C2D Overclocking Guide For Beginners P5K Add-On.

Recently, Asus have released a new range of motherboards based on the Intel P35 chipset. The P35 looks to be the successor to the excellent 965 chipset that has featured on the majority of C2D boards from the past year that have turned out to be excellent overclockers.

It just so happens, that the P5K Deluxe WiFi (The replacement for the highly regarded P5B Deluxe WiFi) is also a monster overclocker, is rock solid, and yet can go even higher than the P5B Deluxe, so it looks set to be a popular board, and with that in mind, here is an add-on to the C2D Overclocking guide for beginners, to help the people that went straight to the P35 chipset, without having the benefit of using the 965 chipset first.

Throughout this guide, I will be using a Q6600, which has a 9x multi. If your CPU has a different multi, or you don't understand what a multi is, please see the first part of the guide on how to work it out.

OK, firstly, familiarise yourself with the BIOS. There are a few new settings to get your head round, but those of you who have come from a P5B series board, it should be pretty straight forward.

All of the overclocking settings, including memory timings and voltages are all on the same page now, so that makes things easier.

Open the BIOS and go to "Jumper free configuration", and open that page.



You will see the main page with all your overclocking settings. Some of them will be hidden at first, so you need to change a few things, so that you can see all the options.

I've split the page into 2 images, as it wouldn't all fit on one.

• AI Overclocking - Change to MANUAL
• CPU RATIO CONTROL – Leave on AUTO, unless you intend using a lower Multi (No idea what this means? Click here!)
• FSB Frequency – Stock is 266, we will change this later.
• PCI-E Frequency – I have had ZERO problems leaving this on AUTO, for even fairly high overclocks, on the P5B deluxe and the P5K deluxe using an X1900XT and an 8800GTX, but if you want to be safe, then manually set it to 100.
• DRAM Frequency – Set this to the lowest divider for now, your FSB Frequency is set at 266 at the moment, so you should be able to see a 667 setting, use this.....For the eagle eyed amongst you, that wondered where the 533 setting had gone, I can confirm that I have no idea either, and, to be honest, I only noticed it while I was writing this! But don't worry, this divider, still shows up as 1:1 in CPU-Z. (See further down, about this, it may just be my board, will confirm later)**Update - The reason that there is no 266/533 setting is that the P35 chipset doesn't officially support 533Mhz (PC2-4200) RAM.
• DRAM Timing Control – Set this to MANUAL, and you will see all the RAM timings and sub timings, I will go into these in more detail later, but for now, just enter the correct timings for your RAM, if its 5-5-5-12 (it will say on the label on the sticks themselves), then that's what you enter here, like this (and I'm using RAM that uses 5-5-5-12) ;

• CAS# Latency = 5
• RAS# to CAS# Delay = 5
• RAS# Precharge 5
• RAS# Activate to Precharge = 12

The following settings are the RAM Sub timings, leave these at AUTO, unless you actually know what they are for your specific RAM and this board, because if you enter the wrong timings, your PC can become unstable, and we wouldn't want that would we?

• TWR = AUTO
• TRFC = AUTO
• TWTR = AUTO
• TRRD = AUTO
• TRTP = AUTO

• DRAM Static Read Control = AUTO
• Transaction Booster = DISABLED* This is one of the new settings for the P5K. So far, I haven't been able to get any stability with this set to ENABLED, so, for now, disable it. If I find a use for this, I will add it here.
• Clock Over-Charging Mode = AUTO* Another new setting for the P5K, and I'm still trying to find a use for this, stable overclocks become unstable with this on anything but AUTO for me, so for now, leave it on AUTO. ****Testing this at the moment, and it has enabled me to boot at 4ghz (on a quad), same for someone else on a dual core. Just set it to 1000mv if you need it. If I find any other use for it, I will add it here****
• CPU Spread Spectrum = DISABLED
• PCIE Spread Spectrum = DISABLED
• CPU VOLTAGE = This is where you add/subtract extra Vcore if needed.
• CPU Voltage Reference = AUTO* This appears to have an effect on stability at higher overclocks, so you can keep it at AUTO, or if you are feeling confident later, you can set it manually.
• CPU Voltage Damper = Set this to ENABLED* Another new feature for the P5K, which almost eliminates Vdroop. Not everyone will need it, but I have found it handy when overclocking. If you set a Vcore value in the BIOS, on past Asus boards, there has been a large difference between the voltage shown in the BIOS, and what you actually get, especially under load (Vdroop). This makes the Vdroop much less. Click here to find out more about Vdroop.
• DRAM Voltage = This is where you set the voltage for your RAM. This is important, do it now while you are here. If you are unsure what the voltage should be, take out one of the sticks and it says on the label, usually right next to where it tells you what the timings should be (See pic at the end of this list of settings)
• FSB Termination Voltage = Leave at AUTO for now.
• North Bridge Voltage = Leave this at AUTO for now. Later on, when we use lower multis, and tighten the RAM timings, we may need to set this manually.
• North Bridge Voltage Reference = Another new setting for the P5K. Leave at AUTO for now, we can change this later if needed.
• South Bridge Voltage = Leave at AUTO for now.

Look on the label on the sticks of RAM to find the correct timings and voltages.


Have a look at the advanced CPU settings page.



You will see the following settings;

• CPU Ratio Control – This just lets you choose the Multi, you can also do this on the main Jumperfree BIOS settings page.
• C1E Support – Disable this, it just isn't needed when overclocking.
• Max CPUID Limit – Disable this, its for older P4 CPUs with Hyperthreading, and older operating systems.
• Vanderpool Technology – Disable this, unless you specifically need it, find out if you do, by clicking here.
• CPU TM Function – Disable this. I can find no use for this with C2D, apparently it was to throttle older P4 Prescott CPUs. I have always disabled it on every C2D board with no problems whatsoever.
• Execute Disable Bit – I generally disable this, but it is up to you. If you experience instability with it enabled, try disabling it. You can find out more here.
• PECI – I usually disable this. I have tested this with several CPUs and have been unable to find any use for it. Enabled/Disabled doesn't affect my temps in any way, and no throttling occurs. If anyone knows any different, please let me know.
• Intel ® SpeedStep (TM) Tech – Disable this, generally, it doesn't play nicely with overclocking.

That's the important settings covered!

Before we go any further, have you manually entered the correct RAM timings and voltages? If not, do it now. One of the most common problems with unstable/poor overclocks is because people haven't set the RAM timings and voltages properly. BAH!

If This Info Was Of Use To You -

continued below......

C2D Overclocking Guide For Beginners P5K Add-On - Part 1 Continued.

Please have a read of the first part of the guide, if you haven't already done so. It will answer a lot of questions, make your overclocking experience smoother, and hopefully more enjoyable. In this part of the guide onwards, I will assume that you have read and understood Part 1.

Hopefully, now, you should now have an idea of what we are trying to achieve, and we can get down to business!

I am going to be using the Asus P5K Deluxe WiFi AP for reference, a Q6600 and I will provide as many BIOS screen shots as possible, so you can easily see what I have done.

Ensure that you have the latest BIOS for your motherboard (311 at the time of writing this, available here.

In pic below, you can see that we have manually entered the RAM timings and voltages. (I know I keep going on about this, but the amount of questions I get asked, that end up being fixed by this is incredible!).



In the screenshot, you can clearly see all the main timings for the RAM. It is important that you enter these to get the best performance from your RAM. If you don’t enter these timings manually, the motherboard will read the SPD table of the RAM and run it at the standard, relaxed, safe, timings. This is OK, but not optimal, and as you have a motherboard that is a RAM overclocking monster, there should be no excuses

While we are in the BIOS, disable anything that you aren't using, this part is optional, but I always do it. Things like on-board sound (if you have a sound card), Firewire (if you don’t need it), IDE controller (if you don’t have any IDE devices)….you get the idea anyway!

Save all that, boot to windows, check everything is working OK and then back to the BIOS.

Next, we are going to set the RAM at 1:1.

I found a strange bug while writing this, which may or may not be specific to my setup;

At the moment, the P5K displays the 1:1 RAM settings incorrectly, which might be a bit confusing for some, so I will try and explain what is going on, and hopefully they will fix it with a BIOS update.

Lets say that you want to have your FSB running at 266 and your RAM running 1:1, this would normally be shown as 533mhz for the RAM (on, say, a P5B etc.).

There is a bug (might be intentional, who knows?) in the P5K BIOS that only allows for a minimum of 667mhz RAM when the FSB is under 300., it appears as if the board is running dividers for 1333FSB CPUs (quick bit of maths, 1333, roughly divided by 4 = 333, and that would explain the 667 RAM...anyway!)**See Update in first page regarding P35 chipset not supporting 533Mhz RAM.

A quick table to illustrate.



As you can see, up to 300 FSB, the 1:1 divider is running at odd speeds, that you wouldn't normally expect, but as we will be running higher than 300 FSB, this wont affect us, but it is always good to know stuff

As we already know your system is 100% stable at stock speeds (See Part 1), we can now go for the jugular (well, ish)

Set the FSB to 333.

The RAM will stay at 667mhz. Why? Have a look at the table above, this is fine.

Set your CPU voltage to AUTO for now, later, we will come back and set it manually.

Save and exit the BIOS and let it boot to Windows.

When windows has finished loading, open CPU-Z (it will take a few seconds to open), have a look at the memory section of CPU-Z as well, it should be the same as the timings that you entered in the BIOS earlier, something like this...



After you have finished marvelling, you can close CPU-Z, it was just to show you the changes that you have made.

As in Part 1 of the guide, run a stress testing program*** such as Orthos/Prime/SP2004, or if you are using a quad CPU, and Orthos/Prime/SP2004 crashes, try 4x instances of SP2004 Just create 4x separate folders and run each of the exe files from the folders, and then set the affinity for each of them in windows Task Manager. Each instance of SP2004 should be assigned to a single core, in the pic below, you can see the first one assigned to core 0, the next one should be assigned to core 1 and so on.

***Later versions of Prime95 will stress 2 or 4 cores from a single install, so no need for Orthos/SP2004 anymore.



OCCT is a good stress test that will create a lot of heat, and stress all four cores, and can often give you a good idea if your overclock is going to be stable.

Set Orthos/Prime/SP2004 going and read this next bit, and remember to keep an eye on those temps.

***Later versions of Prime95 will stress 2 or 4 cores from a single install, so no need for Orthos/SP2004 anymore.

A note about temp monitoring software

I have seen a lot of people worrying about their temps recently, and there's really no need to.

One thing to keep in mind is that pretty much every CPU reports temps differently, some report them MUCH higher than others, and there really isn't much that you can do about it.

If you suspect that your CPU is running too hot, simply feel the heatsink while the CPU is under load, is it very hot? If it is, then you may have a problem, if it isn't, then you probably have a CPU that is reporting too high.

If you have a quad core CPU, it will obviously run much hotter than a dual core CPU (especially so for B3 stepping quads), and when overclocked, the temps can get quite high. My own Q6600 B3 runs hot, and at stock speeds, using the stock cooler, it can hit 70c under load with ambient temps of around 23c. As you know, the stock coolers are no good for overclocking. Ask on the forums for advice on the best cooling for your needs.

As mentioned in Part 1 of the guide, there are quite a few things that you can do to lower your temps, and some of those include;

Use a good quality thermal paste like Arctic Silver 5, and follow the manufacturers instructions on how to apply it. Different CPUs require a different method of application.

Properly secure your CPU heatsink. Make doubly sure that all the plastic lugs are pushed in as far as they will go, and then turned fully clockwise to lock them, otherwise, when you stand the case up, one or more of them will pull out. (see the troubleshooting guide for instructions on how to do this properly).

Make sure you have good airflow through your case. You need a minimum of a fan at the front drawing in cool air, and a fan at the back exhausting hot air. When you overclock, you generate extra heat, which must be somehow got rid of. Side fans, and top fans can also help, it's just a "case" of experimenting to see what works best for your set-up.

Reduce cable clutter in your case. If your wiring is all over the place, this can restrict the airflow dramatically, and your temps will rise.

At the time of writing this, I use 3 temp monitoring programs myself, and each have their own merits and drawbacks.

If running a dual core CPU, I use TAT (Intel Thermal Analysis Tool), Coretemp and Asus PC Probe 2. I use Asus probe solely for keeping an eye on voltages, and the Motherboard temps, and TAT and Coretemp for the CPU temps.

These work for me, however, some people can't get them to work. Vista (at the time of writing) seems to be a problem area for some temp software, and some boards, such as the 680i boards seem to be fussy about what they run as well.

Be aware that if you use Speedfan to monitor your temps, your CPU temps will usually be around 15c too low, which could be dangerous if left unchecked, and for that reason, I don't recommend that you use it until they fix that.

CPU-Z is a great little program for a lot of system info, but avoid using it for monitoring your CPU voltages when overclocking, as it incorrectly reports them**.

**Newer versions, appear to be fixed, but, just to be safe, check it against a couple of other bits of monitoring software and see if it is what it should be - remember, its only a rough guide.

I'm running a Q6600 on this P5K, and I have found Coretemp to be the most reliable with this set-up I also use Asus probe, as I mentioned above, for voltages and Northbridge temps.

Back to it...

Ok, so now it is 6 hours or more later and your stress testing program ran fine with no errors (If it didn't, please see the troubleshooting guide), so next we can up the overclock again

Go back to the BIOS.

Lets try a higher FSB, shall we say 380 FSB? (Keep in mind that some CPUs wont go this high, so don't worry if yours doesn't, just set the FSB slightly lower and try again.)

Set to 380 FSB, the RAM will auto adjust to 760mhz (I'm assuming here, that you have RAM that is capable of at least 800mhz (DDR2-800/PC2-6400).

Leave everything else as it is, and then save and exit the BIOS.

All being well, Windows will load, and you can open CPU-Z. You should see something like this..



You will notice that your CPU is now running at 3420Mhz. (maybe 3219Mhz)

Also look at the RAM speed, it should be 780Mhz.

As before, run your stress testing program for around 10-12 hours, if it passes with no errors and you are happy with the temps, then there's no reason why you cant try for higher, although for most people, even 3420Mhz is more than enough for most things, but, if like me, you have the bug, then go for it.

If you get errors while stress testing, there are a couple of things you can do;

Boot to Windows, and make a note of the voltage displayed for your CPU in Asus probe, go back to the BIOS and manually enter one notch above that voltage, so if Asus probe says 1.4v, change it in the BIOS from AUTO to 1.4125v and test again, if it still fails, you can try another notch until it is stable, but keep an eye on those temps.

Or,

Lower the FSB slightly, you can drop the FSB in increments of 10, and stress test again in between each step until stable.

Got all that?

Onto Part 2...

If This Info Was Of Use To You -

Click Here To Go To Parts 2 & 3....




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thank u very much computer runs nice & stable, i feel sorry for all the poor suckers who pay extra for the "faster" processors.

Welcome to the forums

Glad you found it useful

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