Overclocking my C2D E6550

[jackal79]

Hi,
Iam planning to overclock existing CPU if possible.Please go through my config and suggest:

Proc: Intel C2D E6550 @ 2.33Ghz
Mobo: Asus P5G41T-M LX
RAM: G.Skill NT DDR3 4 GB (1 x 4 GB) PC RAM (F3-10600CL9S-4GBNT)
PSU: Corsair VX450

1) First of all i want to know if overclocking above rig is possible.If so, how much can i OC it?
2) If above is possible which CPU cooler should i buy? ( CM Hyper TX3 EVO or CM Hyper 212 EVO)
3) Can someone suggest a guide for OC' ing the above?

 

[KingerXI]

Personally, I would sell that processor for $25 and buy an E8400 for $50. Both have a 333 FSB, but the e8400 has a 9 x multiplier vs 7 x for the 6550. And the e8400 is 45nm vs 65nm so much better overclocking. You would easily get 3.6 with the e8400 vs a not for certain 2.8 for the e6550.

 

[Borealis7]

i had an E6550 at 400FSB (times 7 for 2.8GHz) without extra vCore, and using a CoolerMaster Hyper212 (first edition, not "+", not EVO). that was easy. i didnt try much higher than that.
all i had to do is give the DRAM +0.1V to 1.9V, but of course YMMV.

 

[jackal79]

i had an E6550 at 400FSB (times 7 for 2.8GHz) without extra vCore, and using a CoolerMaster Hyper212 (first edition, not "+", not EVO). that was easy. i didnt try much higher than that.
all i had to do is give the DRAM +0.1V to 1.9V, but of course YMMV.

Was it the same MoBo?

 

[Borealis7]

Yes. but P43 (especially this GIGABYTE one) are horrible for OCing. better get a P45 or P35 or even X38 if you can find one cheap.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Yes. but P43 (especially this GIGABYTE one) are horrible for OCing. better get a P45 or P35 or even X38 if you can find one cheap.

I think I have to agree with KingerXI. You can still do a lot with those Wolfdale cores on LGA_775. We have a "Pentium" dual-core (wolfdale) E6700, which I only OC'd to about 3.6Ghz. When we put the OS on an Elm Crest 128GB SSD, it is . . . "fast enough," even for using an SATA-II port for it.

 

[darkfalz]

Dude, just buy a 3470 or something. Even if you squeeze another 20% out of that CPU, it's not going to be capable of much.

 

[Denithor]

Few things:

1) Why are you overclocking (gaming, general use, etc)? If just need a little more speed, you can probably get that. If you need lots more power (or more cores) you'll have to upgrade instead.

2) You can likely hit 2.8-3.0GHz with that setup, will mostly depend on the motherboard, how it handles high FSB. Those speeds should be just fine under stock cooling (the same cooler was used for those 2.33 chips as for the 3GHz e6850, so it can handle the load as long as you don't do anything crazy with the voltage).

3) Here's you a starter guide to overclocking Core2 chips.
http://hexus.net/tech/tech-explained/cpu/9808-intel-core-2-duo-basic-overclocking-guide-beginners/
Mostly, try to see how much speed you can get without pushing the volts above stock, if that doesn't net you the performance boost you want, gradually increase the volts (but might want to consider aftermarket cooling if going down that path).

4) The suggestion of replacing your chip with an e8400 isn't bad at all. I picked up a used e8400 from eBay a few weeks ago for $42 shipped. Those chips OC very well, much better than your current e6550. Plus they run stock at the speed you're likely to hit when you overclock your current chip.

 

[jackal79]

Few things:

1) Why are you overclocking (gaming, general use, etc)? If just need a little more speed, you can probably get that. If you need lots more power (or more cores) you'll have to upgrade instead.

2) You can likely hit 2.8-3.0GHz with that setup, will mostly depend on the motherboard, how it handles high FSB. Those speeds should be just fine under stock cooling (the same cooler was used for those 2.33 chips as for the 3GHz e6850, so it can handle the load as long as you don't do anything crazy with the voltage).

3) Here's you a starter guide to overclocking Core2 chips.
http://hexus.net/tech/tech-explained/cpu/9808-intel-core-2-duo-basic-overclocking-guide-beginners/
Mostly, try to see how much speed you can get without pushing the volts above stock, if that doesn't net you the performance boost you want, gradually increase the volts (but might want to consider aftermarket cooling if going down that path).

4) The suggestion of replacing your chip with an e8400 isn't bad at all. I picked up a used e8400 from eBay a few weeks ago for $42 shipped. Those chips OC very well, much better than your current e6550. Plus they run stock at the speed you're likely to hit when you overclock your current chip.

I know!. Thing is , a new E8400 is too costly - almost same as i5. And iam not able to find any used one also.

 

[Denithor]

If used isn't an option (I'm guessing you aren't in the US, right?) then you certainly shouldn't spend that kind of money on a new one - pointless at this time. Just overclock your current e6550 as high as it will go and if that winds up not giving you the performance you need, it's simply time for an overhaul.

 

[tweakboy]

Guys isn't his mobo compatible with C2Q ...

Get a quad core Q6600 GO and I believe with a BIOS update your motherboard supports quad core chips. Simply OC it to 3.0Ghz very easily without touching cpu voltage. Go to 1.30v and you can do 3.2 to 3.4Ghz Bump that near 1.4 volts and you can do 3.8Ghz possibly,,,, But usually people cant make this one,,,,,