Dell-Chris_M: truth or rumor on the 630i ?

On the list of XPS 630 Dell processors below, only the Kentsfield Quad Core QX6850 is CPU unlocked. So, if the CPU is locked, you must use the FSB (Front Side Bus) to overclock the XPS 630.

Yorkfield Quad Core Q8200, Q9300, QX9300, Q9400, Q9450, Q9550, Q9650
Wolfdale Dual Core E6750, E6850, E8300, E8400, E8500,
Conroe E6750, E6850,
Kentsfield Quad Core Kit, Q6600, QX6850

The Intel site might say different, but, Intel is not referring to Dell OEM (original equipment manufacturer) processors.

TY Chris,

Then the Yorkfields can be OC'd with a 630i?

This should allieve much of the confusion. You still Da Man :smileywink: . I just wanted to clear up any confusion regarding possible misinterpretation. TY again.

Sean

Okay, that certainly clears up the question of whether or not it can be done. Now the question morphs a bit - has any had success using FSB to oc the box without experiencing a home brew version of the China Syndrome? The last cpu I oc'd was a P-4 and I ended up using a peltier cooler to keep it from melting the cpu, heatsink and mobo to a puddle of chemical ooze. So yeah, it's been a while since I've gotten guts enough to brave the wilds of the oc frontier. I figure if I do it again, I'd rather be the one following someone else's path than be the pioneer.

 

-jay

i was sold on the impression that the 630i q9450 would OC to 3.2 out of the box.  I even had a conversation w/ an XPS sales guy about this before I mashed the purchase button.

 

I guess I was deceived.  Now I'm mad

You should be able to clock the Q9450 to 3.2 or more.  It will just take some effort and patience.

My XPS 630i will NOT over clock at all with a Q9450. Yes, you can change the values (not the multiplier) BUT, even with a 1mhz increase in the FSB (Linked or Unlinked) to 1334, the system will fail to post. AKA, never boots, black screen of death. I have tried everything I can think of. Voltages, different memory configs and a bunch of reading of others that can not OC'ed the 630i. From my perspective, the 630i will not overclock with a Q9450.

 

I have hopes that Dell will identify the problem and fix it with a BIOS update but to my knowledge Dell has not tried. The system plays COD4 very well but so did my Gen 3 with a 8800 GTS 320MB until the system died.

 

For the record, I was able to bump the CPU up to 2.9 using the Nvidia Control Panel. However, the system would fail to reboot on any change made.

 

Other have been able to OC the Q9450 on the Dell 730 which uses the 790i MB.

Others have been able to OC the Q9450 on the 650i MB on non Dell systems.

But no one that I know has been able to OC the Q9450 on a 630i which uses the 650i MB.

Yes. All that I have tried has been in the BIOS with the exception of what briefly worked in the Nvidia control panel.

 

It just really bugs me that it fails to post even with a 1 mhz increase on the FSB. I mean, that only changes the CPU by 10 mhz (note: thats mega hertz not giga hertz). I don't think the BIOS is setup properly. Just guessing, I wonder if the code is written to assume default settings on processors that have a lock multiplier.

 

BTW, and this is really wierd, if the multiplier is locked, how come it's not greyed out in the bios? It lets me change the setting even though it can not be. SHouldn't this be greyed out in the CPU config in the bios?

Interesting. Have you tried making the changes directly in the BIOS (avoiding nTune)?

I was the one who asked Chris_M about the Q9300 and weather or not it can overclock. I can change the FSB but I cannot change the multiplier or anything else without the 630i going into black screen. changing the FSB in bios to anything other than the stock settings results in Black screen and my fans stuck at 100%, only way to resest it it to reset the board. I tried it in control panel and it says I got it to 2.70ghZ but when I run Cpuz or any other testing program it shows 2.1ghz? and other programs only show 2.5ghz while control panel says 2.7ghz? restart into bios it it shows 2.5ghz. So I really dont know if my Q9300 did overclock. rather dissapointed about that and other things. if anyone got their Q9300 to overclock let me know.

The 630's 650i mother board will automatically reset it self after three failed posts so no worries.

Talk to Chris.

changing the fsb to anything above 1333 will lock the computer.  it will fail to post.  there goes chris recommendation to change the fsb.  it just doesn't work.   the multipler is bogus. you change it but has not affect.

 

using ntune is not stable. the settings take but upon starting a game for 2 minutes, it crashes.   nice. 

 

the 630i w/ the q9450 just does not overclock.  i was deceived.

 

the question.  is dell gonna do anything about it?

Odd that the smallest change in FSB fails.

I have no clue. As long as you have covered the basics (defeat speedstep, unlocked memory from CPU, etc.) you should be good to go.

I have only overclocked a 6600 on a 630 so I don't have any specific suggestions.

Chris,

Was there a 630i BIOS update addressing the Yorkfield and Wolfdale CPU's? My XPS420 had one A06. Does the 630i need one? The architecture is somewhat different even though the Pin arrangement is the same.

Sean

Chris, can we can an official word on this?  Multipler doesn't work but you mentioned changing the FSB.  Many have tried the FSB method and still doesn't work even in 1 MHZ increments.  So for the record, is the 630i w/ the q9450 overclockable or will it need a bios update?  I thought the 630 was advertised as a gamer pc?  What's the point of all the those O/C'able knobs in the bios when it's no use?