What's best for my computer?

[Samakoph]

Hey guys, I'm pretty new at the overclocking scene when it comes to the CPU and RAM. What can I do with my current rig? What are the best settings? I've read quite a bit already on CPU and Memory overclocking, but there are so many terms I don't quite understand.


CPU: i7-960

MOBO: Asus Rampage III Formula

Memory: G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7T-6GBPI

GFX: Geforce GTX 680

Windows 7 Ultimate x64

I've been playing around with it and currently have it set to the CPU Level Up profile, with the i7 Crazy 3.61Ghz setting on, with memory timings set to 7-8-7-24-2N with frequency set to auto (CPU-Z detects it at 602 MHz).

If you guys can toss me out some suggestions or some comprehensive guides, let me know! Thanks in advance.

 

[drums101]

you gotta tell us what kind of cooling is on your cpu.....that cpu runs hot so you gotta have some good cooler on there to oc....if i were you i would do a little research on how to oc that chip and then put some time into it get a good cooler and add some ghz to your machine...can easily hit 3.8ghz with a good cooler that would put you in a good place....i have been running at i7 950 @ 4ghz since 2009 when they first came out and it hasnt let me down since.

 

[Samakoph]

you gotta tell us what kind of cooling is on your cpu.....that cpu runs hot so you gotta have some good cooler on there to oc....if i were you i would do a little research on how to oc that chip and then put some time into it get a good cooler and add some ghz to your machine...can easily hit 3.8ghz with a good cooler that would put you in a good place....i have been running at i7 950 @ 4ghz since 2009 when they first came out and it hasnt let me down since.

I've got a cooler master V6GT on it. CPU's temperature is currently at 36C.

 

[drums101]

i think you could def hit 3.8ghz with that cooler then. do a little research and learn about overclocking your chip and give it a shot...basically up the base clock a bit and the vcore voltage to get more speed..just remember that your uncore and memory speed are based off of your base clock too...the temps that you are worried most about are load temps...when you oc you want to use a program called prime95 to push your cpu to the limit then you check the temps to see what the max it gets...i wouldnt feel comfortable if it went over 75c....let me know if you have any questions after some research...ur i7 at 3.8ghz or so and a 680 is a killer combo and will run games great...the one other thing you can do is add a SSD to your system for the OS and some programs...it will speed up your system greatly.