E8400 & 780i OC Settings - Results

[SugarJ]

Originally Posted by rjbarker

Ok, so here's where I'm presently at...
1515 FSB x9 Multiplier = 3.4 Ghz

Hmm. 9x378 = 3402. Is this your bus speed?

vDroop under load is very common, worse on some boards than other. My vCore is set at 1.3875 in BIOS, but reports at 1.32 under load.

I wouldn't push your system any higher untill you've got your HSF installed. 65 degrees is about as warm as I'd go. My system currently reports max of 48 under load.

I'd be tempted to set your SPP and MCP voltages manually, start low and bump them until system stays stable. Auto settings tend to overvolt slightly.

Using 4 sticks of ram you may have to drop to 2T timing. If you were running Vista I'd say to put it in anyway, but I never had 100% memory full with 2GB under XP.

And you're doing fine. At least you're asking questions before you release the magic blue smoke out of your machine.

[3.0charlie]

(Sugar, nVidia uses the quad-pumped equation for their board's FSB adjustment - your maths are correct. Simply divide by 4)

OP, You're doing fine, asking the correct questions and moving forward step-by-step.

I used to have an E8400 that did 3.8Ghz at stock volts (1.225V) on an Asus Maximus Extreme. Going past 4Ghz needed more volts for stability (1.30V), and it reached 4.3Ghz with 1.40V. That last Vcore was my personal limit too.

Once your new HSF is installed, continue benching raising the Vcore until either 65C (under load) or 1.4V (BIOS) are reached. Those were my limits. As for stability, you can use OCCT (Download - OCCT Website english) - the 30 minutes auto-test is just fine. And keep a close eye on those temps.

[SugarJ]

You know, I have a 650i board in my other machine upstairs. I just totally blanked out on that. Long day.

RJ - listen to what 3.0Charlie says. Very experienced, and he's helped me lots.

[rjbarker]

Thanks very much folks!!! Much appreciated. I have heeded the warnings, as well as using my common sense and have backed everything off to Stock, until I get my new HSF installed.
I did record my numbers so that once I have it installed, I'll be able to go right to my Settings for the 3.4Ghz, although I think I'll try the vCore a little lower to start, perhaps 1.225 and go from thier.
Anyhow, this has been a great week for me, as far as learning all this "Geek" stuff...even my wife commented that she is now with a Geek ..tooo funny!
Great hobby though really, I definitley feel a lot more comfortable playing around in the BIOS. Up until awhile ago I would NEVER have held the Delete key while Booting up, now I'm saving / Loading my Settings in BIOS.

Thanks again folks and I'll be bach with my OC'ing questions in a few days.
I'll be quite satisfied to get 3.6 / 3.8 Ghz stable and running cool!

Cheers