Quick Questions on Core 2 and OC info

[Twsmit]

I've got some basic questions about Intel OCing on the new Core 2 platform and some general questions.

1.) What are the average overclocks with solid 3rd party air? 3ghz, 3.5ghz higher?

2.) Does Core 2 like synchronous or asynchronous memory? ie Do I need to run 1:1 for max performance? If not how much of a performance hit do I take asynch?

3.) What is the average max FSB with i965, 975 and nvidia 680i? What I have been reading points to 450-500mhz range but I'm not sure if thats only the nvidia chipset.

4.) Will current 680i boards that list 1333FSB as supported support future 45nm chips running on this bus?

5.) Hows does CAS latency affect performance?

6.) Whats are the top few 3rd party air coolers for Core 2? I have a Thermalright XP-90 will using an adapter to fit socket 775 make this a good choice?


thx for answering!

 

[PCTC2]

1) Depends on the Core2 used. E6300 ~ 3.1GHz E6400 ~ 3.2-3.3GHz E6600 3.2GHz-3.6Ghz X6800 ~ 3.3-4.0GHz
2) You lose very little performance and may gain at a non-1:1 ratio if the RAM is at a higher clock.
3) They should all hit a 401 MHz FSB easily with the appropriate voltages. My 680i with my E6400 on 8x Multi tops around 470FSB. At 7x, I can hit 500FSB.
4) As long as the early Penryn 45nm chips stay at 1333MHz FSB (Penryns will also have 1600MHz FSB).
5) CAS Latency can increase bandwidth as long as the memory can handle the tighter timings.
6) Tuniq Tower 120, Thermalright Ultra 120 (eXtreme when it comes out, but the regular is great as is), and the CoolerMaster Hyper TX. EDIT: The XP-90 may not be enough for large OCs)

 

[Shimmishim]

1. Depends on how new/old the chip is as well. Newer chips don't seem to o/c as well as the older ones (pre-week 32 chips).
2. Air = 3.3 to 3.6
3. 975 1:1, 965 4:5, 680i is a beast you just have to play with until you figure out what works best. there are so many options to tweak with these boards.
4. not sure on this one.
5. as always, tighter CAS will limit your mem overclocking.
6. see above. there are some others that are coming out as well.

 

[Twsmit]

Thx for the infor PCTC2.

So would you say the 680i is the better OC chipset? and is it better to just get some nice PC2-800 ram and try and OC it rather than buying PC2-1066 ram? I was thinking the buffalo firestix since it seems cas 5 vs cas 4 doesnt matter that much.

 

[Shimmishim]

680i is just a pain until you learn the ins and outs. it has lots of memory tweaking and voltage options.

975 and 965 are pretty straight forward.

clock for clock, the 975 is faster but the 965 can do much higher fsb's than the 975.

so there are benefits / trade-offs / disadvantages to all of them.

 

[n7]

1. Depends on CPU, especially if it's a newer one. But i'd say 3.0-3.6 GHz

2. Intel tends to love bandwidth, so for real world testing, the more, the merrier.
975X is good w/ 1:1 or 4:5, depending on whether your RAM does really low timings, or is better @ at high speeds.
P965 = bandwidth ftw, so if you can run 4:5, it will handily beat up 1:1 w/ tight timings
650i/680i does best w/ 1T, so that often means run asyncronously. You need sky high RAM clocks to beat 1T.

3. For high FSB, get P965, as with good mobo, 500 MHz is not uncommon.
975X is only suitable for 9x multi CPUs or higher, e.g., E6600, E4300.
A good 650i/680i mobo should do high FSBs like P965, but it seems there are lots of FSB holes along the way, meaning you simply cannot use some speeds; you have to jump a lot higher.
Also, high FSB results vary. Some people hit a hard wall much lower, so once again, i'd only get 680i for E6600+

All this being said, what matters is what CPU you get.
CPU & budget basically determine which mobo you buy.

4. Who knows.

5. Lower = faster, but see 2. for more details, or this comparsion i did. Edit: FFS, my thread is gone. Thanx AT :frown:

6. Lots listed here & there:
http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=1&artpage=2179&articID=519

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Twsmit
I've got some basic questions about Intel OCing on the new Core 2 platform and some general questions.

1.) What are the average overclocks with solid 3rd party air? 3ghz, 3.5ghz higher?

2.) Does Core 2 like synchronous or asynchronous memory? ie Do I need to run 1:1 for max performance? If not how much of a performance hit do I take asynch?

3.) What is the average max FSB with i965, 975 and nvidia 680i? What I have been reading points to 450-500mhz range but I'm not sure if thats only the nvidia chipset.

4.) Will current 680i boards that list 1333FSB as supported support future 45nm chips running on this bus?

5.) Hows does CAS latency affect performance?

6.) Whats are the top few 3rd party air coolers for Core 2? I have a Thermalright XP-90 will using an adapter to fit socket 775 make this a good choice?


thx for answering!

1. depends on your revision. Its like a stepping on AMD for intel.

2. so far i have no issues running memory and cpu independantly. But then again my board rocks, so i dont need to fiddle with any multipliers. It autoscales for me.

3. i have the 680i. i still think its the best board you can get. Warrenty pwns all the mobo companys out there like no other. Thats only if you get the A1 revision. Fugger managed to push 530fsb on his X6800 with a 680i. I like to OC, so i'll followt he hardware set by WR people.

4. i highly doubt future 45nm chips will be supported, unless penryn is just a die shrinkage of teh c2d. I do know nephlamen <--- is that spelled right?? will require its own board thanks to the 1600FSB. <gah, might need new ram as well>

5. Ummmm i get about 1-2 lower SuperPI time from 4-4-3-8 to 5-5-5-12 if thats what your asking.

6. LEMME WARN you up front. These guys GET FREAKEN HOT when you push them higher then 1.37V And no im not kidding. These guys including your 680i board, will require major amounts of air being pushed over teh board, and on your HSF to get acceptable coolant temps. Well unless your happy running loads of 65C+ Its up to you.

 

[PCTC2]

Penryn at first will keep the Core Architecture so there is a small chance that it will keep the 1333Mhz FSB and Skt LGA775. But it is only a slight chance because Penryn is mainly meant for the Nehalem Architecture until Nehalem-C (32nm) dies comes out. The 680i, as stated, is a beast for RAM overclocks. If you get a 680i, try looking for some sticks that can handle 1T, or if you can't find any, get a nice pair of DDR2-1111 or DDR2-1066. I've found my RAM to be a major holdback on my OC abilities. (I have DDR2-800). If you know what you're doing or you want a lot of options to be able to tweak to get the best OC, get the 680i A1 revision. It is a lot more stable than the AR revision and can actually be flashed (LOL the old AR revision would become unstable with any flashed BIOS, even when flashed to the older BIOSes). Try to not get an "F" batch processor if you want to overclock (They require more vCore for stable OCs). In addition to the HSFs I listed before, Thermalright is also coming out with the IFX (Inferno Fire eXtinguisher) and that is like 2xUltra 120 and there's also a few more that are ok. Don't get a Zalman. The 680i A1 revision is also very apt at overclocking Kentsfield Quad-cores. The AR revision can't pass 370FSB with a quad-core. The new 680i LT has FSB holes as n7 states, but i have tried just about all FSBs from 350-500 on my standard eVGA 680i and I have not found any "holes". I just max out because of my chip and chipset cooling (get a HR-05SLI because this NB gets hot when overclocked (59C!).
But I would definitely recommend the new eVGA 680i A1 revision (NOT THE AR!) with some nice DDR2-1066/1111 and probably an E6420 (after April 22) or E6600. I wouldn't really recommend a E6300 if you want a high OC because of the limit of a 7x multiplier. If you want a quad-core kentsfield, wait for the August price drops and grab one for $266. Check out my rig in my sig for ideas.
EDITED FOR STUPIDITY.

 

[The Sauce]

I would add the Scythe Infinity to the list of top coolers, along with the Ultra-120 and the Tuniq.