My overclocking guide - Is it correct?

[Drakelet]

I've been reading LOADS of guides about O/Cing recently, because when I get my new PC (soon) I want to O/C it a fair bit (well, E6750 to ~3.2GHz, not loads I admit). I've done a bit of overclocking before with...various success (sometimes worked, corrupted HDD once, currently anything over stock is unstable but still maxing at 45°C etc).

So I've compiled a mini-guide to overclocking, and I want to know if what I have is correct. My main worries are the orders, as all the guides I've seen seem to have different orders, the main one being when should the voltages be tweaked.

Without further stalling for time, here's the guide:

. Limit CPUID MaxVal, C1*, Vanderpool, EIST Function, PECI*, SpeedStep* - Disabled, *Disable later on, possibly
. CPU TM function - Enable
. Disable unused features - Firewire etc

. Set RAM to about 5-5-5-15, 2.2V (Crucial Ballistix)

. N/B Strap CPU As - Highest
. DRAM - 1:1 (DRAM = 2FSB) etc
. PCI Express Frequency - 100MHz
. PCI Clock Synchronization - 33.33MHz
. Spread Spectrum - Disable

. Increase FSB in 20s until PC doesn't boot, revert to working FSB value, check if stable/check fully-loaded CPU temp, lower FSB in 20s until stable
. Increase FSB in 5s, each time check if stable/check fully-loaded CPU temp, when unstable return to stable FSB value

. Increase FSB by 5, increase voltage (see N.B.), check stability
. Check CPU idle temp (40°-50° is ideal)
. Check if stable/check fully-loaded CPU temp
. Keep tweaking voltages/FSB until stable and fully-loaded CPU temp <~65°C

. Lower RAM latencies, one at a time
. Check if stable
. Keep tweaking latencies (down)/vDIMM (up) until stable

. Reduce vCore to default, check if stable, keep upping until stable
. Reduce other voltages until unstable, then up until stable

. Check if whole system is stable for 8-12 hours


N.B.
. Use benchmarks to check changes - Games (SupCom, FEAR), Sandra, PCMark, 3DMark etc
. Stability tests - Prime95, Super Pi
. CPU temps - Speedfan

. Record all temperatures, stability results etc

. Increase vDIMM first, then chipset voltage, then vCore
. Increase voltages by 0.1V, max 0.3V

How does that look?

Finally, if I run the RAM at 2.2V (as it says on the Crucial website), do I need extra RAM cooling, or will my current fans (Thermaltake Soprano case defaults) and CPU fan be enough?

Thanks all!!

 

[Evilonigiri]

Looks good. Just if you want to clarify things, there's a great guide here in the overclocking section. You can compare it with that one.

You do not need ram heatsinks as long as you have adequate case cooling. If you want to overclock your E6750, an after market cooler is highly recommended. If you want the best one to push you system to the furthest, it's the Thermalright Extreme 120. You may need to lap it though.

 

[Silverion77]

Also for that RAM they overclock very well....

I know plenty of people who get great overclocks

900 4-4-4-12 at 2.0v etc.

 

[Drakelet]

I used the guide here to make this guide, but I incorporated some things from other guides too.

I'm getting the Coolermaster Hyper 212 CPU fan, which I've heard is great. The Soprano also has pretty good cooling too. I've heard the RAM O/Cs well too.

Thanks both.

 

[Drakelet]

Anyone?

 

[Evilonigiri]

Yeah the Coolermaster Hyper 212 is pretty good. It's a bit loud however.

 

[Drakelet]

Damn. How loud is loud though? Is it too loud to leave on overnight (if you sleep near the PC)?

Any comments on the guide? The main things I'm unsure about are when to change the voltages, and if I should run stress tests after each 20MHz increase rather than keep going until the PC doesn't boot.

Thoughts?

 

[Evilonigiri]

Yep it's too loud to be near it. You can always change the fan though.
http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3141

When I overclock my cpu, I don't do it in increments of 20mhz then stress test it. I'd go crazy. Let's see...2.4Ghz to 3Ghz. How long is that gonna take?

If I am aiming for 3Ghz, I'd just set my fsb at 333mhz and multiplier at 9. Then I'd put my ram to fsb ratio to 1, adjusting the timing as well. When I use Prime95 to stress test my pc, I use the blend option to test the ram. If it fails, I'd adjust the voltages and timings around until stable. Then I'd stress test the cpu only. Stress testing is about 6hours long for each test. You can see why I'd go crazy if I did it in increments of 20mhz.

 

[Drakelet]

OK, thanks Evilonigiri.

 

[Drakelet]

I'm still not 100% sure about the voltages. When should I change them?

Currently I'm getting max FSB with stock voltages, them upping the voltages to try and get even higher FSB. Does this sound alright?

 

[Drakelet]

Daily bump.

 

[Drakelet]

Daily bump #2.