Just OC'd q6600 - first timer- how am i doing?

Abit Ip35 pro XE
Intel Q6600 G0(2.4 ghz overclocked to 3.0)
Xigmatek S1283 heat sink & fan
4 Gb ram (2048mb x 2) G.Skill DDR2-1066, pc2-8500, 5-5-5-15, 2.0- 2.1V
Corsair 550W PSU
Saphire HD 3870

Up until now everything was at stock settings, ram was at 1.8V 812mhz, CPU was at 1.3V, FSB 266

so i bumped the ram voltage up to what it was rated for, 2.0V, and gradually brought the FSB up to 333mhz- and thats it(although everything says its at 334) . ran prime95 for about 25 min error free but i wanted to confirm my moves here before i went any further
seemed a little too easy

according to CPU-Z while under load with prime95:

CPU
core speed- 3006.1 mhz
multiplier- x9
bus speed- 334.0 mhz (was 266)
related fsb- 1336 mhz
core voltage- 1.12V (although bios says 1.3)
RAM
DRAM frequency- 501 mhz
fsb DRAM- 2:3
CL- 5, tRCD- 5, tRP-5, tRAS- 15
command rate- 2T
Bios says its running at DDR2-1002

Core Temp:
0- 54, 1- 54, 2- 48, 3- 51 C

anything else i should do or maybe change, i've read about 'tightening' memory timing after an OC. is this something i should do?

V3NOM, He said his RAM was 501Mhz X 2 = 1002 not 667.


jbourne84, is that Prime95 Small FFTs or Blend? Small FFTs is what you want to use for the highest core stress and therefore temp.

Also Use Real Temp, it's more accurate and will give you a 5C decrease in temp due to a 95c Tjmax instead of 100c. Although the Tjmax Core Temp could easily be adjusted to 95c.

The next step up is:

CPU @ 3.2Ghz 400 X 8 multi
RAM @ 800Mhz 400 (1:1) with whatever timings are in the SPD tab of CPU-Z for 800.

There really is no reason to run the RAM at 1066, because you don't get any real world benefit. The additional heat on the RAM and northbridge are for no gain, so there's no reason to cook them needlessly.

Yes really V3NOM.

Now don't you think you owe me an apology? J/K

Don't get so uptight.

3.2G is still considered a mild/medium OC. As long as the temps/Vcore are not too high the CPUs life won't be shortened appreciably.

IMO 800 is probably the sweet spot for heat. Technically there is very little, if any, real world difference between 667 with tight timings, 800 with a little looser timings and 1066 with still looser timings. The core 2 just isn't that sensitive to RAM speed.

A lot of people say if you are running 1333 you should run your RAM at 667 1:1 and tighten the timings instead of 800. I don't think it matters either way because the outcome is very similar and 800 doesn't get too much hotter. 1066 on the other hand does get pretty hot, so if you are at 400 base FSB, then I think 800 (1:1) is probably a smarter choice than 1066. It also avoids forcing the northbridge to apply a multi that is other than 1:1 which also decreases workload/heat and increases stability.

DDR2 1066 really comes into play when the base FSB clock needs to exceed 400 to get the desired OC, because at that point DDR2 800 will be overclocked.

I have my RAM at 800 with a voltage of 2.2V, which is spec. You will get lower temps at 800 with the same voltage as 1066, because the RAM is drawing less current to do the work. You may even be able to lower the voltage at that speed depending on the spec/stability of the RAM. If you tighten the timings you will probably need the voltage spec for 800 to remain stable.

Here are screen shots of my idle/load Vcore and temps @ 3.2G/1600 1:1 800, for reference. These are with all voltages on auto except RAM @ 2.2V. I have C1E enabled and load line calibration disabled. The ambient temp is ~72F/22.2C. I'm using a budget case with one front and one rear Antec tricool 120mm set at medium/high for the test, I can't remember. My HS is a Thermaltake Ultra 120 Ex. with a Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Fan @ maximum (1600 RPM). The mobo is a GA-P35-DQ6 with F7. The load applied is Prime 95 small FFTs.

A little bit of a hijack here. Look at the top left of any thread for the notification and I will send you a PM.

Is you RAM spec 1.8V? If not, set to the factory spec voltage and try again. Run CPU-Z and post the idle and load voltage on the CPU tab. Do you have C1E and EIST enabled/disabled? What is the VID in Core Temp 1.3V? To get an an accurate VID, EIST needs to be disabled.