Ok, after dozens and dozens of requests and positive feedback, I've decided to post my newbie OC'ing guide.....which is specifically geared to the Gigabyte DS3, but the principles can be applied to other boards as well. However, the settings provided are for the DS3.

NOW, please keep in mind this Guide is for newbies, not for advanced users. I'm sure advanced OC'ers will have some minor objections, but put yourself in a newbies' shoes: they need help to easily understand HOW to get to a good overclock. The C2D chips overclock easily and highly, so without getting into all the technical details (that is NOT the premise of this Guide), I simply offer the best experience of getting an easy overclock on a C2D and the DS3.

So take it as it's meant: as an easy, newbie Guide, nothing more, nothing less. I stand by the results, as I've had tons of positive results, but mileage and methods may vary. I may revise this Guide if some overwhelming requests/complaints are received. That being said, let's move on.....


It's kinda long, but don't be intimidated though, it's simple: disable some BIOS stuff, set your overclock, test it for stability and temps......that's it in a nutshell. But it tells you HOW to do all that, so don't feel overwhelmed. Read it a couple times to familiarize yourself a bit more. If you need help, send me a list of your system specs......I'm mostly interested in which CPU, exact mobo, and exact RAM you have, and I can help give you some settings if you have questions.

Keep in mind this is specifically geared towards the Gigabyte S3 or DS3....although the same principles still apply to other motherboards and CPU's. But I've put the exact settings for the S3/DS3 to make life easier for people. And it also depends on which CPU and multiplier you have. But again, the principle is still there.

Here we go......Print this out or something. It's alot of info at once, but once you do it, then it’s not so bad. Most of the info below is actually spent on making sure your system is stable, not doing the actual overclocking itself.....so don't be discouraged or intimidated. Doing the overclock is pretty straightforward and quick. Making sure your system is completely stable takes alot longer and requires some patience.


OVERCLOCKING 101 ON THE S3/DS3

BIOS UPDATE:
FIRST thing you do should do is update your BIOS. Easiest way is to use this:
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileLis [...] ...a_bios.

You can update your BIOS manualy by flashing, but things can go wrong easily. For the newbies, updating BIOS through Windows is far easier, especially on the DS3....it's very stable and I've always had great results, along with other people too. Install @BIOS, extract the files, then run it. You can either manually download the latest BIOS for your motherboard (pick the right motherboard!!!) and then tell @BIOS where to find it, or you can let it connect to the Gigabyte servers and do it automatically. Whichever you prefer. If you are really against updating your BIOS, then just move down further, but the @BIOS from Gigabyte is very good and stable, I've used it a number of times, so I'm not sure why someone who will be overclocking wouldn't update BIOS.

After you update your BIOS, now the fun begins........

Next you need to download some overclocking/monitoring utilities:

UTILITIES:
CPU-Z (to display your FSB settings, CPU speed settings, memory timings, etc in Windows):
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

Intel TAT - Thermal Analysis Tool (to monitor your CPU temps), this works with Vista:
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/392/mirrors.php

Alternatively for CPU temps, you can download CoreTemp. It doesn't work with Vista right now, but it does work with XP:
http://www.thecoolest.zerobrains.com/CoreTemp/

Prime95 to stress test:
http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm (scroll down near the bottom and pick which OS you got)

SpeedFan (to monitor voltages, temps of system stuff):
http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php

Super Pi Mod (a quick way of testing the speed of your CPU):
http://www.xtremesystems.com/pi/

DISABLING BIOS FUNCTIONS:
-Boot your computer, hit [DEL] key to get into BIOS.
-When in BIOS, hit [CRTL+F1] at main screen to unlock all OC’ing options
-Now you gotta turn a bunch of stuff OFF that will interfere with your OC. Turn these OFF (I don’t have screenies of my BIOS in front of me, so I might mislabel something, but you’ll find it, just look around):
1) disable CIA2
2) disable C1E
3) disable EIST
4) disable Virtualization Technology
5) disable CPUID
6) disable No-Execute Memory Protect
7) set PCI Express (PCI-e) frequency to 100 mhz

BIOS MONITORING SETTINGS:
-Next, in PC Health area of BIOS, make sure your CPU fan and System fan are set to Enabled, and SMART fan can be set to Auto.
-Set your CPU warning temp to 70C.

-Next go into the MB Intelligent Tweaker area of BIOS. This is where the real fun happens……I don’t know your memory timings so we’re gonna go on the safe side for now and keep them loose…..

OVERCLOCK SETTINGS:
-Set Graphics Booster to Auto
-Set CPU Host Clock Control to Enabled
-Set CPU Host Frequency to……this is where you set your FSB, so start medium and go up from there after each stress test on your system. With a 6300 that has a 7x multi, then set this Host Frequency at first to 350. This will give you a 2.45 ghz speed to start off. Ok, now the next settings.........

-Set System Memory Multiplier to 2.00
-Set DRAM Timing Selectable to Manual
-Set CAS Latency to 5
-Set RAS to CAS to 5
-Set RAS Precharge to 5
-Set tRAS to 15

That takes care of FSB and RAM timings. Now onto voltages. This is more hit and miss, depends on your RAM. So we start easy. As you bump up the FSB (Host Frequency), you will eventually need to bump up your voltages too, specifically your vCORE and probably your vDIMM. You *might* need to bump up your MCH a bit too, and this will make your NorthBridge hotter but more stable. Again, the keys to OC’ing are cooling and stability. Ok, let’s go with these voltage settings:

VOLTAGE SETTINGS:
-Set DIMM OverVoltage Control to +0.2v (might only need +0.1v, depending the quality of your RAM)
-Set MCH Overvoltage to +0.1 (leaving it at stock will likely work for moderate overclocks....so it's up to you. But higher OC's may also need a northbridge cooler for $20)
-Leave vCORE at 1.325v……..but it may need to go up as you go higher on the FSB. 1.325v is fine for moderate overclocks.
-PCI-e voltage can stay at Normal
-FSB voltage can stay at Normal, should be fine for moderate overclocks. Higher OC’s should go +0.1v

And that’s it. Hit F10 to Save and Exit. Your system will power down on its own and sit there for a few seconds, then start back up on its own. This is normal. Your boot screen should show the new CPU speed. If all goes well, you’ll boot into Windows. If not, restart and go back into BIOS. Lower your FSB first and try to boot again. It's best to try to lower FSB first, then increase volts next (depending on how high you already are on your OC). But at 2.4 ghz you should be fine. But if you go higher, then it gets trickier getting all the combinations of settings correct and stable.

STABILITY TESTING:
When in Windows, start CPU-Z. Check what your FSB is at, what your CPU speed is at, and what your Memory speed and timings are.

Then start TAT or CoreTemp to monitor your temps. Note what they are at idle. Then start SpeedFan to watch your voltages, to see if they fluctuate.

Next you want to run dual instances of Prime 95. Create a Prime 95 shortcut on your desktop, then right click and go to Properties. In the Target, add -A0 at the end of the line, but LEAVE A SPACE before the –A0. Click OK. Create another Prime95 shortcut on your desktop, go to Properties, and this time put –A1 at the end, with a space in front of the – sign. Now run both the A0 and A1 shortcuts for Prime 95. Go to Options pulldown, then Torture Test. Select Large Place FFTs for both Prime programs you have open. Then start the Torture Test for both. Watch TAT or CoreTemp….you should see the CPU usage go to 100% on both cores. And your temps will climb very fast. Monitor your temps, take a note of how high they go. And watch Speedfan to make sure your voltages don’t fluctuate too much, high or low.

Assuming everything is fine, you can wait about 10 minutes, then stop the Torture Tests. Then you can restart your system, go into BIOS and bump up the FSB (Host Frequency) higher. I’d say you can probably go to 2.8 – 3.0 ghz on stock cooling before your temps get too hot. Keep your temps below 60C. If they go above, back down the FSB and eventually the volts. You’ll need to find a happy medium where your CPU isn’t too hot and your volts aren’t too high. Hit F10 to restart and go into Windows. Repeat process.

If you get errors in Prime 95 at all, then your system isn’t stable. Generally speaking, you need to either lower the FSB or raise the vCore….but ONLY raise it 2 notches from whatever you already have it set to. Keep rebooting and running Prime95’s until you can run dual instances for 18-24 hours without any errors. THEN your system is ROCK STABLE. Ideally, you get 24 hours stable, but most people will go 10-18 hours. I go 24 when I’m satisfied with my clock speeds and volts.

AFTERMATH:
And that’s all. DONE!! If you can get your FSB to 385, then you now have a computer that runs as fast as a higher CPU for hundreds of dollars LESS!!!

So it’s basically a simple back-and-forth between higher FSB and voltages, versus keeping your temps low enough. Start with an FSB that will get you 2.2-2.4 ghz, make sure your system is stable and not too hot, then bump it up to 2.6-2.8. Repeat stability tests. If your really luck with your RAM and temps, then you might wanna shoot for 3.0 ghz. But stock cooling will then limit you, and your RAM might as well.

Your biggest difficulty will be finding the right vCore and vDIMM that’s stable and cool for your clock speed. Sometimes you get lucky right away, sometimes not. But the settings I’ve given you should get you a stable OC very quickly. There might be some tweaking, but as long as you don’t go too high an OC, it should get you there no problem and keep your temps ok. You'll probably have your vCore at or below 1.325v with a moderate overclock, which would be great. Higher overclocks, your vCORE will be anywhere from 1.325v to 1.425v.

If you get stable for a long time in Prime95, then you can consider lowering your vCore by 2 notches, and maybe even your vDIMM by 1 notch. This will lower your temps overall. So you keep backing down the volts until you get errors in Prime, then you bump it back up slightly, and that’s your final resting place. Then you try to get your RAM timings down to their stock specs (ie—4-5-4-12 or whatever they say). Then rock solid

If you have a hard time getting a stable OC, bump up vDIMM another notch and your vCORE.

If at any point your OC craps out and reboots on its own, the DS3/S3 mobo is very good at just going back to stock settings and going into Windows. So just go back into BIOS and lower your clocks (FSB) down a bit. In the worst case scenario (I only had this happen once to me when I pushed my OC too high), you might need to clear your CMOS or remove the battery from your mobo to do a complete reset. Just check the mobo manual on how to do this, it’s easy. But it’s a worst case scenario if it won’t reboot at all, though I doubt that will happen in your case with modest overclocks.

One last thing: Depending how high you push your OC, don’t put your FSB at 400….either 395 or lower, or jump to 410 or higher. Don't set your FSB to 400.....it's the strap change number and it'll be hard on your system. So go minimum 5-10 below or higher than 400 FSB.

Hope that doesn’t overwhelm you. Like I said, the first time might take a bit of work. But take it slow at first and you should get there pretty quick after once you get the hang of it. I hope this helps you get there quicker.

REMEMBER:
OC'ing the 4300.....to get it to 3.0ghz and beyond requires ALOT of voltage increase. The 6xxx chips don't need anywhere need that much juice. So the final volts settings for the 4xxx chip will probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.4v vCORE for sure, depending on how high you try to push the OC.

If you are overclocking a 6xxx CPU then you won't need as much vCORE. My 6300 is OC'd to 3.2ghz now and it's only at 1.35 vCORE. And depending on your RAM, you might only need to go vDIMM +0.1v....depends on the quality of your RAM. +0.2v won't kill it though.

If things are stable, try lowering vDIMM and see if it's still stable. You basically want to get the volts as low as possible while still being stable. That's the ideal goal.


And there ya go

GOOD LUCK, HOPE THIS HELPS!!!

Kudos Skyguy,

Nice job, seems thorough enough for a decent overclock, yet hopefully not intimidating to the n00bs.

Skyguy,
Thanks for a Great guide. I’m a Noob and here’s my specs.
I built this PC to be used as Home Theater PC / Moderate Gaming.

DS-3 board rev 3.3, F 11 bios (Just updated via web and @BIOS )
E 4300 (Great Deal $ 113 online )
AC Freezer Pro 7 cooler
RAM - G Skill DDR 2 800 2 x 1 GB ( F2-6400PHU2 )

Video - XFX GeForce 8600 GT, PCie 256 MB, ( PVT84JUDD3 ) HDCP card
Win XP Pro SP 2
Sata 2, 3 GB/s Segate 400 GB

Progress – All Default settings passed dual instances of Prime 95 – 10 hours

Ready for OC but Question ;

My NB Heat sink is way… toooo Hot !! Cant even touch it.
Is it okay to go ahead and OC with stock HS ? Or should I buy a good HS for it ?

If there’s other guys OCing DS 3 / E 4300 with stock NB HS, please let me know.

The ONE bad thing about the DS3 is that the Northbridge gets notoriously hot. What alot of people don't realize that as you overclock your CPU, all the other components are pushed as well, including the NB. If at all possible, get a northbridge cooler. Coolermaster has one for about $10 and Thermaltake has one (check my sig) for about $20 or so. Both are definitely preferable over stock heatsink. If money is tight, ghetto-rig a small fan using zipties or elastics to blow on the northbridge heatsink. It won't be pretty, but it'll do the trick if you're a starving student

Can you clarify what you mean by this statement? I was thinking of pushing my machine to the 400 mark, but I am not sure what you mean by the strap change.

Thanks for your great document,

Chad

I wouldn't worry about the performance difference for 5 FSB, it's absolutely negligible. So don't think hitting 395 is "unsucessful", because it's not. It's virtually the same as 400 for performance. It's splitting hairs, really.

As for the strap change.....

Without getting into great technical detail, the strap is the fsb "level" you run at, and when you max out a strap, the board will change them for performance reasons. Kinda like upshifting into a higher gear in a car, so to speak......it's the best analogy I can think of right now. I wouldn't worry too much about the technical jargon about what a strap is, it really isn't relevant here other than what its impact is on your overclock. Generally speaking, there are strap changes at 266, 333, 400, and 500 for most users. So for most users here, the 400 FSB strap change is the key for overclocking. Often people will run into problems, so it's best to completely avoid it, and either go a bit lower than 400, or simply jump past it.....to 430 FSB for example, on a 6300....which gives a 3.0 ghz CPU speed. No need to sit at 400. Either layup on the fairway or just go for the pin on the green If you have a decent CPU heatsink and decent RAM, I'd go up to the 430 to say you hit 3.0 ghz easily

Hey skyguy!

Im planning to get the following:

C2D E6600 with a Scythe Samurai (should be better than infinity), or a Tuniq 120
GEIL, pc2-8000CL4, 2.4V, 4-4-4-12
Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 cooled with a Arctic Cooling AF9225 PWM
Corsair HX520
And a Antec p182 tower.

What settings would you recomend for my system?
And how far do u think it could go stable`?

Sry for the bad english

A friend told me, that i should change the multiplier to get the full power out of my ram, is that something you can help me with?

I have some parts on the way for a new computer including an E6420 and the DS3 and I have no experience overclocking so this is perfect for me. I only plan on doing a mild overclock (stock cooling), but I have a question about RAM. I ordered two gigs of Patriot Signature RAM that is 5-5-5-15 (PC6400). In your example you said set these values loose at 5-5-5-15, so should I set mine even higher at first? Can I lower them below 5-5-5-15 after (I have seen people setting this RAM to 4-4-4-12)? Also, will I have to do a lot of dicking around to get the full 800MHz potential of my RAM? Sorry if these questions are dumb, but like I said I am totally new to OCing.

This is contrary to what most people I have seen report.

My E4300 on the DS3 runs at 3.0Ghz with a 1.264v vCore.
I can run ast 3.2Ghz with a 1.3v vCore(Still under volataged), though I choose to run at the slower speed to keep things uber cool and silent.


[quote="Skyguy"]
OC'ing the 4300.....to get it to 3.0ghz and beyond requires ALOT of voltage increase. The 6xxx chips don't need anywhere need that much juice. So the final volts settings for the 4xxx chip will probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.4v vCORE for sure, depending on how high you try to push the OC.

If you are overclocking a 6xxx CPU then you won't need as much vCORE. My 6300 is OC'd to 3.2ghz now and it's only at 1.35 vCORE. And depending on your RAM, you might only need to go vDIMM +0.1v....depends on the quality of your RAM. +0.2v won't kill it though.

If things are stable, try lowering vDIMM and see if it's still stable. You basically want to get the volts as low as possible while still being stable. That's the ideal goal.
quote]

When I originally wrote this Guide, the 4300 had just been released. It's very possible that later steppings are much improved and don't need as much vCore. That being said, 1.375-1.4 vCore is nothing to worry about, but like I said at the end of the Guide, the overriding goal is always to get the lowest possible volts while still maintaining stability. I used to have my 6300 @ 3.0 ghz at less than stock voltage no problem. But as I went higher, I found there was a disproportionate increase required in volts. That's not for everyone, and certainly not for newbies.

Further, my concern was that if a newbie overclocker started OC'ing at.....say....1.275 vCore, in all likelihood there would be stability problems and BSOD's. Then everyone would be asking: "What vCore should I have? Why does it crash? What's the problem? How do I get stable" , etc, etc. As I mentioned this is a very easy and quick way to get a great overclock. Overclocking 102 would cover things such as lowering timings, lowering volts, finding "sweet spots" in the FSB, etc. But not here.

It is assumed that once a quick and easy OC is achieved, those that wish to continue learning and progressing would ideally work on getting the volts lower. But for those that don't, they'd still get a great OC. Not "perfect", but still far better than stock settings.

OC'ing 101: Loosen the timings, set the FSB, increase the vCore, bump up vDIMM and vMCH. Done.

Can't get much easier than that.

Clenched:

No, you don't need to loosen the timings further, stay with 5-5-5-15 and you'll be fine.

And yes, it is possible to get RAM down to 4-4-4-12, for example, but it's not guaranteed, and it will also require considerable more volts. It's not for everyone, but it is certainly possible. For now, however, I'd suggest you learn on getting the overclock done and stable (should be VERY easy with a moderate overclock). Then when you're comfortable with that, then look at lowering the timings to 4-x-x-x.

your the champ! exactly what ive been looking for. hopefully setting up my rig after my birthday and definately overclocking. with a ds3, e6420, 2gb g.skill ddr2 800 ram. i was wondering could i achieve a 3.2 overclock easy? and also what kind of hsf should i get? i dont really want to spend a lot of money but the best cooler for the buck, preferably with a fan already. this will be in an antec 900 case too

I just registered to personal thank you for all your hard work!

I knew some of the basic basics, but never knew about unlocking my BIOS to get more features. CPU-Z kept reporting my multiplier at 6 on my E6300 so I was only at 1.6ghz since I got this board! Went to 2.45ghz right away, will push it further. Your guide really helped me.

Also, I have the G.Skill DDR2-800 RAM (5-5-5-15). What does higher RAM frequencies do exactly? And should I change mine to a certain one from your guide?

Skyguy, thanks for the help! I can't wait to get these parts and start playing around.

I hope they make this a sticky.

Great job, Skyguy!

awesome guide just set someone up with a overclocking rig on an s3 but they are completely worried about how to oc, this will assure them everything will go smoothly

IcY, Evon: Thx, appreciate the feedback.

Skizzy: You're welcome. As for timings......higher timings mean slower performance but higher overclocks that can be stable. So there is a balance: sometimes tighter (lower) timings gives better performance, sometimes looser (higher) timings do because the increase in FSB and CPU overall can overcome any other performance losses. HOWEVER, these generally only apply in synthetic memory benchmarks. The REALITY is that you won't notice any difference in real world usage. So if looser/higher timings get you a better overclock, then go for it! But I'd suggest 5-5-5-15 is the highest to go, otherwise the performance loss becomes too great to overcome. But Overclocking 102 would address tighter timings and how to get them stable, to get the best of both worlds But for your setup, do 5-5-5-15, crank up the FSB, give some vCore increase, a bit of vDIMM increase, maybe a notch of vMCH, and let 'er rip! You'll hit 3.0 ghz without even breaking a sweat

Sharp: yes, 3.2 ghz is definitely possible with that setup, PROVIDED that you have a good heatsink and your ambient temps aren't through the roof. Preference for heatsink varies, but the proven winners that come highly recommended are:

-Thermalright 120 Ultra or Extreme
-Tuniq Tower
-Zalman 9700
-Noctua NH-U12F

There are certainly others, but these above will not disappoint, have the best mounting systems and performance, best noise reduction, etc. The others