Overclocking help please

[imported_Mullet]

Guys,

I have been directed over to this section of the forum because I need some help with my overclocking. Not really sure where to start and will be fitting my watercooling loop this weekend so want to get the most out of my hardware. My system is all currently running at stock speeds, hardware is as follows (inc w/c kit):

Asus Striker Extreme running BIOS 0701

Corsair Dominator PC8500 DDR2 (with pesky airflow kit)

E6600 @ stock

2 XFX Vanilla 8800GTXs in SLi

2 150GB Raptor Xs in RAID 0

1 300GB Maxtor data drive

Cooling loop:

Rad - PA120.3 with shroud (fitted with 3 Scythe 49cfm 120mm fans)

CPU - Storm

GPUs - EK Delrin backed full cover blocks

Res - Danger Den Dual FDD bayres

PUMP - DDC Ultra with Petra's top

Tubing - Tygon 7/16

I am happy enough at the moment to leave the G80s @ stock. I want to get more performance out of my E6600 before I progress onto the G80s (am also mindful of the additional heatdump!!)....

Where would I start?

Would I be better to start dabbling with the overclock after I have fitted the watercooling?

What settings should I be tweaking and what voltages should I be running at?

Sorry about the questions.....

All help very gratefully received.....get me some good benchies for EP-UK's cause.

Thanks for looking/helping.

Daz/Mullet

 

[Thickbrit]

I think i would start by maxxing the cpu on air,then seeing what you gain on water,purely out of curiosity.

 

[stocky]

I think i would start by maxxing the cpu on air,then seeing what you gain on water,purely out of curiosity.

Same here - just so you know where it goes on air, then you have an idea of what to aim for on water.

Do you have the E6600 week codes? They seem to vary quite a bit, but around Wk30 seem to do well. I have a Wk28 which is a merry clocker

You could upgrade the BIOS to 1002(BETA) or to a more recent one as that may help things, although I haven't been following that board so cannot say for certain.

EDIT: what is happening to the time? Thicky you posted in the future! :O

 

[imported_Mullet]

Thanks both for the speedy input..how can I find the week number????:?

I need some help re. the nitty gritty of overclocking.

What settings do I need to adjust first? Am a total NooB when it comes to this aspect of system tweaking.

Should I just start by lifting the FSB?

Shall I leave the multiplier @ stock?

What about Vcore settings?

How can I test for stability issues?

 

[stocky]

you can drop your multiplier to find the RAM limit @ certain VDimm. I think 2.3-2.4 is the usual max people seem to put through DDR2 at the mo. Although I have heard that come fella was running 2.7-2.8 through some D9 :O (don't do it, as other chips can instantly blow with 2.7V!)

The week number can be found on the top of the IHS or the sticker on the side of the box. "L*28A***", or "L*28B***"

The 28 is the week, and whether it's an A or B is straight after. There is a great thread on XS showing the results with different chips.

It seems to be fairly common to hit 3GHz with 1.4V on the VCore, I run 1.475~ for an overclocked setting of 3.8GHz benchable but I'm on water and I never tested lower due to time.

 

[imported_Mullet]

cpu is week 29....how will that fare??

upped it to 2.7 at the mo by upping the FSB....

 

[maverik-sg1]

Once you reach the FSB limit up the volts slightly - on air do not exceed 1.55v, 1.6v for water.

Most DDR2 ram works nice at 2.2v but I recommend that you place a fan over the modules to keep em cool - which u have already done it seems.

You have such wonderful kit there - a lot us here would love the opportunity to play.

The issue I have with dishing out more information than that is to make you aware of the risks - there are many of use here who woul happily blow something uo to find the limit - I include myself in that, but when it's someone elses gear......

I prefer to talk about safe clocking - I would think that you could get 430-450mhz fsb from the mobo you have so I guess its finding the best set-up from there - if its a x8 multiplier that would give you 3.4 - 3.6ghz of power, which is achievable Personally I would leave the multiplier where it is, u can gain more if u drop the multiplier and increase the FSB even more, but you open yourself to chipset instability then.

If you cant get it stable at 430 mhz ensure that the ram is running in sync with the CPU (1:1) - and increase the chipset voltages if needed.

Stability checks - well 3dm06 is good for that.

I assume you have a 1KW PSU?

 

[imported_Mullet]

Thanks Mav.

Running a 850W psu at the moment.....

Do I need to get something in which is beefier?

 

[K404]

850W should definately be fine The thing to pay attention to on a PSU is the 12V rating(s) the 3.3 and 5V rails are not used much any more.

Try to only test one parameter at a time when clocking e.g.... Max FSB, Max CPU clock for a given voltage, max clock with a certain set of timings etc. It means you know what all your hardware can do and if you hit a wall you can narrow down the list of problems much faster. Keep FSB and RAM 1:1 at the mo and you`ll know that RAM MHz arent a bottleneck.

Lookin forward to see your scopes improve as ya get to grips with your kit

 

[stocky]

If stability becomes a problem at higher FSB's make sure you keep an eye on the chipset temperature as it can get very toasty. I invested in a real copper heatsink with heatpipes for mine - there are a few alternatives out there.

 

[imported_Mullet]

so if i up the fsb to it's limit should I first increase the cpu voltage or the northbridge voltage?

 

[maverik-sg1]

I doubt many of us have NF680 exprience - so try both one at a time to see which on gives yout the stability.

Personally as you learn the basics I would only really go CPU volts to find a range then up teh NB volts after.

Mav

 

[imported_Mullet]

nice one mav

well....system booted @ 2.9....but then cursor would not move in windows ....on restart got some further file corrupt messages...so back to stock now after clearing the CMOS. Is this sort of thing run of the mill when your clocking?

 

[stocky]

yes

That just means it was unstable at them clocks for the set volts. You can either lower the clocks at that voltage or increase the voltage for them clocks. What VCore are you at? Have you set the RAM to 2.2V as Mav suggested? Maybe set VCore to 1.5 and VDimm to 2.2, then up the FSB until you find it's unstable. You can run prime or a benchmark to check how stable it is on each go. Some people also start high and work their way down, but this can mean a lot of lock-ups which is a pain on some motherboards.

 

[imported_Mullet]

yes

That just means it was unstable at them clocks for the set volts. You can either lower the clocks at that voltage or increase the voltage for them clocks. What VCore are you at? Have you set the RAM to 2.2V as Mav suggested? Maybe set VCore to 1.5 and VDimm to 2.2, then up the FSB until you find it's unstable. You can run prime or a benchmark to check how stable it is on each go. Some people also start high and work their way down, but this can mean a lot of lock-ups which is a pain on some motherboards.

All volts were still @ stock...will up the Vcore a tad to see what happens.

 

[stocky]

Then that's looking good for stock volts - keep us updated on you progress

 

[imported_Mullet]

well...upped vcore in bios to 1.4 and the system fails to get past the pre-windows splash screen!! I then lowered all back to stock (without clearing the cmos) and it still failed to boot into windows....

So cleared cmos and all now OK again?

I am running my ram at 1:1 (1066 mhz) and as soon as I lift it above 1150mhz it all goes balls up. In the BIOS the ram is set to run LINKED to FSB.

What d'ya think guys??

 

[stocky]

by linked do you mean the divider? What is this set to? I always run at 1:1, but some people run at all sorts, 4:3 seems popular. It's basically the ratio between the CPU and RAM speeds. If this is set at a different ratio your memory could be running that much faster. Have you upped to VDimm at all?

 

[imported_Mullet]

VDimm running at 2.25v (stock for the dominator is 2.2v)

The ratio I am running is 1:1, there are a few settings on my board in the bios for ram/fsb:

Linked

Unlinked

Sync

Which one is the best to use given that I can adjust my ratio outside of these parameters?

 

[maverik-sg1]

Sync will allow you to find the best cpu overclocked - unlinked means you can set individually - linked means it will apply its own ratio.

At least that show it sounds to me - I also recall that the 680 chipset offer sli memory overclocking - disable that.

I think it would be great to see some pics of your BIOS so maybe we can better advise - really because I don't know of anyone here overlcoking one before and seeing the options available will help us relate to our overclocked hardware and settings.