e6600 Overclocking Problem

[envyyou]

Hey guys my system is about one year old when I first got it I could overclock my 6600 to 3.6-3.7 GHz quite easily and it would be stable. I put it back to stock for a while and recently tried to overclock it again and I struggle to get it running stable or even booting up at about 3.0 GHz. Even at 2.8 Ghz my CPU idle temp is about 80 degrees according to Intel thermal analyis tool. Im running 5 fans and stock CPU fan Just wondering why I cant get my old system back

My settings at 3.0 Ghz where

CPU Ratio- Manual
FSB – 340
PCIE – 100
DDR 525
CPU Voltage 1.3

Any comments would be appreciated thanks

 

[lurker1]

Have you remounted the stock CPU fan. If not, the thermal paste may have dried and will need to be replaced. If you have, you may have put too much or too little TIM. From the look of the temperatures, I'd say you have bad contact between the CPU and HSF - can happen either by remounting it wrong, or comming loose by frequent movement of your PC.

Also, have you changed anything else from when you originally overclocked.

When you originally overclocked, how high did you set your vcore to get to 3.6-3.7. If this was on the stock Intel fan, your temps would get pretty high unless you lived in the Arctic. With the exception of your ram and PSU, I have the same system as you and with my Zalman 9700 cooler, my temperatures were in the high 60's low 70's at 3.6Ghz, so yours would have been even higher at load, if it didn't shut down by then. How long were you running 3.6/3.7Ghz. Couple of days? 24/7? I've heard some people say, over time, you need more vcore to keep a stable overckock, so I'm just thinking you just accelerated this by putting it up so high with the stock cooler.

 

[envyyou]

Lurker1 thanks for your reply im pretty new to this so your help is very much appreciated.

I have remounted the CPU fan once since i first put the machine together due to a PC not starting up ended up being a faulty ram chip. No extra thermal paste has been used since I got it. In regard to changing anything since the original overclock the only difference is a bigger power supply and now I have an extra two sticks of the corsair ram in my sig making a total of 4 GIG

When I originally had it running at 3.6/3.7 it would have been for about 3-4 days when I first got the PC just playing new games running benchmarks ETC, (I then returned it to stock its been at stock up to now) it was running stable during that time and the temps at load were about high 50s low 60s according the asus temp software.

I cant remember exactly what my Vcore was back then but it would have been around 1.3

What is your System running at and what are your settings ?

 

[lurker1]

Ok, couple of things you could try to bring down the temps/stabilize your overclock.

1. Remount the CPU fan. You said no extra thermal paste has been used. Does this mean you did not clean off the old stuff and reapply when you remounted? If so, you need to clean that old stuff off and put a thin line of paste down the middle of the chip (see Arctic Silver website - this is how they say to apply paste to Conroe chips). Anytime you take off the CPU fan, you have to clean off (very important) the old paste and reapply with fresh stuff.
Make sure all the push pins are securely pushed in, or you will see significantly higher temps.

2. What case do you have and what type of airflow. Also, what is your ambient temperature. If you live in a hot climate, if you don't have the air conditioning going, it is going to affect your temps. You originally overclocked a while ago. Could this have been in the Winter? This would bring ambient temps down, and hence a cooler running chip. Now with summer, the temps in the house are obviously going to go up(unless A/C is cranked up) and hence the case temps will also.

3. Get a better CPU Fan. The intel one is fine for mild overclocks with little/no voltage increase, but beyond that you really need a better cooler. I'm no expert on coolers, but search around the forums and you'll see what other people are talking about whats good/best value etc.

4. Try it with only 2 gigs of RAM. I've heard people say that beyond 2 gigs it can screw up overclocking ability.

Download Speedfan and/or Coretemp to monitor your temperatures. These will give you the temperatures of both cores of the CPU. Asus temp software will show you the temperature thats on the metal heatsink on top of the chip. The CPU will shut down if the core temps get to 75C, so you definitely have a problem.

Anyway, my best guess for your temps is that you have mounted the Fan improperly (check those pushpins), and make sure to put new thermal paste (clean off the old stuff with isopropal Alcohol, on both the chip and base of the fan).

Hopefully that will stabilize your overclock (use Orthos to stress the chip and chek stability - this will give you an error if it is not stable. If you get an error you either have to up the vcore or lower overclock. I run it for 8-10 hours to make sure my system is completely stable. If you find it unstable no matter what, I would, as I mentioned above, remove 2 sticks of RAM to see if that helps.

As for my own system - same as you except running 2GB OCZ Plat. Rev.2 ram at 2.00voltage
I am running my e6600 at 3.2Ghz (8x400FSB) at 1.275 vcore
FSB voltage 1.4 - this is because my FSB went from 266 stock to 400 current.
MCH(Northbridge) voltage 1.65 - again, because FSB went up, had to increase this voltage to here for stability.
ICH(Southbridge) voltage - Auto - don't need to touch this because overclocking affects this little if at all.
Not sure what else I have changed, as I'm not home, but thats a start.
My temperatures are currently Mid 30's idle and mid 50's load (this is with Speedfan and TAT), so not too bad considering it's summer).

You should look at some of the Overclocking guides around some forums (the one here is very good) to check your settings.


Anyway, sorry for the long winded response. I wanted to keep it as clear and simple as possible, as I have no idea your experience/knowledge. Good luck and hope it works out.

 

[envyyou]

Thanks once again lurker for your reply and sorry for my late one as ive been at work ill answer each question you asked

1. The old stuff wasn’t cleaned off so i will get some more and fix that up this week end. Pins are in perfect

2. Just a clear Perspex case with 5 fans and all cables neat and tidy

3. The fan is placed perfectly and i will get a proper cooler for my next pc which i will get within the month. Just wanted to know why i couldn’t go to my pervious temp of 3.7/3.8 with my stock fan since it was once there

4. Will try the 2 gig thx for that advice.

5. I have speed fan and core temp my current temps at 2.7 Ghz are 79 degrees

But once again thanks for your help