Quad Core EVGA 680i OC

Digitalcaveman

Digitalcaveman

Gawd
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Dec 18, 2006
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Guys,

I'd like some help OC'ing this board and processor. First question, should I upgrade to the latest bios even if the board is running fine at stock 2.67Ghz?

My basic question, is should I use the overclocking software that comes with this board or how would I go about OC'ing the board in the bios.

You can see my Ram below, I"m not sure anyone has this Ram yet, but it's blazing fast and I know running stock right now I'm not even scratching the surface of this system.

Thanks for your help,

DC:cool:
 
I don't know anything about overclocking really. Just started,but that is one sweet set up you have there. Must have cost you a fortune though.
 
sweet setup and you did the right thing buying the QX6700 over the Q6600 because the unlocked multipliers can help you get the max FSB out of your board and also perhaps max speed out of your memory (I don't know the memory dividers available in that board)...

edit : how about a Titan Amanda to keep that beast cool ?
 
NVIDIA's 680i Overclocking guide - good primer for that board:

http://www.nvidia.com/docs/CP/45121/nforce_680i_sli_overclocking.pdf

HOWEVER, read the following two threads:

NVIDIA Forum (1 page long)
eVGA Forum (currently 7 pages long)

Unfortunately, the 680i was the wrong board to pick at the moment for the Kentsfield chip, though thankfully you did get the QX6700, if you'd skimped and gone for the Q6600 you would have been SOL for now.

Long story short, practically the only way to overclock the Kentsfield on a 680i board is to use the multiplier. That's just about it. It's a nightmare trying to get the FSB past around 300 on that board with any stability at all, which means all that nice expensive high end ram you just bought is completely wasted. Very sorry to say that.

Now, there are currently two options available to you. Get a different board like the BadAxe II or the Asus P5B and see if you can't return the 680i, or wait until eVGA acknowledges the problem and posts a fix - either a bios update or RMA for a new board revision, there is a lot of debate going on at the eVGA board about whether it will require a hardware revision or bios fix. At least there was, I haven't read up on the thread in about a week now and only glanced at it this morning to make sure it wasn't yet resolved before posting this reply.

Personally, after hearing all the mega problems that continue to pop up with that mobo, I just bought the the P5B for my QX6700 which should allow me to easily overclock with a high FSB & RAM speed (once it comes in.) Then when all the quirks and issues with the 680i are proven to be worked out, then I'll probably upgrade my board.

However, since you've already bought the mother board, I wouldn't waste your money. Just stick with your 680i and keep your eyes open on that eVGA forum for when a fix (whether its bios or hardware) comes up and do what you have to do.

I'm not saying you can't overclock the QX6700 with your 680i board, you can rather easily by simply bumping up your multiplier (and your voltage if necessary,) but your total FSB probably won't be higher than 1200, which is a huge waste of your RAM and means you'll get lower performance than if you were able to perform the same overclocking with a higher FSB.

Good luck, and if you do overclock, keep in mind that the Kentsfield has nearly double the power requirements and gets MUCH hotter than the conroe chips (especially under load,) so keep an eye on that and make sure you have good cooling. I'd be surprised if you can get much higher than 3.2 on air and keep it cool. Maybe stable, but not within comfort levels under load. If you want to get it to the 3.6 & higher range, you're going to want some higher end cooling like water or even phase if you REALLY want to push it - but looks like you have the money for it! :D
 
That was fantastic, very good information really appreciate it.

I have a question, if I do switch to a different board, will I have to reinstall WindowsXP? Or should I be fine.

And, what type of high end cooling system would you recommend.

DC:cool:
 
No you should not need to re-install XP. However, I HIGHLY recommend backing up all important data. Google search "windows xp changing motherboard" or whatever for specific instructions. I just checked and the first link I got was this one:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html#1

Seems like it would do, but I'd read several articles/instructions until you feel comfortable. If you do decide to do a fresh install and have recently activated the copy, you will almost certainly have to call M$ to have it re-activated.

Keep in mind, that you can still get good OC results with the QX & the 680i, just not optimum results. So whether or not you decided to spend a couple hundred bucks on another mobo until the 680i works properly is up to you.

As for cooling, unless you want to push into the 4.0 range, you won't need phase. Personally, I think that is really kind of ridiculous. You can get 3.6-3.8 on water with a little luck and a good chip and do things right. So pushing into that 4.0 range only gives you a 5-10% improvement, good enough for some bragging rights I guess, but really of little actual use. In games, you're never going to see the benefit, and with apps it will be negligable too. So you can rip a movie in 2'50" instead of 3'00", is that worth all the extra stress of knowing you're keeping your chip flying under maximum stress? Not to me, but hey, I just need solid performance for work, for some others it is worth it.

As for water, I'd recommend you shop through Petra if you've never done water before. Customer Service is phenominal. What you get exactly is dependant on the size of your case, comfort level, sound/silence requirements. The Size & type of radiator and the kind of pump you get depends on stuff like that. For the CPU water block I'd definately recommend the Fuzion, that and the Apogee GT are looking like the two best for the Kentsfield chip because of the larger heat source. There is data floating around like wildfire after this past week with different results showing one outperforming the other. Either is a better choice for the quad core than almost anything else, so either one would be a good pick, I just recommended the Fuzion because you can get it now. Doesn't look like the Apogee GT will be in stock for at least a couple more weeks. The only thing Petra doesn't carry that you might want is the Thermochill radiator. Over priced in my opinion for the gains, but if you're eaking out for each extra degree, it is a great radiator, just a heck of a lot more expensive. For your exact cooling setup, you can probably just contact the petra team (http://www.petrastechshop.com) for a recommendation. I'll tell you right now they do use some of the best parts available for great cost and like I said, there customer service is phenominal. (Just checked, looks they are out of their 8800GTX blocks though, so you might ask when more are coming in or buy from DangerDen.)
 
Thanks much, appreciate all the info and that gives me a great starting point.

I've got a Thermaltake Xaser III case, bought it in 2004. It's got great features and room and easy to fit plastic drive rails to take drives in and out and does a good job of giving you room. I've never done water before and not sure if I will as I have the Kentsfield and an EVGA 680i board that presents an overclocking problem right now. I hope they come up with a fix soon.
 
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