E6600 OVerclocking

memphisto · 15 Apr 2008 at 08:00

Hi,

bought this PC at the weekend and have been looking at overclocking it a little. Finally got to my target of 3GHz last night prime stable for 4 hours using the following settings

337.5 * 9 (based on 3:2 ratio with memory running at 900mhz 4-4-4-12-2t)
Vcore = 1.328v from CPUZ
Ram = 2.1v

The system i have is
Thermaltake Soprano Case (2*120mm fans)
BFG 680sli mobo
E6600
Geforce 8600GTS
2 Gig Geil ULL Ram
Scythe ninja with 120mm fan
Thermaltake 700W PSU
Vista Basic 64bit

now my temps when idle are between 41-44 and after 4 hours of prime 57-59 on load.

The temps although not overly high are worrying me in terms of pushing this further. I tried 400*8 last night to get 3200 in sync mode with the FSB at 1600 and memory at 800mhz however i was getting temps up to 66 in prime after 20 mins before my pc restarted, that was running at 1.36V and therefore would have needed higher to get it stable meaning probalbly hiogher temps.

So I've settled with what i have for the minute however have you got any tips on what to do next ?

My thoughts are to basically look at the cooling to start with, having read reviews on this cooler etc it doesnt seem to bad however from what i can gather the stock 120mm fan isnt the greatest. Same with the Case the 2 stock fans although quiet are not great in terms of airflow. I have been thinking of replacing all three with

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-037-AK&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4

the Akasa ultra quiet 120mm fan for the front and Rear

and the

Xilence XPF120R Red Wing 120mm Quiet Fan

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-000-XI&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4

for the heatsink, this should give me much better airflow into the case and also a the CPU fan will produce 20CFM more per the specs which should hopefully lower the temps significantly.

I am happy with this overclock but want to see what if anything more i can get out of it but without increasing tems beyond 60degrees, if anyone has any tips / tricks or ideas please feel free to post !

PS1: this system got 10046 in 3Dmark 2005 at with that cpu overclock and 8600 at stock is that about right ?

PS2: What are considered safe temps and voltages for this chip ?

memphisto · 15 Apr 2008 at 17:30

anyone?

CliffyBiro · 15 Apr 2008 at 17:34

I would have thought that you could manage a much higher overclock. The E6600 should go to 3.4GHz quite easily.

randal · 15 Apr 2008 at 17:41

I got to 3.6 (400x9), but had to but 1.5v through it. Temps were OK, about 65 under load on a AC7 Pro. Daily OC is 3.2, (400x8 @ 1.3525v) currently idling at 35/33 and loading at 56/57.

Ram is same as yours, although at 1:1 so 800mhz 4-4-4-12. I'd try and keep your ram in sync mode, see if that helps your OC.

CliffyBiro · 15 Apr 2008 at 17:44

From the spec in my sig, what should I be able to achieve with the E6600?

memphisto · 15 Apr 2008 at 17:45

well I tried it at 400 * 8 in synch as above however coudlny get a decent overclock / stability / temp combo going, after 15 mins in prime it was at 66 Degrees which i thought was a tad hot ?

How does 1:1 mode work ?

when i swithced to that it had my FSB and the Memory running at the same speed which is what i would expect but I wouldnt have thought the memory could run at the 1200 MHZ / FSB needed to get that high ?

Cob · 15 Apr 2008 at 17:51

The memory's running at 800mhz at 1:1 @ 400x8.

memphisto · 15 Apr 2008 at 17:54

Cob said:
The memory's running at 800mhz at 1:1 @ 400x8.

could you explain the FSB in that equation as well though mate, as wouldnt the FSB be running at 800 mhz ? meaning 200FSB hence 200*8 = 1600 mhz ?

i am basically a total noob when it comes to overclocking so all help and patience appreciated

randal · 15 Apr 2008 at 17:54

Maybe notch the chipset volts then? Didn't think the 680i clocked very well without a little nudge...

memphisto · 15 Apr 2008 at 17:56

randal24 said:
Maybe notch the chipset volts then? Didn't think the 680i clocked very well without a little nudge...

maybe maybe not tbh, i thought if i upped the volts another notch or so it would have become stable it was and is the temps im more worried about if you know what i mean, 66 seemed a tad high, so once ive sorted the cooling out im going to try for higher.

Cob · 15 Apr 2008 at 18:08

memphisto said:
could you explain the FSB in that equation as well though mate, as wouldnt the FSB be running at 800 mhz ? meaning 200FSB hence 200*8 = 1600 mhz ?

i am basically a total noob when it comes to overclocking so all help and patience appreciated

Firstly ignore Intels FSB ratings (1066, 1333, 1600 etc). They 'quad-pump' their ratings for some reason or another. Stick to the good old 266, 333, 400 etc etc.

So at 400 x 8 we will say that your CPU FSB is at 400mhz. And since your memory runs at double the speed of your FSB at 1:1 (it's Double Data Rate memory), it's running at 800mhz, which is the stock speed of PC2-6400.