Overclocking the q6600 on the ds3R

[Gabb]

Noone is going to be able to give you precise settings to do what you want. Don't get me wrong - they'll get you darn close but all chips are not equal. At the end of the day you'll just need to take your time and tune settings one after another, stress test, tweak, stress test, etc.

I would start my voltages low and work your way up until you can post, stress test. Then it might fail 8 minutes in, bump it up. it might fail 1 hour in, bump it up, no fail for 12 hours and you're probably good. Then you can start playing with your RAM.

You should def be able to do better than 3ghz. You won't fry it just watch your temps that's all. Those chips are tougher than you're giving them credit for.

I see what your saying and noticed from your profile you lowered your multi to 8x to get a higher fsb and was wondering why you did this and what your multiplier was set at?

Also is the best way to overclock the nvidia 8800 series to just use the ATI Tool?

 

[Gabb]

running 333fsb and 9x multi, i would say set the memory to 2.5, 1.25V should easily run 3ghz maybe more.

Also, in case you are wondering, i was running my quad on a ds3r until 2 weeks ago when i rebuilt for SLI.

hmmm so 333 fsb x 9 = 3 ghz right, but if I set the memory multiplier to 2.5 doesnt that mean my ram will be running at past 800 mhz?

Lastly For the Orthos stress test to make sure its stable did you just select the stress CPU and Ram option and do priority 10 for 8-12 hours?

 

[veedubfreak]

uh, 333x2.5=832mhz, which is barely overclocking your memory. There might be a 2.4 memory multi, but i dont remember offhand. Orthos stress testing is somewhat overkill if you ask me. I have never been able to get my cpu orthos stable at 3.6ghz, and at the same time i have never crashed while gaming.

 

[Gabb]

uh, 333x2.5=832mhz, which is barely overclocking your memory. There might be a 2.4 memory multi, but i dont remember offhand. Orthos stress testing is somewhat overkill if you ask me. I have never been able to get my cpu orthos stable at 3.6ghz, and at the same time i have never crashed while gaming.

Hmmm if I make the memory go past 832mhz thought will I have to change any of its stock settings? I copied the factories 4-4-4-12 outlook and stuff

also interesting note about the Orthos performance, how many errors and how soon did you get the errors? At least you ran memtest?

 

[veedubfreak]

Nah, gskill memory should be able to overclock to at least 900mhz before having to loosen the timings. Overclocking isnt an exact science as all parts vary, so some memory overclocks better than others, same as cpus.

 

[Pdawg]

I went with my 8x multi so that my memory would be running closer to 800mhz. If I use a 9 to get 3.3 then my mem would be running below 800. Not that this really makes too much of a difference. I could go higher given my temps just touch 60 while on full load stress testing but it's all I need for now. I still have yet to see how far I can push my system.

Just get your CPU clock stable first before thinking about memory. Then you can go back and play with the timings. Your memory is fine and can handle your FSB's just don't push past the max voltage on the memory - usually 2.2V

I benchmarked it both ways in 3dMark06 and it mattered very little which multi I was using - only 50 points difference. Hardly enough for real world apps. Depending on how Crysis does I may try to go up to 3.5 or 3.6 but we'll see. My expectations on fun factor for that game are low.

 

[VampD]

Nah, gskill memory should be able to overclock to at least 900mhz before having to loosen the timings. Overclocking isnt an exact science as all parts vary, so some memory overclocks better than others, same as cpus.

Hmmm a few last concerns/questions

1. In the guys overclocking article he says if you overclock past 333 fsb you need an additional cooler on your Northrbidge since it will super hot, does anyone actually get an additional Northbridge fan? Was the guy exaggerating any?

2. Is it possible to damage ram if you don't mess with the voltages?

3. The clear CMOS method he mentioned is pretty interesting and can save a lot of time, has anyone ever used it? Did you ever even have to clear the CMOS?

( The method was he switched the reset jumpers to the CMOS jumpers so he only had to hold the reset button for 10 seconds to reset/clear the battery )

 

[VampD]

bump, anyone?

 

[veedubfreak]

Depends on the board. My 680i board came with a fan for the northbridge. Unless you go crazy with the voltages on the FSB you should be fine. I ran my ds3r at 400mhz with stock cooling and no problems. Your memory will be perfectly fine as long as you dont give it more voltage than its spec'd for. the ds3r sets the memory voltage to 1.8v stock so just adjust it as needed to hit the specs that your memory is supposed to be running at. Also the ds3r will basically just disable the overclocking option if it fails to post so that you odnt have to crack the case open to reset it.