Overclocking : FSB vs RAM speed on new boards?

Ste

Ste

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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Hi there,

I am about to purchase the following:

GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)

Asus P5K Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail

But I'm not sure if the RAM will work with the CPU? Do I *need* the next ram speed up (8500) for overclocking, or can the overclocking of the CPU be done independantly of the rest of the system these days? If this is possible, will the ram be a bottleneck?

My last overclocking experience was on an abit IC7 (i875p chipset) where the fsb/ram speed went hand in hand but a 5:4 ratio could be used to pull the memory speed down if needed.

I'm thinking of getting the thermalright extreme cooler with it, would like to overclock to 3ghz+ if possible.

Thanks
 
The highest multiplier on the Q6600 is 9 so with the PC6400 at 400 at 1:1 you have a theoretical speed of 9 x 400 = 3.6 GHz.

Edit: This thread should be helpful explaining overclocking as well as the sticky.
 
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Thanks :)

There have been some cracking deals on this week only recently! That ram is definately being purchased :)
 
The highest multiplier on the Q6600 is 9 so with the PC6400 at 400 at 1:1 you have a theoretical speed of 9 x 400 = 3.6 GHz.

So what multiplier does the Q6600 run at default? It is a 1066fsb chip, so to run on the 'stock' multiplier do you need the 1066 (8500) ram?

Confusing :s
 
So what multiplier does the Q6600 run at default? It is a 1066fsb chip, so to run on the 'stock' multiplier do you need the 1066 (8500) ram?

Confusing :s
nah 6400 ram is fine unless your gonna o/c a hell of a lot .
 
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As I would explain it the Q6600 has a maximum multiplier of 9.
FSB/Quad Pumped 266/1066.
You can’t increase the multiplier, it’s locked, although you can lower it if need be.
A multiplier of 9 with an FSB of 266 gives 9 x 266 = 2.4 GHz.
PC4200 ram will give you 266 so can give you 2.4 GHz.

To simplify the overclocking you can buy faster ram ie PC6400 which is 800/400.
With 400 and a multiplier of 9 you can, other things being equal, get 9 x 400 = 3.6 GHz.
I think most would argue there is limited advantage in going for even faster and normally more expensive ram.

With PC8500 you would have a maximum of 4.8 GHz ie 533 x 9 – pretty sure no-one has managed that.

I agree - some of the terminology doesn’t help. All I can suggest is reading the guides and check previous posts on the subject and it should become clearer.
 
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