A safe way for Overclock this CPU? Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme X6900 @3.2

[Natoke]

I currently have the Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU (Extreme) X6900 @ 3.20GHz, but I do not know how to safely, or as safe as possible, to overclock this CPU. I tried overclocking it to 3.6 GHz, but it gave me the BSOD, saying that it failed for the vcores, or 0x124. I want to know how to safely overclock my system to 3.6, or even higher if possible. I tried it at 3.48 GHz, it booted, I got in ArmA II with the lowest settings (at 20-25 FPS), and, after 10-15 minutes, it blue screened. Also, would I need to change any other volts/watts in the RAM? Will overclocking let me play newer games, like BF3 and ArmA II, without too much lag, or with good FPS?

System Specs:

Nvidia GTX 550 Ti 1Gb
4(2x2) Gb Memory (PC2-6400 400MHz by GEIL, PC2-5300 333MHz by Nanya Technology)
450 Watt PSU
Abit IP35 Pro Motherboard
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU (Extreme) X6900 @ 3.20GHz

 

[akxpckwb]

Read our overclocking guides. They are simple enough to get you what you want and to answer all your basic questions. Also search online to see what people have managed to get with that CPU+mobo combo so you have an idea what you can expect.
But I doubt that even with overclocking you can get good FPS on either of those games you mention. That CPU is what?6years old now? Even some modern CPU's have trouble handling BF3 online due to the sheer amount of things happening at the same time

 

[inzone]

When you have a cpu that is an extreme model it uaually means that it has an unlocked multiplier and that is what you would use first to do any overclocking. With an unlocked multiplier you should be able to go up a couple of notches anyway before having to add voltage and that would get you to 3.6ghz. Even if you did have to add voltage right away all you would have to do is add a single increment of voltage to get the cpu stable.
This sticky guide may help you some.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/259899-29-core-overclocking-guide

 

[Natoke]

Thanks for the help guys, it's not really working for me, because it will not start up when I put the multiplier to 14 instead of 12. I also put more vcore into the CPU, when I changed the FSB, which made it stable at 3.4, which isn't that much of a difference (wanted 4.0-4.5).

 

[Natoke]

Also, what is the safest vcore that I can go to without blowing up my computer, and, do I have to change any other volts when I OC, like the VTT?

 

[inzone]

If you go into the bios and select the vcore option most bios will inform you on the right panel what the safe settings are and what you can't go over. Also some bios will color code the vcore number with a different color based on what's been chosen , I have seen some bios put that number in red to signify a danger area and that the number selected may cause you problems.
To better under stant what the different settings are in the bios you should do a google search on each one and read up on them so you'll know youself without depending on other people to give you maybe the right answer.