cooling a q6600

[cnumartyr]

I think you'd be fine for what you want to do.

We're just crazy about OCing... I mean look at my sig.

 

[Evilonigiri]

NO! If you even touch the card, you're warrenty is voided! 😉

Joking aside, OCing is a real good idea if you want about a 5-10% increase in performance. However it may shorten the life of the gpu. How much the life shortens depends on how much you overclock and how hot it is. But OC enthusiast counters with the reasoning that most people will upgrade by the time so worrying about the card dying is no biggie.

Heat will increase, perhaps as much as 5-10C. So you'll need better cooling.

 

[gary101]

OCing won't cause any problems as long as things are kept in check (temperatures). And you make sure to check for artifacts in games (ATiTool, which we will explain when you decide to OC or not).

I think we scared you a bit.. but the thing would be fine as it's covered by a warranty. I just personally prefer things running cooler as I OC them anyways.

Once you get things built, download speed Fan and let's see where you are at with temperatures and the like.

Edit: It also depends on your games.. I play Crysis at 16x10 at all high. OCing helps me get a bit better frame rates so it's playable.

I'm used to playing games at pretty low res--just finished Witcher at like 800 X 600 or whatever, with most detail turned off. Oblivion runs, but often stutters. Most detail is turned to medium, low, or off. I certainly want better than that, but I don't have to have top o' the line performance. Just want something that isn't going to make me complain about performance in detailed 3D games.

 

[gary101]

NO! If you even touch the card, you're warrenty is voided! 😉

Joking aside, OCing is a real good idea if you want about a 5-10% increase in performance. However it may shorten the life of the gpu. How much the life shortens depends on how much you overclock and how hot it is. But OC enthusiast counters with the reasoning that most people will upgrade by the time so worrying about the card dying is no biggie.

Heat will increase, perhaps as much as 5-10C. So you'll need better cooling.

But I'll be fine without touching it?

Convince me to become an OC enthusiast. Why does 5-10% matter? Seems relatively insignificant considering the (potential) risks/costs.

 

[Evilonigiri]

But I'll be fine without touching it?

Convince me to become an OC enthusiast. Why does 5-10% matter? Seems relatively insignificant considering the (potential) risks/costs.

Okay here we go!

Most games, 30fps is playable. However the game may go below 30 fps, resulting into stuttering of some sort. Ocing the vidcard to bring a 5% increase would smooth the game play out. Perhaps you would be able to go play a higher setting.

The hardcore OCer would get a cheaper card, such as the 8800GT and OC it to heaven. That way you get the performance of a top end card for $270 and some time ocing.

 

[cnumartyr]

But I'll be fine without touching it?

Convince me to become an OC enthusiast. Why does 5-10% matter? Seems relatively insignificant considering the (potential) risks/costs.

If I convince you to, the bug will get you.

I OC to bench. 3DMark06. I got 17k with a single card on all air. I was happy.

As far as Crysis goes.. I *LIKE* playing games at 16x10 maxed out. If I could OC my card further I would, it's choppy with 4xAA. Get a good game with maxed out res and see the difference and you WILL start OCing. It's just addicting.

5-10% means a lot when you realize it's the difference between stuttering and not stuttering.

 

[Evilonigiri]

Perhaps if you don't like to take risks, you could buy one of those highly factory-OCed vidcards. However they cost around $20-$50 premium and most people would save that money and OC themselves.

 

[gary101]

I can buy that. I suppose with unlimited (or at least LESS limited) resources, I could get into the "maximum performance" thing, too. However, at this point, I suspect that the difference that I'll see between my old and new rigs will be sufficient to please me, so perhaps it's best for me to avoid the bug.

Since we're talking percentages, though....can you estimate the percentage performance jump I'm likely to see from the old to the new builds?

 

[Evilonigiri]

I can buy that. I suppose with unlimited (or at least LESS limited) resources, I could get into the "maximum performance" thing, too. However, at this point, I suspect that the difference that I'll see between my old and new rigs will be sufficient to please me, so perhaps it's best for me to avoid the bug.

Since we're talking percentages, though....can you estimate the percentage performance jump I'm likely to see from the old to the new builds?

What was your old build? Could you list the specs out?

 

[gary101]

Evilonigiri, so for $20-50, I get the 5-10% benny of OCing without invalidating the warranty? Where does one find these highly OC'ed cards?

 

[Evilonigiri]

Evilonigiri, so for $20-50, I get the 5-10% benny of OCing without invalidating the warranty? Where does one find these highly OC'ed cards?

Weeell...There's a the XFX 8800GT XXX series or something that's highly Oced.

Oh look, here's an Asus at 700mhz core:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121220

 

[gary101]

Oh, thought I did list the specs. Maybe another forum...

it's a little old now, and I don't remember all the details. I'm going to guesstimate some of these:

P4 2.4 GHz, 1 GB 667 MHz memory (Kingston or PNY, I think), ASRock P4I45D mobo (533 MHz FSB), BFG GeForce 7800 GT OC 256 MB, 2 WD Caviar (I think) hard disks @ 250 GB, one 120 GB WD HD that just crapped out, LG 20X ATA DVD +/- RW w/ Lightscribe.

 

[gary101]

I thought the BFG 8800 GT OC generally outperformed the others. Within the $300 or less price range, are the others to be considering?

 

[cnumartyr]

I thought the BFG 8800 GT OC generally outperformed the others. Within the $300 or less price range, are the others to be considering?

All 8800 GTs are the same other than clocks.

So in theory.. whichever has the higher GPU/Shaders/Memory will perform the best.

Edit: I got my eVGA 8800 GTS for $339 with a free copy of Crysis. I think it was a great deal.

 

[Evilonigiri]

I thought the BFG 8800 GT OC generally outperformed the others. Within the $300 or less price range, are the others to be considering?

BFG has the best services. Worth the price if you're gonna keep that card for a long time.

 

[Evilonigiri]

I'd say depending on what game, and resolution, you see anywhere from 80% - 500% performance gains.

 

[gary101]

When you say services, you mean customer service? They told me via email that the warranty was for MY lifetime, not that of the card. Seems good.

I'm assuming, then, that you'd say performance for this architecture among the various manufacturers is about same?

 

[Evilonigiri]

When you say services, you mean customer service? They told me via email that the warranty was for MY lifetime, not that of the card. Seems good.

I'm assuming, then, that you'd say performance for this architecture among the various manufacturers is about same?

Right customer service-wise, BFG is the best. They are very caring and helpful. Of course there are other compaines that has life-time warranty, however BFG has the best services.

All 8800GT and GTS are the same. The only diff is the sticker and perhaps the clock speeds.

 

[gary101]

I'd say depending on what game, and resolution, you see anywhere from 80% - 500% performance gains.

I know that's just an estimate, but that seems pretty good to me. 1024 X 768 is my current screen resolution. Don't need it to be freakin' high-def (though wouldn't that be nice...). Out of curiosity, what games are you using for those extremes in your estimate?

 

[Evilonigiri]

I know that's just an estimate, but that seems pretty good to me. 1024 X 768 is my current screen resolution. Don't need it to be freakin' high-def (though wouldn't that be nice...). Out of curiosity, what games are you using for those extremes in your estimate?

CPU intensive games such as Supreme commander, which effectively uses 4 cores. Supcom is the most intensive cpu/ram game out there.

 

[gary101]

So the new build should be able to play supreme commander acceptably without overclocking or any extreme cooling solutions whereas my current build will likely just struggle trying to play it?

 

[cnumartyr]

So the new build should be able to play supreme commander acceptably without overclocking or any extreme cooling solutions whereas my current build will likely just struggle trying to play it?

Yep.

I don't have extreme cooling. I do everything on air.

 

[Evilonigiri]

So the new build should be able to play supreme commander acceptably without overclocking or any extreme cooling solutions whereas my current build will likely just struggle trying to play it?

I'm sorry to say that Supcom is so demanding cpu wise that stock isn't going to cut it. I have a Q6600 and a 8800GTS 320mb and my pc struggles during the latter half the the game. (it's an RTS game). There's about 3000units on a fairly large map before my cpu starts studdering. So I OCed it to 3.15Ghz and now there isn't lag. The only problem is the OS, which is XP. It has a 2gig ram limit for any program and once it exceeds it, the game crashes.

 

[gary101]

Hmmm... I'm going to be using XP Pro SP2. Don't want to crash, but also will only have 2 GB RAM, so maybe it's not an issue. Will the fact that mine's a 512 MB card vs. your 320 mb card prevent or help minimize the struggles in the latter part of the game?

 

[gary101]

Maybe "extreme" was a bit...well...extreme. I meant "non-stock."

Since we've wandered (wonderfully) far afield from the original post topic, I think I should sum up where I'm at right now:

--I think, per your information, I'll probably do the aftermarket cooling of the Q6600 (Rosewill cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835200026), but leave the 8800 cooling at stock at least for now.

--Not going to overclock anything at this time.

--Going to hold my breath and hope that a GPU upgrade will be all I'll need to do in the next few years. Luckily, the mobo will accomodate the 45 nm chips if I need to do a CPU upgrade, though.