Overclocking an E6600 using EVGA 680i mobo

[pat767]

It`s been ages since I`ve overclocked anything...

Now I'm getting this rig... and hoping anyone could share an insight on how I should proceed to overclocking this baby.

There are many guides available online, however most are outdated and need to reflect Core 2 Duo OC'ing... If someone could investigate this new mobo and get back to me on how to get a basic OC going on.

Note, I'm gonna be using Corsair Dominator TWIN2X2048-6400C4D DDR2 Memory .

Please assist if you can. I'm sure it can be useful to many.

Pat

 

[pat767]

Oh.. and I forgot to mention:

I also bought a Zalman CNPS9500 At LGA775 Heatsink Fan 92MM Fan 1300-2650RPM 18-27.5DBA.

 

[Chris707]

this is the exact system i bought yesterday, so i'd be interested as well! thanks

 

[bjp999]

This is a new MB that I don't think anyone on the forum has reported using yet. From the reviews I've read, I think it will OC well. Many people are able to push the E6600 to 3.6MHz (400FSB x 9), while some get a little faster (3.8MHz) and some a little slower (3.3MHz), depending on a variety of factors, including the CPU itself, the cooling, lapping, ambient temps, and how aggressively they are willing to push the vCORE. A select few have gotten stable over 4Ghz with more exotic water cooled solutions. (You may read about lots of people that have gotten to 4GHz, but if you read closely you'll see it was only stable enough to run a benchmark, and is not the speed they use every day.)

I, like you, have not OCed a system since my Celeron 300a (which OCed nicely from 300Mhz to 450Mhz). That was three computers ago! Pushing my 3.4GHz P4 to 3.6 just didn't seem worthwhile.

But I pushed my 2.4GHz E6600 to 3.3GHz with ease, and on to 3.6Ghz with a little work.

I know you'll have fun with your new system. Being the first kids on the block to use this MB, we'll be interested in your impressions and experiences!

Welcome to the forum!

BJP

 

[Duvie]

You will be disapointed in that HSF though...The E6600's run hotter then there 2mb cache counterpartys and therefore the moment uyou need to give 1.4-1.45v you will have mid to high 60's under load....

 

[lopri]

I've just received the board and the board screams 'quality'. Even the manual, while not the most detailed, is very very well made. Unlike other vendors' manuals that just lists specs, it gives hints and warnings in plain English. I don't think anyone could deny that this board is one of the most polished, enthusiast-friendly boards. On top of that, there will be users' reports and reviews over the next few weeks, so you won't have to worry.

 

[Technonut]

Originally posted by: lopri
I've just received the board and the board screams 'quality'. Even the manual, while not the most detailed, is very very well made. Unlike other vendors' manuals that just lists specs, it gives hints and warnings in plain English. I don't think anyone could deny that this board is one of the most polished, enthusiast-friendly boards. On top of that, there will be users' reports and reviews over the next few weeks, so you won't have to worry.

Be sure to post results....


Personally, if I decide to jump ship with the P5W DH, I more than likely will go with the ASUS Striker Extreme....

 

[Regalk]

Where did Lopri go - 2 hours to set up a board is all the time we will give you...get back here quickly with those results

 

[Don66]

Originally posted by: Duvie
You will be disapointed in that HSF though...The E6600's run hotter then there 2mb cache counterpartys and therefore the moment uyou need to give 1.4-1.45v you will have mid to high 60's under load....

QFT...

 

[Conky]

I am anxiously awaiting all these 680i SLI mobo experiences and thoughts. Let us hear it all.

 

[lopri]

Haha OMG.. I took off from work today (I work nights) to build this thing. Just started installing Windows. It wasn't the smoothest sailing so far but didn't take long to sort it out. Current BIOS seems somewhat sensitive to, well, memory. (Don't we all love it) I briefly tested 3.60GHz which I know my chip will do comfortably, and the board booted at the second try. Not bad so far.

 

[Shimmishim]

Originally posted by: lopri
Haha OMG.. I took off from work today (I work nights) to build this thing. Just started installing Windows. It wasn't the smoothest sailing so far but didn't take long to sort it out. Current BIOS seems somewhat sensitive to, well, memory. (Don't we all love it) I briefly tested 3.60GHz which I know my chip will do comfortably, and the board booted at the second try. Not bad so far.

rumor has it there's already a bios update available but it's not public yet... ugh.

good luck with that board!

 

[lopri]

Can't seem to get 1T stable. :frown:

 

[n7]

Who cares, we don't have 1T on Intel chipsets anyway.
You guyz & your SuperPI lovin'

Please do post some screens of your max FSB, etc. though

 

[lopri]

Not there yet. Booting into Windows is incredibly fast, though. If I don't pay attention I lose timing to get in the BIOS. Not sure if I like this or not. Also I found out 'Auto' under sync mode will set memory 1000MHz @400FSB.

 

[Skott]

Can you give us a rundown of the system components, Lopri?

 

[lopri]

CPU: Xeon 3060 (E6600)
Memory: TeamGroup Xtreem DDR2-667
Motherboard: EVGA NF 680i
GPU: GeForce 6200TC
HSF: Scythe Infinity

400FSB seems fine. (I'm not done yet) It takes a bit of time to get used to the BIOS.

 

[n7]

After reading thru many of the threads on XS, i am less interested in these till the issues have been figured out.

I am interested in the unlinked RAM option, but with current pricing & lack of choices & low FSB issues, i'll stay away for a while i think.

 

[lopri]

450FSB is a no-go so far. What was the max FSB in AT review? With 4MB CPUs.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: lopri
450FSB is a no-go so far. What was the max FSB in AT review? With 4MB CPUs.

One of our X6800 processors reached 2100 FSB, confirming NVIDIA's claims of overclocking an X6800 in their labs to 2070 FSB. Not only did we reach 2100 FSB (525) at a 7X multiplier (3.675GHz), we managed to reach that speed at default voltage. The system has run at those settings for several days without incident and has handled every test and benchmark we have thrown at the system. However, it should also be pointed out that a second X6800 CPU would not overclock 1 MHz higher than 1900 FSB (450) on this same motherboard, even though that X6800 reached a similar 4GHz maximum overclock and similar "default voltage" overclocks.

We have yet to find anything obvious that would explain these differences in maximum FSB in the X6800 chips we tested. Revision and Stepping explained nothing, and we also had four retail E6600 we tested that would not reach above 1800 FSB. We are looking into these findings further and hope to find some explanations to share with you that will explain these maximum FSB differences among 4MB Cache Core 2 chips.

Interestingly, all of the 2MB cache Core 2 processors we tested reached at least 2000 FSB, with the two tested E6300 reaching 2100 FSB (522x7 and 6x525). We were prepared to call the amount of cache the defining difference in FSB performance until the late X6800 reached 2100 in our labs and NVIDIA confirmed their own 2070 results with an X6800 Extreme. We are much more confident that 2MB Cache chips can top 2000 FSB and we are very anxious to find something that will help you identify 4MB cache chips that will reach the "magic" 2000, 2070, and 2100 FSB overclocks.

Those results pretty much sum things up in one word: FSB bugfest

 

[n7]

AT's results:
X6800 = 525 FSB
X6800 #2 = 450 FSB

4 different E6600s :Q = 450 FSB

And all 2 MB C2Ds = 500+ FSB

 

[lopri]

Not sure if I'm going to pursue max FSB, though. (mostly because it's not needed) My interest is in:

1. Performance difference between Sync/Async under same memory freqency
2. Performance difference between 1T/2T under same memory frequency

But it seems true that there is something going on with FSB. The FSB bug seems almost intentional in that it feels like a brick wall. I've only had this board up and running only for hours, however, so can't say much other than the boot is super fast.

Update: Got DDR2-800/3-3-3-1T working.

 

[The-Noid]

Played with this for a day got sick of it. This was a situation where I really wanted the mobo to work, but it just wouldn't. I liked all the bios settings, and I liked running 1T (not really that great, only 4 seconds faster in super_pi-32m) and 2x 8800 GTX.

The problem is with quad core CPU's it wouldn't boot with greater than 300*10 on a Q6700 B1 or 320*9 on a Xeon 3230 Step 7 B3. In the end I decided to put this board to the wayside and go back to 1x 8800 gtx and 440*9 on my P5B and Xeon 3230. Hopefully it will be fixed with bios updates and the board will go back in, but until then I need the mhz to crunch...

 

[Hyperlite]

Originally posted by: n7
AT's results:
X6800 = 525 FSB
X6800 #2 = 450 FSB

4 different E6600s :Q = 450 FSB

And all 2 MB C2Ds = 500+ FSB

so we need someone to try an E6300 in the 680?

 

[lopri]

NV still can't seem to get the freaking IDE drivers right. I decided to give another chance to them but the system constantly hung upon boot. So I entered the Safe Mode and check the Event Viewer, and guess what - Hard disk controller error. Uninstalled the NV IDE drivers and system is back to normal. Just a head-up for folks who might encounter a similar problem.