Help Ocing 790i ultra with Q6600

[lixah]

Hey guys, i've never OCed before, and such, know little/nothing about it, trying watching soem videos and such on how to OC, but i can't really understand it. So i was wondering if anyone could help me here

my system is
xfx 790i ultra sli
intel core 2 Q6600
ATI radeon HD 5850
G skill ripjaw DDR3 (2x2gb) 9-9-9-24 (i think)
Antec 1200 stock fans
stock CPU cooler
650W GX coolermaster PSU

sorry if i've missed anything.

currently my cpu cores dont go much over 40C and generally idle in the high 20s C

 

[d1rtyju1c3]

You shouldnt overclock with the stock cooler. I would download prime95, run it for 30mins and post your temps. Temps shouldnt exceed 70c.
Her is a good budget cooler.
Hyper 212+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&cm_re=hyper_212-_-35-103-065-_-Product

and here is an overclocking guide.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/259899-29-core-overclocking-guide

 

[lixah]

ok, thank you, i am running the stress test now.

 

[lixah]

ok , ran the test for 30 mins, temps didn't exceed 55C

 

[d1rtyju1c3]

Turn C1E and EIST off in the Bios
Download cpuz and find out if it is a revision G0 or B3 and what the VID is set at.

If G0
First unlink the the memory and try a small overclock to 300fsb which would be 2700mhz or 2.7ghz, Sorry I am trying to remember how the speed is shown in the Bios on that board. Set Cpu/v-core/vid (mean the same thing) voltage manually To what cpuz said the vid is and leave everything else on auto. Run prime95 for at least an hour and see if it errors and temps go past 70c.

If B3
Same as above.

Remember this is just a base to get started it may not be stable we may have to play with the voltages a little bit more.

 

[jsc]

The nVidia 680i and derivatives use a really different BIOS. So in addition to the link to our generic Core2 OC guide, you should look for a guide for your specific motherboard - or at least, chipset. If you cannot find one, a good 680i guide will help.

 

[lixah]

bumping this thread, since i recently got a new cpu cooler, and belive i am able to OC now, only problem is i've never OCed and could use a little guidance : )

 

[jsc]

Our generic guide (same as above link):
This should be your first stop.
HOWTO: Overclock C2Q (Quads) and C2D (Duals) - Guide v1.6.1
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/240001-29-howto-overclock-quads-duals-guide

Next stop should be a guide for your particular motherboard. Google is your friend.

Additional comments:
Overclocking 680i/780i chipsets:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/263006-29-overclock-q6600-680i#t1884029

Keep in mind that, in the link, we are talking about DDR2 RAM, not DDR3 RAM like you have. Your max memory voltage drops to 1.65 volts. And RAM clock frequencies double. For an FSB:RAM ratio of 1:1, your FSB clock will equal your RAM clock.