Woodenhead

OK. I just completed my first PC build a few weeks ago, and am looking to try my hand at overclocking. Warning: complete beginner - never gotten into anything like this before. But I find I have an itch when it comes to tweaking, & I could really use the most performance I can get, as I do a fair bit of audio encoding/editing, and esp. gaming, in my spare time. Anyway, I read through the tutorial (very well written, BTW) and here's my resultant post. Looking for some ideas as to how to (safely) tweak my BIOS settings. The info I'm trying to take in is quite a bit for my old brain, so some guidance is a must for me. ;-)


--------[ EVEREST Ultimate Edition ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v4.20.1170
Benchmark Module 2.3.212.0
Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Report Wizard
Computer NAPOLEON (Napoleon)
Generator Woody
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 6.0.6001
Date 2008-04-25
Time 22:59


--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Computer Type ACPI x64-based PC
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate [[Mildly tweaked by me with vLite]]
OS Service Pack Service Pack 1

Internet Explorer 7.0.6001.18000
DirectX DirectX 10.0
Computer Name NAPOLEON (Napoleon)
User Name Woody
Logon Domain Napoleon
Date / Time 2008-04-25 / 22:59

Motherboard:
CPU Type QuadCore Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, 2400 MHz (9 x 267)
Motherboard Name Asus Maximus Formula (2 PCI, 3 PCI-E x1, 2 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Dual Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset Intel Beachwood X38
System Memory 4096 MB (DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM)
BIOS Type AMI (10/12/07)

Display:
Video Adapter ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 (512 MB)
Video Adapter ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 (512 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI RV680
Monitor Dell 1704FPT (Digital) [17" LCD] (Y429958CCEG1)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Analog Devices AD1988B @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Adapter ATI HD 2xxx HDMI @ ATI RV670 - High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Adapter C-Media CMI8788 Audio Chip

Storage:
IDE Controller Intel(R) ICH9 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 2 - 2926
IDE Controller Intel(R) ICH9 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 1 - 2920
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
Storage Controller Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
Storage Controller SCSI/RAID Host Controller
Disk Drive ST31000340AS ATA Device (931 GB, IDE)
Disk Drive ST3250823NS ATA Device (250 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA)
Optical Drive LITE-ON DVDRW SHM-165H6S ATA Device (DVD+R9:8x, DVD-R9:4x, DVD+RW:16x/8x, DVD-RW:16x/6x, DVD-RAM:5x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/24x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 238472 MB (135708 MB free)
D: (NTFS) 953859 MB (660158 MB free)
Total Size 1164.4 GB (777.2 GB free)

Input:
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Keyboard Standard PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse HID-compliant mouse

Network:
Primary IP Address 192.168.1.67
Primary MAC Address 00-1E-8C-0A-B8-45
Network Adapter Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Network Adapter Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (192.168.1.67)

Peripherals:
Printer Fax
Printer hp psc 1310 series
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
Printer SnagIt 8
FireWire Controller VIA VT6306/6307 Fire II IEEE1394 Host Controller (PHY: VIA VT6307)
USB1 Controller Intel 82801IB ICH9 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801IB ICH9 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801IB ICH9 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801IB ICH9 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801IB ICH9 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB1 Controller Intel 82801IB ICH9 - USB Universal Host Controller
USB2 Controller Intel 82801IB ICH9 - USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB2 Controller Intel 82801IB ICH9 - USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Device American Power Conversion USB UPS
USB Device Generic USB Hub
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
Battery HID UPS Battery

DMI:
DMI BIOS Vendor American Megatrends Inc.
DMI BIOS Version 0505
DMI System Manufacturer System manufacturer
DMI System Product Maximus Formula
DMI System Version System Version
DMI System Serial Number System Serial Number
DMI System UUID E06C001E-8C000001-7A9A001E-8C0AB845
DMI Motherboard Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer INC.
DMI Motherboard Product Maximus Formula
DMI Motherboard Version Rev 1.xx
DMI Motherboard Serial Number MS1C7ABE4U04341
DMI Chassis Manufacturer Chassis Manufacture
DMI Chassis Version Chassis Version
DMI Chassis Serial Number Chassis Serial Number
DMI Chassis Asset Tag Asset-1234567890
DMI Chassis Type Desktop Case
DMI Total / Free Memory Sockets 4 / 2

--------[ End Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ALSO:

Case: Antec P182 ATX

Heatsink - Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme w/ Scythe Slipstream fan

Fans:

- 2 120mm exhaust in upper mobo section (NOT including fan attached to heatsink)
- 1 120mm intake in front-mid
- 1 80mm spot fan; directs airflow towards RAM & Northbridge, basically. Can be easily adjusted.
- 1 120 in self-contained lower section (pulls through HDs & out through power unit, which also has it's own fan)

PSU: OCZ GameXtreme @ 700W

Audio Card: Asus Xonar D2X PCI-E

RAM: Mushkin HP PC2-6400 4GB (2X2GB) DDR2-800




CORE Temp Results:

Idle @ 1/2 hour: 39, 36, 32, 34

After ORTHOS @ half hour: 52, 50, 46, 47

BTW: At the end of all this, Everest reported the north bridge temp to be 50. I'm not sure about the temp variance between the cores. I re-adjusted the heatsink a few times, but the variances remained. Dunno if that's normal or not...

***************************************



...and there you have it. I hope everything's in order. Got a busy day - I'll check back when I can.

Cheers!

Woodenhead

OK I just took my first baby step & upped the FSB a bit, to 290, mostly to check temps & get a feel for what needs to be tweaked.

After running Orthos for a half hour:

Freq: 2610 MHz (290.02 x 9)
Temps (Core 0 -> 3): 56, 55, 48, 49

I'm thinking I should re-adjust the heatsink/thermal paste, cuz I'd say those temps vary too much. The first 2 cores seem to heat up more than the other two:

Default clock - mild OC
52 - 56
50 - 55
46 - 48
47 - 49

Am I right in this assumption?

Anyway, I've no more time today to fiddle around. Hopefully tomorrow.

Underclocker

Those temperatures are fine for a loaded CPU. You should run two instances of ORTHOS to load up all four cores as it only stress tests up to two processors at a time. As long as every core doesn't go above 60C it should be fine, and you won't have to reapply thermal paste.

Woodenhead

Thanks for the info, Underclocker.

yeah, I ran 2 instances of Orthos for all those readings, and used ProcessExplorer to set the affinity. Stressed all 4 cores - worked great.

Been busy lately - I'll bump things up a few notches later today.

Woodenhead

Bumped the FSB up to 340, which bumped me up to 3060MHz.

ORTHOS says: 59, 58, 51, 51

NB temp 55

Everything's nice & stable.

I imagine I'll be getting into changing voltages & memory timings & such soon... we'll see. I'll keep you all posted.

Woodenhead

Bumped up the FSB to 355 to give me ~3200MHz

Screenshot of temps

Everything seems as stable as default as of now, but I haven't run an extended ORTHOS test yet (these temps were after 10 min)

Opinions on temps, whether to do more, etc.?

I'm thinking I'll be happy with this level of OC, though; as long as everything remains cool & stable enough, that is. I'm not sure if it's worth messing around with voltages & RAM timings for whatever potential increase in performance I'll get over this level...

1 g0t 0wn3d

can you post a screen of the first tap of cpu-z

Woodenhead

1 g0t 0wn3d

with that cooler you should be getting lower temps how much thermal paste did you use

Woodenhead

A thin line across the center of the CPU, as per some instructions I found posted multiple times...

1 g0t 0wn3d

like this note its very thin?

Woodenhead

Yeah, basically the same.

I had installed it with a paper-thin layer across the heatsink surface the first time, and had similar results. I did the above method a week ago.

Woodenhead

I probably should add that the ambient temperature here is ~32 degrees Celsius.

Woodenhead

OK. Here's another little temperature test I ran.

Idle @ 3194MHz (355 x 9) :

CPU Core:

0- 39
1- 36
2- 32
3- 34

NB/SB - 51/48

ORTHOS Loaded after 25 minutes:

0- 61
1- 61
2- 55
3- 55

NB/SB - 56/51

Yeah, still hotter than I'd expect, I guess. The ambient temp here was much cooler, BTW. I'm pretty sure my vid card doesn't help, which throws off tons of heat in the case. I'll muck with the fans a bit. I'm looking at getting a small fan like this (need one that's thinner, though) to put on my NB as well.

Memory timings & all voltages are still all stock/auto. I may try some different settings in an effort to lower temps somewhat.

Woodenhead

Haven't reported back in a while, and I figured I should - this thread has a lot of views.

I think I've found a comfort zone for me. I don't want to push the temps any higher, and I'm pleased with the performance. Everything is perfectly stable at this mediocre OC. To go higher is surely possible, but the risk isn't worth the (probably) negligible performance boost. Then again, I'll most likely push things more sometime down the road.

Here's the screenshots of my BIOS settings. So far I've left all voltages at AUTO. (I should also add that I recently flashed my BIOS from 0505 to 1201) I only use these settings for gaming, audio editing, or other intensive tasks that I undertake. Luckily the BIOS has 2 profiles I can save to, so switching between this OC & a basically stock setting couldn't be easier.

3.2 GHz (400 X 8)







I hope this thread helps somebody else.
Any comments /suggestions are always welcome :-)

stressfreesoul

Yes its helped me. Im gonna try 7x400 (if it will let me.)