Recommended overclocking settings?
 

I'm running a Q6600 w/ a EVGA 9800GTX on stock cooling.

What do you guys think is safe to OC these to?

Would running aftermarket cooling make a huge diff?

Last Q, what is the recommended operating temp for the the CPU and GPU?

3.2ghz (8x400mhz) with cheap aftermarket cooling is fine.

CPU... below 50deg -> idle... below 65deg -> load

Q6600.... I'd get a Thermalright Ultra 120 if you wanna oc.... Q6600 does run hot. those stock intel fan just suck. you can always try the Scythe Katana to try out, its only 30 bux

I just got a Scythe Katana for my E8400 setup. and its great for what I paid for. my E8400 wouldn't even go past stock speed with the stock heatsink and was idling at 40-42 degrees. full load close to 60 degrees

with the katana, i was running 3.6ghz @1.175v idling at 35 degrees and won't even go past 50 degrees under full load.

if i had faster ram, i'm sure i can run 4.0ghz all day with my chip.

I have it OC'd right now to 3mhz. They cores run from 30-39 on idle. From 49-59 on load.

This is running stock cooling. I was thinking what I could safely bump it to. Or if I ran an aftermarket cooler whether I can actually make it significantly faster.

Oh and does higher temps mean the CPU and GPU don't run as well or efficiently?

if the temps get too high, it can damage or fry the parts but usually the computer will shut itself down before that can happen

Your processor has tech behind it that wont let that happen. The only think you ahve to worry about is voltage frying your parts. But you only want to raise your voltage if you have significant cooling.

what are you using to determine your temps?
- I use a little program called coretemp

how are you "putting the CPU under load?"
- I use Prime95 (whatever the latest version is)....make sure you're using all 4 cores when testing and let it run until your temps are going any higher. (10min usually does the trick for me)

have you tested your stability?
- Again, I use Prime95 - i consider it stable if it lasts longer than a 3 hours...but that's because the most intensive task I do on my computer is play games. If you're using it as a server that is on 24/7, then you may want to run prime longer to ensure maximum stability (12+hrs?)
- I also use 3D mark to test overall stability, since it stresses CPU/GPU/Memory in a gaming environment.

there are too many variables to say what your "max oc" is, but most Q6600s are hitting in the range of 3GHz-3.4GHz on air cooling (3.4 being the extreme side). Most people can achieve 3GHz with little to no voltage increase.

I hit 3.2GHz with a minor voltage bump, but stopped there because I saw no performance boost in games (which is what i mainly use my desktop for), so i left it at 3GHz on stock voltage. @ 3GHz, my temps are 28C idle and 55C under 100% load for 4hrs. I'm staying cool with a Scythe Mugen w/Arctic Silver thermal compound.

As for temps, you probably don't want to exceed 70C with the Q6600.

If you have determined that heat is your limiting factor, then yes, running aftermarket cooling will help you OC more.

If you're like me and only use the machine for gaming, then you should know that today's games are more GPU intensive than CPU, and a faster clock speed will not boost frame rates much (if at all)....For example, going from stock 2.4 -> 3.0, i gained only 4-5fps in Crysis.

However, if you do a lot of video/music encoding, you might notice a bigger difference with a higher clock speed.

With that said, I don't know what you use your desktop for, but that's my 2 cents.

I'm using EVEREST ULTIMATE to determine temps and speeds.

I was gaming. L4D and Far Cry 2. FC2 sucks btw. ;)

So you think 3.4 is safe if I ran aftermarket cooling? Something to consider.

I find that even though I upgraded, I don't think it's that much faster in terms of loading up programs and stuff. I can multitask better for sure, but somethings take awhile to load which either didn't take that long before. I might be on crack. My comp defrags/virus check couple times a week. Just hoping for an easy tweak maybe to get this thing running a little quicker.

To be exact
Q6600 oc'd to 3ghz
4g ddr2 ram
9800 gtx (stock)
p5k mobo
vista ultimate 64
corsair 650W PSU


Kinda wish I didn't listen to whoever on RS recommended the Q6600 over the E8400. Someone on here was saying they had that OC'd to 3.8 ghz.

I'm not too savvy with comps. So pardon my ignorance if someone I said didn't make too much sense. I'm a Car/Home Audio/Theatre type of guy. :p

why do you need faster ram to hit 4GHz? Use the divider to set your memory speeds ;)
My brother is @ 4GHz with a 1 step bump in voltage on the E8400 :)

I wouldn't attempt 3.4GHz without GOOD aftermarket cooling. 3.4GHz is pretty much on the extreme side of the scale on an air-cooled system. And truth be told....a 400MHz difference won't be noticeable, unless you're going for bragging rights ;)

L4D? You should be able to play that with maximum details with ease on your system. Overclocking won't make things better (I'm playing L4D alot, too!). And yea...Farcry 2 sucks.

Unless your primary goal was to overclock, you shouldn't regret going with a Q6600 over a E8400....stock vs stock, you won't notice a difference between the 2 in basic windows navigation...However, the E8400 does run cooler and overclocks better.

If you're using apps that support multiple cores, then your Q6600 will outperform it with ease. However, for apps that don't support multiple cores, clock speed plays a bigger role....so with the Q6600, you'll win in some apps, but you'll lose some. But goddamn, I'll say it again...those E8400s overclock like crazy!

As for your slow responsiveness....My system responds fast...no lag at all...with any modern processor, you shouldn't have to wait longer than 2 seconds for anything to load...even my laptop launches firefox in a second.
It might be something else causing the slow-ness.

Use coretemp and the other apps i mentioned in my first post to double check your temps....maybe Everest is mis-reporting, and if your temps are too high, the CPU will automatically throttle back performance to prevent self-destruction.

E8400's multiplier is 9x to reach 4ghz my FSB has to be 444.
divider can't divide anything above 400FSB to work with ram at 800
either way I have to over clock the 800 ram or just buy faster ram

Makes sense...
just curious: what mobo are you using?

EP45-DS3L
this was a cheap upgrade that i wanna try out. so i didnt spend a lot of money on ram and just got 4 sticks of kingston value DDR2-800 2GB sticks

Yeah you can't below 1:1. I would get from PC2-8000 or PC2-8500. That way you can get up to 500-533 which is insane and not recommended unless you're on water.

A friend of mine with a TRUE 120 got a stable overclock at 3.4 or 3.5 (i can't remember) and he's idling in the high 30s. If you want to overclock I would definitely look into a better heatsink and possibly some faster RAM.

As for temperatures try to keep it below 70 on FULL load. 40-45 idle is fine. Everest should be accurate but if you are unsure use Realtemp or Coretemp as well. To stress test, someone mentioned Prime95 which is good (orthos has mutli-core support) or Interl Burntest (i've never used it but I hear its good)

I'd find a cheap Xigmatek on sale and OC it to around 3.6. 1:1 is not always the fastest.

Keep the full load temps below 65 and idle below 35 for nice cool temps.

Keep a few more fans in your case if efficiency>dBA to you

Intel Burn Test is a wicked program. No longer do you need to stress test with Prime for hours. Just run this program for a few minutes and you'll know if your system is stable.

Really watch your temps when running the program though. My temps were 10 degrees higher than prime and some have even got over 20 degrees higher.