owners of q6600 @ 3.2+Ghz on air - What are your specs?

[Evilonigiri]

The Zalman Reserator 1 v2 is an external water cooling unit. I getting one for free next week along with a 8800GTX water block. I don't know if I should hook up the GPU water block as well because I'm pretty sure it will void my lifetime warranty.

So if I am able to clock it at 3.8-4GHz watercooled, with maybe 1.4v, would it be safe to run it 24/7?

I'm not sure about that water-cooling, but the best air-cooling beats most WC that costs under $300.

The lowest voltage I have seen for 3.6Ghz used for 24/7 is 1.4v. If you want to hit 3.8GHz, you'll probably have to do 1.45V or higher.

 

[jjblanche]

I'm running 3.6 GHz, vCore is set to 1.45v (which reads as 1.444v in BIOS). 39*C idle, which reads as 1.440 in CPU-Z. 67*C full load, which reads 1.392 CPU-Z. I'm using a Zalman 9700 NT with Arctic Silver 5. I may or may not be able to go lower on the Vcore, but at this point it runs rock stable in Prime95 (both blend and small FFTs), so I really don't want to mess with it. It took 3 days to get it dialed in.

Some of these OCs seem totally bogus to me. To go above 3.4 GHz, you need to be running at 1.3v minimum (BIOS setting). If you're running at 3.6 GHz on air, your temps are going to be in the 60s, period, regardless of what solution you have (unless you have the stock heat sink, in which case you'll melt).

 

[PlasticSashimi]

I'm running 3.6 GHz, vCore is set to 1.45v (which reads as 1.444v in BIOS). 39*C idle, which reads as 1.440 in CPU-Z. 67*C full load, which reads 1.392 CPU-Z. I'm using a Zalman 9700 NT with Arctic Silver 5. I may or may not be able to go lower on the Vcore, but at this point it runs rock stable in Prime95 (both blend and small FFTs), so I really don't want to mess with it. It took 3 days to get it dialed in.

Some of these OCs seem totally bogus to me. To go above 3.4 GHz, you need to be running at 1.3v minimum (BIOS setting). If you're running at 3.6 GHz on air, your temps are going to be in the 60s, period, regardless of what solution you have (unless you have the stock heat sink, in which case you'll melt).

agreed....I had lots of luck with stability. Successful boots @ 3.0, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.533, 3.6.....all no problems
Different RAM and FSB clock...linked mem...unlinked mem...only a few combinations didn't work out. All below @ or below 1.425v

But the temps were never standable over 3.3ghz....Next time I do a big overhaul I'll lap everything and try to control the heat.

 

[jjblanche]

Don't lap anything...waste of time. Just get a high quality heat sink and a high flow case (for example, I'm using the aforementioned Zalman in an Antec 900 with the two optional fans...450+ CFM).

 

[cnumartyr]

I'm not even going to touch the ignorance in the last 3 posts..

But let me just say, there is a thing called VID. The lower the better. BIOS setting <> Windows Setting. BIOS has jack crap to do with real voltage (it's the VID setting, vOffset comes into play). I know someone who does 3.6 GHz at 1.288 load vCore.

Check that out, under 60C with air cooling.

Also, lapping can help a ton. At the same time it might do nothing. It all depends on the skill of the person and the relative fit of the heatsink and IHS.

 

[wirelessfender]

Asus P5k-e wifi

Intel Core 2 Quad 6600@3.6GHz,
FSB: 400x9

vCore: 1.288v Load Prime95
vCore: 1.304v Idle
vCore: 1.325 Bios

Idle Temps: 36c
Load Temps: 58c Hottest core 12hr Prime 95

I use the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme Heatsink(no lapping) with 2 of the blue fans that the antec 900 comes with.

 

[goodie]

wirelessfender, whats the VID on your Q6600?
nice voltages, im getting 3.24 on 1.3v bios, just waiting to get a TRUE before i go for 3.6

 

[obe-one]

Here is mine

DFI LP TR2 P35

3.6GHz on 1.232v CPUz Bios 1.2375v

During Prime95 13h Small FFT

Completion

Currently Testing the processor on Stock Voltage 1.184v at 3.4GHz when completed I will post a screen shot.

 

[wirelessfender]

wirelessfender, whats the VID on your Q6600?
nice voltages, im getting 3.24 on 1.3v bios, just waiting to get a TRUE before i go for 3.6

Its 1.225, it shows it in the coretemp window.


But my goodness obe-one, I though I had an amazing VID O_O.

 

[goodie]

i've just noticed it, sorry.
thats some chip obe's got!

 

[cnumartyr]

Yep.. I wish I had a better VID, but I can't complain too much.

Mine was 1.2875 and I've seen some as high as 1.3250.

I must admit 1.2000 is the lowest I've seen. You won the lottery!

 

[obe-one]

Yes Guys I am really pleased with this processor I had another with a VID of 1.225v and could do 3.6GHz on 1.30v and 3.8GHz on 1.41v, but this is in a class of its own. Actually there a quite a few Batch# with a VID of 1.2000v.

I think I can squeeze a little more out of it, it is currently 4.5h into Prime on 1.184v at 3.4GHz and that will probably be the specs to run during summer. I will post a screen shot on completion.

After the stock voltage test I will do a 3.8GHz run and post a screen shot for all to see. For those who are looking for a Q6600, look for one that has a low VID, though this does not guarantee a good Over Clocker, what it does it allows you to do is to start from low voltages and reach a higher speed with lower voltages.
Sure there are some Q6600 which have a VID of 1.325v that can do 3.6GHz, but many fail because folks do not have adequate cooling and therefore back off.

 

[jjblanche]

I'm not even going to touch the ignorance in the last 3 posts..

But let me just say, there is a thing called VID. The lower the better. BIOS setting <> Windows Setting. BIOS has jack crap to do with real voltage (it's the VID setting, vOffset comes into play). I know someone who does 3.6 GHz at 1.288 load vCore.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e189/cnumartyr/p353600mhz30minutes.jpg

Check that out, under 60C with air cooling.

Also, lapping can help a ton. At the same time it might do nothing. It all depends on the skill of the person and the relative fit of the heatsink and IHS.

OK, cnum, I'll accept that. But I'd like to ask a few questions. How long have you run Prime95 at that setting? Also, I'm far more concerned with what CPU-Z is reporting at idle, not at load.

 

[cnumartyr]

OK, cnum, I'll accept that. But I'd like to ask a few questions. How long have you run Prime95 at that setting? Also, I'm far more concerned with what CPU-Z is reporting at idle, not at load.

First - My chip isn't anything near impressive. Check out Wireless's and Obe's. Second - 10 Minutes is the general consensus as far as the point of saturation for a chip (the heat buildup).

1.416 Idle, 1.400 Load. That's a 10 hour Small FFT test.

 

[SanDiegoPaul]

Quad 6600 at 3.2GHz (400x8)
IP35-Pro board
2G Corsair PC6400 1:1 with FSB
GE Force 8800GT 512 Video
(2) Western Digital SATA 500GB Drives
Sony SATA DVD/CDRW
(5) 80mm Case Fans
750W Thermaltake PSU
Cool temps and great performance!

Rig idles @ 38-40*C and runs 42* in normal use, with OEM Intel HSF.

 

[diddler1979]

Hello everyone. I'm another one of these people that is new to the whole overclocking scene but am trying to get the most out of my setup as possible. So far I've been able overclock my Q6600 to 3.0Ghz without a problem. What I'm wondering is, what more can I get out of it because this overclock has hardly added anything to the temps of my CPU and motherboard (apart from maybe 2 degrees).

Anyway, I have an ASUS P5N-e with Q6600 and a Thermaltake heatsink and fan.
Using different poeplese guides around forums, I've change the following details to overclock the Q6600 to 3.0Ghz:

FSB Memory Clock Mode : Unlinked
FSB (QDR) Mhz : 1333
MEM (DDR) Mhz : 667
Vcore Voltage : 1.325
Memory Voltage : 2.085
NB COre Voltage : 1.393
VCore offset Voltage : Auto
LDT Frequency : 3x
And Memory Timings set to 5, 5, 5, 18, 2x

I was amazed with the performance increase I got and as the temps haven't really changed that much I sure I can get it up to 3.2Ghz or maybe even 3.4Ghz running stabily. My cpu is the G0 model by the way and I'm running bios 0608.

Can anyone pass in some advice as to what I could change to achieve those speeds?

Thanks so much for all of your help.

 

[jjblanche]

Just keep going until you can't go any higher on the voltage (ie: less than 1.5v idle CPU-Z), or the temps max out (ie: 75*C full load, hottest core, cooltemp) You'd probably want those maxes to be about 1.45v and 71*C to be safe. I'm at 1.392v full load @ 67.5*C, 3.6GHz

 

[diddler1979]

Thanks JJBlanche. What do you use to monitor the CPU temps?
I'm currently using ASUS Probe II and even on full load my CPU doesn't get much higher than mid 50's at 3.0GHz but I'm not sure how reliable it is.

 

[cnumartyr]

Thanks JJBlanche. What do you use to monitor the CPU temps?
I'm currently using ASUS Probe II and even on full load my CPU doesn't get much higher than mid 50's at 3.0GHz but I'm not sure how reliable it is.

Asus Probe is measuring Tcase, which is about 10-15C cooler than the hottest Core. Your cores could be anywhere from 55-65C. Download Speedfan (link in the sticky at the top of the forum).

 

[diddler1979]

Thanks cnumartyr. Btw, how have you managed to clock your Q6600 at 3.89 and keep it stable . I'd just be happy with 3.2 or 3.4 but that is impressive.

 

[cnumartyr]

Thanks cnumartyr. Btw, how have you managed to clock your Q6600 at 3.89 and keep it stable . I'd just be happy with 3.2 or 3.4 but that is impressive.

It's benchmark stable. The highest I can get 24/7 Prime95 stable is 3.75 GHz. I peak at about 70C on the cores at that point. I run it 24/7 at 3.6 GHz so I can turn the fans down a bit and have a quieter PC.

 

[diddler1979]

It's benchmark stable. The highest I can get 24/7 Prime95 stable is 3.75 GHz. I peak at about 70C on the cores at that point. I run it 24/7 at 3.6 GHz so I can turn the fans down a bit and have a quieter PC.

Any chance I could pester you for your setup cos that sounds mighty impressive.

My P5N-E won't give me as much options to amend as later boards but you can see the typical options I have from a few posts earlier.

 

[cnumartyr]

Even if I gave you the exact setup it's not going to work the same on your board with your chip.

Just go in steps, you know how to OC. My only advice is that when going above 333 MHz Bus to get the CPU stable at 3.0 GHz. Then when you go to 360 or so MHz, use an 8x multiplier so you know the CPU is stable and get the board stable. Then move to 9x once the board is stable and then get the CPU stable. Repeat over and over.

 

[diddler1979]

No worries cnumartyr. I wish I new more about OCing that you give me credit for .

I'm going to try and set the FSB up to 1468MHz and DDR2 up to 734MHz for a bus speed of 367MHz and 3.3GHz clock but all of this will be with the Multiplier set to 9.

How does adjusting the Multiplier to 8 change those settings?

I'm sorry to pester you guys but the whole OCing scene has got me really interested at the moment.

 

[cnumartyr]

No worries cnumartyr. I wish I new more about OCing that you give me credit for .

I'm going to try and set the FSB up to 1468MHz and DDR2 up to 734MHz for a bus speed of 367MHz and 3.3GHz clock but all of this will be with the Multiplier set to 9.

How does adjusting the Multiplier to 8 change those settings?

I'm sorry to pester you guys but the whole OCing scene has got me really interested at the moment.

Here's my thing on it, and no this has nothing to do with your specific situation. Just in general.

When OCing you are changing 3 things, the board (NB), the CPU, and the RAM. If you OC all at the same time you may not know what is causing an instability. If the RAM is rated at DDR2-800 and you have it stable there, that eliminates the first "problem." Now that the RAM is out you have the NB and CPU left. If you know the CPU is stable at 3.0 GHz and the board is stable at 333 MHz (333x9 = 3.0 GHz) then you can go to 375x8 (3.0 GHz). You know the CPU is stable, so any instability is likely the cause of the board. The RAM is in 1:1 so is running below spec (750 MHz) and the CPU is running where it has been stable.

You use smaller increments obviously, but this helps eliminate some of the guesswork. If you KNOW it's the NB, or RAM, or CPU it becomes much easier to fix. As an example, I know that 3.6 GHz (400x9) is solid on my board. So when I go for 450 MHz Bus I back the CPU down to 8x and leave the voltage the same. Since I've had the RAM stable at DDR2-1066 running it at DDR2-900 is no problem. That let me get the board stable at 450 MHz and then go back and work on the CPU stability up to 3.89 GHz (433 MHz Bus).

Edit: Short answer: Changing the multiplier will drop the CPU speed letting you know if the board is stable.

As a side note, the most IMPORTANT thing you can have as an overclocker... is patience.