.1 to 3.2 to 3.3, it's just a waste of time.

[Tech Geek Deluxe]

I have the same board in my server. I have the E3110 versus the E8400 ... essentially the same chip. [Voltages are rated lower however]

I started at 3.6 GHZ ... everything else stock [Optimal]

Stayed there.

Chip runs 37-38C Idle.

3.6Ghz is the valid starting point for this Wolfdale. Inch up from there leaving ram stock.

I recall setting mine at 4Ghz with very little adjustments. [Minor voltage increases]

As I recall 4Ghz was easy but not much beyond for my "ultra stable" tastes.

I actually keep mine underclocked at 1.5Ghz 24/7 ... until I use it to run trading charts ... then I jump to 3.6Ghz.

[screwballl]

Start low with any overclock, any safe overclocker should do the same. Start low and work your way up. Jumping straight to 3.6GHz is a suicide move and runs the risk of damage to the system or memory (or at minimum the system will not boot). You waste so much more time starting high and working your way down trying to find out what may be holding it back... then trying to go back up again.... thats at least 3-6 hours of wasted time which is why proper and safe overclocking dictates that you start low and work your way up... regardless if you have the EXACT same hardware in your system at 4GHz, his may not boot past 3.4GHz even with proper OC settings.

By starting low and checking with us at the point it refuses to post, we can notify him of what the next step is.. if he just jumps to 3.6GHz and it refuses to post first try then that leaves us nowhere and no trail to follow and doubles the amount of help he has to ask for.

The process is simple... start at 3.1 or 3.2GHz and boot into windows each time. If it refuses to boot towards the middle like 3.5GHz then the memory multiplier may need to be dropped a notch as it may be overclocking the memory too much which is stopping the board from posting. Fix the memory mutli (say from 4.0 to 3.3) and continue booting into windows at the last good OC.
Once you hit around 3.6GHz, it would be good to try running Orthos for 3-6 hours at a time to check for instability. If 3.6 is stable, go to 3.7 or 3.8. If you reach a point that it is unstable or the temperatures go out of control, drop it back down and test it again until it is stable.

There is no guarantee that any overclock will work or that past results will be reflected in every single system.

[dttuner]

Originally Posted by screwballl

Start low with any overclock, any safe overclocker should do the same. Start low and work your way up. Jumping straight to 3.6GHz is a suicide move and runs the risk of damage to the system or memory (or at minimum the system will not boot). You waste so much more time starting high and working your way down trying to find out what may be holding it back... then trying to go back up again.... thats at least 3-6 hours of wasted time which is why proper and safe overclocking dictates that you start low and work your way up... regardless if you have the EXACT same hardware in your system at 4GHz, his may not boot past 3.4GHz even with proper OC settings.

By starting low and checking with us at the point it refuses to post, we can notify him of what the next step is.. if he just jumps to 3.6GHz and it refuses to post first try then that leaves us nowhere and no trail to follow and doubles the amount of help he has to ask for.

The process is simple... start at 3.1 or 3.2GHz and boot into windows each time. If it refuses to boot towards the middle like 3.5GHz then the memory multiplier may need to be dropped a notch as it may be overclocking the memory too much which is stopping the board from posting. Fix the memory mutli (say from 4.0 to 3.3) and continue booting into windows at the last good OC.
Once you hit around 3.6GHz, it would be good to try running Orthos for 3-6 hours at a time to check for instability. If 3.6 is stable, go to 3.7 or 3.8. If you reach a point that it is unstable or the temperatures go out of control, drop it back down and test it again until it is stable.

There is no guarantee that any overclock will work or that past results will be reflected in every single system.

I'd rather start at the "Average overclock" of 3.6ghz. If my system doesn't boot... oh well. I set a jumper, or cold boot the system and I'm back to defaults. No big deal. Mild overclocking isn't going to damage anything.
Makes no sense wasting time on anything lower.

Thanks for everyone's input.

.

[Capper]

Lets look at this rationally, as both Drew and Mike are correct.


A lot of people get a number stuck in their head....its usually a high number, because they heard someone else did it, or they saw Fugger get 15GHz on his E8400.....so they jump right in, throw caution to the wind and kill their brand new processor.

Thats a bad idea.......

On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with picking a modest number 500 to 700MHz above the stock clock speed and working from there. I'd caution you to first try to find the best OC WITHOUT boosting the vcore, but even a modest boost while keeping the processor with INTEL guideline for that particular processor is fine.

whenever you do this, always think things through before starting....make sure you have adequate cooling, make sure you understand any BIOS settings you are changing, and make sure to isolate, then consolidate.......meaning OC one thing at a time....the processor first, then the memory, not both at the same time because if you encounter instability, it will be that much harder to narrow down where the problem lies.

In short, do your homework, and use others experiences as a guideline....

[dttuner]

Originally Posted by Capper

In short, do your homework, and use others experiences as a guideline....

Gathering other's experience is what I'm here to do.
I agree that a modest overclock as a starting point assumes little risk to my processor. Also, I do not intend on changing voltages, memory OC, or anything else, until I find my maximum stable stock overclock.

From there, I plan to slowly work my way up on items like voltage, memory, etc.
Cooling - I have a well-cooled case, with upgraded case fans, as well as an Ultra-120 Extreme w/120mm fan on my CPU.
Even my video card has a Thermalrite HR-03 GT cooler in place!

EDIT: In addition... I have overclocked multiple PC's in my lifetime. I was only looking to find the average OC starting point for this specific CPU. My ultimate goal will be to try and achieve a 4.0+ghz OC... but I'll take my time getting there.
.

[Capper]

I think anywhere in the 3.6GHz to 3.8GHz is a good starting point. I've personally had my E8400 to 4.32GHz without any issues under a decent water cooling setup and 1.425V.

I'd say that 4GHz to 4.2GHz is pretty typically the max stable OC with them.

[screwballl]

I find that regardless of what others have gotten for their final OC, starting low is the best way to ensure that something else such as the chipset or possibly bad CPU may not be limiting you. I would say 3.2-3.4 at the highest starting point and also drop the memory multiplier to say 3.0 right off the bat to underclock the memory and give you a little head room.

edit: we all have differing opinions as you can see... I prefer to start safe and work my way up and some like to jump right in.