Help overclocking intel i7-920 (newb)

[jedinegotiator]

I have never overclocked before. I have an HP computer that I have been upgrading. I have gotten a new case (HAF 922) but that's about it. I want to overclock my i7-920 to a stable overclock that is in the range of 3.6Ghz to 3.8Ghz.

Here are my specs:

Intel i7 920 2.67Ghz
9GB DDR3 1333Mhz (Three 2GB sticks and three 1GB sticks)
Nvidia GTX 260 1.8GB Memory

I realize I am going to need to buy a new motherboard if I want to overclock because the HP board has no overclocking abilities. I am new to this so I would like your guys help in picking a motherboard and then using the BIOS settings to overclock the CPU. I would like a motherboard that will help me overclock easy and one that has 2 PCIe x 16 slots. Thats my only must haves on the Mobo.

I have tried reading some guides but I always get confused when they have to lower the clock rate of the ram and pci and stuff because the guide they have doesn't directly apply to me because rthey use 1600Mhz ram. Please remember I have 1066Mhz ram.

So just to wrap everything up I need help picking a motherboard and then I need help with what settings to change to get me a good stable overclock with not much extra heat. Thanks for your help.[

 

[yummerzzz]

UK or US?

If UK : http://dinopc.com/shop/pc/-b-NEW-b-Asus-P8P67-Pro-Rev-3-83p1030.htm

 

[jedinegotiator]

US

 

[yummerzzz]

Hm, check around Newegg for the Mobo, it doesn't have to be that one, any Mobo with two PCIE x16 or 2.0 should work, I can't help with the OC problem as I've never OC' myself and won't until I get my new PC.

 

[jedinegotiator]

Ok well thanks for the help. I'll just have to wait for someone to help me with the overclocking settings.

 

[fatsoferret]

how does your GTX 260 have 1.8 gigs of memory...?

 

[jedinegotiator]

Im not sure it was like some special edition or something....it was what came stock from HP, I know its weird but cool.

http://tiny.cc/ctge1

 

[fatsoferret]

lol why would they put 1.8 gigs on a 192 core GTX 260 instead of the core 216, companys dont make sense. lol

but back to your OQ, you lower the clocks of the memory and the PCI-E bus because with the i7 first gen (excluding the X series because they have a unlocked multi), you overc lock them with the FSB, and when you increase the clock on the FSB it increases the clocks on the memory and the PCI-E bus as well as increasing the clocks on the CPU, so by lowering the other two you can clock the cpu higher without worring about the memory and pcie bus clocking too high and preventing you from booting.

 

[jedinegotiator]

Ok I see....can I get some exact numbers? What do I need to multiply the CPU speed by to get a 3.6-3.8 overclock? And then how low do I need to set the multipliers for the PCI slots and memory?

 

[fatsoferret]

i do not know the exact numbers for your motherboard. just follow the guide loosely and try it out for yourself. you wont hurt your computer if you dont adjust the voltages.

 

[jedinegotiator]

Best answer selected by jedinegotiator.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

This guide will make it "easy as pie".....tables were revised from the 920 / 930 to 950/960

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20081220191040237&board_id=1&model=P6T+Deluxe&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

Try the cache'd version

 

[jedinegotiator]

so can I still use the guide since it is for the 950/960?

 

[fatsoferret]

yes, you can still follow the guide for the basic information.