CPU Cooler for Q6600 3.6 GHZ (Future I7)

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matt1010

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Hello,
I've been trying to get a stable clock with my Q6600. My stock CPU cooler that came with my Q6600 doesn't seem to be handling 3.6 GHZ too well. Stress tests push it to 85c+ than crashes.

I'm in the market for a new CPU cooler. I also want a CPU cooler that will be capable of doing a good job on overclocking an I7 in the future.

I went to microbytes and was going to buy the V8 CPU cooler, but the guy there told me that for the price I should get a noctua instead.

Also the Corsair CWCH50-1 Hydro H50 CPU Liquid Cooler seems like a good deal but I have heard that for the same price you could get an AIR CPU fan/heatsink to do a better job.

Any recommendations would be highly appreciated.
 
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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You can't expect a stock cooler to handle a 1.2ghz overclock. I have that same chip and I run it at 3.4-3.6ghz on a full watercooled loop.

If you want good air coolers, you will want to check here:
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

If your budget is $200 or less, stick with one of these air coolers. If more, then look into actual watercooling components. Avoid Thermaltake Bigwater, Zalman Reserator, Coolit Domino, Corsair H50, etc. If it comes in a pretty box and is advertised as an all-in-one watercooling kit...run the other direction.

If you are looking to watercooling, you should only consider components along the lines of this:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8...ooling_Kit_Universal_Mount.html?tl=g30c83s137
 
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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Overclocking has a lot more to do with it than just the cooler. You need a good PSU, a good motherboard, good RAM and your chip may or may not reach what other people have posted. Remember, each component has the possibility to reach certain clocks, but depending on your specific setup and components used, you might not reach clocks others have. Even if you can reach 3.6 with that chip (and it's possible, I have) don't expect it to sustain that speed for a long period of time. Most components start to fall off overclocked performance and stability due to the strains being placed on them.
 
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matt1010

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I have a 750 watt corsair, my one concern is my RAM since I have 8 GB's of 1066 mhz (really 800 mhz I know) I think I can lower my RAM tho.

I've heard of people running at 3.6 ghz constantly before tho? Never heard of people having troubles running it for long periods of time with proper cooling and what not.
 
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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Well, depending on how you OC that chip, your RAM might be holding you back. You will need to have RAM that will be stable at the overclocked FSB speeds and voltages needed to reach them, and 1066 will not likely allow you to hit that. What board and RAM are you using?

I didn't mean for it to sound like it was impossible to run an OC for long periods of time, but more along the lines of added stress and volts can shorten the effective OC lifespan of components, depending on individual circumstances.
 
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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Yeah, your RAM would be one big thing holding you back. You'll need to bump up to at least the highest supported RAM speed to have a chance to OC that far. You'll also need to take into account the required voltage to keep it stable. Remember, the further you OC hardware past it's stock speeds, the more voltage it needs to remain stable; so it will take far less voltage to maintain a smaller OC of faster RAM than to maintain a larger OC of slower RAM to the same speeds.

Now, with the Q6600, you can always drop the multiplier and then play with the FSB speeds. This does allow for more options if the typical 9x multiplier fails the further you go. I'd say even dropping it to 8x can allow more FSB room depending on your RAM and board. Set your voltages to AUTO at first and then start adjusting them in once you determine stability on each one. You might want to check out the Overclocking sticky...it has all this info in it.
 
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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When you bump your FSB, it increases your RAM speeds. Once you get too far above the 'normal' speed your RAM runs, you start to encounter issues. In most cases, FSB is linked to your CPU multipler as well as your RAM. Raising your FSB increases your CPU speed as well as your RAM speed..
 
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lothdk

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Yes, if you set the ram to run at 1:1, they will be running at 400 / 800 MHz.

When I used my Q6600 for gaming, I had it at that setting with PC6400 (800 MHz) ram, and it ran without any problems, once I had the voltages dialed in.

Edit -

For a cooler, if you do not want to get an expensive one, and still like to overclock, but not to the extreme (on air) look to the Scythe SCMG-2100 Sleeve CPU Cooler.
 
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lothdk

lothdk

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The BIOS setting unfortunately varies from board to board, but yes, it is tied into the FSB, but if you just enter a setting on the ram to run at XXX or if there is a setting for 1:1, 2:1 3:2 etc I can not say.
If you have a BIOS in which you set the speed of the memory yourself, as in 800 MHz, then you have set it to run at 1:1, you can check this using CPU-Z and look at the Memory tab.
 
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jonpaul37

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Stock Cooler will not be able to hit 3.6 without outrageous temps...

I have a Q6600 running 3.6 on air for the last two years using a Xigmatek HDT s1283 Air Cooler and DDR2-800 G.Skill RAM

I am using an ASUS P5Q Pro and all i had to do was set the DRAM ratio to 1:1 and that enables me to keep my FSB @ 400 X 9 and also keep my RAM at 400 (FYI, its called DDR2-800 but in reality it runs at 400 mhz X 2) I was also able to manage to pinch my RAM timings to 4-4-4-12

Temps never got past 65c on full load on anything except for Prime/Orthos

My Voltage for the CPU is 1.37 and voltage for my RAM is 1.9

Not one crash, not one issue, 100% stable my friend
 
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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...Yes, I agree with that. The stock cooler for the C2Q chips were not able to handle the heat of the high overclocks they are/were capable of. Your post, including my post, seems that you assumed I disagreed with the stock cooler's capability? Yes, you can force your FSB to run unlinked if your board has that capability, but not all do, meaning you can use lower speed RAM and still bump your CPU. It doesn't always work, but you have to really play with your voltages a lot more for this to work successfully. But yes, I concur about the stock cooler being useless with an OC on those chips.
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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Well if his budget is low along with the Scythe SCMG-2100, another good in fact i personally think great choice is the Hyper 212+. Although if you did get it (Get it off Amazon it's 25$ less than Newegg :( ) Add another fan on that and you'll get great performance, otherwise change the fan for quiet fans. Scythe actually makes great budget fans that are quiet and great at moving air so you could lean towards that way.The scythe S-Flex are great fans. And even one of them i'm sure would put it on par with the Scythe Mugen 2

Review: http://www.guru3d.com/article/cooler-master-hyper-212-plus-review/7
It beat the great fenrir XD
 
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