Need some advice on overclocking my system plz

[martyr]

Been building rigs for a while but have never dared overclock, but I am going to give it a go on my rig.

Here's a low down of part of my setup....

Q6600

Ocz Vindicator heatsink(thinking of changing to Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme CPU Cooler)

Abit AB9 Quad GT motherboard(Old board but its rock solid)

OCZ DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 CL 4-4-4-15 PLATINUM XTC 4gb

Asus 3870 graphics card

Corsair HX Series 620W Modular PSU

I am after a idiot's guide to overclocking my system.

Can it be overclocked ?

Is my heatsink up to the job?

How much should I be able to get on air ?

I would be greatful for any help or settings I need for my system.

 

[Bungral]

Been building rigs for a while but have never dared overclock, but I am going to give it a go on my rig.

Here's a low down of part of my setup....

Q6600

Ocz Vindicator heatsink(thinking of changing to Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme CPU Cooler)

Abit AB9 Quad GT motherboard(Old board but its rock solid)

OCZ DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 CL 4-4-4-15 PLATINUM XTC 4gb

Asus 3870 graphics card

Corsair HX Series 620W Modular PSU

I am after a idiot's guide to overclocking my system.

Can it be overclocked ?

Is my heatsink up to the job?

How much should I be able to get on air ?

I would be greatful for any help or settings I need for my system.

In short yes your computer should get pretty decent overclock results..

I'd say have a read of these to get an idea of the principles of it and then start having a go and getting to know the layout of your BIOS:

http://www.overclock3d.net/articles...tel_core_2_duo_processors_on_an_intel_chipset

Also here are some recent threads on overclocking your particular CPU which might hold some useful info for you so take a lil look at these too:

http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=20383

http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=21104

http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=21205

Air cooling on a quad is ok providing you're not hoping for a massive overclock as the heat will become an issue but for a moderate overclock you should be ok.

Edit: Also your OCZ Vindicator is decent but the Thermalright would kick its arse.. This here is pretty much the nuts though if you had the money and wanted an Air upgrade:

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.php?/cases_cooling/noctua_nh-u12p_cpu_cooler/1

 

[Rastalovich]

As to expectations. U have it at stock 2.4ghz atm.

If the cooler is semi decent, your gonna get 3ghz without too much effort and not too much hastle/heat.

If u have a decent cooler, even a high profile air cooler, it`ll nicely do 3.33 to 3.5. (I don`t like keeping it at 3.5 on the Ninja, but it`s ok for a bench or 3).

Watercool it, and well, in the area of 3.5 to 3.75ghz I`d imagine. 4ghz possibly for a bench. There are extremes depending on if your memory/mobo will allow it.

1 big tip if it`s your first branch into overclocking - don`t run b4 u learn to walk. Sounds all well and good that it`ll do 3.33ghz or something, but take it a step at a time, 2.6, 2.75 - so u can check your memory/mobo/temps etc are happy as u go.

 

[The Computer Council]

Overclocking is different on every rig really. If you're working with a new setup, it can be a matter of trial and error finding out what settings the board/hardware likes/accepts.

Looks liek that boards an intel chipset, which will make life easier. Nvidia chipsets can be a little more demanding to get stable with an overclock.

As for temps - there's alot of good, cheap coolers available out there. I have the Arctic Freezer on my Q6600 at 3.6Ghz which costs about £15, bargain.

Load temps in Prime95 get to about 70'C with that which is acceptable, and to be honest, only Prime95 gets it that warm - no application I use makes the CPU work that hard.

As said by previous post, it's a matter of taking it one step at a time, increasing the FSB and fiddling with your various voltages to find the optimum (and stable) settings.