Hello all. I'm not new to building systems, done that a number of times. But I've never really bothered to overclock anything. Now with my newest system I'd like to delve into this realm but I'm finding it hard to really get my bearings and was hoping I could get help from those smarter than I.
A little info. I just built myself a new rig. Rampage Formula board, Q9650 chip, ATI 4870x2, 8 gigs RAM, etc. I ran Memtest for awhile with no errors. I ran Prime95 for awhile with no errors, and ran various 3dMark apps for awhile with no errors. So I'm fairly confident all my hardware is solid at stock configurations. Also, the video card and chip are watercooled (my first venture into watercooling), and staying nice and cool even during long Prime95 sessions or long gaming session. Now its time to overclock and get some more power out of this system. I OCed my video card using ATI's overdrive with no problem. So that's fine. Now onto my chip.
So I'm not entirely unfamiliar with using bios. But when it comes to the various chip settings I'm a little lost. I was hoping someone here could give me some suggestions on what to change. First, the RAM I bought is DDR2 1066. But it reads at 800 when first installed. So I managed to figure out how to up that to 1066. No problems. But how do I get more out of my chip? I've heard the 3.0Ghz Q9650 can easily be moved close to 4Ghz but I'm not really sure what settings to change in the bios. Plus I don't really know how everything works together. The FSB speed can be increased, but how does that affect the chip? The multiplier with RAM can or might need to be increased, but I'm not sure when or if I should. Also, going through the BIOS I don't see anything about upping the chip.
Anyway, sorry for the long post. Really I'm just looking for those familiar with all this stuff to hopefully give me some settings that will increase the power I'm getting from the board and chip. A little explanation along the way of how everything works together and what it means is nice too, but not necessary. Thanks for any help.
A little info. I just built myself a new rig. Rampage Formula board, Q9650 chip, ATI 4870x2, 8 gigs RAM, etc. I ran Memtest for awhile with no errors. I ran Prime95 for awhile with no errors, and ran various 3dMark apps for awhile with no errors. So I'm fairly confident all my hardware is solid at stock configurations. Also, the video card and chip are watercooled (my first venture into watercooling), and staying nice and cool even during long Prime95 sessions or long gaming session. Now its time to overclock and get some more power out of this system. I OCed my video card using ATI's overdrive with no problem. So that's fine. Now onto my chip.
So I'm not entirely unfamiliar with using bios. But when it comes to the various chip settings I'm a little lost. I was hoping someone here could give me some suggestions on what to change. First, the RAM I bought is DDR2 1066. But it reads at 800 when first installed. So I managed to figure out how to up that to 1066. No problems. But how do I get more out of my chip? I've heard the 3.0Ghz Q9650 can easily be moved close to 4Ghz but I'm not really sure what settings to change in the bios. Plus I don't really know how everything works together. The FSB speed can be increased, but how does that affect the chip? The multiplier with RAM can or might need to be increased, but I'm not sure when or if I should. Also, going through the BIOS I don't see anything about upping the chip.
Anyway, sorry for the long post. Really I'm just looking for those familiar with all this stuff to hopefully give me some settings that will increase the power I'm getting from the board and chip. A little explanation along the way of how everything works together and what it means is nice too, but not necessary. Thanks for any help.
