Overclocking E8400 w/667Mhz PC5300 memory

[nforce256]

I bought an E8400 with the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L. I increased the bus speed to 378 from 333 with the 9x multiplier, and it gave me an overclock to 3.4Ghz. My question is about the RAM. The memory I'm using is brand new Dell certified RAM I purchased for an XPS system I month ago. However, upon discovering the Dell mobo did not support the C2D processors, I decided to build a new system and therefore am using it in this new build. Now the RAM itself is rated DDR2 667MHz. CPU-Z is showing the timings as 5/6/6/18. Additionally, when the system boots up, its showing 756MHz not 667 anymore for the RAM. CPUZ shows DRAM at 378. Is this SAFE or should I use better RAM?

I'm using the stock HSF. This is my first build, and I did not want to get too much into my plate by trying a fancy HSF and applying different thermal paste. I did however throw in a tube of Arctic Silver 5 with my purchase, so when the time comes I can get a different HSF and use it with this paste.

What is a safe overclock with the stock HSF? 3.6GHz for the e8400, correct? OR should I not mess with that?

 

[wolf18]

From the reviews I read the E8400 stock HSF should not be trusted. I heard it is a total piece of crap. Just splurge ~$25 and get an Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7. That should allow you to OC pretty high.

 

[nforce256]

Okay, but that does not answermy original question about my ram speed being safe or not...

 

[Evilonigiri]

Your ram running at 756MHz makes sense because 378 x 2 = 756MHz. As for it being dangerous or not, this depends on the quality of the ram and the amount of air flow in your case. If your system is running well, I see no point in worrying too much. Ram is dirt cheap these days, so you can buy better ram if you want.

As for your OC, I think it might be able to handle 3.6GHz, but just remember to watch your temps.

 

[nforce256]

At 3.4GHz, it hits 44C when I run Prime95, and the idle temp. drops to 13C when surfing the web.

 

[Evilonigiri]

At 3.4GHz, it hits 44C when I run Prime95, and the idle temp. drops to 13C when surfing the web.

13C is a too cold for idle. Use Coretemp, I find it most accurate.

If it's truly 44C on load, you probably can do 3.6GHz. Just stay under 65C and you're fine.

 

[nforce256]

Oh okay. I've been going off the BIOS and the Gigabyte utility in Windows. Thats what they've been telling me. Coretemp is reading 15C.

 

[Black Hades]

hehe purchased myself a E8400 and my GA-P35-DS3L is on it's way.
I was hoping for an GA-EX38-DS4 but unfortunately they are not on sale where I live.
I am curious if these two coupled with a pair of Kingston DDR2 667 is overclockable since 533/667 is what it says on their box.

my question: could I overclock my system or should I get new RAM to even dream that?

Thanks in advance.

PS: Cooling and fueling is not a problem as I have a Zalman 9500 and Antec 500W HE. How far could I push the overclock without risk?

 

[nox]

thats impressive if you've overclocked and coretemp is showing your idle temps at 15c! what temps is coretemp giving you under small fft's in prime95?

 

[ocguy31]

DDR2 800 is so cheap these days, I cant imagine why you would want that to bottleneck such a nice CPU. Spend the $100 and get some descent stuff.

 

[Evilonigiri]

Seems like you've got one of the E8400 with a faulty sensor. Unless the room you have your system in is less than 15C, the cpu temps can not be 15C air-cooled.