Hi everyone,
To give a quick overview of where I stand. I purchased a Q6850(edit - so sorry, this is a Q9650...) from a good friend, but come to find out my evga 680i will not run all four cores. I since purchased an Asus Striker II formula from ebay only to find it not working (trying to decide on getting the fried component repaired or scraping the board). After the let down of the Asus board I then got a Evga 790i from ebay (this was advertised as an XFX... 0.o! When I got the board in is when I saw it was an EVGA.) I have not powered up the board yet as I have this ram coming in (today):
http://www.newegg.com/Pro...x?Item=N82E16820231416

G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR

I have been reading a couple of threads on here about the trouble people are running into with RAM on these boards I also read the sticky post by Gryphon. I have read a couple of posts where JeffreyHam and VistaHead has been helping folks with their 790i woes. (I will keep reading in hopes of finding answers before really bothering you folks :) )
 
The first test will be to see if the board powers up and POSTs. I will try to go through bios and get settings to default to see if it will allow me to run install Windows 7 64bit. If anyone has any thoughts of what I should do prior to installing windows please feel free to inform me (I have much appreciation for those who have pioneered getting this board stable) Had I have known the work involved in getting this board stable I would have paid Dell to sell me one through Best Buy (I AM JOKING I WILL NEVER BUY A COMPUTER OF THIS SORT).
 
A little about me, I am 37 (38 in Aug) I have a degree (albeit old) in computer science. I have since grown bored of building electronics as a 8-10hr/day job and have moved on to getting a degree in Nursing (medical is far more exciting, and stable +blood, guts, and, adrenalin are intriguing). I have built several PCs but have never delved into OCing so I am truly novice on this front. I am worried that I will be stuck with this 680i board running 2 cores of a quad core chip until I am out of college if I cannot get this 790i to work.
 
So the PC build:
Motherboard - EVGA 790i (ebay purchase = lets see if it POSTs first)
CPU - Intel Q9650
RAM - G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR
[Cas Latency:9
Voltage:1.5V ***SIGH***
Multi-channel Kit:Dual Channel Kit
Timing:9-9-9-24
ECC:No
Buffered/Registered:Unbuffered
Heat Spreader:Yes 
Features:Designed for Intel LGA 1156 Core i5 / i7 CPUs and AMD AM3 CPUs   !OMG what do I do!!
PSU - PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W (this has been running my 680i with SLI)OS - Windows 7 64bitCPU cooler - Thremalright venomous CPU coolerCase - Antec 900
I do look forward to any and all replies, I thank you all for any information in advance and will if in need of any help THANK YOU! :)I will probably be corresponding to this site trough my dare I say ...ipad...(please feel free to throw stones as I drive by :P) to keep up with this post.

Hi Vistahead,
Thanks for the info, i had given thought to having to do the clear and now that you mention it I will absolutly do it.

I will post back a copy of the bios settings when and if it POSTs.

Thanks!

Noted JeffreyHam. I was expecting the RAM in yesterday but it is lagging behind.
Thanks!

RAM and fan is in about to shut down and begin build. Will post back from Ipad2.

Heh thanks stanwich!

POSTed right off! Looking at a bios screen i thought i'd never see. :)

Gonna run the settings JeffreyHam and VistaHead suggested.

Looks like the bios is P07?

Sitting in windows desktop downloading firefox.

8Hrs 42mins, 0 Errors 0 Warnings.

I think you should memtest it anyways. I know I have used OCCT to test my cpu and it passed but the memory settings were unstabile. However, I do not have as much experience as the guys posting before me :D

They're probably just busy. Yes you will have to bust out the pen and paper, unless you boot up BIOS and log onto forums from a laptop or your iPad. And by all means go ahead and copy/paste the BIOS template -- that's how it was meant to be used as. Obviously with your settings of course

yes its stable at default. My only thing that puts a ! inplace is the MCP is 51*c according to everest. I put a fan on it (not the one EVGA supplied as I didn't get it, but a vantec stealth60x60x25mm that fits just right on the heat sink. still getting 51*c. I suspect the grpx card is blocking any real air flow to the fan. Can I put the grpx card in slot 2 or 3 of the PCIEx16s? I know it won't make 'much difference but worth try.
 
I guess mild to me is ~3.5

Pulled this from everest, I in no way intend this to be my template. I was just seeing how i could get a report out of everest, I got my values from bios and will enter them soon. I need to get some study in for final exam.

The RAM timings were manually entered to the factory specs like VistaHead had suggested.
 
Overclock

---

CPU Properties:
CPU Type   QuadCore Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650
CPU Alias   Yorkfield
CPU Stepping   E0
Engineering Sample   No
CPUID CPU Name   Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9650 @ 3.00GHz
CPUID Revision   0001067Ah
CPU VID   1.0875 V  
CPU Speed:
CPU Clock   2000.0 MHz (original: 3000 MHz)
CPU Multiplier   6x
CPU FSB   333.3 MHz (original: 333 MHz)
Memory Bus   800.0 MHz
DRAM:FSB Ratio   12:5  
CPU Cache:
L1 Code Cache   32 KB per core
L1 Data Cache   32 KB per core
L2 Cache   2x 6 MB (On-Die, ECC, ASC, Full-Speed)  
Motherboard Properties:
Motherboard ID   09/10/2008-132-CK-NF79-6A61MB02C-00
Motherboard Name   EVGA NF79 (2 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 3 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR3 DIMM, Audio, Dual Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)  
Chipset Properties:
Motherboard Chipset   nVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI
Memory Timings   9-9-9-24 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)
Command Rate (CR)   2T
DIMM3: G Skill F3-12800CL9-4GBSR   4 GB DDR3-1600 DDR3 SDRAM (10-10-10-27 @ 761 MHz) (9-9-9-24 @ 685 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 609 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 533 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 457 MHz)
DIMM4: G Skill F3-12800CL9-4GBSR   4 GB DDR3-1600 DDR3 SDRAM (10-10-10-27 @ 761 MHz) (9-9-9-24 @ 685 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 609 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 533 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 457 MHz)  

BIOS Properties:
System BIOS Date   09/10/08
Video BIOS Date   01/04/11
Award BIOS Type   Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Award BIOS Message   (811N2P07) 132-CK-NF79
DMI BIOS Version   6.00 PG
 
Sensor

---

 Sensor Properties:
Sensor Type   Winbond W83627DHG (ISA 290h)
GPU Sensor Type   Driver (NV-DRV)
Motherboard Name   nForce 790i Reference Board
Chassis Intrusion Detected   Yes  
Temperatures:
Motherboard   28 °C (82 °F)
CPU   28 °C (82 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #1   36 °C (97 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #2   28 °C (82 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #3   31 °C (88 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #4   31 °C (88 °F)
SPP   43 °C (109 °F)
MCP   49 °C (120 °F)
GPU   28 °C (82 °F)
Seagate ST3500630AS   24 °C (75 °F)
WDC WD5001AALS-00L3B2   21 °C (70 °F)  

Cooling Fans:
CPU   1308 RPM
nForce   1438 RPM  

Voltage Values:
CPU Core   1.14 V
+3.3 V   3.30 V
+12 V   12.09 V
+5 V Standby   4.99 V
VBAT Battery   2.99 V
3.3V Dual   3.28 V
North Bridge Core   1.32 V
DIMM   1.50 V
Debug Info F   FF 81 FF / FF FF
Debug Info T   86 28 28 / 255
Debug Info V   8E AA CE CD A5 05 E5 (03)
Debug Info I   C1 A025

Using stanwich's template:
BIOS Version: P07
**System **
CPU Freq, MHz: [ 3.0GHZ]
FSB Reference Clock, MHz: [1333.3MHz]
CPU Multiplier: [9X]
PCle x16-1 & 16-2, MHz:  Auto [100]
PCle x16-3, MHz: Auto  [100]
SPPc->MCP Ref Clock, MHz:  Auto [200]
nForce SPP --> nForce MCP:   [5X]
nForce SPP c-- nForce MCP:   [5X]
**Spread Spectrum**
CPU Spread Spectrum: [Disabled]
HT Spread Spectrum: [Disabled]
PCle Spread Spectrurn(SPP): [Disabled]
PCle Spread Spectrurn(MCP): [Disabled]
SATA Spread Spectrum: [Disabled]
**FSB & Memorv Config**
FSB - Memory Clock Mode: [Auto]
FSB - Memory Ratio: [Auto]
FSB (QDR), MHz: [Auto]
Actual FSB (QDR), MHz: [1333.3]
x MEM (DDR),  MHz: [Auto]
Actual MEM (DDR), MHz: [1600]
P1: [Auto]
P2: [Auto]
**Memory Timing Setting**
Memory Timing Setting: [Expert]
tCL (CAS Latency): [9]
tRCD: [9]
tRP: [9]
tRAS: [24]
Command Per Clock: [2T]
** Advanced Memory Settings **
tRRD: Auto [5]
tRC: Auto [39]
tWR: Auto [12]
tWTR: Auto [18]
tFAW: Auto [25]
tREF: [7.7uS]
tRFC: Auto [128]
**System Voltages**
CPU Core: Auto [1.13v]
CPU FSB: Auto [1.1v]
Memory: [1.500v]
nForce SPP: Auto [1.30v]
nForce MCP: Auto [1.500v]
GTLVREF Lane 0: Auto [-30mv] 
GTLVREF Lane 1: Auto [-30mv]
GTLVREF Lane 2: Auto [+00mv]
GTLVREF Lane 3: Auto [+00mv]
**CPU Configuration**
Limit CPUlD Maxval: [Disabled]
Intel Speedstep: [Disabled]
xPPM Mode: [Native]
CPU Thermal Control: [Disabled]
C1E Enhanced Halt State: [Enabled]
Execute Disable Bit: [Enabled]
Virtualization Technology: [Enabled]
CPU Core 0: [Enabled]
CPU Core 1: [Enabled]
CPU Core 2: [Enabled]
CPU Core 3: [Enabled]

So should i bump the fsb to 1600 which will put me at 3.6GHz? What about voltages, link sync.
Thanks Vista and stan.

Using "auto" for your settings is not good for overclocking on the 790i series boards.  Please try the below settings.
BIOS Version: P07
**System **
CPU Freq, MHz: [ 3.0GHZ]
FSB Reference Clock, MHz: [1333.3MHz] (1600Mhz)
CPU Multiplier: [9X]
PCle x16-1 & 16-2, MHz:  Auto [100]
PCle x16-3, MHz: Auto  [100]
SPPc->MCP Ref Clock, MHz:  Auto [200]
nForce SPP --> nForce MCP:   [5X]
nForce SPP c-- nForce MCP:   [5X]
**Spread Spectrum**
CPU Spread Spectrum: [Disabled]
HT Spread Spectrum: [Disabled]
PCle Spread Spectrurn(SPP): [Disabled]
PCle Spread Spectrurn(MCP): [Disabled]
SATA Spread Spectrum: [Disabled]
**FSB & Memorv Config**
FSB - Memory Clock Mode: [Auto] (linked)
FSB - Memory Ratio: [Auto] (synced)
FSB (QDR), MHz: [Auto] (1600Mhz)
Actual FSB (QDR), MHz: [1333.3] (1600Mhz)
x MEM (DDR),  MHz: [Auto] (1600Mhz)
Actual MEM (DDR), MHz: [1600]
P1: [Auto]
P2: [Auto]
**Memory Timing Setting**
Memory Timing Setting: [Expert]
tCL (CAS Latency): [9]
tRCD: [9]
tRP: [9]
tRAS: [24]
Command Per Clock: [2T]
** Advanced Memory Settings **
tRRD: Auto [5]
tRC: Auto [39]
tWR: Auto [12]
tWTR: Auto [18]
tFAW: Auto [25]
tREF: [7.7uS] (7.8uS)
tRFC: Auto [128]
**System Voltages**
Manually set your System Voilatges
CPU Core: Auto [1.13v] (1.35v to start)
CPU FSB: Auto [1.1v] (1.25)
Memory: [1.500v]
nForce SPP: Auto [1.30v] (1.30v)
nForce MCP: Auto [1.500v] (1.50v)
Leave the GTLV lanes on auto
GTLVREF Lane 0: Auto [-30mv] 
GTLVREF Lane 1: Auto [-30mv]
GTLVREF Lane 2: Auto [+00mv]
GTLVREF Lane 3: Auto [+00mv]
**CPU Configuration**
Limit CPUlD Maxval: [Disabled]
Intel Speedstep: [Disabled]
xPPM Mode: [Native]
CPU Thermal Control: [Disabled]
C1E Enhanced Halt State: [Enabled] (disable)
Execute Disable Bit: [Enabled] (disable)
Virtualization Technology: [Enabled] (disable if not using)
CPU Core 0: [Enabled]
CPU Core 1: [Enabled]
CPU Core 2: [Enabled]
CPU Core 3: [Enabled]

You are welcome.  I would see if I could lower my CPU voltage by lowering it by increments of one and stress testing with each change.  Once I reached a setting that failed the stress test, I would raise it one increment to the last stable setting.