CPU / GPU upgrade and OC...

jimbobaggies · 13 Nov 2010 at 11:01

Current rig;

E2160 @ 3GHz
Corsair HX520
Asus PK5C
4 x 1GB OCZ XTC Platinum Revision 2 - DDR2-800
XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog

Current games played are BF:BC2, CoD black ops, TF2, all the usuall fps really.

Can't really afford full on upgrade for some time, so thinking, something like Q8300 and HD5770 or GTX460 - spending around 200-250.

How well does the Q8300 overclock, or would I be better off risking a used Q6600 off eBay?

If I bought the GTX460, how much difference is their between 768 and 1Gig memory, or am I better off with the HD5770 due to being a crossfire motherboard?

The mother board supports DDR3 1333 would this be a worthwhile upgrade at a later date?

jimbobaggies · 13 Nov 2010 at 11:06

I would like to use the OCUK trade market, but I only have 185 posts after 7 years being signed up :/

Cookeh · 13 Nov 2010 at 13:33

jimbobaggies said:
I would like to use the OCUK trade market, but I only have 185 posts after 7 years being signed up :/

Get into General Discussion and New Members, you'll get your posts up very sharpish.

Cookeh · 13 Nov 2010 at 13:36

Q6600, if you get the G0 version is a brilliant over-clocker and I would say a better choice than the Q8300 - I'd try and avoid the bay though, some of the stuff there is not ideal.
CF HD5770's works quite well, but I'd get an HD6850 for your price range.

So, something like this:-
Q6600 ~£80

HD6850 ~£150
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-020-HS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1866

Total ~ £230

If you have a few more pounds, you could get a cooler to aid overclocking

jimbobaggies · 13 Nov 2010 at 14:06

Thanks for the suggestions...

Cookeh said:
Q6600, if you get the G0 version is a brilliant over-clocker and I would say a better choice than the Q8300 - I'd try and avoid the bay though, some of the stuff there is not ideal.

If I "avoid the bay" where else am I going to buy one?

Cookeh said:
CF HD5770's works quite well, but I'd get an HD6850 for your price range.

So, something like this:-
Q6600 ~£80

HD6850 ~£150
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-020-HS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1866

Total ~ £230

I had already considered the 6850, but is the extra £30-40 over a 5770 worth it?

Cookeh said:
If you have a few more pounds, you could get a cooler to aid overclocking

I already have a Zalman CNPS 7800 - it gets the E2160 from 1.8GHz to 3GHz with low temps and the fan running as slow as it can, so I am confident it could get the Q6600 from 2.6 to 3GHz no problem...

Another thing I considered, will the Corsair HX520 cope? I cannay really afford new PSU on top.

jimbobaggies · 14 Nov 2010 at 10:35

Right, after reading reviews, the 6850 is better than the 460 which is better than the 5770, plus it has double the memory bandwidth and newer GPU core, so I am pretty much sold.

Have read that the Q8300 can be clocked to 3GHz fairly easily, and because I know people who have had problems with used Q6600, I'm thinking the extra £20 for a new CPU would be worth it.

Now, I'm confident the HX520 PSU will cope, can anyone confirm this?

Cookeh · 14 Nov 2010 at 12:00

Yes, HD6850 is the best bet.

Q8300 can indeed be clocked to that, however Q6600's can go to 3.8-4.0Ghz - most average 3.4ish pretty easy. Avoiding the bay, you could get one off the Members Market (only issue is you need 250posts).

However, if you feel more confident in getting a new cpu for warranty and so you know what condition its in etc then go for it

HX520 will easily cope, I'd expect that system to draw no more than 400W

jimbobaggies · 27 Nov 2010 at 13:23

Phase 1 complete... I've acquired a Q6600!

Currently;

fsb set to 333 - running @ 3GHz
voltage on auto - CPU-Z/Everest showing 1.38
memory - DDR2-800 @ 400MHz
CPU is sitting at 25'C idle...

Would I be better off setting voltage to manual, and if so, at what voltage? Not really bothered about going past 3GHz!

jimbobaggies · 27 Nov 2010 at 14:40

Just played black ops for about 45 minutes, CPU didn't go above 44'C!

No more in game stutter, no more problems with background sound effects looping, been able to turn graphic settings all up, and fps staying high!

vorticalspace · 27 Nov 2010 at 23:41

jimbobaggies said:
Phase 1 complete... I've acquired a Q6600!

Currently;

fsb set to 333 - running @ 3GHz
voltage on auto - CPU-Z/Everest showing 1.38
memory - DDR2-800 @ 400MHz
CPU is sitting at 25'C idle...

Would I be better off setting voltage to manual, and if so, at what voltage? Not really bothered about going past 3GHz!

Hi
Maybe try Vcore on manual
Auto tends to over compensate.

I'm running my Q6600 at 1.2625 at 3.2GHz which is the same as my chip VID

Also, see if you can maybe up the fsb to 400 with a multi of 8
This will give you 3.2GHz + more system bandwidth +your ram will be running in sync with system bus

By the way, your temps are very good

Check the chip VID either in bios or by downloading coretemp.
in general, a lower VID will tend to give you a higher potential overclock but with higher temps whilst you may be limited with a higher VID chip.

bainbridge · 28 Nov 2010 at 10:01

Yes what's the VID on that chip?

jimbobaggies · 28 Nov 2010 at 10:14

Hi vorticalspace, thanks for your reply.

I have downloaded coretemp, and it says my VID is 1.325. The chip is SLACR G0 stepping.

First thing I did was 3GHz (9x333) with voltage on auto, it blue screened after a long period in game. I have gradually up'd the vcore in the BIOS, and run Prime. Found that with the BIOS set to 1.45, the voltage is reading 1.4, I don't seem to get the blue screen or prime fail.

jimbobaggies · 28 Nov 2010 at 10:56

vorticalspace said:
By the way, your temps are very good

I have Zalman CNPS 8700 CPU cooler - 120mm fan literally running as low as it can, and I have 2 x Akasa Amber light 120mm fans on the side of the case directly over the CPU / GPU, both running slow, and 1 x Akasa Amber light 120mm rear exhaust fan.

vorticalspace said:
Check the chip VID either in bios or by downloading coretemp.
in general, a lower VID will tend to give you a higher potential overclock but with higher temps whilst you may be limited with a higher VID chip.

If I try 8x400 for more bandwidth and higher clock speed, how much higher than 1.4 do you think I will need my voltage to be?

I have noticed I do get a fail in one of the threads in Prime occasionally... but am no longer having blue screen.

jimbobaggies · 28 Nov 2010 at 11:22

Right, running @ 8 x 400 now, raised vcore to 1.4625 in the BIOS, reading 1.41 in CPU-Z.

jimbobaggies · 28 Nov 2010 at 12:34

Bit of a blue screen, so raised to 1.475, now reading 1.43 in CPU-Z.

opethdisciple · 28 Nov 2010 at 12:47

jimbobaggies said:
Current rig;

E2160 @ 3GHz
Corsair HX520
Asus PK5C
4 x 1GB OCZ XTC Platinum Revision 2 - DDR2-800
XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog

Current games played are BF:BC2, CoD black ops, TF2, all the usuall fps really.

Can't really afford full on upgrade for some time, so thinking, something like Q8300 and HD5770 or GTX460 - spending around 200-250.

How well does the Q8300 overclock, or would I be better off risking a used Q6600 off eBay?

If I bought the GTX460, how much difference is their between 768 and 1Gig memory, or am I better off with the HD5770 due to being a crossfire motherboard?

The mother board supports DDR3 1333 would this be a worthwhile upgrade at a later date?

I have a freind in EXACTLY the same boat as you.

Im building the PC for him and for your info, im choosing him:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-253-AM&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1328

(same price bracket as the core2quad your looking at, but better performance)

and a gtx 460, bucase its far betterthan the 5770.

jimbobaggies · 28 Nov 2010 at 13:07

opethdisciple said:
I have a freind in EXACTLY the same boat as you.

Im building the PC for him and for your info, im choosing him:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-253-AM&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1328

(same price bracket as the core2quad your looking at, but better performance)

and a gtx 460, bucase its far betterthan the 5770.

Hi opethdisciple thanks for your reply... but that CPU won't fit my mainboard, and I am not looking to upgrade the whole rig

With regards to overclocking my newly acquired Q6600, I have just raised vcore again in the BIOS due to blue screens running prime.

Bearing in mind @ 3GHz it seemed stable with 1.4volt, @ 3.2GHz I am up to 1.5 volt in CPU-Z. What is the safe voltage for vcore?

vorticalspace · 28 Nov 2010 at 20:47

Hi
Wouldn't really want to go much beyond 1.5-1.55v
Your VID is pretty high so as stated should run cooler but your ultimate overclock may be limited as you are experiencing with the volts you are having to run.

I'm quite happy running at 3.2HGz
Seems to be a good happy medium for my chip with ok performance & temps.

I've just upgraded to a GTX580 & upping my CPU from 3.2 to 3.6 adds roughly 1000 points to all 3 performance parameter in Vantage so not really worth it for me with the extra volts required and increased temps.

It doesn't appear to be bottlenecking the GTX580 too much and still monstering all games I play