I'm new to overclocking and need some help!

[roylfewkes]

Hello! I've had my current setup for about 3 years now!
I'm trying to upgrade it a bit before I run off to college next fall.
I just ordered a GTX 570 superclocked and plan to put it in my system but I think it would be wise to overclock a bit..

I have:
Q6700 at 3.0 ( stock is 2.66)
800w psu
P-57n premium motherboard by Asus ( I'm not entirely sure on the name.. I need to check when I get home..) it's based on the 780i
8g of ddr2 ram of 800mhz
GTX 570
800D case

The Mobo I have has some quick OC profiles that I've been using that's why the cpu is at 3.0, but I've noticed that it runs a bit hot when at 3.2 ( with a H50 )so I plan to build a custom loop if I'm able to overclock further...

So my question is.. Is it possible to overclock futhure? I'd like to get to 3.6 on my CPU. Does anyone have some tips? I would be willing to invest in the cooling if nessesarey ... Or should I just spend my money somewhere else?ike buy another 570? Or a new harddrive? I don't want to OC unless I really need to.. And I don't really want to upgrade my mobo, CPU, and ram intill later in an new build I might do later when ivey bridge comes out.. So if I could get some help it would be great! Thanks!!


Also! I have a a budget of $400 that I do plan on spending on watercooling unless Somone can think of a better place to put my money..

 

[Deleted member 217926]

With $400 you need a new motherboard, CPU and RAM. That old processor is going to bottleneck a GTX 570 pretty much no matter how high you overclock it. It's crazy to spend money on water cooling that old thing when a $30 air cooler will get a new Sandy Bridge system to 4.5Ghz or better.

i5 2500K $229

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Gigabyte Z68 motherboard with Crossfire/Sli support. $117

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128495

Hyper 212 Evo. $35

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128495

8GB GSkill Ripjaws X 1.5v DDR3 1600 cas 9 $46

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

So for $427 you get a new computer that will overclock to ~4.5Ghz and not be a bottleneck even if you wish to add a second GTX 570 in Sli.

As you can see going from your old Core2Quad to the 2500K is a huge step up even at stock speeds.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/53?vs=288

 

[roylfewkes]

Okay, obviously I know that there is some bottleneck... but im having a hard time deciding how bad it really is. I just got a 570 and games run just fine with it! but is it really all it can be?


This is my setup:

Q6700
stock: 2.66 GHz
OC: 3.2 GHz
8gigs OCZ DDR2 PC@ 6400 (400MHz)
Gtx 570 @ 797MHz Core, 1950 Mhz Memory
800W psu
P5n72-t premium (780i)
H50 Cooling
800D
Dell 22" 1680x 1050

Benchmarks I ran.

Mafia II
Highest quality, AA x16AF/ no physX
Stock Q6700 @2.66 72c
FPS: 55.5
OC’d Q6700 @3.2 74c
FPS: 59.0
Typical I7 system
FPS: 70.5

Crysis 2 Gameplay benchmark
Ultra settings
Stock Q6700 @2.66 73c
FPS: 57
OC’d Q6700 @3.2
FPS: 61

Intel Core i7-960 3.2 GHz CPU, 6GB of DDR3 RAM
FPS: 62

Crysis 2 Gameplay benchmark
Very High settings
Stock Q6700@2.66 72c
FPS: 70fps
OC’d Q6700 @3.2 74c
FPS: 85

Intel Core i7-960 3.2 GHz CPU, 6GB of DDR3 RAM
FPS: 120

Battle field bad company 2
Highest settings, 8xaa/16xAf/HBAO
Stock Q6700@2.66 71c
High FPS: 68
Low FPS: 40’s
OC’d Q6700 @3.2 75c
High FPS: 89
Low FPS: 45’s
Typical I7 system
FPS: 101

Battle field bad company 2
Highest settings, 4xAA/8xAF
Stock Q6700@2.66 71c
High FPS: 70’s
Low FPS: 55
OC’d Q6700 @3.2 75c
High FPS: 100
Low FPS: 50’s
typical I7 system
FPS: 126

Q6700 idle temp 45c
Q6700 Oc idle temp 55c

To me the botteleneck isnt super bad especially with the OC

 

[thesnappyfingers]

that may be true but you are going to spend 400 on watercooling. that does not make sense.

Take that money and save it or buy a new mobo ,the i52500k, ram, and heat sink. Hell 400.00 dollars will come in handy especially for a college student.

NCIX has the i52500k for 200.00 http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=57962&vpn=BX80623I52500K&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1141
microcenter if you have one near you has it for 180.00 (they have it for 180.00 whether it is near you or not, might be one where your going to college at)

 

[gcatalin]

you have to be kidding...a gtx 570 bottlenecked by a q6700 ? it's still a quad core cpu...you'll be fine with the gtx 570 even if you don't overclock any further...

 

[canyoudigit489]

if you're getting playable frame rates on the games you play, i'd hold off upgrading. you'll need to replace the cpu, motherboard, and ram to do anything about the bottleneck, and it might be worth it to wait til ivy bridge comes out in april to do a full system overhaul.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

you have to be kidding...a gtx 570 bottlenecked by a q6700 ? it's still a quad core cpu...you'll be fine with the gtx 570 even if you don't overclock any further...

Absolutely the low clockspeed of the Q6700 will bottleneck a GTX570. Did you not read the numbers posted by the OP? Especially in any CPU dependant game.

Roylfewkes you are also using the older i7 960 to compare to. The second generation i series 2500k would be about 15-20% faster clock for clock. And then factor in the 4.5Ghz overclock.

Wait for Ivy Bridge if you want but do not waste $400 on watercooling a Q6700. In fact unless you are after total silence or just like to post crazy overclock numbers there is really no reason to watercool at all anymore. A good cheap air cooler like the Hyper 212 will get a Sandy Bridge chip to 4.5Ghz easily. There is no reason to go above that unless you have a 3 x GTX580 setup.

 

[larkspur]

Roylfewkes you are also using the older i7 960 to compare to. The second generation i series 2500k would be about 15-20% faster clock for clock. And then factor in the 4.5Ghz overclock.

I disagree that a 2500k will beat a Bloomfield chip by 15-20% clock for clock. I have yet to see an actual comparison with a nehalem chip clocked the same as an SB. The game benches I've seen show the stock-clocked nehalems right behind and sometimes outperforming higher-clocked SB CPUs.

See: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sandy-bridge-core-i7-2600k-core-i5-2500k,2833.html

And note how well a stock-clocked bloomfield @2.66ghz does here (compared to the 2500k): http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8150-zambezi-bulldozer-990fx,3043.html

Of course the 2500k is the better overall chip. And it will perform better clock-for-clock. I'm not arguing that. But in gaming there is very little difference. Certainly not 15-20% clock for clock. Do you have something that proves this? Factor in the 4ghz+ overclock of a nehalem chip and again, these are similar chips in gaming.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

You did not look very hard for a comparison.

i7 2600K vs. i7 975 Both with Hyperthreading and Turbo. Many of the tests are single core at 3Ghz. In timed tests lower is better.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/x86-core-performance-comparison/compare,2761.html?prod%5B5030%5D=on&prod%5B5036%5D=on