Ok iam looking for info from people who have this board current system
ga m57 sli lastest bios 2 gigs ballistix ddr800 memory gforce 9600
cpu is 14x at 2.8 stable 1.35 volts  memory volts should be 2.2ov but iam a bit confused  
with the bios setting on this i set it in easy tune  
will run at 15x somewhat stable untill i play cod4 it will random crash
15.5 or 16 will boot but crash when any programs open power supply 680 pure power  
 
any help or your bios setting would be great thanks wdmso

You should set all Oc in the bios. Learn your bios manual and read the OCing guide here on it. If you have further questions, post them here.

Thanks evilonigiri these bios setting on this board for memory and voltage are confusing and the manual isnt of much help i have the voltage all set in the bois but the memory timing isn,t like my old asus
board and cpuz always shows diffrent then the bio's to add to the confusion   thanks

If the cpu voltage isn't the same in CPUz as the bios, it's due to Vdrop and Vdroop, which is very normal.

I have that same board. Make sure you have the latest bios, at least FE. You can d'load that on the Gigabyte website. My 5000+ BE is running at 3.11 @ 1.4v stable with a multiplier of 15.5. You probably just need to experiment with upping the voltage, slowly. I'm using the default/auto settings for everything else in the bios (memory timings, HT voltage, etc..) I could probably get it oc'd higher but I don't feel like upping the voltage anymore than it already is or playing with the memory timings. It should be able to reach 3.2 at stock voltage but there's something about this motherboard that requires higher voltage. I don't think it's your psu either, since I have the same issue and am using a 750w psu with 4 +12v rails. Besides, 680w should be plenty.  
 
Anyone else out there with this board/cpu combo have any insight on how to get the oc higher?

Don't those half multipliers mess with your ram?  Or did you up the system clock as well to compensate?

 
I'm not sure I know what you mean? My FSB is at 200, and according to cpuz the ram is running at 389.3 x2 (dual channel) with a divider of 8. Should I adjust my ram settings or something? This is my first overclock, so if you can offer some advice to make my system more stable I'd appreciate it. I've also heard that dropping the HT multiplier can help with stability, but I haven't messed with it. I actually bought this Black Edition chip because it's supposed to be so easily oc'd with just voltage and multiplier, but that hasn't been the case for higher than 15.5 for me...

Thanks for the advice i think its the board even with updated bios .  15x muiltuplier no issues at  15.5 or  16x blue screen on reeboot even with the cpu volts 1.40. i changed memory to curical ballistic same issue i stay at 14x 2.8 which my memory runs at ddr 800 i'll bump it to 15 if i feel i need it but right now its not worth the time and effort  
to get 3.2 would be nice but in addition to the issues i have with Vista i take a stable system over a little bit faster but please if you find the sweet spot for the board keep me posted and again thanks for the update   wdmso

if you expect to go above 3.1 ghz I suggest you change the fsb in addition to the multiplier. It is atricky to hit 3.2+, I tried. Also your vcore will prob have to be 1.5v for 3.2+.

I've been escared to do that (up the voltage to 1.5v), since I'm new at oc'ing. But I'll give it a try since you suggest it.

upped the voltage to 1.5v and set the multiplier to 16. Booted fine, no BSOD. Failed prime95 test, errored out after 2 mins. I think I need better cooling, bigger HSF?

Oh yeah, the temp was hitting 55c. Gotta be the cooling, right?