Advice on overclocking Q8300

[xtreme84]

I've recently upgraded my graphics card to the Palit GTX 460 Sonic, and my PSU to the OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W. I'm a little concerned as to whether my Q8300 is bottlenecking my system.

I'm actually thinking of getting the Asrock G41C-S at $80 and probably a CoolerMaster Hyper212+ at $59, both from Cybermind (do let me know if I can get them for less elsewhere, thanks!). This will allow me to do some overclocking, I believe. My current motherboard is from my previous HP Pavilion, so it doesn't allow me to overclock. Also, it only supports DDR2 RAM, max 4GB.

The Asrock G41C-S supports both DDR2 and DDR3 RAM, max 8GB.

Was hoping to be able to OC to about 3GHz with those, would appreciate any feedback at all.

I do know the new Sandy Bridge processors are pretty good, but I'm not sure I really need to get those since my Q8300 is working fine. I'm just concerned that it's bottlenecking my system since I haven't seen any drastic improvements when gaming.

Even GTA4 is still choppy and I'm not sure why. My GTX 460 should be plenty for GTA4, shouldn't it?

I'm pretty new to all these, so do bear with me if I appear a little noob.

Thanks!

 

[ksrokiller]

It should improve gaming performance after ocing your processor,have you change your motherboard?

 

[xtreme84]

I'm heading to Sim Lim today most probably. Have more or less decided to get the Asrock G41C-S and the CoolerMaster Hyper212. Now I'm just wondering if I should get some DDR3 ram as well, since I'm currently using DDR2 ram. The mobo supports both. Was contemplating to get 8GB of DDR3 ram or to get 4GB but faster ram.

 

[ksrokiller]

I'm heading to Sim Lim today most probably. Have more or less decided to get the Asrock G41C-S and the CoolerMaster Hyper212. Now I'm just wondering if I should get some DDR3 ram as well, since I'm currently using DDR2 ram. The mobo supports both. Was contemplating to get 8GB of DDR3 ram or to get 4GB but faster ram.

I see,do update here if have any performance increase after upgrading.

 

[xtreme84]

Ok, so I've decided to get the G41C-S, the CoolerMaster Hyper212 and some DDR3 RAM. Didn't get them today cos I'm heading out for drinks, no point bringing those stuff along. I think I'll just bite the bullet and get 8GB of 1600MHz RAM. The way I look at it, all the items are reusable should I choose to upgrade my CPU in future, except for the mobo which only costs $78. No major loss there.

 

[xtreme84]

Ok, I've bought the Asrock G41C-S, the CoolerMaster Hyper212 and 8GB of Kingston DDR3 1333MHz RAM and 2 Gentle Typhoons. Was intending to fix it up just now, but a friend asked me out for dinner. So it'll have to wait till tonight.

I was just wondering, if my mobo's max supported FSB is 1333MHz, and my Q8300's is also 1333, does that mean I will not be able to OC? Or is it that mobo's are able to operate beyond their stated FSB?

 

[ksrokiller]

Ok, I've bought the Asrock G41C-S, the CoolerMaster Hyper212 and 8GB of Kingston DDR3 1333MHz RAM and 2 Gentle Typhoons. Was intending to fix it up just now, but a friend asked me out for dinner. So it'll have to wait till tonight.

I was just wondering, if my mobo's max supported FSB is 1333MHz, and my Q8300's is also 1333, does that mean I will not be able to OC? Or is it that mobo's are able to operate beyond their stated FSB?

Have you tried overclocking it?

 

[xtreme84]

Alright, I'm beginning to really regret getting the Asrock G41C-S. I thought I should be able to OC my Q8300 from 2.5GHz to 3.0GHz at the very least. But it seems this board isn't good for OC at all. And the BSOD keeps appearing. My previous Foxconn mobo coupled with Windows 7 was rock solid. I've never got a single BSOD prior to switching boards. I'm wondering if I could have gotten a faulty mobo. Shall bring it back Tradepac on my next day off. Sigh... Disappointed.

 

[ksrokiller]

Alright, I'm beginning to really regret getting the Asrock G41C-S. I thought I should be able to OC my Q8300 from 2.5GHz to 3.0GHz at the very least. But it seems this board isn't good for OC at all. And the BSOD keeps appearing. My previous Foxconn mobo coupled with Windows 7 was rock solid. I've never got a single BSOD prior to switching boards. I'm wondering if I could have gotten a faulty mobo. Shall bring it back Tradepac on my next day off. Sigh... Disappointed.

Have you tried increasing the voltage?

 

[xtreme84]

The system is unstable even without overclocking. I'm trying to figure out if it's the mobo or RAM. This is getting more painful than I expected. Hey, thanks for taking an interest in my little project, by the way. I'm heading to work, so I'll give it another shot tonight.

 

[ksrokiller]

The system is unstable even without overclocking. I'm trying to figure out if it's the mobo or RAM. This is getting more painful than I expected. Hey, thanks for taking an interest in my little project, by the way. I'm heading to work, so I'll give it another shot tonight.

Ok no problem hope your problem will be solved soon.

 

[xtreme84]

Ok, so I just flashed my BIOS to the latest version and I'm installing my OS now. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[ksrokiller]

Good luck=)

 

[xtreme84]

So far so good. I hope the BIOS update did the trick. My CPU temps seem to be higher than before though. I was thinking it should be lower seeing that I'm using an aftermarket cooler now.

 

[xtreme84]

Good luck=)

Thanks! Looking good! I hope the overclocking works out too, when I eventually get there.

 

[ksrokiller]

Thanks! Looking good! I hope the overclocking works out too, when I eventually get there.

Ok, do post the results here

 

[xtreme84]

Yup, I will! By the way, if I reinstall iTunes and sync my iPhone, will I lose the data on my phone?

 

[ksrokiller]

Yup, I will! By the way, if I reinstall iTunes and sync my iPhone, will I lose the data on my phone?

Not sure sorry, I never use apple products.

 

[xtreme84]

It's alright, no worries. I shall try it out later. I'm posting from my PC. No more BSOD after the BIOS update, touch wood. But I did some research and realised I shouldn't have bought this board cos it doesn't support vcore tweaking.

The Q8300 is a weak overclocker as it is, with locked multipliers. And seeing that the vcore cannot be tweaked, I think I'm gonna be stuck with the stock speed.

The only good thing that came out of this is that I'm now using this CPU with 8GB of DDR3 RAM compared to my previous 4GB of DDR2 RAM. And of course, I gained a little confidence in my DIY skills along the way. We'll see if I manage to do anything to the board after I've copied back my stuff and set up my desktop the way I want it.

 

[xtreme84]

Darn... I should have known better than to have jinxed myself by saying I didn't get anymore BSOD. It says something about memory dump. I still suspect it's the mobo. But I'm too tired to troubleshoot now. Heading to bed. Shall try again tonight.