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How easy/difficult is it to OC a CPU?

Forum Homebuilt Systems : General Homebuilt - How easy/difficult is it to OC a CPU?

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Can anyone comment on how easy it is to actully OC the CPU. I've never done anything like that, but I'm not completely clueless when it comes to messing with BIOS settings and the like.

I probably won't bother OCing anything else (unless necessary to OC the CPU). I am just looking to save money by buying a low end chip instead of the e6700.

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IF you know about BIOS, you can overclock. The simple stuff is all in the FSB setting, crank it up slowly then run it for an hour under load, if the temps are ok, and it's stable, repeat.

Reply to alcattle

Thanks for the tips.

That is a great guide but, I must admit, a bit over my head with just looking at it. I guess I have some research to do.

What's the "downside" if I do something wrong?

Reply to tsponholz

Quote :

...

What's the "downside" if I do something wrong?

Although it's unlikely if you don't push it too far, the extreme downside is that your CPU doesn't work right anymore. Look into "electromigration".

Reply to Mondoman

If you have a popular motherboard, decent RAM, and a good heatsink, then OC'ing a C2D is a piece of cake.

Post your specs and we can tell you if it'll overclock well or not.

Reply to skyguy

Quote :

Post your specs and we can tell you if it'll overclock well or not.

No specs yet, but the offer is awesome and a great idea. Step one was picking the processor. I am looking for future proofing mostly, and I could get by with a 6420 for now, but will definately want more juice later. But since it seems so do-able, I'll probably go with the 6320 and push myself to 3.0ish.

The big thing I'm waiting for right now is P35 (Bearlake). With PCIe 2.0 so close, I don't want to miss out. Afterall, the "main" bits of this computer will likely have to last me 5 years (like my existing box).

Reply to tsponholz

Well, if you were as cool as me, you could just up your multiplier. But, since not everyone is wicked cool like me, you will have to up the FSB. You should be able to get a decent OC on or close to stock vcore.

Reply to proof

^^^^ his sense of humor is tough to pick up....it's there, but it sounds like conceit.

Reply to skyguy

Click. Click. Click. *cross fingers for good luck* Click. Wait for reboot. Smile. Enjoy.

Yes, it is that simple.

Reply to rodney_ws

Hahahaha! Nice. Anyway, message me on MSN if you can or hit me up with an email. I have some good news.

Reply to proof

Quote :

Click. Click. Click. *cross fingers for good luck* Click. Wait for reboot. Smile. Enjoy.

Yes, it is that simple.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Damn Nice man!
5Star From me! :trophy: 8)

Reply to Farhang

And make sure you have proper cooling for them components.

Reply to chuckshissle

I've just taken my E6600 to 3Ghz (from stock 2.4GHZ).

Performance now exceeds E6800 and Xeon 2.9Ghz but is still a modest overclock and easy for a beginner as no voltage adjustments were required, everything is at stock voltage - which makes it very safe.

A more comprehensive guide can be found here:

http://forums.extremeoverclocking. [...] hp?t=79266

Reply to Alsone

Good job man!

Reply to proof

Quote :

Click. Click. Click. *cross fingers for good luck* Click. Wait for reboot. Smile. Enjoy.

Yes, it is that simple.

It's so easy, a neanderthal... er... rodney_ws could do it! Seriously, the current round of C2D is the closest thing to a slam dunk overclock that ever existed in the computer world. I am running a 6300 at 3 Ghz. I stopped their because 1) it required no increase in core voltage and 2) I was able to do it with a bolt on cooler that did not require motherboard removal and 3) I didn't want to put more money into memory than necessary to hit 3Ghz CPU/430FSB/ 860Mhz memory.

Nothing is stressed, everything is cool, and hopefully it will run this way for at least three more years.

Reply to rdhood

Modest overclocking on Core 2's is so ridiculously simple that buying high end chips is almost stupid. I consider the E4300 and E4400 as the 1/3 cost 2Mb cache versions of the E6600 and E6700, it's as easy as typing in "2-6-6". Of course, understanding RAM settings and messing with vcore can be a little confusing at first for higher overclocks.

Follow a guide and you'll be happy you saved the cash.

Reply to JuiceJones

Quote :

I consider the E4300 and E4400 as the 1/3 cost 2Mb cache versions of the E6600 and E6700,

Are you suggesting that I should maybe go with a e4300 instead of e6320? Doesn't the extra cache make a difference?

Anyone else want to add their two cents to this question?

Thanks. So far you have all been great help.

Reply to tsponholz

Yes, contrarry to popular beliefe it does make a difference. Get a 4MB cache.

Reply to proof

Quote :

I consider the E4300 and E4400 as the 1/3 cost 2Mb cache versions of the E6600 and E6700,

Are you suggesting that I should maybe go with a e4300 instead of e6320? Doesn't the extra cache make a difference?

Also (and I might be wrong here) the e4x00 chips can't run 64-bit OS. I have a copy of XP Pro x64 just sitting waiting for a computer to go on.

Reply to tsponholz

Yeah, your wrong. And can you seed that XP x64 for me? I need a copy.

Reply to proof

Quote :

... can you seed that XP x64 for me? I need a copy.

If you can believe it, it is a genuine paid for copy with an actual CD and serial number and all!! Paid $15 and got a copy of XP Pro (installed on my current computer) and XP Pro 64 (waiting for my new one). Got to love faculty discounts.

But now that you mention it, perhaps I could make an iso and ensure it is "properly backed up" by sending many copies over to "friends" drives for safe keeping

Reply to tsponholz

That would be great! Will you?

Reply to proof

Quote :

That would be great! Will you?

If I can ever find the time to learn how, yes. Unfortunately I can't make any promises.

Reply to tsponholz

Quote :

Yes, contrarry to popular beliefe it does make a difference. Get a 4MB cache.

By what percentage? From almost all benchmarks I've seen, same clocked C2Ds with 2Mb are within a few percentage points of their 4mb siblings. Roughly a 3-10% performance hit clock-for-clock is definitely worth saving 50% of the cash to me. Of course, the E6320 and E6420 are attractive since they offer the more cache for the same price, but the higher multipliers on the E4X00 series allow the same FSB speeds to easily offset the disadvantage.

Assuming a low FSB cap, 333Mhz, for example, a 3.0Ghz E4300 will beat an E6420 at 2.66Ghz by a good margin. And it's cheaper.

It all boils down to budget. The E6600 has now fallen to an extremely attractive $235, and should easily reach 3.0Ghz stably. But so can the E4300 for $110 less... I would rather spend that 110 bucks on booze and cigarettes than a 5% increase.

Reply to JuiceJones

i've been looking to learn how to OC for a bit now... let's do it together and make a post for idiots on it... i plan to make a picture by picture guide for those of us who have 0 clue on what a fsb is... let's do it... make a OC for seriously stupid tech wannabes =) (not that you are... but i sure am)

jae
mlb

Reply to jaedaddy

Are you talking MB specific or general. Every BIOS is a little different, I think 1 or 2 boards would be great.

Reply to alcattle

Ok, I did a little more searching.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/c [...] 420_3.html

So there, I think this concludes that if you're a heavy Excel 2007 user, go with the 4Mb of cache. (Ok so honestly the impact on games is somewhat considerable.)

If you want to stay budget oriented and want to experiment around with overclocking, the E4x00 series is still a good recommendation. In terms of overclocking, the higher multipliers will probably let you surpass either the E6320 or E6420 and will save a good chunk of cash all the way around, even letting you use DDR2-667. So before you feel the 4mb of cache is a must, look at the numbers and weigh out the costs. For a person as tight for cash as me, the choice is a no brainer.

This link may interest you too.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipse [...] i=2903&p=1

Reply to JuiceJones

The E6420 is your best bet. And in games it does help to add a few fps (4MB vs 2MB).

Reply to proof

Good stuff Juice.....hopefully that'll help clear up the debate a bit.

Reply to skyguy

i'll probably take the 3 most popular OCing's mobo's and post pics by pics... those being along with the c2d

jae
mlb

Reply to jaedaddy

EVGA 680i
Gigabyte DS3
Any LANParty Board

Reply to proof

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