Noob needs help with Q9450

Hello, I just bought a new computer at www.ibuypower.com. I didn't build it myself but here's the major things I have in it.

CPU: Q9450
Cooling: Thermaltake MaxOrb CPU Cooling Fan
Motherboard: Asus Striker II Formula
RAM: Corsair Dominator DDR 1066 PC8500
GPU: GeForce 9800 GX2

I guess the question is, how do I go about OCing this thing? I'm not looking for a major boost, somewhere between 3.0ghz-3.5ghz is totally fine by me. Also, chances are if something happens, like a bad overclock, I would have trouble trying to fix it

Assuming you can access the BIOS and have overclocking options available.

To get to 3G, if the CPU is an average Q9450, you need only to raise the FSB (front side bus), a.k.a. clock speed. Stock voltage to the CPU should be fine. Somewhere around 3G to 3.2G, you'll need to start raising the CPU voltage a little.

Test stability by using Prime95 or some application that will load all four cores. Watch your CPU temps with RealTemp of some programs that monitors the core temps.

Leave the memory set to auto for the time being. This might come into play but for now we'll assume it doesn't.

Enjoy! And Welcome to the forum!!

What exactly is raising the voltage a little? How much is a little? Anyone with a Q9450 got any numbers for me to start with?

Also, I wouldn't even need to deal with the RAM if I just left it on Auto? Apparently there's a "Extreme Overclocking" Tab in the Bios option for the Striker II Formula. Anyone that have some free time willing to help me look into this whole thing? I'm like a lost sheep ; ;

What I gave you is how to start, not the whole nine yards --- KISS. It should get ya to 3G.

If you're ready for the whole story then I suggest you read the stickies. Unless you have an exceptional CPU, you probably need everything to get to 3.5G or above. Q9450s seem to be topping out somewhere from 3.4 to 3.6 due to a FSB limitation most often.

A little could be 0.125V or less, depends on your bios.

EDIT: As a first step with the Striker regarding the memory, unlink the memory and leave it set to stock settings.

Would you say it's better for me to lower my multiplier from 8 to 7, and set FSB higher to gain more of an advantage from my RAM?

Right now if I leave the mutiplier at 8, 375mhz FSB would put me at 3.0, but wouldn't that leave my RAM way under what it could be doing? That's the way I'm understanding it from reading the thread, am I missing something?

Sorry, I made an edit at the same time you posted. See edit comment above concerning memory. One thing I like about the Nvidia chipsets is the ability to unlink memory speed from CPU.

I would leave the multiplier at 8 and work with the FSB and CPU voltage to get the CPU as fast as it will go. One key is stability testing and watching your temperatures as you increase CPU voltage, I would start this type testing around 3G.

There are no performance advantages to running the northbridge faster alone, it a faster CPU or to a lesser degree memory speed that provides improved performance. Running a faster CPU is the biggest winner and next is memory which is a lesser benefit. Testing results shown here.

Testing with a lower multiplier and slower memory settings can be used to help indicate an upper limit on the northbridge speed and that info can be useful, but other than finding out what the upper limit on your motherboard is doesn't help you beyond that.