GA-EP45C-DS3 Settings for Overclocking a Q6600 [HELP!]

[Foolage]

Hey there, I just got this DRR3/DDR2 Combo board [The Gigabyte EP45C-DS3] Because I wanted to be fairly future proof. Later on I find out that the board is not a great overclocker, but it is after 7 days of purchase so I can't return it, sadly, so I'll have to stick with it.
I have a G0 Stepping 65nm 2.4Ghz Intel Q6600 Quad Core Processor, which, on the contrary as you probably know is well-known to be an awesome overclocker.

And so in this difficult situation my outcry to you guys is for a few things:

Optimal/Recommended Settings [Voltages, Speeds, etc as I'm not too confident with voltage tweaking and the like] for the motherboard.

Also, what processor speed would you recommend I aim for with this board? Anything over 3.0 Ghz would be nice.

I also need new RAM to complement this, now do I go with the

4gb [2x2] DDR3 1333Mhz Kingston ValueRAM base.com: Memory - PC - DeskTop - DDR3 - Branded - Kingston ValueRAM - Memory - 2 GB - DIMM 240-pin - DDR3 - 1333 MHz - CL9 - 1.5 V - unbuffered - non-ECC # KVR1333D3N9/2G,

or the 4gb [2x2] OCZ Gold DDR2 1066Mhz OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 Gold Memory - Ebuyer

Thanks for any possible input of your expertise :thumbsup:

PS I have a sufficient cooler, so I should be able to do a high-ish oc.

PPS I haven't installed the motherboard yet as I am waiting on you're verdict on the right RAM

 

[Foolage]

PPPS: If my mobo voltage is 1.5V, can I use 1.8 Ram? What tweaks do I have to make?

If I can I would like to use this ram instead of the kingston http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/1970321/art/ocz/platinum-edition-dual-cha.html?srcid=867

 

[overshocked]

If you can i would go for some

XMS2

or xms3

or G.skill 1600 mhz All of wich are available on new egg.

As for overclocking it really varies per person what overclock you can achieve. Just read the temperature guide then:

1.) Raise the FSB in small increments and reboot after each change.

2.) When windows wont start because of a BSOD then go into the bios and raise the Vcore voltage slightly.

Repeat step one and 2 until you reach a decent overclock

But remember i wouldnt go much above 1.5v on the vcore

 

[Foolage]

Thanks for your help!

What would you say small increments would be?

 

[Foolage]

http://www.morecomputers.com/extra.asp?pn=TW3X4G1333C9&referer=Froogle

This ram [XMS3 As you reccommended] looks promising, is 1.6v so can my 1.5v ram supported mobo run it, or is this kind of thing strict? what changes would I have to make? [I know I'm repeating myself] It is also CL9, is it worth it paying £10 [$17] to go from cl9 to cl7 [1.8v though] with the ocz platinum?

 

[overshocked]

Thanks for your help!

What would you say small increments would be?

Some will say smaller but i would increase it by about 40 mhz on the FSB at a time

But you may want to do even smaller like 30 or so... it really depends how much time you want to spend doing this. [:jaydeejohn:4]

If you had all day i would say increase it by 20mhs on the FSB. :lol:

 

[overshocked]

http://www.morecomputers.com/extra.asp?pn=TW3X4G1333C9&referer=Froogle

This ram [XMS3 As you reccommended] looks promising, is 1.6v so can my 1.5v ram supported mobo run it, or is this kind of thing strict? what changes would I have to make? [I know I'm repeating myself] It is also CL9, is it worth it paying £10 [$17] to go from cl9 to cl7 [1.8v though] with the ocz platinum?

Well, can you crank your voltage up to 1.6v in the bios?

 

[Foolage]

Thanks for the advice, i'll go up in 30mhz increments, but some has advised me to go with 4-4-4-12 800 mhz ddr2 since my cpu fsb couldn't go higher than 400 anyway

 

[Foolage]

If I get BSOD, after going up a 30mhz increment, what increment would you recommend i raise the vcore by?

 

[jsc]

These two guides are invaluable:
HOWTO: Overclock C2Q (Quads) and C2D (Duals) - Guide v1.6.1
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/240001-29-howto-overclock-quads-duals-guide

Core 2 Quad and Duo Temperature Guide
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/221745-29-core-quad-temperature-guide

What kind of HSF do you have?

I got my Q6600 up to 3.6 GHz - GA-EP35-DS3P motherboard, TRUE, Scythe S-Flex fan, Antec 900 case. Vcore was 1.42 volts, load temps were 61 C - 66 C.

How far you can push the chip will depend on the VID of your particular CPU chip.

I would jump straight to 3.0 GHz. You can probably reach that with little or no voltage increase. After that, depending on your HSF and case, jump to 3.3 GHz. After that, you are up to where the individual characteristics of your components are going to be the determining factor of how far you can go.

I recommend you keep the voltage no more than 1.5 volts and the CPU temperatures below 70 C.

 

[Foolage]

My cpu cooler is an OCZ Vendetta 2, which was top on a comparison chart [forgot which one] for cooling, so I'm hoping it's pretty good.

 

[Foolage]

Here's what I'm talking about

 

[overshocked]

If I get BSOD, after going up a 30mhz increment, what increment would you recommend i raise the vcore by?

Raise the vcore by small increments like .015 or .025

I always raise it by like .05 but if you want to get the best results and the exact voltage you need wich will result in lower temps than raise it by small increments like .015v

 

[Foolage]

Thanks for taking your time to reply to all this! I better write this all down!

 

[overshocked]

Yeah, no prob any time.

 

[Foolage]

Yah, I s'pose I was a bit of a noob back then.. But gotta look forward, right.