Im thinking of OCing my Q6600 (G0 revision) to 3GHz, and to check my temps and voltages out before i attempt this (with the help of an experianced friend) i ran Prime95 for over an hour with core temp and CPUz running.

Firstly, my voltages. When totally idle they were reported at about 1.12 (with C1E active so multiplier only on 6) and whilse prime was running and the cores were at 100% it hit 1.16 and whilst using my computer normally the highest i saw it at was about 1.18 (i think, it dropped almost instantly). From what i can tell these are fine, especially as with a multiplier of 9 and running at 2.4ghz it never exceded 1.2v.

Now the temps, these are what im somewhat concerned about in relation to overclocking. Just typing this now, coretemp is reporting them as 44, 42, 40, 40 (cores 0, 1, 2, 3 respectively). And after about 10 mins of P95 running and right up until i stopped it at 1 hour 13 mins, the temps were at 68, 67, 65, 65.

Whilst my voltage seems average (if not a little lower), my temps seem higher, even with my 36cm side fan on full and my 12cm rear exhaust working fully.

Is there anything i should be worried about and, if so, what could i do?

Thanks

Rich

Stock cooler? If so, that already pushes the thermal envelope, you need a new one.

Edit: You have a good chip, it should OC well, just get something like a Freezer Pro for 3 GHz or a Zerotherm Nirvana.

The specified high thermal envelope for the b3 was 62 or 63 I remember, and G0 being 71 or 72.

BUT, those are high temps. I have a q6600 rig next to me that I've built for a uncles friend. Although I have an aftermarket cooler, a tuniq tower 120 with a scythe slipstream fan as replacement. I idle around 26-30, and full load was 42-43 C on cores 1 and 2, with cores 3 and 4 hittings 38--40.

I just OC'ed this sucker to 3 ghz as well, I had to up the voltage unfortunately, system would reboot on orthos at default voltage of 1.2375 (1.120 if memory serves me right in CPU-Z). Bumped it up two ticks, and everything ran stable for 20 hours. My temps at load are 45C for cores 1 and 2, and 42-43 for coers 3 and 4.

your temps are high, and I would not feel comfortable going over 60 with a quad. Personally, lower the OC a bit, or get a better aftermarket cooler. It'll help big time keeping the temps low.

I havent OCed it yet at all! But ill have a look for an aftermarket cooler now. When i remove the current one, what should i clean the CPU with to remove the thermal paste? Ill use Arctic Silver 5 (i think thats what ive got) on a new one.

Any suggestions on a good one that will fit in an Asus P5E?

Also, according to the thread in the OC section, my temps are in the 'safe' band....
Scale 2: Quad
Q6x00: Tcase Max 71c, G0 Stepping, Tjunction Max 100c, Vcore Default 1.372, TDP 95w, Delta 10c

-Tcase/Tjunction-
--70--/--80--80--80--80-- Hot
--65--/--75--75--75--75-- Warm
--60--/--70--70--70--70-- Safe
--25--/--35--35--35--35-- Cool

Update: Found this one on OCUK, http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] -AR&tool=3, an Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7. One person did the same OC im planning on doing and said "My Q6600 at 3.0 GHz run at 32C on idle and 45C at full load." Its also apparently smaller than the stock cooler, so will fit easy!

They are safe, you just don't have any room to OC.

You can use pure Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol to clean the grease. And repeat until the grease is all gone and let the CPU dry out.

Ok, thanks cnumartyr, ill give that a go when i get a new cooler. What do people tihnk of the Freezer Pro i found in my previous post? Thats about the amount im looking to spend as the system has already cost me over £800!

the Arctic 7 freezer pro is a great budget cooler, costs around 20 bucks on newegg or so. I'm running a Tuniq Tower, much higher grade and more pricey. I doubt you'll hit the temps that guy is saying....That matches mine, but I did remove the high performance fan and replace it with a quieter one, so who knows. But overall. A artcic 7 freezer pro is a great band for the buck cooler, although there are much better ones that can keep your cpu much cooler, but you'll end up spending 45-70 on those.

Thanks kam, just for curiosity's sake, what are the better coolers? I may as well look to check their prices. Also, any idea if they will fit in an Asus P5E? I know the freezer will as its smaller than the stock one!

check out the Zalman 9500 and 9700 series....little smaller than the 120 extremes if you don't have the room

My zalman cost me 40 bucks and check out my B3 revision overclock in my sig line

Wow plastic, nice. I was thinking of a zalman but wasnt sure if it would fit. However i remember reading on a review that they managed to fit a Scythe Infinity on the P5E, which is huge, so if it is smaller than the Infinity it will fit!

Use these to get a basic idea.

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3210&p=6

http://www.anandtech.com/casecooli [...] i=3068&p=4

Make sure you browse through the pages, so can see the differences for overclocking and noise as well.

From the articles Kam posted the Freezer 7 looks to be really easy to install and has the lowest load temp of all the ones in their chart! Whilst they arent the best for overclocking, im hardly asking a lot out of mine!

Well, from the reviews and the price, it seems ill be getting the Freezer 7 and applying it with some arctic silver before i attempt an OC. Thanks for all your help!

Indeed, go for it then. It's a great deal also considering how much it costs.

One last thing, just then when playing NWN2 my GPU hit 76c (normal for a 3870X2) and my highest core temp was core 0 at 55c.

Sounds fine.

The CPU is not going to get maxed out anytime soon by gaming.

68 for core temp is perfectly fine. But if that's at 2.4GHz then you're going to have serious problems getting it to run any faster than 2.7