How far is the Q6600 overclockable with the stock intel cooler (old one)?

niksonrex88

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Im just curious cause im just about to get a q6600 for this old pc that i ofc intend to overclock.
I know its computer to computer with this but let me just start off with the rig.
Mobo: Asus P5K
RAM: 4x2gb 800mhz RAM
GPU: GT 730 GDDR5 OC version clocked at 1006, i got it to 1100Mhz.
400W PSU

Now before you tell me to check the PSU requirement i already did. I bought the G0 version so that wont be a problem. The calculator recommended me 370W (with the cpu clock at 3.0Ghz) with all of the things i have.

Now to give you a perspective. I got my E6750 to 3Ghz with the max temp not going above 69C after stressing it for 20 minutes, the max is 72C so i could go even further. Now im planning to get the Q6600 up to 3Ghz if not maybe 2.8Ghz.

The C2D scores 130 stock and 150 on 3Ghz on Cinebench R15 so it is working.
 
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niksonrex88

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That is spicy as hell. I wouldnt want it on 90C at all. And from what i've heard the q6600 is great at OCing. Better than the E6750 so yeah.
 


just change the fsb from 266 to 333mhz, and leave the voltage at 1.3. My G0 got to 3 ghz with stock voltage (set manually,1.3v). You can go higher with a better cooler. You may need to push 1.3-1.35 to hit 3.2. It won't go much higher, even the G0 version. Temps shouldn't go above 80c at 3ghz, with just the fsb increase.


BTW, stress testing for 20 mins is not an indication of stability. You should test for longer to ensure stability, using something like Prime 95, small fft's. I run for an hour for setup and basic testing of OC, and then once Ive settled on the OC, id run it over night to make sure it's rock solid.
 
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niksonrex88

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About voltage, im new to CPU overclocking and that would make me very uneducated on it. So idk how to tinker with voltages, i didnt change anything on my current cpu except the fsb from 333 to 380. Cause my BIOS is set to x8 and that is the maximum it can increase.
 


That's weird, it should be a 9x multi standard.

If you run coretemp, it will give you your VID for the chip. This will be your max voltage required to make the chip function as it should. Mine was 1.3v (actually quite high for a G0) So then just go into the bios and set it manually at that. Can't remember the exact option, but it should be obvious enough. If not take a screen shot of your bios options, and we can tell you what to change. You only need to change the voltage to whatever you choose, and bump the FSB. if you find it crashes, bump it (the vcore) up one notch at a time and retest until you get to windows and can stress it properly to find stability

Others have gotten to 3.2 with 8x multi, but then you need higher FSB (400mhz). For some of those LGA775 boards, there's a memory hole, where it just may not boot properly. Try the 8x multi with the 400mhz fsb and see how you get on. You may need to increase the SOC voltage, because you are pushing the memory subsystem, so that may need a voltage bump too.

I would strongly suggest updating to the latest bios for the board. This may really help get a good OC. May also fix the lack of the default 9x multiplier.
 

theyeti87

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That intel stock cooler sure added a bit of spice ;)
 


Well, although the VID for the C2D is 1.35 it will be different for the Q6600. Withouth having the chip yo won't know what you can do with it. Settings for one chip generally will not work for other chips. Specially as the the Q6600 has twice as many cores.
 

niksonrex88

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I get that i just mean for this cpu. Maybe get more out of it.

 


ah, i see. Not much. It's a pretty high VID. normally you are looking for below 1.3v. I was actually disappointed when I got my G0 because of the high VID, lots of others were about the 1.28 mark. Still to get to 3ghz I didn't have to do anything except change the FSB. For higher, I had to bump to 1.325, but it just wasn't worth the instability. At 1.35 you have little room to manoeuvre. Specially with stick cooler.

The mobo could be a factor too. The PK5 is an Intel p35 mobo. The nvidia 650/670 sli's were great for OC'ing.
 


You can always go lower with the voltage and see how low you can get, but maintain stock frequency (but test it properly). Then you can bump the speed up a little, and work the voltage back up, possibly getting 3ghz with 1.3v this less heat, and not fighting for an extra 200mhz, which will not make that much difference really.
 

niksonrex88

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Yeah, also i find it weird that when my clock speed was at 2.98Ghz i still got like 132 on cinebench and just by going over 3Ghz it increased to over 150. Thats interesting. And thanks for the help.
Idk why did this post as a solution thread when i clearly unchecked the search for a solution thingy. So im just gonna give you the solution lol.

One more thing. Cause i just realised you wrote something about stressing it. Those test really stress it. Even though this is an old cpu it still doesnt get 100% all the time in games. It sits around 62C almost all the time. And that is in newer games like for honor and r6s (ikr i can run them lol).

 


If temps are sitting at 62c max gaming. I wouldn't be overly worried by that. Thats kind normal.

The point of correct stress testing is to etsablish maximum heat output for a given voltage to the CPU. That way you can work up or down, depending on if you're OC'ing or undervolting.

If you find that you get random crashes here and there, bump either the vcore up one notch and/or memory controlle voltage. Remember by OC the ram you're increasing the load on the memory controller too, so a voltage bump there may help down the line.

Glad to be of assistance.
 

niksonrex88

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Yeah also ram overclocking. Should i do it? Cause the mobo can support 1066mhz and mine are 800mhz. Im pretty sure that would help. Tho more power consuption worries me. Cause i dont have an 80+ psu lol.