Overclocking E6600 on an EVGA 680i SLI board

[IsenMike]

Hello there. I just put together my new computer, built with much help from you awesome folks at the Anandtech forums.

I got an E6600 processor and EVGA's 680i SLI board. I'd like to do some overclocking, but honestly I'm not sure where to begin. Any overclocking I'd done on previous machines has been through a relatively idiotproof interface without too many options. Now I'm looking at loads of settings, and it certainly isn't idiotproof enough for this idiot.

Not sure what most of the settings actually mean, so if anyone could point me in the direction of a good tutorial or maybe just give me some basic advice on where to start, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[orion23]

http://www.nvidia.com/docs/CP/45121/nforce_680i_sli_overclocking.pdf

What CPU Cooler are you using?


Read that, and for the most part do the following:

1: Record your temperatures now, Idle? Load?

2: Monitor Temperatures after overclocking, Idle? Load?

Don't exceed 60c during load.

You can test your overclock by running Prime95 (torture test) or Orthos (small FFT)

Run either program for @ leat 15 minutes to do a quick test of stability.

In bios:

Disable C1E, SPEEDSTEP, THERMAL CONTROL, AND ANYTHING SPECTRUM / THROTTLE RELATED.

Also disable LinkBoost and GPU(XXX)

Set your FSB and RAM to UNLINKED and enter your OWN 1:1 settings (RAM should be half of your FSB)

Set the FSB to 1400 and the RAM to 700mhz (1:1 is best while testing) (3.15ghz)

Set your recommended RAM Voltage and manual settings (from manufacturer)

Set your FSB Voltage to 1.3 or 1.4V

Set your CPU Voltage to 1.45V

Set the SPP Voltage to 1.5V

Other Voltages can remain as AUTO

If these settings work, you can test stability with the programs above (free) and then proceed to lower the CPU Voltage since it might be too much for that overclock (never exceed 1.55V)

Lower the CPU Voltage until you loose stability.

If you want to go any higher, just change the FSB to 1620 and your RAM to 810mhz for a 3.6ghz overclock.

Test for stability, if it works, lower the CPU Voltage, if it fails, Give it a little more.

Again, don't exceed 1.55 Volts on your CPU and don't go past 60c during load.

 

[Pryde]

A quick search of google revealed 4 good over clocking tutorials on the 1st page alone

 

[IsenMike]

Originally posted by: orion23
http://www.nvidia.com/docs/CP/45121/nforce_680i_sli_overclocking.pdf

What CPU Cooler are you using?


Read that, and for the most part do the following:
...

Thanks! This is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. I'll get starting on tuning my system and probably be back if I run into any specific questions.

My cooler is the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro

Originally posted by: Pryde
A quick search of google revealed 4 good over clocking tutorials on the 1st page alone

I'm sure there are plenty of tutorials out there. The reason I came here to ask was that I have had nothing but good experiences getting great advice on these forums, so if there was a specific tutorial that the Anandtech community recommended, that would be the one I'd try.

 

[aigomorla]

if your settings are all stock, why not just use ntune and have it do a 8hour test to see where your system is most stable? then record the stable clocks and go into bios and change them.

This would be the easiest way to start.

Then all you need to do after that is play with voltage and see if u can climb a little higher.

 

[IsenMike]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
if your settings are all stock, why not just use ntune and have it do a 8hour test to see where your system is most stable? then record the stable clocks and go into bios and change them.

This would be the easiest way to start.

Then all you need to do after that is play with voltage and see if u can climb a little higher.

I was looking at that today. Had me a little worried though. Can an automated tool be as safe and as effective as doing it by hand? Or do you think I'm worrying for nothing?

 

[ALECUBA]

i tried using ntune and it would freeze my pc..so i unistalled it and went about reading guides and tutorials and now i know a lil about this oc deal...if u have any questions ill do what i can to answer to my best knowledge...since u can see i got the same mobo as u and a lower level cpu...btw nice setup....and i suggest u leave the ram as it is since its unlinked it has nothing to do with the cpu...its at 800 so dont underclock it...if anythin, overclock it instead...i got mine at 4 4 4 12 2T at 2.15volts....but its a 667mhz so urs is better...

 

[nippyjun]

Why do these: LinkBoost and GPU(XXX) need to be disabled with overclocking?

 

[ALECUBA]

i dont have the explanation for that cuz im not a pro sorry, but i did it cuz i was told to and it is in the guides too...hope u find the answer, i would read it too....
gl

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: ALECUBA
i tried using ntune and it would freeze my pc..so i unistalled it and went about reading guides and tutorials and now i know a lil about this oc deal...if u have any questions ill do what i can to answer to my best knowledge...since u can see i got the same mobo as u and a lower level cpu...btw nice setup....and i suggest u leave the ram as it is since its unlinked it has nothing to do with the cpu...its at 800 so dont underclock it...if anythin, overclock it instead...i got mine at 4 4 4 12 2T at 2.15volts....but its a 667mhz so urs is better...

I would always follow advice from another owner of the same product. So this guy maybe your best bet unless you find another guy with the EVGA 680SLI.

 

[orion23]

Originally posted by: nippyjun
Why do these: LinkBoost and GPU(XXX) need to be disabled with overclocking?

Those options are to overclock the VGA and its PCI-E lane.

When overclocking, (@ least while learning), we need to concentrate on 1 thing or 2 at the most, CPU & / OR RAM, so that when crashes occur, we don't have to scratch our heads trying to guess if the VGA had anything to do with it.

Besides, there are some reviews out there which read that the Linkboost did little to nothing in terms of performance!

 

[IsenMike]

Okay, here's a question: The guide says to increase the voltage if I hit a wall with stability or performance. What about heat? At a certain point it's running in the high sixty-degree range under load. Changing the voltage won't help with that, will it? Do I just need a better cooling solution if I want to push further? Or is there something else I can do to increase the speed without increasing the heat?

 

[evo4ever]

Originally posted by: IsenMike
Okay, here's a question: The guide says to increase the voltage if I hit a wall with stability or performance. What about heat? At a certain point it's running in the high sixty-degree range under load. Changing the voltage won't help with that, will it? Do I just need a better cooling solution if I want to push further? Or is there something else I can do to increase the speed without increasing the heat?

Overclocking will always generate heat, either from increased FSB or vcore. Increasing both will generate the most heat and you will need to do this if you want to achieve your maximum overclock! The only way to combat heat to invest in a better cooling solution. The Tuniq Tower 120 is one the best air coolers out there atm!

 

[lopri]

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=29&threadid=1991915&enterthread=y

 

[Noubourne]

I think the best advice is to follow an overclocking guide. Almost any will do.

I see in here some advice to crank your chip immediately up to 3.1Ghz and pump 1.45v through it. It may very well be a stable setting for your chip, but for all you know, it's way too much voltage for that speed. Since the advice here tells you to crank it up to those settings almost immediately as your first overclock, you'll NEVER know how far you could get on stock volts, or at what temps. Since how far you go at stock volts is often a good indicator of how much headroom you might have overall, you will be overclocking without the benefit of this information. A shame, really.

Any advice you get here that doesn't tell you first and foremost to read and follow a good in-depth overclocking guide, is bad advice.

 

[lopri]

I don't see anyone in this thread suggesting 1.45V for 3.10GHz? I agree with you in that the overclock achieved under stock voltages is a good indicator for the chip's capability, though.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Noubourne
I think the best advice is to follow an overclocking guide. Almost any will do.

I see in here some advice to crank your chip immediately up to 3.1Ghz and pump 1.45v through it. It may very well be a stable setting for your chip, but for all you know, it's way too much voltage for that speed. Since the advice here tells you to crank it up to those settings almost immediately as your first overclock, you'll NEVER know how far you could get on stock volts, or at what temps. Since how far you go at stock volts is often a good indicator of how much headroom you might have overall, you will be overclocking without the benefit of this information. A shame, really.

Any advice you get here that doesn't tell you first and foremost to read and follow a good in-depth overclocking guide, is bad advice.

actaully most are written up for AMD's. There are some Intel guides poping out now, but there not nearly as helpful as the AMD ones.

If you know a couple good ones, it would be VERY VERY apreciated if you could link them as i am having some issues OCing my striker and QX, but slowly figuring them out as i play with it. I didnt know about the Link Boost and GPU until i even read this post.

 

[warezme]

I have the Evga 680i SLI board but am running the E6400 @ 3.6Ghz with 450FSB...., Memory is running 1066 w/5-5-5-5-18 timings,

In regards to disabling Linkboost and GPU feature..., I tried it with both off and on and it didn't make any difference for my OC so I left them on because it auto increases the GPU FSB voltage and internal Video card clock, not to be confused with the GPU clock and the GPU memory the card appears to support 3 separate clock frequencies (I am running the Evga 8800GTX - single card). I have the GPU up to 650Mhz from 575Mhz and the memory up to 1005 from 900Mz which is 2010Mhz double rated. The card has an internal clock that is controlled by the Linkboost and GPU feature. by default its something like 1200Mhz, when running Linkboost and it drops into 3D mode that clock is boosted to 1350Mhz.

Since the the Linkboost also boosts the voltage of the GPU FSB, I can see how it could deter from extreme OC's but not "normal" OC's as I have made. The CPU is very well water cooled and stays nice and cool so this gives me some confidence with the current OC.

Just FYI for those curious about Linkboost and that GPU feature in the 680i bios when OC'ing.

 

[Noubourne]

A simple search on google had tons of results - especially for newbies.

PDF - Nvidia's 680i OC guide

Tom's guide on C2D /shudder - but recent and discusses the basics

From IGN (I don't agree with some of this stuff)

 

[IsenMike]

Next question: say the processor runs hot but is reliable, stable, passes all the stress tests, etc. Is that safe? Or will the heat eventually ruin the CPU?

 

[KINSUNUPPA]

hi, did anybody knows how to overclock a ASUS STRIKER MAINBOARD WITH A QX6700 PROCESSOR, i do not have any idea but i know that the clock speed is too slow

my rams are corsair 2x1gb 800 Mhz

thakns for helping

 

[rbuass]

next post

 

[rbuass]

Originally posted by: orion23
http://www.nvidia.com/docs/CP/45121/nforce_680i_sli_overclocking.pdf

What CPU Cooler are you using?


Read that, and for the most part do the following:

1: Record your temperatures now, Idle? Load?

2: Monitor Temperatures after overclocking, Idle? Load?

Don't exceed 60c during load.

You can test your overclock by running Prime95 (torture test) or Orthos (small FFT)

Run either program for @ leat 15 minutes to do a quick test of stability.

In bios:

Disable C1E, SPEEDSTEP, THERMAL CONTROL, AND ANYTHING SPECTRUM / THROTTLE RELATED.

Also disable LinkBoost and GPU(XXX)

Set your FSB and RAM to UNLINKED and enter your OWN 1:1 settings (RAM should be half of your FSB)

Set the FSB to 1400 and the RAM to 700mhz (1:1 is best while testing) (3.15ghz)

Set your recommended RAM Voltage and manual settings (from manufacturer)

Set your FSB Voltage to 1.3 or 1.4V

Set your CPU Voltage to 1.45V

Set the SPP Voltage to 1.5V

Other Voltages can remain as AUTO

If these settings work, you can test stability with the programs above (free) and then proceed to lower the CPU Voltage since it might be too much for that overclock (never exceed 1.55V)

Lower the CPU Voltage until you loose stability.

If you want to go any higher, just change the FSB to 1620 and your RAM to 810mhz for a 3.6ghz overclock.

Test for stability, if it works, lower the CPU Voltage, if it fails, Give it a little more.

Again, don't exceed 1.55 Volts on your CPU and don't go past 60c during load.

First...sorry my broken english...but i'm brazilian and i need your help to do a safety overclock.
I did that Overclock as you explain....but the temperature go so higger than 60ºC.
The Everest and the Core Temp show me around 75ºC/ 79ºC (load) 57º/60º (idle) (3.6 Ghz - FSB 1,4v/ cpu 1,4375v/ spp 1,45v...and..when i was with 3,15GHz (FSB 1,3V/ CPU 1,4125/ SPP 1,4V)...the temperature was around 52º/54º idle and 64º/70º load...I used Stability test and Orthos to load it....
I have the nForce 680i / E6600 with Thermaltake Big Typhoon cooler / EN 8800 GTX / 2 X 1GB Corsair dominator DDR2 1066 PC8500 / 2 X Seagate 320 GB 7200.10 (RAID0) / Enermax Liberty 620W in a well refreshed case Enermax CS-718...and...in Brazil..that computer is the best..cause here don't have the U.S.A. Technologie....and Brazil is so later in computer areas....
I need to know how can i do to reduce the temperature...can you explain wich the minimum voltages to set to get 3.6 Ghz without reach higher temperatures...or...another things to do for it???
I hope you understand me...and.....i will apreciate if you answer me in a simple english...
Thank you very much....

 

[CurseTheSky]

Get a better heatsink and fan. If you're using the one that came with the processor, buy something like a Scythe Ninja, Scythe Infinity, Tuniq Tower 120, Thermalright Ultra 120, Thermaltake Big Typhoon, etc. They cost around $50 in the US, but they're worth every penny. The Tuniq Tower is about the best right now.

You should also make sure you have plenty of airflow in the case. Add extra case fans, or if you have a fan speed controller, turn the fans up. See if the temperatures improve. Run the system with the side panel off the case. If any of that helps temperatures, your case doesn't have enough air flow.

 

[rbuass]

That's the problem....
I have a Big typhoon cooler..and i have a Big Case well cooled (CS-718 Enermax)....and i don't understand what's happened to the temperature stay so high....
I woul like to know if can i down the voltages....or another thing to get lower temperature..
I noticed that windows XP don't started if i do this....further....twhen i tryed this...the temperature keeps high....
Thank's a lot