The goal: Core 2 Duo E6600 on air @ > 3.4GHz
First, a bit about me:
I'm not completely new to overclocking but I have to admit that my first exposure was during a time where things were very simple. Pop in Pentium 2 300a, set bus speed and run at 450MHz (yes, MEGAhertz). Voilla, overclock done! Well the world of overclocking has come a long way from those days and this is my first attempt since running my 300a at a 50% overclock. I'm a former network engineer who still has a love for computers and a hatred for the computer industry. I'm now officially an enthusiast and not a pro. I prefer it this way.
My Rig:
Asus P5W DH Deluxe
Conroe E6600 2.4GHz
2 GB OCZ Platinum Rev2 DDR2-800
Zalman CNPS9500
Fortron Blue Storm 500W PSU
Foxconn Geforce 7950GT PCI-E
2x Raptor 500GB SATA
Lian Li 1200B case
The story so far:
I ordered my parts on Sunday but for some reason they did not ship in a timely manner. Finally, Friday rolls around and I get my parts. I'm wondering at this point why I bothered paying for FedEx Express shipping but oh well. Things like this happen.
I assembled everything and kept stock values at first. Windows loaded and booted up just fine - or so it seemed. It wasn't long before one of the 2 OCZ memory modules wouldn't allow the machine to POST. After a bit of research using the backup PC I found the right voltages for the modules, set the BIOS to the correct settings and....
nothing.
I did everything imaginable. It wasn't long before I concluded that one module works, the other doesn't. Ok, it appears one memory module is bad. At this point I've tested it thoroughly using all of the recommended voltage settings from the manufacturer. I've relaxed timings, used one slot, used all slots. The module is definitely bad. It's Friday night and none of the support channels will be open until Monday AM (about right now). Being the impatient person that I am, this isn't acceptable! I can't wait on this project. Solution? Run in single channel memory mode and get a working system, dammit!
So one module is in and working flawlessly. Memtest results support this and I'm somewhat content to continue on my path. I'll worry about setting up an RMA on Monday but for now....
With one working module, I return to the process of setting up Windows and all necessary updates. Everything at this point goes pretty smoothly and once it's finished I make myself a nice Ghost image.
Now that I have everything running ok at stock speeds with stock cooling it's time to run a few tests with Orthos and Intel's TAT. (On that note, I see plenty of people using Ai Booster or Asus Probe. What's the consensus on temp readings from Asus Probe/Ai versus Intel's TAT?) Orthos, of course, ran perfectly. I didn't see a need to really go haywire so I let Orthos run for about 4 hours and moved on to the fun stuff.
So I reboot and go into the BIOS and quickly realize these options are so much more in depth than what I was used to work with in the past. I'm not very familiar with adjusting settings like vCore and RAM timings but it comes to me rather quickly.
FSB set to 333, PCI-E bus set to 101, PCI bus locked at 33.33, vCore up to 1.4, MCH up to 1.65v, 2.1v to the RAM, 4-4-4-15 timings. Wouldn't you know it, PC boots right up with no problems....
I leave Orthos to run overnight. Load temps max out at 60. Damn those automatic update settings! 3AM my PC reboots. I wake up to find the Windows logon screen and quickly check the event log to see if there's a good explanation. Fortunately there is.
So the next day I decide I'm going to locate those Zalman adapters or go buy one. I leave Orthos to run again and start digging through boxes of parts. A short while later I emerge from the pile of parts that belong in a junk heap with the adapter (and a few other interesting things)...
At this point I'm hesitant to shut down and install the Zalman. I wanted a good solid 24 hour test running Orthos with the stock fan. I don't know why, I just did. So I decided to run out and pickup an external HDD case to make transferring old data easier (and to give me a use for these old IDE drives). I returned home and plugged in the firewire drive and Windows froze completely.
I guess it's sort of a blessing in disguise since now I can pop in the Zalman. Disassembly ensues and about 20 minutes later I have everthing back in the case with the Zalman mounted. One thing I noticed is that it's much easier to mount that fan when you don't install the motherboard first (the mistake I made the first time around).
First step after booting is to load up Orthos and let it run. 24 hours at 3.0GHz, load temps max out at 52. I'm fairly satisfied, although something tells me that I should be getting somewhat lower temps....
Now is where the fun begins... because this is where I need the help of the regulars here. I'm having a difficult time getting stability out of higher FSB settings and really don't know where to go from here. Even merely going to a 350MHz FSB isn't stable and I'm unsure about what safe voltage ranges are for the CPU. I know the idea is to push the FSB up and slowly increase voltage until it's stable and cool but I'm just a little hesitant to do it completely on my own.
Any help and advice you experts can throw my way would be greatly appreciated!
First, a bit about me:
I'm not completely new to overclocking but I have to admit that my first exposure was during a time where things were very simple. Pop in Pentium 2 300a, set bus speed and run at 450MHz (yes, MEGAhertz). Voilla, overclock done! Well the world of overclocking has come a long way from those days and this is my first attempt since running my 300a at a 50% overclock. I'm a former network engineer who still has a love for computers and a hatred for the computer industry. I'm now officially an enthusiast and not a pro. I prefer it this way.
My Rig:
Asus P5W DH Deluxe
Conroe E6600 2.4GHz
2 GB OCZ Platinum Rev2 DDR2-800
Zalman CNPS9500
Fortron Blue Storm 500W PSU
Foxconn Geforce 7950GT PCI-E
2x Raptor 500GB SATA
Lian Li 1200B case
The story so far:
I ordered my parts on Sunday but for some reason they did not ship in a timely manner. Finally, Friday rolls around and I get my parts. I'm wondering at this point why I bothered paying for FedEx Express shipping but oh well. Things like this happen.
I assembled everything and kept stock values at first. Windows loaded and booted up just fine - or so it seemed. It wasn't long before one of the 2 OCZ memory modules wouldn't allow the machine to POST. After a bit of research using the backup PC I found the right voltages for the modules, set the BIOS to the correct settings and....
nothing.
I did everything imaginable. It wasn't long before I concluded that one module works, the other doesn't. Ok, it appears one memory module is bad. At this point I've tested it thoroughly using all of the recommended voltage settings from the manufacturer. I've relaxed timings, used one slot, used all slots. The module is definitely bad. It's Friday night and none of the support channels will be open until Monday AM (about right now). Being the impatient person that I am, this isn't acceptable! I can't wait on this project. Solution? Run in single channel memory mode and get a working system, dammit!
So one module is in and working flawlessly. Memtest results support this and I'm somewhat content to continue on my path. I'll worry about setting up an RMA on Monday but for now....
With one working module, I return to the process of setting up Windows and all necessary updates. Everything at this point goes pretty smoothly and once it's finished I make myself a nice Ghost image.
Now that I have everything running ok at stock speeds with stock cooling it's time to run a few tests with Orthos and Intel's TAT. (On that note, I see plenty of people using Ai Booster or Asus Probe. What's the consensus on temp readings from Asus Probe/Ai versus Intel's TAT?) Orthos, of course, ran perfectly. I didn't see a need to really go haywire so I let Orthos run for about 4 hours and moved on to the fun stuff.
So I reboot and go into the BIOS and quickly realize these options are so much more in depth than what I was used to work with in the past. I'm not very familiar with adjusting settings like vCore and RAM timings but it comes to me rather quickly.
FSB set to 333, PCI-E bus set to 101, PCI bus locked at 33.33, vCore up to 1.4, MCH up to 1.65v, 2.1v to the RAM, 4-4-4-15 timings. Wouldn't you know it, PC boots right up with no problems....
I leave Orthos to run overnight. Load temps max out at 60. Damn those automatic update settings! 3AM my PC reboots. I wake up to find the Windows logon screen and quickly check the event log to see if there's a good explanation. Fortunately there is.
So the next day I decide I'm going to locate those Zalman adapters or go buy one. I leave Orthos to run again and start digging through boxes of parts. A short while later I emerge from the pile of parts that belong in a junk heap with the adapter (and a few other interesting things)...
At this point I'm hesitant to shut down and install the Zalman. I wanted a good solid 24 hour test running Orthos with the stock fan. I don't know why, I just did. So I decided to run out and pickup an external HDD case to make transferring old data easier (and to give me a use for these old IDE drives). I returned home and plugged in the firewire drive and Windows froze completely.
I guess it's sort of a blessing in disguise since now I can pop in the Zalman. Disassembly ensues and about 20 minutes later I have everthing back in the case with the Zalman mounted. One thing I noticed is that it's much easier to mount that fan when you don't install the motherboard first (the mistake I made the first time around).
First step after booting is to load up Orthos and let it run. 24 hours at 3.0GHz, load temps max out at 52. I'm fairly satisfied, although something tells me that I should be getting somewhat lower temps....
Now is where the fun begins... because this is where I need the help of the regulars here. I'm having a difficult time getting stability out of higher FSB settings and really don't know where to go from here. Even merely going to a 350MHz FSB isn't stable and I'm unsure about what safe voltage ranges are for the CPU. I know the idea is to push the FSB up and slowly increase voltage until it's stable and cool but I'm just a little hesitant to do it completely on my own.
Any help and advice you experts can throw my way would be greatly appreciated!
