Good speed to OC E7500 for my config??

[MissJ84]

Hi,
I don't plan on having this mobo/cpu config for too much longer (few months until I upgrade to i5/17), but I was wondering what a good clock speed would be to get the most out of my GTX 260... I play mostly mmo's like Aion, and some others at 1920x1080 )High AA) on an LG HDTV. I'm happy with performance, but I wanted to ask anyway.
I have a G31M-ES2L mobo, and from past experiences I can't really get past 333-350 FSB or it won't post (Have had it running stable 333FSB X 10). Also, and I'm sure I'll get flamed for this lol, but I'm running stock cooling in an Antec 902. Anyway, I'm looking for a good "mild" OC to perhaps give my GPU a lil bit more of whats needed.

Any suggestions?

Specs -
CPU - E7500 Core2Duo (Running stock 2.93/266FSB)
Ram - 4MB Gskill 1066 DDR2 RUnning @ 800
GPU - EVGA GTX 260 SC running @ stock
PSU - Corsair HX750

PS I plan on getting an atx mobo and 3rd party cooler for the i5/i7 lol

 

[Shadow703793]

You should be able to hit 3Ghz on stock cooling with a little voltage bump on the CPU. Your big limitation is going to be the cooling.

My recomendation:
Get a quality cooler that is compatible with LGA775 and LGA1366/1156

 

[obsidian86]

i had an e7500 a while back got too 3.2 odd (290*11) on stock cooling and voltage back then,till lightning took him from me but on a good air cooler 4ghz+ easy with minimal voltage

 

[hundredislandsboy]

You say you can get it stable to 3.33 Ghz (10 X 333). That's good enough on stock cooling. Nothing to complain about there. Have you tried going to 3.6 Ghz with 9 X 400.

It could be that 333 is the fsb wall for your motherboard. That is a budget motherboard and will give you better overclock gains with CPUs like the e5200 but will not give you any gains with say an e8400. Basically, you're already getting everything you can get out of that mobo.

 

[MissJ84]

Thank you so much for the suggestions!!
I've ran Prime 95 for about 12 hours (Will run it overnight as well) after OCing it to 3.5 Ghz (10 X 350) @ 1.2125V and everything seems to be fine including temps. After this I changed my memory back to 3:2 @1050 Mhz, and have managed to pick up about 15-20 FPS in game.
I realize running it on stock cooling isn't the best for a long term option, but I want to see what Intel does in January before I buy an i5/i7. I've been reading all kinds of things like the current 3 Lynnfield's won't even work on H55 and I have no idea what the future of P55 looks like. I don't know if Carkdale will be worth it, not to mention Lynnfield prices may drop a bit until then.

Thanks for all the tips and help and I did have one question for shadow... You seriously have taught me a lot in MANY posts of yours I've read over the past few months, but I got confused why you suggested 3.0 when its stock speed is 2.93. Just kinda seemed like hitting 3.0 on stock cooling is too easy hehe.

 

[hundredislandsboy]

Thank you so much for the suggestions!!
I've ran Prime 95 for about 12 hours (Will run it overnight as well) after OCing it to 3.5 Ghz (10 X 350) @ 1.2125V and everything seems to be fine including temps. After this I changed my memory back to 3:2 @1050 Mhz, and have managed to pick up about 15-20 FPS in game.
I realize running it on stock cooling isn't the best for a long term option, but I want to see what Intel does in January before I buy an i5/i7. I've been reading all kinds of things like the current 3 Lynnfield's won't even work on H55 and I have no idea what the future of P55 looks like. I don't know if Carkdale will be worth it, not to mention Lynnfield prices may drop a bit until then.

Thanks for all the tips and help and I did have one question for shadow... You seriously have taught me a lot in MANY posts of yours I've read over the past few months, but I got confused why you suggested 3.0 when its stock speed is 2.93. Just kinda seemed like hitting 3.0 on stock cooling is too easy hehe.

You must have got a chip froma good batch. That's a nice overclcok on a fairly low vcore. What are the peaks temps on full laod? It won't hurt to get a basic aftermarket like Artic Freezer 7 Pro - about $35 or so - just to have more confidence you won't damage your chip with constant high heat.

 

[MissJ84]

I actually meant 3.4Ghz (10x340) hehe, and its maxing out at 64C. Makes me happy I upgraded from a Lanbox sized case to the Antec 902, as I was maxing out in the lower 70's under Prime95 then. I probably will pick up a 3rd part cooler for this soon like you said, and thanks again.
I'm also having a dilemma with upgrade path and should probably make a new thread in a different forum area, but I'll ask here in case anyone wants to answer lol. So I want to upgrade to I5/I7, preferably 1156, but I don't know what to do... I run everything on a 42 inch LG HDTV, and while I mainly play mmos (not wow), I have no idea whether I should (A.) go with P55 and the single card I have OC'd to the EVGA GTX 260 SSC speeds, (B.) SLI/Crossfire on a P55 with the X8 restriction for 2 cards, or (C.) get and X58 and Sli/Crossfire. I never play things like GTA4, Crysis, 1st persons, etc but do frequent games like Batman AA, James Cameron's Avatar, Civ 4, and probably the upcoming Divinity 2.
My educated guess is that I should just get an i5 (I also get confused about this with Clarkdale coming up soon), a nice Gigabyte P55 board, and just run with my GTX 260 solo. From everything I've read, a single 260 is more than for 1920x1080 on my 42, but I'm incredibly OCD about the whole set up before purchasing. If anyone has any opinions that would be great, but if not, thank you all so much for the suggested clock speeds/info.