OCing Q6600 w/ EVGA 750i FTW - Need a little advice w/ picture/s

Hey everyone. My first post but this is definitely not my first visit to the forum.

I have read quite a few resources on overclocking and to be honest some left me a little confused or were too outdated to be found relevvent.

So first off let me list my specs.

Processor: Intel Core2Quad Q6600 G0
Motherboard: eVGA 750i FTW SLI w/ Latest Bios
RAM: OCZ XTC Platinum 4GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 (5-4-4-15 timings)
Case: ThermalTake ARMOR Black w/ 25CM Sidefan
CPU Heatsink: Zalman CNPS9700 LED
HDD: 1TB + 750GB Samsung Spinpoint (F1) & 320GB WD
Graphics: XFX 9800GTX OCed to 800Mhz (1200Mhz RAM)
PSU: Corsair TX650


My current OC is in these photos.






What I am ultimately looking for is a stable OC of 3.5Ghz.

My main concerns are what to set for voltages, and what to do with my RAM, can I OC it too? What do I do to timings etc...

Right now I am getting **** poor scores on 3Dmark Vantage at 1680x1050:

CPU Score
9829
Graphics Score
4283

I know these should be higher, which would be why I am thinking overclocking may be the answer.



So I appreciate and thank in advance for any advice received, hopefully I can get my stable overclock of 3.5 and learn something at the same time!

Depending on the VID of your quad, give these settings a try for 3.5 - 3.6 GHz...

CPU 1.4 - 1.4875v actual
FSB 1.3v
SPP 1.4 - 1.45v
MCP 1.525v
HT 1.25v

QDR 1600/800 unlinked memory at 5-4-4-15-2T (all sub-timings on Auto)

G lanes (GTLREF) - 90, 90, 85, 85

Set FSB to 1550 as well as voltages to the above recommended and seems to have posted just fine, booted into windows just fine as well with those settings. Running Prime95 64BIT now and will see how it goes in the morning.

As well, in this picture, which is the northbridge setting, and which is south etc?




PS. Another question which I am quite aware is posted frequently on the forums, but finding a definite answer is another story.

What is the MAX temperature I should ever let the CPU go to before shutting down? I know when I am playing a few different games I have seen core 1 go to ~60, the other cores <58 etc, and from what I hear 60 is the highest you ever want to let it go.

YukonMaster said:

What is the MAX temperature I should ever let the CPU go to before shutting down? I know when I am playing a few different games I have seen core 1 go to ~60, the other cores <58 etc, and from what I hear 60 is the highest you ever want to let it go.

Click to expand...

Anything over 60c becomes unsafe for 24/7 use. I try to keep mine between 55 - 60 under load. Sometimes in the summer it will go up to 62-63, but I do not leave it on 24/7 in the summer.

nForce SPP = Southbridge, and nForce MCP = Northbridge

1.4v might not be necessary for 3.5 GHz on a g0. I was able to get 389x9 at 1.325, but Ive got a slightly lower VID as well (1.2375) ... 1.4 is a good starting point, but I would certainly try down from there to see if it's still stable.

To counterbalance the above post with a not-so-golden G0, my Q6600 can only do 3.6ghz with 1.475 and about 1.4 VTT / 1.3 NB.

My Q6600 would BSOD with less than 1.425vcore upon boot.

VID is 1.2875.