Overclocking a Quad, what do I pair it with?

Netvyper

Netvyper

Netvyper

Associate
Joined
28 Oct 2002
Posts
534
Location
Taunton, Somerset
Im pretty much set on getting Quad Core chip over the next few weeks. Either the Xeon 3210 or the Q6600, depending on availability. This will be going under water with either the HD2900XT or 8800GTS/X.

Im now umming & ahhing over memory & motherboards. Do i need to get really quick memory, 8500+ type stuff if I intend to hit the high FSBs, or can I use multipliers and get some tighter timing 6400 stuff?

What board is good at suppling high quality power to a nice quad core chip; without problems, and still capable of giving some good overclocks?

Are OcUK getting more watercooling stock in shortly? D-Tek block? any reccomendations on Res/Rad, im hoping for a 3x 120mm Rad... and ideally a bay-res type thing :)
 
i'd have to say i'm not fully up on which boards are great for quad cores. but in a bid to save you money, i'd recommend getting a e6600 now as they are stupidly cheap, on water i'd expect 3.6Ghz, maybe more. then the q6600 is going down to around £180 in september or so, but also the new versions are out. not sure if the new ones are coming out on a smaller process but i'd definately buy a dual core now as theirs almost no games that will use a quad core right now and NONE that need it. then you can get a half price chip, or a new version also cheaper later in the year.
 
Staying Dual core isnt really an option.

I routinely saturate my Dual 2.5ghz X2; Without nessecarily playing all the latest games; I understand that clock for clock the C2Ds dont actually do much better for standard tasks, its only in multi-media & gaming that the performance begins to shine;

I think i'd rather have the extra 2 cores than the flat-out speed :)
 
Netvyper said:
Staying Dual core isnt really an option.

I routinely saturate my Dual 2.5ghz X2; Without nessecarily playing all the latest games; I understand that clock for clock the C2Ds dont actually do much better for standard tasks, its only in multi-media & gaming that the performance begins to shine;

I think i'd rather have the extra 2 cores than the flat-out speed :)
Click to expand...

Very true, the AMD's platform is still plenty fast - where the C2D pulls away its ability to scale over the 3Ghz barrier fairly easily.

I would recomend the Abit QuadGT or a P35 based board (Asus P5k delux) if your budget can stretch.
Only point with the p35 is its new chipset, and as such comes with usual risks, although it does'nt seem too many problems to not recomend.
 
Big.Wayne said:
Really?

I'd rather have flat out speed than extra cores.
Click to expand...

Im one of those strange people who doesnt close anything, runs numerous applications on top of each other, and generally causes computers grief.
 
Big.Wayne said:
Really?

I'd rather have flat out speed than extra cores.
Click to expand...

Depends tbh, if using something optimised for 4 cores obviously it'll likely rinse anything on 2 cores, even much faster. Also the difference in average overclockable speed for the 2 and 4 cores are only a coupla hundred Mhz which might not even be noticed between the two and you get 2 extra cores when needed.
 
Its possible to get the Q6600 @ 3.532Ghz stable running Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC6400 @ 4-4-4-12 2T on an EVGA 680i LT mobo @ 392Mhz FSB on air.

Water cooling would prolly get you higher ;)
 
Snakey said:
Its possible to get the Q6600 @ 3.532Ghz stable running Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC6400 @ 4-4-4-12 2T on an EVGA 680i LT mobo @ 392Mhz FSB on air.

Water cooling would prolly get you higher ;)
Click to expand...

Thats rather nice :D... I'll be aiming for around 3.2-3.4 I think - I dont need to push it too hard, it'll have to last a month or two :p

I was looking at 4gb DDR2 Kits; obviously being a heavy vista user, I really need to chuck hardware at it to make it work. </sarcasm> Do they clock at all? Do they clock well? OCZ, Corsair, Gskill? Is Overclocking one of those intel thingehs, just a case of dropping the memory multiplier & skyrocketing the FSB? :D
 
Netvyper said:
Thats rather nice :D... I'll be aiming for around 3.2-3.4 I think - I dont need to push it too hard, it'll have to last a month or two :p

I was looking at 4gb DDR2 Kits; obviously being a heavy vista user, I really need to chuck hardware at it to make it work. </sarcasm> Do they clock at all? Do they clock well? OCZ, Corsair, Gskill? Is Overclocking one of those intel thingehs, just a case of dropping the memory multiplier & skyrocketing the FSB? :D
Click to expand...

I notice a lot of people are using 4x1GB modules for OCing in Vista. I think that the timings are tighter and you get a better OC than you would 2xGB modules which are still in their infancy to a certain degree. Dont quote me on it though! :p
 
Snakey said:
I notice a lot of people are using 4x1GB modules for OCing in Vista. I think that the timings are tighter and you get a better OC than you would 2xGB modules which are still in their infancy to a certain degree. Dont quote me on it though! :p
Click to expand...


That seems strange; I dont know if its the case with Intel Stuff - but my Current AMD Rig hates having 4 dimms... it drops around 500MB/s off the memory bandwidth :s
 
ever thought of getting another raptor x and raiding them? that'll give you a bit more performance. and if it's for games, upgrade graphics, as one in sig is a bit low spec compared with the rest of your system.
 
Last edited:
realscot said:
ever thought of getting another raptor x and raiding them? that'll give you a bit more performance. and if it's for games, upgrade graphics, as one in sig is a bit low spec compared with the rest of your system.
Click to expand...

Graphics upgrade will be decided on monday, but certainly something is on the cards ;)

I've toyed with getting another raptor for raid0; Its on the list of upgrades to do once everything else is done ;)
 
Netvyper said:
I've toyed with getting another raptor for raid0; Its on the list of upgrades to do once everything else is done ;)
Click to expand...

heh, i know that feeling, i want c2d but also want anothe raptor and a new 2900 when they come out, choices choices
 
elfy said:
heh, i know that feeling, i want c2d but also want anothe raptor and a new 2900 when they come out, choices choices
Click to expand...


Last 2 weeks has been a nightmare; Quad or not to Quad, Waiting for AMD to get their card into gear... new Chipset releases... P35 to get that or not... its damn hard work all this choosing stuff :p
 
us AMDers have a tough choice as to wether to get C2D now, quad now, or wait a few months for quad to go a bit cheaper :S
 
me again o/

Gigabyte GA_P35_DQ6 - Been looking at this board :)

My main concern, is will the D-Tek Fuzion block fit? Does anyone have experience with the board? The reviews i've looked at say its tight for many coolers, but I cant seem to find the exact dimensions for the space on the board.

Edit: Best Guess is that it will; but I dont think 'my waterblock wont fit' is a valid RMA reason; so i'd like to be sure :)
 
Last edited:
I have the P965 version of the DQ6, that has a large heatsink under the processor, that can make it difficult to mount anything other than standard coolers without modification. From memory there is plenty of foom on the top of the board for most solutions. The other thing with my DQ6 is it is very fussy about memory. I had finally got it to work with 2 x 1GB Geil 800, though adding another 2 led to it not booting. It doesn't appear to matter which 2 are in either, so not faulty memory. One final thing with Gigabyte boards, have to remember Ctrl F1 to get at memory timings in BIOS.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom