Does overclocking help?

esqrkim · 2010-03-27, 17:26

I have a Quad 9550 (2.83 MHz) with 4GB of RAM (1066 MHz) in Asus P5Q Pro Turbo MB. I recently overclocked the CPU to 3.20 MHz and left everything else to auto in the BIOS, but did not see noticeable difference in LL iteration times. What's happening? Do I need to overclock more to see significant difference or should something else be overclocked to see the benefits of the CPU being overclocked?

Thans for your help.

joblack · 2010-03-27, 21:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by esqrkim

I have a Quad 9550 (2.83 MHz) with 4GB of RAM (1066 MHz) in Asus P5Q Pro Turbo MB. I recently overclocked the CPU to 3.20 MHz and left everything else to auto in the BIOS, but did not see noticeable difference in LL iteration times. What's happening? Do I need to overclock more to see significant difference or should something else be overclocked to see the benefits of the CPU being overclocked?

Thans for your help.

Normally you should see a difference. The Q-series will automatically downclock if they get too hot. Check out the temperature with a windows tool (or use sensors for Linux) to get the working temperature (downclocking occures around 85 C). Additionally you can check the /var/log/syslog for 'downclock' messages ...

esqrkim · 2010-04-03, 06:50

I got the Q9550 running at 3.57 GHz. After 26% increase in speed, I can clearly see the difference in processing LL tests. The temp seems to hover between 53C and 56C depending on the time of day. The HDT-S1283 is really making a difference on controlling the temp.

lycorn · 2010-04-03, 15:18

Just watch for errors that may occur (SUMOUT, or similar stuff...). In order for the OC to be effective, it shall not induce errors in the tests. If you have a 20 or 30% decrease in the completion time due to OC its fine, but if the test turns out to be incorrect, all the work goes to waste, and it would have been better to complete the test slower, but with a correct result.
In general, when one starts overclocking a given machine, it´s good practice to run a couple of DCs first, and see if they match the previously reported results, so one gets confident that the OCed machine is running smoothly before starting first time LLs.

joblack · 2010-04-03, 15:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by lycorn

Just watch for errors that may occur (SUMOUT, or similar stuff...). In order for the OC to be effective, it shall not induce errors in the tests. If you have a 20 or 30% decrease in the completion time due to OC its fine, but if the test turns out to be incorrect, all the work goes to waste, and it would have been better to complete the test slower, but with a correct result.
In general, when one starts overclocking a given machine, it´s good practice to run a couple of DCs first, and see if they match the previously reported results, so one gets confident that the OCed machine is running smoothly before starting first time LLs.

Just watching the error rate isn't enough. The cpu could downclock before getting error messages. If you run Linux you can check out /var/log/syslog for downclock messaging.

rx7350 · 2010-04-06, 18:11

You mentioned you 'left everything else to auto' . Did the memory overclock as well? Memory is the bottleneck for a Q9950, and increasing the frequency of the memory will have a dramatic effect on iteration times, usually more so than increasing cpu speed.

esqrkim · 2010-04-17, 04:15

No, I did not overclock the RAM. I did increase the RAM voltage to 2V to match the hardware spec.

The Asus software is not as good as going directly into the BIOS. By setting the FSB to 424, I was able to get the CPU speed to be 3.6 GHz. Now, all four of my cores show 0.07 seconds for iteration time. I also noticed that simply having the ethernet cable connected adds 0.001 seconds to the iteration time.

I could push the CPU some more, but I don't want to be too greedy. The speed increase that I've already gained has made my CPU worth several times more than what I paid. So, I'm satisfied. In addition, I'd like to keep the CPU temperature below 60C on a hot day. Right now, the temp is going up to 58C on a hot day.

musicworld1 · 2010-06-26, 08:15

How can i do this better.

2010-03-27, 17:26	#1
esqrkim Mar 2010 California, USA 32₈ Posts	Does overclocking help? I have a Quad 9550 (2.83 MHz) with 4GB of RAM (1066 MHz) in Asus P5Q Pro Turbo MB. I recently overclocked the CPU to 3.20 MHz and left everything else to auto in the BIOS, but did not see noticeable difference in LL iteration times. What's happening? Do I need to overclock more to see significant difference or should something else be overclocked to see the benefits of the CPU being overclocked? Thans for your help.

2010-04-03, 15:18	#4
lycorn "GIMFS" Sep 2002 Oeiras, Portugal 2×7×113 Posts	Just watch for errors that may occur (SUMOUT, or similar stuff...). In order for the OC to be effective, it shall not induce errors in the tests. If you have a 20 or 30% decrease in the completion time due to OC its fine, but if the test turns out to be incorrect, all the work goes to waste, and it would have been better to complete the test slower, but with a correct result. In general, when one starts overclocking a given machine, it´s good practice to run a couple of DCs first, and see if they match the previously reported results, so one gets confident that the OCed machine is running smoothly before starting first time LLs. Last fiddled with by lycorn on 2010-04-03 at 15:20 Reason: typo

2010-04-17, 04:15	#7
esqrkim Mar 2010 California, USA 11010₂ Posts	No, I did not overclock the RAM. I did increase the RAM voltage to 2V to match the hardware spec. The Asus software is not as good as going directly into the BIOS. By setting the FSB to 424, I was able to get the CPU speed to be 3.6 GHz. Now, all four of my cores show 0.07 seconds for iteration time. I also noticed that simply having the ethernet cable connected adds 0.001 seconds to the iteration time. I could push the CPU some more, but I don't want to be too greedy. The speed increase that I've already gained has made my CPU worth several times more than what I paid. So, I'm satisfied. In addition, I'd like to keep the CPU temperature below 60C on a hot day. Right now, the temp is going up to 58C on a hot day. Last fiddled with by esqrkim on 2010-04-17 at 04:17

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
overclocking	wildrabbitt	Hardware	16	2015-03-12 02:12
Overclocking	Primeinator	Information & Answers	12	2013-09-16 16:20
i7 overclocking	VJS	Prime Sierpinski Project	23	2009-04-12 03:35
What is overclocking?	JuanTutors	Hardware	39	2004-06-26 21:06
What is overclocking?	JuanTutors	Hardware	1	2004-06-22 00:10

2010-04-03, 06:50	#3
esqrkim Mar 2010 California, USA 2·13 Posts	I got the Q9550 running at 3.57 GHz. After 26% increase in speed, I can clearly see the difference in processing LL tests. The temp seems to hover between 53C and 56C depending on the time of day. The HDT-S1283 is really making a difference on controlling the temp.

2010-04-06, 18:11	#6
rx7350 Feb 2006 AR, US 90₁₆ Posts	You mentioned you 'left everything else to auto' . Did the memory overclock as well? Memory is the bottleneck for a Q9950, and increasing the frequency of the memory will have a dramatic effect on iteration times, usually more so than increasing cpu speed.

2010-06-26, 08:15	#8
musicworld1 Jun 2010 2³ Posts	How can i do this better.