[Stabfassa]

Heya all,

I stumbled onto these forums and have been trying some over clocking and I'd like to see what you all think of my tweaks. I don't want to push things to hard (I'd be happy with 3.2gig max), but would like to enjoy some extra performance over stock. I tend to use this machine only at night after work, but I've often been known to leave my pcs on running 24/7.

Questions - Are my temps and settings safe? How long should my system live at this over clock? ....seems scary to me, lol. Should I dial it back to 3.0 to be safe?

I've ran Orthos for almost 2 hours with no hangs, but did notice my temps under load flash 57c a few times, but it normally hovers around 54-55c on full load. 3dmark 06 gave 8744 score

System Setup:
c2d E6600 3.2Gig using 400fsb with 8x multiplier (1.35v in Bios, CPU-z shows 1.296v)
p5b deluxe
antec p180b case
corsair 2GB TWIN2X2048-6400@800MHz 4-4-4-12-5-15 2.1V
eVGA 8800 Gtx
zalman 9500AT
artic silver 5, applied using the line method on their site.
pc power & cooling 750w silencer

Thanks,
Stabfassa

[hUMANbEATbOX]

100% safe, and i would even clock it up some more.

IMO, temps are safe up to 65c as read by TAT or CoreTemp. your cpu is very close to default volts, you can expect that cpu to last for a good 10-20 years.

[Stabfassa]

Awesome, I was sweating bullets over here, lol. I'm a bit nervous to take this thing higher than 3.2, but might do so in a year or two. The more I read on over clocking, the more I understand and feel comfortable doing these tweaks. It's addicting, thats for sure.

Thanks much for taking the time out to read, review and comment back! I'm glad I didn't shell out the extra cash for the 2.7 gig E6700 now. It's like Christmas morning over here.

[hUMANbEATbOX]

take it slow, get a good feel for how your computer behaves. every piece of computer equipment is different, even if they are the same, if you catch my drift. stick around, keep reading, and soon you'll be a vet.

3.2ghz is still blazing fast. it will run laps around a x6800. if you ever get the need/urge/curiosity for more, at least you know its there.

[Stabfassa]

One last question that just hit me... As you can tell in my post above, I lowered the multiplier to 8 to get a fsb number that allowed me to max out my 800 MHz memory setting. Was that an ok thing to do? Or should I set it back to a 9, use a 356 fsb to get the 3.2 gig, and just accept 712 MHz on the memory?

I read some place that lowering my multiplier might increase my North Bridge settings that might cause some instability and/or overheating issues. Thoughts?

[12am]

I also have a question. What resolution/settings are you running your 8800GTX at? If your running 3dmark 06 at 1280x1024 with no aa and no af your scores are quite low for a 8800GTX, you should be pulling around 10k if not more, heck even my 8800GTS gets 8250.

Edit: As per your question, the higher you can run your fsb and the closer you stay to 800mhz ddr the faster your overall system performance will be.

[Stabfassa]

Hmmm Wonder what settings I have incorrect then? I looked and I'm running at 1280 by 1024, forcing 2.0 shaders in Riva Tuner, AA and AF are application managed and image settings are set to quality.

I tweak them and ran the tests again with the following results:
8744 - quality, aa/af set to app controlled, forcing 2.0 shaders (this was original posted score)
8754 - quality, aa/af set to off, forcing 2.0 shaders
8722 - high quality, aa/af set to off, forcing 2.0 shaders
8804 - high performance, aa/af set to off, forcing 2.0 shaders

What am I missing or have set incorrectly you think?

[12am]

Try running without forcing 2.0 shaders and force vsync to off, then bench to see the result. Also how about your windows installation? is it bloated? do you have alot of background processes/services running?. What version of drivers are you using?. Also this may sound stupid but are you sure it's a GTX and not a GTS?. Also what are the amp ratings on your 12v lines on your psu?. The 8800series and especially the GTX require at least 22amps on each 12v rail if you have a multi rail psu or 34amps on a single rail.

Edit: Just read the specs on your psu and you have a single 12v rail that outputs 60amps, way more then a single GTX needs, so power is obviously not your problem. There is something else amiss here.

Edit2: If you have counterstrike source installed on your computer, set af to 16x in the control panel, gamma correct aa to on, aa to application prefrence, transparency aa to multisample, high quality, force vsync off and then load up cs:s, in the cs:s video config run 1600x1200 with every option maxed and enable 8x aa from within the game, then bench it with the stress test. For refrence I got 148.9fps with those settings and you should be about 20-50fps faster than that with your card... if you are chances are something is wrong with your installation of 3dmark, if not we still have probs to deal with.

[Stabfassa]

Sure thing, I'll try some more tweaking when I get home from work. I just got into the office a little late from running the additional 3dMark tests above, lol.

In response to your questions:
Windows install - This is my first computer build! You can see some pics of the machine below. Regarding windows, I just installed windows on it about two weeks ago and have ran defrag so I doubt it's bloated.

Background processes/services running - It has what ever you get by default when you install windows and boot up. Does the default windows set up and boot have alot running? If so, would that have a significant impact on my 3dMark score? What do I end/turn off?

Driver version - 97.92 from the Nvida site, released Jan 10th

GTX vs GTS - Confirmed GTX

Counterstrike - I don't own this game. I'm primarily an MMO gamer (EQ, EQ2, Vanguard) Is this game worth picking up for running some bench tests?

[Stabfassa]

Another question, last night I was gaming on my machine. Everything was running fine and smooth, I then logged out and ran some stress tests (dual Orthos.. etc) for about an hour. I then stopped the tests and logged back into the game. This time I felt like I was running in slow motion through syrup in game. I shut down, flipped off the power switch, flipped it back on, rebooted and logged back into the game. This time everything was great and I no longer felt like I was running through syrup.

Does this signal a problem or should I not worry about it? I notice that some times when I'm doing the 3dMark tests, if I start off with slow fps on the first test, I can shut down and reboot to get better fps from the start of the test. What's going on here?

[Wicked Klown]

Might want to read Black Viper's Guide on how to turn things off in XP. This will lower the apps running in the back ground and boost performance.

[12am]

Hmm, definately wierd indeed. To answer some of your questions. Yes a default winxp installation leaves about 15-20 unnecessary services running compared to a tweaked one.. do me a favor, next time your on your pc press ctrl-alt-del goto the processes tab and tell me how many processes you have running. As for your problem after running orthos that is indeed odd aswell, I have yet to run into a problem like that running either orthos or dual instances of prime95. The funny thing is it almost sounds like a memory leak to me, meaning that some bug either with your winxp or orthos or 3dmark is preventing it's used memory from bieng freed up after use.

This is a good starter guide to tweaking winxp and has a nice chart indicating what services are, and wich ones you can/should disable, as always tho make a backup point and create a new hardware profile to test the tweaks on before starting http://tweakhound.com/xp/xptweaks/supertweaks1.htm

[Stabfassa]

Regarding memory leaks, now that I think of it I might be running into memory leak problems with Vanguard. It's a new MMO game that was just released a few days ago that I'm sure is not yet fully cleaned up and optimized.

My employer blocks the two links you all recommended, doh! I will however check them out when I get home later this evening. Thanks much for the guidance. I'll post a response once I get a chance to play with my rig tonight.

Thanks

[hUMANbEATbOX]

Originally Posted by Wicked Klown

Might want to read Black Viper's Guide on how to turn things off in XP. This will lower the apps running in the back ground and boost performance.

o_0

its back! it disappeared from its original url a while ago, and i couldn't find it again. thanks for the link.

saving it to HD.

[Wicked Klown]

No prob, I was looking for it as well with no luck. Then one day on some forum they had that link, so I saved it.

[Stabfassa]

Ok, I just got done doing some tweaks and tests. I have great news and more questions, lol. To start, when I got home I booted up and found 35 processes running using the windows task manager. I ran through the guides you all posted and then rebooted, which brought the number down to 33. Is that number of processes acceptable?

I then tried to run 3dMark 06, but it took me several times to get it kicked off with success. I'd start the test and the first graphics test was starting out with 20 fps. It usually starts with 77 or better fps, so I went through the shut down, pull the plug from the wall, reboot and try again routine. It took me 4 times to get it to start the first test with 77 or better fps. What could be going on to cause this? I had not played any games or done any stress tests such as Orthos. I only did the windows tweaks, rebooted, launched 3d Mark.

When I did finally get 3dMark to start up successfully, I noticed this time it ran two additional tests that I've never seen before. They were Canyon Flight and Deep Freeze. Why did it not run these two tests before?

Another interesting note, I noticed that my pc idle temps drop from 32c to 23c with the side of the case open. Is this normal or should I look at improving the air flow in my system? You can take a look at my wiring job in the pictures above if it helps. I have already added a 120mm fan in the front of the case to pull air in over the 8800.

Drum roll.........

3dMark 06 Results:
10933! - Image Settings Quality, aa/af set to off, not forcing 2.0 shaders thru Riva

It looks like I got some significant benefits from the tweaks, but I'm still unclear on a few things which I highlighted in bold and underlined above. What are your thoughts?

Edit: Just ran it again with Image Settings to High Performance and got 11003.

[12am]

There is definately something wrong still seeing as your having these odd problems with your os/apps. 33 processes is average, I run real lean and like to have my active processes down to the 25-28 range, but 33 is acceptable. Now I have another question, do you notice oddities/startup problems/ stuttering in your other games or is it isolated to just 3dmark?. If you are having problems in other apps then I would highly reccomend a complete reformat and reinstallation of winxp and all your programs, (I know it sucks but at least you'll be catching it early before you install too much/get settled in) as it is possible that your os files have become corrupted due to failed o/c results.

As for your temp readings you are always gonna get lowered temps when running with the side panel off due to heat bieng able to escape easier and it's easier for cooler air to enter the pc. The fact that the delta is so high between panel on/off tells me that you have poor air circulation through your pc and is something to work on. Also keep in mind that idle temps are useless in a way and that you should only concern yourself with load temps.

Having a btx style case the only things I can think of to improve temps for you is this: Reroute your cpu atx12v wires up top instead of letting them hang loose in the middle of the case. Cut a hole in your sidepanel level with your cpu that will accomadate a 120mm fan and place a 120mm fan there sucking air into your pc.

Glad your scores have come up tho .

[Stabfassa]

Oh nos! Not a fresh windows install... argh. I was hoping to live on this install till Vista came out and ran smooth. I guess I'll get to that this weekend. At least this time I won't be messing around with the overclocking bit, I'll be able to leave that alone, lol.

Thank you all very much for the help and tips. If I can figure out and fix this occasional problem I'll be extremely happy with my new first time built rig.

If we all ever run into each other I owe you all a beverage of your choice! /salute

[Stabfassa]

Crossing my fingers here, but I think I found the culprit of my problem. I think it's because I dropped the default multiplier to 8, which allowed me to reach a higher fsb, but in return decreased my stability. I changed the multiplier back to 9, set my speed to 356 to reach the 3.2 Gig goal, and have yet to encounter the problem. I've rebooted several times, ran several stress tests and it appears to be gone. .....knowing my luck, I'll run another test after this posting and hit it, lol.

The information that prompted me to raise the multiplier back to 9 is on this board. I don't exactly understand the strap information, but it appears lowering mine decreased stability, but still tested out fine in Orthos and Super Pi. I think lowering my multiplier to reach a higher fsb was essentially over clocking my NorthBridge?

I figured I'd share this in case anyone else was encountering this kind of strangeness.

Thanks for the help, tips and guidance all!