Overclocking the C2D

Cashman · 14 Nov 2007 at 08:25

Ok lads, im not a numpty but I have been away from intel since the old "northwood" days and sticking my 3.4c under my Mach II GT to get 4.5ghz...

I have since been using 4800+ X2 and am fully aware of how to overclock using DDR RAM. However, the thought of moving to the new Intel setups with DDR2 ram is a little baffling.

Can someone talk me through what C2D or Quad core CPUs are the nuts, what I can expect from them under water (HE120.3, Storm G5) and what RAM speeds people recommend eg 5400--->8500.

How do the bus speeds correspond to 1:1 overclocking etc.?

Cashman · 18 Nov 2007 at 15:31

Surely someone knows or do you lot just not overclock any more?

Duke · 18 Nov 2007 at 15:37

Yeah they are easy to overclock. The FSB is 266 on Q2D, so for example my Q6600 (multiplier 9) is running at 367 FSB 1:1 which is 3.4GHz. I have DDR2 6400 which is rated upto 800MHz (400), so it isn't even running at its rated speed. I have had it at 400 FSB/RAM before but I think it needs more volts, so am keeping it at 3.4GHz for now. This is with watercooling which is setup for being quiet than extreme cooling.

Cashman · 18 Nov 2007 at 16:25

ok wicked.. that makes sense... However, what is the point in the PC8500 RAM at the mo then? Surely no-one other than phase-changers can get it 1:1? or do they simply drop the multi all the way down and run a huge FSB?

What do the mobos cope with these days on FSB?

V|per · 18 Nov 2007 at 16:32

Some people like having their ram not in sync with the FSB, and thus one coul drun an fsb of 400 with ram at 533 (pc8500) for example.

The p35 boards are generally the better clocking boards, with x38 if you want any of the extra features (crossfire, pci-e 2.0 etc)

Duke · 18 Nov 2007 at 16:36

Cashman said:
ok wicked.. that makes sense... However, what is the point in the PC8500 RAM at the mo then? Surely no-one other than phase-changers can get it 1:1? or do they simply drop the multi all the way down and run a huge FSB?

What do the mobos cope with these days on FSB?

The entry level Core 2 Duo chips have lower FSB & Core speed, so need a big FSB overclock to get them to 3GHz+. E.g the E2140 is 1.6GHz & 200FSB so running 300FSB is only 2.4GHz