Overclocking help

[tzetsin]

ok, I'm not sure im understanding this part of overclocking and i think i better get it streight in head. How would you define the limit of a processor? can you overclock it only to a specific point? or is it really only limited in how cold you can get it? Does extreem cold affect the performance of the processor? I would assume, that because of the cold the molicules are much closer together, making it easier for power to travel through the system, but i live in canada, so i know that that theory is flawed cause when i go out and start my truck every morning, i know that the cold certainly doesnt make ITS electrical system any better.

[tzetsin]

3.0 Charlie, i notice that you have two Q6600 rigs, one with the swiftec that Balistix mentioned and one with the Ncix that you mentioned. I assume that since you mentioned the Ncix that its the better of the two, but how much better? 60 dollars better? is there a great difference between the two (end result i mean, differance temperature wise, i know the ncix kit has alot more stuff in it) to merit the extra cost? Also i notice from the pictures on the swiftec site that it doesnt look like it has a pump?

[SpateD]

A friend of mine told me that he seen an article once upon a time.. and it was an OC'd system, but it was probably a couple years ago, and lots of $$$.. He said the system was liquid cooled with liquid nitrogen, obviously making it SUPER chilled. Not sure if this is true but.. That may not even answer your question to how much you can OC a processor.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by tzetsin

ok, I'm not sure im understanding this part of overclocking and i think i better get it streight in head. How would you define the limit of a processor? can you overclock it only to a specific point? or is it really only limited in how cold you can get it? Does extreem cold affect the performance of the processor? I would assume, that because of the cold the molicules are much closer together, making it easier for power to travel through the system, but i live in canada, so i know that that theory is flawed cause when i go out and start my truck every morning, i know that the cold certainly doesnt make ITS electrical system any better.

Overclocking depends on so many different things you can't say if its one thing or another which is why when you overclock a system you can spend HOURS doing it to tweak things just right.

I've probably spent at least 4-5 hours getting my machine to run from 2.4ghz to 3.5ghz on a e6600 due to finding the sweet spot for FSB and Voltages.

[tzetsin]

LOL now i feel kinda like a freak, i spent about 4 days streight on my days off (much to the chargin of my wife) tweaking my foul computer just to get it past 3527 (3527 was as far as i could get it with AUTO settings)... an it never did work. ( all gods bless my wife, she has the patience of a saint)

[3.0charlie]

Originally Posted by tzetsin

3.0 Charlie, i notice that you have two Q6600 rigs, one with the swiftec that Balistix mentioned and one with the Ncix that you mentioned. I assume that since you mentioned the Ncix that its the better of the two, but how much better? 60 dollars better? is there a great difference between the two (end result i mean, differance temperature wise, i know the ncix kit has alot more stuff in it) to merit the extra cost? Also i notice from the pictures on the swiftec site that it doesnt look like it has a pump?

(I just modified my sig, since you pointed the error I did - thanks!)

My first Quad runs under a modified H20-120 kit (the first version of the kit - my H2O-120 kit has a Micro-Res and a MCP350 pump, where the new kit has the pump integrated to the water block, and the reservoir integrated to the rad), with a dual 120mm rad instead of the single 120mm. My second rig runs under a modified NCIX Essentials 120 with 2 single 120mm rads, instead of the single 120mm rad that comes part of the kit. I needed two 120mm rads since space was a premium.

First rig with the modified Swiftech H2O-120 kit:



Second rig with the modified NCIX Essentials 120 kit:



... and the 2 120mm rads:



The Essentials 240 is really worth the 60$ premium over the 120 kit for Quads, since a single 120mm has a hard time keeping up with the Quad heat load.

[tzetsin]

sweet rigs man! i gotta ask, did you ever run your quads on air? if you did, how high did you get on air? what are the load temps now, with the wc at 3.6? can they go higher? is that kit link you sent complete or do i need to buy a couple extra things to do it right? and last but not least... wtf is folding?? lol i see this all over the site here but dunno what it is.

[3.0charlie]

Thanks, I worked hard on both - the HSPC tech station is great to work with, but a nightmare for cable management... I never did run my Quads on air - can't help you here. Both are folding ATM; the HSPC Quad has a 50-52C average on all cores, and I managed to hit 4.2 with it. The Lian Li Quad has a problem with its cores: 2 run at 54-56C, when the 2 others run at 44-46C... I've tried everything: re-installed the block 3 times, lapped both block and Quad... nothing works. The same temperature difference is still there.

The NCIX kit (http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=NCIX) is complete, minus the liquid you wish to use. I prefer the Swiftech liquid - cheap and works fine. Just add distilled water.

Folding FAQ: Folding @ Home F.A.Q..

[Prof. Dr. Silver]

Originally Posted by tzetsin

ok, I'm not sure im understanding this part of overclocking and i think i better get it streight in head. How would you define the limit of a processor? can you overclock it only to a specific point? or is it really only limited in how cold you can get it? Does extreem cold affect the performance of the processor? I would assume, that because of the cold the molicules are much closer together, making it easier for power to travel through the system, but i live in canada, so i know that that theory is flawed cause when i go out and start my truck every morning, i know that the cold certainly doesnt make ITS electrical system any better.

That's pretty much it! Your processor loves COLD. The colder it gets, the better. I do not really know the scientific rules/formula behind it....but the cold makes is easier to conduct electric signal...the colder it is...the faster those signal run through a processor.

Any processor always has an overclocking limit, for some processors it is higher than others...and our goal is ofcourse to find that limit.... It has been proven that the colder the processor, the higher we can push the OC limit. Check out these examples on a 3.0GHz CPU:

On stock air...a CPU gets hot quickly and will give up fast. You'll reach let's say 3.5GHz?
On aftermarket air(better cooling performance) is takes longer to get hot, therefore you could reach 3.8GHz?
On watercooling temps can be held at ambient temps..which is usually 23C...it takes way longer for a CPU to overheat so you could reach 4.2GHz?
On a Phase change temps go down to -40C under load....and your CPU lovers it!! You could go up to 4.8GHz?

The ultimate would be liquid nitrogen (only insane ppl use that) to cool/freeze your processor down to -180C and that is just sick! This should enable you to push it to 5.XX GHz....or higher! I believe the worldrecord is set at 8.XXGHz???

However...it all depends on your processor....some go fast....others don't! I hope this explains it a bit....As for cars....there is a lot of other stuff involved that will NOT make a car start when it freezes!

[tzetsin]

Well i decided that i'm definatly going to WC this rig, then i'll put up some pics of the rig and benchmark screenshops. buuut its going to have to wait a bit. my wonderful wife has decided that its not healthy to spend so much time looking at a computer screen and very subtly suggested that my eyes would benifit from a short hiatus, call it a "holiday" if you will, from my pc. So, after the smoke clears, i'll get back too it... albiet in smaller doses i'm sure. Thanks for all the help, Info and pics guys. i'll keep you posted.