E6600 safe and stable overclock?

A

Arntor

n00b
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Jan 30, 2007
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Hi, I will start a new build in 2 weeks, with an E6600. I want to do a small overclock of it, cause the Conroe are really good for overclock, and gain some bonus performance that way. At the same time, the machine will be use in production, so I'm not trying to push it to the limit or to get the best performance possible.

So I am curious to know what the HardForum members would consider a safe overclock (stable, low risk to burn the cpu, board, etc) for the E6600 on air cooling. What's speed and setting will you use?

I was thinking of changing from 2.4 to 2.66 or 3ghz.

The hardware

Antec 900
Asus Striker Extreme
Zalman 9700
8800 GTS
Strider 850W modular

I didnt get the memory yet, but probably DDR2-1000 or 1066.

Thanks for the replies and advices.
 
I think setting a modest goal of 3.2Ghz would be good. That's easily reachable with an 8x multiplier and 400Mhz FSB. This won't tax the CPU at all, since you'll be dropping the multiplier. Also, this OC can be achieved with DDR2-800 RAM, so there's no point buying anything faster, in my opinion. Plus, the memory will be running in a 1:1 ratio with the FSB.
 
Also, this OC can be achieved with DDR2-800 RAM, so there's no point buying anything faster, in my opinion. Plus, the memory will be running in a 1:1 ratio with the FSB
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I agree completely.

Run the FSB up with 1:1 memory divider (sometimes listed as 2:1 in the bios) until monitoring with Coretemp and running Orthos you get about 55C under load. Thats way conservative on temps and should be rock stable.

You didnt say what you were running, the 8800GTS is way buggy on drivers atm. It looks like you are confusing an extream gaming machine with a business workstation. There is a big difference. I would go with an Intel board. Not sure how that case will go over in a business setting but it sure seems setup right for cooling well. You might think about what the heck you will do when the 200mm fan in the top craps out tho, gonna be hard to find a replacement, get a spare one now from antec and store it away.

You have the right idea on a conservative OC to gain some performance for free but the hardware selections is all cutting edge newly released stuff, sure trouble for a production machine.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I will consider going for DDR2-800 instead DDR2-1000 and it seem for what I read in other topics also, a lot of people are using 8 X 400 for the E6600.

I understand also that no overclock is totally safe, same as hardware, a friend burned his QX6700 without overclocking, at stock settings, just booting in Windows XP after 2 days of normal work. I'm just trying to gain a little performance here.

As for gaming versus production machine, I have my work laptop and this machine will be use as a mix of work (video editing, design, database scriptings) gaming and multimedia, so its why I got more a gaming machine, knowing that my data will be safe elsewhere and that I can work on other computers in case of problems.
 
It's good that you have a backup, although there's very little chance that you will 'brake' the computer anyway. There's an even less chance of doing damage when overclocking if you're cautious, which it seems you almost definitely are! Just... don't try anything silly like adding an extra zero to a value in the BIOS. :rolleyes:
 
If all you want is 8 X 400 get the E6400.

I've had mine stable at 3400MHz (425x8) for 22 hours and 17 minutes. Can't wait for 24 hours so I can go game!
 
Mansize_tissue said:
Just... don't try anything silly like adding an extra zero to a value in the BIOS. :rolleyes:
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But if I select 8 * 4000 instead of 8 * 400, the computer would go so much faster :eek:

I bought the case, psu, motherboard and video card already. The debate about 6400 vs 6600 is interresting, both gives great performance for a very good price, I just thought the extra cache would be nice (even if its only 5% to 10% more in performance), and the jump from 2.13 to 2.4 GHz would make things easier to jump to 3 GHZ (running cooler, etc). But I know that the E6400 can run at 3 GHz without problems.
 
I think the double-sized cache you get with the E6600 is worth it, in my opinion. It will make the CPU last just that much longer without an upgrade, and it won't be as difficult to get to your desired overclock.

Do you have the case already, or does still have to be despatched... or something? I would be interested to hear what you think of it, since i am considering getting the Antec 900 as opposed to the expensive stacker 830.
 
Mansize_tissue said:
Do you have the case already, or does still have to be despatched... or something? I would be interested to hear what you think of it, since i am considering getting the Antec 900 as opposed to the expensive stacker 830.
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I have the case unpacked on my desk now, but nothing is set in it, I will build the computer in 2 weeks, so at the time I will be able to give assembling comments.

The case really look better in real life compared to the pictures you see on the web. The black finish is really nice. It's small compared to the stacker (I had the chance to play with a Stacker nvidia edition, we are talking here about a mid tower vs a full tower, the stacker is huge). You have 3 fans with blue led and the big 200mm, and its basicaly what you are paying for.
You dont have screwless design or a motherboard tray (I dont mind i'm old school). Both cases will give great airflow, and are really not for someone wanting a silent pc.

Some people said that they needed to remove the back part of the backplate of the drive bay (plastic), to fit a 8800 GTX, didnt test it tho

There's one problem know from that case, the first expension slot, with certains motherboard, there's not enough space to plug the dvi to the video card, so Antec made a version 2 of the case (on the right on that picture)

http://img.hexus.net/v2/cases/antec/900/0.jpg

When you buy it, the only way to know if you will have the version 2 is to open the box. I bought the version 1 anyway, and i talked to Antec tech support, they say that they missed the problem cause a lot of motherboards didnt have problems with it, but if its the case with your motherboard, they'll ship a modded chassis at no cost to you. I dont think I will have a problem with the Striker Extreme, the first slot is for the audio card they give you.

The psu fit at the bottom, so if you have a fan under it, you need to put it upside down, and if you decide to put the dvd-drive in the top bay, be sure to have long psu cables.

I was considering both case, but decide to go with the 900, saving some cash that way, but still getting a good case that way. The Stacker 830 is really great tho.
 
24/7

385x9@4-5_Orthos11hr.JPG


385x9@4-5_SuperPi2x32m.JPG


9x385@4-5_3dmark06.JPG
 
i just upped my fsb to 375, i didnt change anything else, my cpu voltage seems to be at 1.325, processor is now running at 3375mhz. it just seems too simple to do!, i just change the fsb value and that is it, all is stable and in a closed tower case all with stock cooling! uguru says my processor is idle at 53 degrees though and my case is 36 degrees, is this bad? see sig below for pc setup. im getting around 10700 3dmarks in 06 now aswell which is nice!
 
my processor is idle at 53 degrees though
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I'd guess is a little warm for 24/7. Temps are the main(only??) issue here on air.

if your vcore is set to auto you can usually lose 2~3C by entering the pc probe vcore into bios as auto usually sets vcore higher than needed.

luck:D
 
k cheers, i think your right even at stock speeds the cpu is over 50 degrees, gonna go change it
 
Mansize_tissue said:
I think setting a modest goal of 3.2Ghz would be good. That's easily reachable with an 8x multiplier and 400Mhz FSB. This won't tax the CPU at all, since you'll be dropping the multiplier. Also, this OC can be achieved with DDR2-800 RAM, so there's no point buying anything faster, in my opinion. Plus, the memory will be running in a 1:1 ratio with the FSB.
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Bam, I am doing the exact same thing. Fast as stink and smokes my old X2, at least in anything except gaming. (high res and IQ).
 
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