Overclocking E6420 and DFI P965-S on water.. need some tips

[Somed00d]

Ok. I have a E6420 that is vcore hungry.. i know i am probably near the limits as it is. I can run orthos stable at 3.3ghz.. i am pushing 1.6 vcore. I have tested the FSB Limit with a 6x multi and i can hit about 500fsb no problem so its not a fsb problem. now, i am not sure how all the different voltages effect ocing. this is my first real attempt.

can anyone tell me what vtt actually does?

my temps are great, 26 deg idle and 38 under load.. if i push past 3.3 i have stability problems.. ie. the system will hang randomly. 420x8 is unstable. 500x6 is no problem so i can tell the ram is not holding me back (correct me if im wrong lol)

i am at work right now but when i get home i will post the actual volts i am using. i have tried changing all the volts up/down except south bridge volts.

[sswilson]

If I remember correctly, VTT is a CPU voltage relating to its interface with the northbridge.

I topped out at about FSB 425 before I started bumping VTT.

Max VTT is also pegged to the southbridge voltage. As you raise the Southbridge voltage, you get more (higher) selections for VTT.

I hadn't touched Southbridge either when I did the initial OC on the board, but latter attempts did point to it having an affect on max FSB on the 8X multiplier.

[Somed00d]

interesting.... i really want to lower the vcore.. 1.6 is a bit high for my likes... but my temps are great. I will try raising the sb volts and vtt a bit to see if it gives me more stability. i want to hit 3.5 at least.. i am building a budget (non o/c) system for someone so maybe i will use this cpu in that build.

[sswilson]

i am building a budget (non o/c) system for someone

Blasphemy!!!!!!!!!!

Hehe...... :)

Don't dump that chip before you see what a new one will do. I got lucky with mine, many reports for the E6420 seem to suggest that 3200 is a good OC with them.......

I'm thinking that the haydays of 50%+ OCs on intel chips are numbered. Most newer chips seem to be getting 30 - 40% which strangely enough (maybe not so strange.... :) ) was what we used to get with the A64s.

Somebody with a cynical mind might suggest that intel is into the second phase of the age old Bait & Switch marketing scheme........

[Eldonko]

What are your orthos load temps running that chip @ 1.6v? That is pretty high for 24/7 use… I recommend dropping vcore to 1.5v, dropping to 3100mhz and going up slowly from there.

Also remember to keep VTT about .35v~.2v gap with SB 1.5v for a good balance.

[Somed00d]

Originally Posted by Eldonko

What are your orthos load temps running that chip @ 1.6v? That is pretty high for 24/7 use… I recommend dropping vcore to 1.5v, dropping to 3100mhz and going up slowly from there.

Also remember to keep VTT about .35v~.2v gap with SB 1.5v for a good balance.

highest load temp has been 40 deg on water..

i will see what i can hit at 1.5v i really want to hit 3.7+ but this chip is not going to be the one....

[Eldonko]

40C orthos load @ 1.6v on water? Uh, I dunno if that is even possible lol, unless u live in a freezer. Mine is hotter than that @ 1.35v.

[sswilson]

Originally Posted by Eldonko

40C orthos load @ 1.6v on water? Uh, I dunno if that is even possible lol, unless u live in a freezer. Mine is hotter than that @ 1.35v.

Heh.... yeah I get around 56c @ 1.55 :)

[Somed00d]

Originally Posted by Eldonko

40C orthos load @ 1.6v on water? Uh, I dunno if that is even possible lol, unless u live in a freezer. Mine is hotter than that @ 1.35v.

lol i could be mistaken.. i will try again tonight after work. i dont remember it getting very hot though.

[Eldonko]

I get 65C load @ 1.5v and 3.6Ghz myself with this E6600, my E6400 was a few C cooler, maybe 62 load @ 1.5. Both on H20.