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lazyfortress
Joined: 16 Sep 2018
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Location: Maryland, USA
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 Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 8:38 am Post subject: Can the Intel i3-520 (Q2T9) be overclocked? |
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Do any of you know if Q2T9 can be overclocked?
Thanks! |
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wren4777
Joined: 13 Dec 2016
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Location: Litija, Slovenia
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| Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 8:47 am Post subject: |
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Yes, but only BCLK, not the multi.
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crazybubba64
Joined: 03 Jul 2018
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Location: WI, USA
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| Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 9:22 am Post subject: |
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| linuxfanatic wrote: | | Yes, but only BCLK, not the multi. |
I have one of these chips and can confirm that it doesn't have an unlocked multiplier.
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lazyfortress
Joined: 16 Sep 2018
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| Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 9:33 am Post subject: |
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| What's BCLK? |
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crazybubba64
Joined: 03 Jul 2018
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| Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 9:50 am Post subject: |
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| lazyfortress wrote: | | What's BCLK? |
Bus (or base, depending on the platform) clock.
The clock speed of a processor is determined by BCLK * Multiplier.
For example, most modern Intel processors have a 100MHz BCLK.
If they are set to a multiplier of 40x, the clock speed would be 100MHz * 40, or 4GHz.
Older processors (~LGA1156 and earlier) could handle much more varied bus clocks. Core 2 chips were legendary in the regard of overclocking them through this. It was often more important to have a high-end motherboard to facilitate overclocking than a high-end CPU, as the bus clock used to be tied to the board more than the CPU itself.
For example, a commonly overclocked chip was the Q6600. It had a 1066MHz FSB clock natively (this was quad-pumped, so it was really 266MHz) with a multiplier of 9x. This resulted in a clock speed of 2.4GHz.
A good quality motherboard would be capable of increasing this bus clock to a much higher number. Lets say 400MHz (1600MHz FSB). 400MHz x 9 = 3.6GHz, or a 50% increase in clock speed (these chips could achieve much more under the proper cooling)
Modern BCLK is tied to many other peripherals like PCIe and USB, so there is not as much wiggleroom in sandy bridge or newer. You can often safely get at least a 5% bump in the BCLK without causing too many problems.
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lazyfortress
Joined: 16 Sep 2018
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| Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 2:12 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the clarification!
So could I potentially set the BCLK on Q2T9 to a certain multiplier so I could reach 4GHz, or is it impossible to overclock Q2T9 at all?
You did mention "a good quality motherboard would be capable of increasing this bus clock to a much higher number."
What kind of motherboard would I need to overclock a LGA1156 CPU to 4GHz (that is, if I could overclock Q2T9)? |
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wren4777
Joined: 13 Dec 2016
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Location: Litija, Slovenia
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| Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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| lazyfortress wrote: | Thanks for the clarification!
So could I potentially set the BCLK on Q2T9 to a certain multiplier so I could reach 4GHz, or is it impossible to overclock Q2T9 at all?
You did mention "a good quality motherboard would be capable of increasing this bus clock to a much higher number."
What kind of motherboard would I need to overclock a LGA1156 CPU to 4GHz (that is, if I could overclock Q2T9)? |
Every 1156 chip in existence can be BCLK oc'd.
To do this you need to have a motherboard that allows you to adjust these values. Pretty much everything except OEM boards for dell etc will let you do this. But the quality and options in the BIOS as well as the quality of the silicon in the Q2T9 determine how high you can take it.
P55 is the overclocking chipset for 1156, but boards are still quite expensive. If you just want to try overclocking and not set any records, just buy a cheap used H55/P55 ($30-40 USD max) that has a BIOS available with the correct microcodes for this chip. Gigabyte made some nice 1156 boards, so that's what I would aim for.
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Mr.Scott
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