New to OC'ing

[jerkinjohn]

Hello all, I'm actually new to building my own PC all together. About a year and a half ago I built my first PC. The build consists of:

Cooler Master HAF 932 Case

Intel Q6600 Quad Core CPU

Cooler Master V8 CPU Cooler

EVGA 750I SLI FTW Mobo

EVGA 260 SuperClocked GPU

WD Black 1TB HDD

Corsair TX750 W PSU

G.Skill 2X2 Ram Memory

Asus Optical Drive

Currently running Windows XP SP3 32Bit till I upgrade to 7

About a month ago I started having a problem with the system shutting down on me. Long story short I RMA'ed my Mobo after countless hours of trouble shooting. My new Mobo should be getting delivered on Thursday

During the trouble shooting process I did get the PC up and running for about a week. That was after re doing the thermal paste. During that week I attempted to OC my CPU. I did manage to Overclock from 2.4 Ghz to 3.0 Ghz using this guide http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DvuTyVV2BU

After the overclock according to Real Temp my CPU was running at 39c/42c just browsing the web and went as high as 58c while gaming with Crysis! I found this guide http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkk-H1Rh-IY about CPU temps and according to it I'm okay with my temps.

My question is, once my new mobo shows up and I get this thing back together I plan on overclocking again but the first time I did it I didn't mess with the voltages. I left them alone. Is it important to change the voltages when overclocking and are the setting's that the guy uses in the link above safe?

I tried this overclock also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNFWG3cgOaM but windows wouldn't boot up so I figured an overclock of 3.5 Ghz was to much or something. As you can see I'm new at this but am learning a lot and am hooked!!! So any advise or ideas would be very much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[wolfram23]

I don't like the idea of just doing what someone says/ inputting their values. Every CPU and mobo are slightly different, which means your specific combination can require much different settings than someone elses.

You need to boost your voltages when you start to get issues. If you increase your clock and it boots up fine, then run a stress test like LinX. If it doesn't pass, you need slightly more voltage.

On the other hand if you increase speed and BSOD/reboot/general crash before even getting to Windows (or during Windows) then you definitely need a lot more voltage.

I've even noticed little things indicate needing more voltage, like opening HWMonitor. For me at least, if I don't have enough voltage it won't show the power usage numbers or sometimes there's other little issues with some number or another not showing up or showing a wrong number.

Anyway, the main thing is to just take your time with it and always verify your work (IE: test it). I've not OCed an AMD CPU before so I'm not entirely sure what needs adjustment. Vcore for sure, but for example on my i5 I need to boost VTT/QPI as well (I know AMD doesn't have that). You might need more NB voltage as the FSB goes up.

Just my 2 cents
Good luck!

 

[RJR]

but the first time I did it I didn't mess with the voltages. I left them alone.

Actually, you did mess with voltages, but you just didn't know it. Leaving the Bios voltages set on AUTO and upping the FSB will increase the voltages all by themselves, completely taking control of your voltages and usually overvolting them in the process.

Video's are good but don't give you anywhere near the information you need to know. Check out a few overclocking guides that explain what to do and how to do it. They will give you the NEEDED programs like stress testing programs and monitoring programs and give you an idea of what the Bios entries are that you are changing so you can enjoy the process without flaming your computer.

 

[jerkinjohn]

Well I did find a very good guide. Iv'e been reading it over and over trying to educate myself on overclocking. It's not real easy to understand thats for sure but I am enjoying it. I know I have lots to learn. Hopefully I wont flame my PC in the process but to be honest trying not to is half the fun.

Thanks and I guess there's really no short cut to overclocking. Got some reading to do!

 

[cadder]

If you get 58 degrees at 3.0GHz then you would be in big trouble at 3.5GHz. I wonder if there is still a problem with your cooler's installation.

First, not everybody can get 3.5GHz with a Q6600. Some might, some might not. You know you could run at 3.0, so start there and increase a little at a time. If you are impatient like I am, then increase in 0.1 GHz increments. You can ignore voltages and just keep going until it won't run, then at that point you can choose to either back down one increment and test for stability, or at the speed that failed you can start modifying voltages and maybe you can get that to run. Check temperatures at each speed increment and stop if the temps get too high.

Second, you should test your overclocks with something like prime95. Run it for at least 15 minutes and check the temps. When you think you have reached the overclock you want, run prime95 for a long time like maybe 12 hours and make sure all 4 cores pass.

 

[jerkinjohn]

If you get 58 degrees at 3.0GHz then you would be in big trouble at 3.5GHz. I wonder if there is still a problem with your cooler's installation.


Well when my mobo gets here I will be putting everything back together and running 2.4 Ghz for a couple days untill I'm certain that my shutting down problem has been resolved with the new mobo. I bought a tube of artic silver 5 and plan on following these directions http://www.arcticsilver.com/pdf/appmeth/int/hl/intel_app_method_horizontal_line_v1.1.pdf to the T.

The V8 Cooler Master seems to work pretty well. At stock 2.4 Ghz my temps are 28/35c idle and only has went up to 48c while playing Crysis. Hopefully I apply the thermal compound just right cause I applied to much the first couple times I did it!

 

[jerkinjohn]

I just installed my new Noctua NH-D14 and overclocked my CPU to 3.0 I want to start small as I am very new to this and finally figured out the problem with my comp. after 2 months of trouble shooting. It was my CM V8 CPU cooler believe it or not. That's after I RMA'ed my mobo and CPU. I'm just happy I finally got to the bottom of it all.

Everything is running rock solid at the moment after installing the Noctua. I did some gaming for a few hours just to see if I was stable and had no problems. So then I decided to try overclocking it. I have been running Prime 95 for about a half hour now and I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing but so far it's telling me that all 4 cores have passed.


My max CPU Temp while running prime so far has been 59c. Is this good? While just browsing the web it stays anywhere from 39c/44c with a 3.0 overclock.

Can someone explain what I'm doing here by running Prime 95? Total Noob here

I also downloaded CPU ID and am monitoring everything.