e6600 Overclocking troubles

[jumpman]

OK, so i overclocked my e6600 to 3ghz (339 fsb) stably. The highest i got it to go was about 3.2ghz (358 fsb i think, not stable). Now, i have Kingston ddr2-533 value RAM, which i set to 400mhz before overclocking(with overclock only runs at 511mhz). So i really would like to bring my overclock up to 3.4ghz, and i was wondering if it's the RAM that's holding me back. Would it be worth purchasing ddr2-800 or 1066?
BTW the motherboard is a DFI infinity 975x.

 

[Penryn]

yes those are some crappy ram don't even expect them to overclock to 667 speeds let alone trying to go for ddr-800 speeds. plus you have to run them in ratio

anytime you see 'value' ram or something like that it means they are crap, don't ever buy those, and kingston only have good ram that are very expensive

definitely get ddr2-800 ram and run 1:1

 

[notherdude]

what cooler are you using. 3.2 is great for stock intel

 

[telim]

its not crap ram. Its perfect for 90% of the population. Kingston value ram is very reliable; I've sold 100s of dimms of kingston ram and I think I've had maybe 1 "DOA" stick in all that time. (~4 years).

for the other 10% of the population tho, power users and overclockers, Kingston just isn't your best bet.

Just lately I've been noticing some very aggressive pricing on Patriot ram; they have some great 2GB kits with high speeds and low latencies. Or go with Corsair, GSkill, Muskin, etc.

I personally don't like OCZ just because I've never once had a good experience with their ram. (Tried it for 3 different builds). I've always had to use a diff stick of DDR2 to up the voltage before using OCZ ram = a pain in the ass.

If I were you, I'd look at getting a 2GB kit of at least 1066mhz ram if you're at all serious about overclocking.

Also - a lot of the people you see with great overclocks (lets say >3.2ghz on a c2d) have special cooling on the CPU (like a tuniq tower 120, a zalman 9700 or a thermaltake bv) AND also some after-market cooling on the northbridge is usually needed.

I'm actually surprised you made it to 3ghz with that ram. Maybe you should just be happy with those results.

 

[jumpman]

the cooler im using is an Aerocool GT-1000. with the current overclock it idle's around 33 celsius, and that's with the voltage increased 72.5 mV. Right now it has the stock fan, but i was planning on upgrading to this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999613

Also, i'm having trouble figuring out how to get it to run at a 1:1 ratio. Basically what i need to know is what speed of RAM do i need in order to run my cpu at 3.4ghz with a 1:1 ratio.

Thanks for your replies!

 

[Penryn]

listen to me and trust me if you're overclocking, any sort of value ram is NOT your friend

you have 2 choices for ram depending on your fsb:

1. Buy good ddr-667

2. buy cheap ddr-800

both will get you over 360 fsb, best bet is just buy cheap ddr-800 underclock it to 1:1 ratio and tighten the timing, or if your lucky and could get it to 400fsb then 800 ddr2 will be perfect.

brands that are good: G.skill, Team, Crucial ballistix, some of the corsair
brands are ok: ocz, corsair, patriot

as for 1:1
match the speed of ram to the speed of the fsb

so if your fsb is 358mhz your ram should also be 358mhz or 716mhz in ddr2 speeds (ddr2-716), or if your fsb is 400 your ram should be ddr2-800

just times 2

 

[jumpman]

listen to me and trust me if you're overclocking, any sort of value ram is NOT your friend

oh i believe you, see when i put this system together i had no intention of overclocking, therefore cheap ddr2-533 seemed the ideal choice(1066 fsb and all). but anyways, it sounds like ddr2-800 is what i need. i did the math and if run a 377 fsb my cpu will run around 3.4ghz.

Also, could anyone recommend a specific set of RAM? 2gb sticks would be ideal, but 2x1gb would work fine too. and the reason im being somewhat cautious about this is because at one point i tried running some cheap ddr2-800(kingston, i believe) and the system wouldn't POST. i switched to the drr2-533 and it run fine. so if anyone knows of RAM that's known to work with a DFI Infinity 975x, please speak up

Thanks again! 😀

 

[Penryn]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231087

wow its been awhile since i checked memory prices, they gone down alot

that pair will overclock quite well

 

[jumpman]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231087

wow its been awhile since i checked memory prices, they gone down alot

that pair will overclock quite well

looks good, now im debating whether to get that one or this one i found on DFI's website: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231065

i might go with the latter simply because it's recommended for my motherboard, but i won't be ordering for a couple more weeks anyways.

Thanks guys for the help, i greatly appreciate it!

ohhh this is off-topic, but the cables inside my computer are blocking a lot of airflow. what would you recommend to help get them out of the way?

 

[deceneu]

the problem is not from ram or cooler, yes the ram is crap but that would have holded you back some half an year ago, but now the real problem is the cpu itself, todays E6600s are not like those from 2006 E6600s, those old E6600s were way better than what we get today.
the maximum stable which you will get is 3,2ghz

 

[jumpman]

the problem is not from ram or cooler, yes the ram is crap but that would have holded you back some half an year ago, but now the real problem is the cpu itself, todays E6600s are not like those from 2006 E6600s, those old E6600s were way better than what we get today.
the maximum stable which you will get is 3,2ghz

well the problem here is that the system just wont run stably if i run the RAM at anything higher than 533. i set it at 400 to begin with, and i can overclock to the point that the RAM runs at 533 again, but no further. also i bought mine in 2006, november i think. the manufacture date was week 28, or 26, right around there.

 

[Penryn]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231087

wow its been awhile since i checked memory prices, they gone down alot

that pair will overclock quite well

looks good, now im debating whether to get that one or this one i found on DFI's website: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231065

i might go with the latter simply because it's recommended for my motherboard, but i won't be ordering for a couple more weeks anyways.

Thanks guys for the help, i greatly appreciate it!

ohhh this is off-topic, but the cables inside my computer are blocking a lot of airflow. what would you recommend to help get them out of the way?

those are better than the one i showed you, they're d9 chips, mad overclockers. if money is not an issue then get them