Should I Overclock

[LiquidFlame]

I have never overclocked any of my computers, but with my brand new system, I?m starting to consider it, but I have questions. I guess my first one is, what?s the real purpose of doing it, I know it would probably be fun, but will I really see a difference? My second question is by overclocking my computer; does it halve the life of the components? I really want to use this system for a while; I?m not one of those builders that builds a new computer every year. My last question that I have for now is if I read the EVGA 680i Overclocking Guide, well that give me all the info that I need right now for overclocking my system? I want to make sure I do everything right so I don?t kill my CPU, Memory, etc.. Thanks for the advice in advance.

 

[wittangamo]

Well, you are asking in an overclocking forum, so I'm going to say yes.

I've read that most people won't notice a performance increase of less than 10 percent. But with a Q6600 many people are getting a lot more than that with minimal effort.

My system is in my sig, and I can tell you that I do notice my 50 percent overclock. You'll probably want to start small, but you have the pieces in place.

Try simply resetting the fsb from 266 to 333. That's a 25 percent OC from 2.4 to 3.0 ghz. Set your memory divider to 1:1.20 to keep you DDR2 800 in spec. You may or may not need to bump your vcore a notch. Temps shouldn't be a problem at that speed with that cooler, but keep an eye on them.

Run some stability tests and benchmarks to make sure everything is good to go. After that, you're on your own. It IS fun, and there are plenty of folks here willing to give you advice that's worth every penny you pay for it.

 

[LiquidFlame]

When you are first overclocking, should all I do first is mess with the FSB until I get it stable or are you supposed to mess with the FSB, Memory timing, voltage all at once? I figure you just want to do one thing at a time.

 

[Capitalizt]

loosen your memory timings to 5-5-5-15 This way, if the system crashes, you know it is your CPU causing the crashes and not overstressed memory.

lock your pci-e frequency to 100 and your pci frequency to 33.3 in BIOS...those are the default settings I believe. If you don't lock them, they will go up with your overclock and can damage the system.

Set your vcore manually to around 1.3 and try a 333FSB, giving you 3ghz.

Run ORTHOS CPU stress test. If it runs for an hour without failing, you are probably fine with that overclock. If it fails, you need to bump the vcore up until it passes. I needed 1.32V on my E6600, but your mileage may vary. Just keep an eye on your temps. The idea is to pass a stress test with the lowest possible voltage/temperatures. I prefer to keep my load below 55C, but some folks say 60C is ok. The lower the better! Good luck.

 

[jeffw2767602]

if you are first time overclocker i would tell you to take your time, read as much as you can before you do anything, and basically be careful. i am a first time overclocker and did my homework. knowing as much as possible made the experience a lot more enjoyable. get to know all of your components and the dynamics that exist between your motherboard, chip, and ram. overclocking is much more fun when you fail to post and immediately know to loosen your memory timings, instead of thinking youve just killed your rig. happy overclocking

 

[LiquidFlame]

I read that for my Q6600 G0 Intel recommends for my processor core voltage 1.100V-1.372V. Then I read in an overclocking guide, when you first start out to overclock to start in the upper end of that range and once you find an FSB setting that works for you to then start lowering the voltage. Is this a good way to start out, or should it be the other way?

 

[tomoyo]

Originally posted by: LiquidFlame
I read that for my Q6600 G0 Intel recommends for my processor core voltage 1.100V-1.372V. Then I read in an overclocking guide, when you first start out to overclock to start in the upper end of that range and once you find an FSB setting that works for you to then start lowering the voltage. Is this a good way to start out, or should it be the other way?

Everyone has different methodologies, many of which work.

Conversative approach:
1) Find a maximum mhz with stock voltage that seems stable. Test with prime95/othros/etc for a moderate amount of time.

2) Increase your voltage to the maximum you feel comfortable with. Increase mhz until you find an unstable point. Lower your mhz to 100 below that point. Do full stability testing at that speed.

3) For extra fun: Try to overclock and undervolt at the same time, this requires way more testing effort to find a stable undervolt.

 

[brencat]

Originally posted by: LiquidFlame
EVGA 680i NF68-A1 BIOS: P30
C2D Q6600 G0
Tuniq Tower 120
2GB Crucial Ballistix 6400 - 4-4-4-12-2T
EVGA 8800GTX
Corsair 620HX

lol :laugh:

Let's see...you have one of the top mobos of its day, the G0 stepping quad, the 2nd best air cooler ever, probably the best OCing RAM ever, the top graphics card, and one of the best modular PSUs available.

"Should I overclock?" he asks. Sheesh

All seriously though, you're going to love it. It's a great hobby and a thrill when you can squeeze every last drop of performance out of your system even if you don't really "need" it. Just take your time, and read everything you possibly can in advance before starting. One guide is NOT enough. You should read different threads from different forums like overclock.net, xtremesystems, nforcershq, pcper, and others. Check out threads where people have similar PC components as you and read about their OC experiences. You will pick up tons of info and tips. Have an overclock target in mind (low, medium, high) and download all your utilities in advance (Orthos, Prime95, coretemp, memtest86, 3DMark05/06, etc). Most of all...take your time. Be methodical and patient. This project will typically take you 1 - 2 weeks if you're thorough. All the best, and welcome to the club!

 

[coreyb]

My Q6600 is overclocked and it was my first time doing it. I'm always going to overclock for now on because the performance increase is amazing!

For instance, I run CS Source at 1680x1050 with everything maxed. When I have the processor on default speeds I get around 80-100fps, and sometimes even lower on some maps. Now with my processor at 3.6ghz I'm getting around 200fps but average 150fps and it is playable at even the most demanding maps. Definately worth it to overclock!