Help OCing brand new system (E3110)

[ifusion]

So, I've been reading a ton of the threads around here (how did I never know about these forums before!?) and there is a lot of great advice for OCing, especially with the new Wolfdale cores (E8400 and Xeon E3110). I need some help with this process though since I've been out of the OCing game for about 4 years now (when I last built my own custom PC). Since I need to get the PC up and running ASAP when I get it (I use it for home and work), I'd like to minimize the amount of time I spend trying to figure out the order of operations when OCing etc.

Anyway, I'm building a new system w/ the following specs. It's already ordered and should arrive by Wednesday:

CPU: Xeon 3110 (virtually the same as E8400)
Mobo: EVGA NVIDIA nForce 780i
RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2 SDRAM 1066
GPU: EVGA GeForce 9600GT 512MB (default @ 700mhz core)
PSU: ANTEC Quattro TPQ-1000
Case: ANTEC P182
(HDDs and other stuff are being brought over from my other PC until I have time to backup all my data and stuff).

Of course, no 2 components ever OC the same, so I'm not asking for any definitive figures for what I can expect to OC to... what I do want to know though, are some baseline numbers, and also a brief example of how to go about OCing this rig. IE: Change CPU core to X first, then increase voltage, then increase multiplier, then change ram timings, etc. Like I said, I've read a lot here and have a good working knowledge of a lot of individual stuff, but as a whole I want to be absolutely sure I do this one right.

Lastly, I haven't yet ordered an aftermarket CPU hs/fan... Is it feasible to do ANY overclocking with the stock HSF? If not, I was considering maybe the Cooler Master 92mm Hyper TX2. What's your thoughts? I know a lot of OCing won't be possible on stock, but for curiosity as well as the fact that I won't have the HS/Fan immediately, I'd like to know if I can get the ball rolling a little with stock.

THANKS!

 

[OldSkool]

Thermalright Ultra 120 as far as a HS, imo. I have that and it keeps my chip nice and cool. If you want better, shoot for the Ultra 120 Extreme (TRU 120 E).

 

[blazed]

You can overclock on stock HSF but not recommended. 45nm CPUs come with an especially small stock HSF because they produce less heat, so its not going to do much with increased voltage.

AC Freezer 7 Pro goes for about $20-26 and provides sufficient cooling on my E3110 at 4ghz 1.3v OC, and thats about as cheap as you can get. So any after market cooler should work good.

Dunno exactly what you need explained sounds like you've read up on the procedures. But to reiterate for you, the general idea is to slowly bump up the FSB, testing for stability using something like Orthos, once it becomes unstable, raise the CPU voltage untill it is, and continue. Of course there are alot of other factors that you want to not cause insability as you do this, memory being the major one, cooling, etc. Some people like setting a higher voltage (1.3V or so) setting first and work the FSB up from there.

GL with the new system.

 

[ifusion]

Sounds good so far. For the HSF, I'll probably will go w/ that AC Freezer 7 you mentioned since I'd like to save the extra $40 (that TRU120E premium) for HDDS.

Sorry I wasn't overly clear w/ what I wanted explained. You started to answer already, but what I'm wanting to know is kind of a "recommended by current E8400/E3110 owners'" guide to OCing this cpu. So, I guess, knowing the CPU, the speed RAM I will have, and the mobo, is there a recommended OC starting point (like a list of settings that are generally almost always obtainable for stable OC of this CPU). That, and also kind of what you started doing, which is to just to kinda of outline a process/order for which to start changing settings.
Thanks again.

 

[Dragon Heart]

AFAIK , you can start easily at 3.6ghz ( ie 8 x 400 fsb or 7 x 515 ) without increase of vcore stock . I recommend you to test and set manually it once you get it in bios cos stocks are often more important than needed .

for all other settings at that o/c , you can leave them auto , just set ram timings with yours and according to their specifications .

then increase slower if you plan to .

AC freezer pro is enough for such goal .

I'd go for ultra 120 if you want more

I 'm using xigmatek HDT s1284 and happy with , since I can touch the rad not so hot .

even at 4.7 ghz ... ^_^

 

[ifusion]

Excellent! I have a new dilemma now though... (of course haha)

After all the hype on the E8400s and E3110s being great OCers, I got caught in the itch of wanting one so bad that I'm not so sure I examined the best CPU for my purposes :^)

I'm primarily programming, web development, flash media work, graphic design, a lot of programs open, some 3d rendering, some AV encoding, etc. And then some games here and there too...

From what I've been reading around here, it seems the quad cores are better suited for those needs, right? If it is, is there a recommended (similarly priced) quad core I should look at getting??

Does the fact that the quads are clocked slower have a real-world impact? What about the amount of L2 cache? I don't want to lose any of the performance gains of the E3110, by switching to quad...

Thanks!

 

[Jinu]

zerotherm nirvana price/performance better than the u-120e. if price isnt a concern, u-120e

 

[ifusion]

So, a quick update:
The system arrived and has already been put to great use!

Since it is for work AND play, I took a good amount of time setting things up the way I wanted and only just now had a chance to overclock.

From what I initially tested - this thing LOVES to be pushed. I got up to 4.3ghz pretty easily on air cooling (temps got pretty high though...in the 70's) and the GPU even went did an OC of 75mhz on the core and 160mhz on the memory without artifacts (and that is on top of the card already shipped with a 50mhz OC on core and 50 on the mem too).

My initial 3dmark06 score was around 10700 at stock settings (still seemed a little low to me...even for stock), but the and OC up to 4ghz (I didn't run it at 4.3) got me to 12700. Not too bad, I think (I could be wrong though)

Right now, I'm running at 3.6ghz @ 1.2v and 1066.7mhz ram 24/7. My idle temps are ~37C and load temps are about 55C after a good run of Orthos.

What do you guys think?

 

[Dragon Heart]

So, a quick update:

My initial 3dmark06 score was around 10700 at stock settings (still seemed a little low to me...even for stock), but the and OC up to 4ghz (I didn't run it at 4.3) got me to 12700. Not too bad, I think (I could be wrong though)

Right now, I'm running at 3.6ghz @ 1.2v and 1066.7mhz ram 24/7. My idle temps are ~37C and load temps are about 55C after a good run of Orthos.

What do you guys think?

if you happy with such o/c go on , you have pretty much room to stay 4ghz 24/7 .

i'm pretty happy with 3.6ghz 24/7 although i tested 3.75 ghz with 1.20v load on my rig could be a better spot .( stable too )

what is your graphic card ?

what's your graphic card ?

 

[ifusion]

if you happy with such o/c go on , you have pretty much room to stay 4ghz 24/7 .

i'm pretty happy with 3.6ghz 24/7 although i tested 3.75 ghz with 1.20v load on my rig could be a better spot .( stable too )

what is your graphic card ?

what's your graphic card ?

My graphics card is a 9600gt.
I'm pretty content with it. It still seems like I have to have a higher voltage than most other people, and my temps seem higher than most too. I am using AS5 and a Thermaltake VT-1 HSF. Didn't lap the cpu & hsf though

 

[GamingDaemon]

I am building a new rig with the following parts (parts should be here 4/23/08):

• Antec 900
• DFI Lanparty DK P35-T2RS
• Intel XEON E3110
• Crucial Ballistix Trace 2x1GB DDR2-1066
• Zalman 9700
• PC Power & Cooling 610W PSU
• eVGA 8800GTX (poaching from my other rig)
• Creative SB X-FI Sound card (poaching from my other rig)
• 2x320GB WD AAKS (RAID 0)
• 640GB WD (backup drive)
• 2x ASUS DVD Lightscribe Burner

I plan to OC the E3110 to 4GHz, but I don't want to ruin it either. If the voltage range is 0.956-1.225V, is it safe to go to 1.33v or 1.36v in BIOS? My batch #isQ805A165.

Thanks in advance...