Extreme OCers pls Sound Off!

[Spectre]

Sorry dude I didnt mean to come off like "I" was braggin....just was sayin it to the few that may be out there that peruse this board and arent members or whoever in general to just take the time to share how far -even if it has to be for braggin rights- they pushed their whatever *be it a 486 they have happy star control 2 memories of or anythin current* and the settings they used to do it it'd be a nice smattering of CPU\Chipset types and how far they can be pushed. Good education in that and good future buyer reference\research

That was my intention....nothin overtly competetive or egotistical


Spectre

Originally Posted by 3.0charlie

I believe you have the wrong Forum for such a thread. We take pride in all our oc'ing trials, but to the point of posting for bragging rights, no, thank you - I'll pass. But as you may already have seen, we are many members willing to help any newcomer (heck, even long-standing members) reach their own oc goal. And you don't need to have broken any records for that.

I have many OCs under my belt: E2140 @ 3.2, E2160 @ 3.4, E6300 @ 3.4, E6400 @ 3.6, Q6600 @ 4.0 (twice), E8400 @ 4.7, etc. all under water, with way too much Volts but stable while Folding. Would my numbers (volts, timings, FSB) help someone else reach those same speeds? No - we don't have the same hardware and cooling power. But can I help someone else troubleshoot their settings with my knowledge? I think so. It has happened. Heck, I've asked for help and managed to reach new speeds personnally with the help of others.

[MacJunky]

Originally Posted by 3.0charlie

I believe you have the wrong Forum for such a thread. We take pride in all our oc'ing trials, but to the point of posting for bragging rights, no, thank you - I'll pass. But as you may already have seen, we are many members willing to help any newcomer (heck, even long-standing members) reach their own oc goal. And you don't need to have broken any records for that.

Perhaps we should just leave it at people just monitoring when we post about our hardware or when we submit results to HWBot or some other benchmarking sites and ask us about it in appropriate thread if they must?
That way they can potentially learn more without having to sift through useless bragging.

As for finding information about how certain components clock one can just use the search feature either here or through google, chances are someone has done something with it before.

[Wankerfx]

I've got an E6850 ES that will do 3.6Ghz @ 1.28V, and that's about it for CPU power...

I'm also really into testing and reviewing DDR2 ram, and I love playing with subzero stuff. You should check out my build thread for my phase change =)

[Nuckoholic]

Originally Posted by Spectre

Its a monster for what it IS thanks alot and I posted the vista numbers so that its somethin EVERYONE knows how to weild not all of us are born knowin Orthos or Prime '95 there guy. I also have no idea what yer talkin about in reference to the 680i.... cram a cooler on the North Bridge.... weakness solved. Mem cant be clocked any higher either thanks I tried that. I combine ECC and NON ECC memory at dual channel which is likely a factor. Not too mention that 4-4-4-10 CR1 will DESTROY anythin under 850 @5-5-5-15 or worse... TIP: Higher clocks are SLOWER than tighter timmings. And my VOLTS are 1.45 1.42 in windows in account of the droop. And I'd be better with an EXTREME Quad Core but I dont happen to have 1300 bux layin around....I left it in my other pants. Dont make me laugh... that p35 isnt any better of a board than the 680...which in my view is better than the 780i due to recent stability issues. If ya wanna talk smokin chipsets mention a 790 Ultra -Despite its DDR3 limitation and shitty CLs 8-8-8?- or an X48...hell even an X38..... P35 is reaching dude.

I think I covered all yer issues \ questions..... what else ya got?

QUOTE BELOW

While you may think thats a monster its. First off to run that processor at that speed your crankin some serious voltage through it probably anywhere from 1.5v and up.

2nd your memory isn't overclocked and could probably be pushed much further.

3rd you'd probably be better off getting a e8400 and overclocking it as you'll get better benches.

4th upgrade to a p35 board and you'll get better overclocks as when you start pushing limits on a 680i your asking for disaster... I know I lost a memory bank AND a stick of memory.

5th that score Vista gives you is a utter joke and has absolutely no relevance to ANYTHING!

[/quote]


Totally false - P35 is a much better overclocking board than the 680i.

Also 4-4-4-10 @ 725 fails because a lot of people are running cas 5 near 1000 or even over, which totally destroys cas 4 at lower frequencies. So higher frequencies are better than tighter timings.

Showing off your rig/overclocks is fine but spreading false information isn't.

[3oh6]

i have to agree with Nuckoholic...a lot of the information coming from you, while loud and confident sounding, is quite incorrect or mis-informed. on top of that, you seem to be very defensive about yourself when questioned and that doesn't go over well in a friendly mature forum like ours here. we take advice from others and learn from it, not dispute it with conjecture.

i have used every motherboard pretty much released since the P5B-Dlx (aside from never touching a Gigabyte board) and have extensive experience clocking both DDR2 and DDR3 on all chipsets (P965, P35, X38, X48, 680i, 790i) and all of your comments about the chipsets and memory performance are 100% incorrect. i won't go into details about every single comment you have made but your information isn't correct for all statements thus far that i have read from you.

i know you think you are up on your overclocking information but i suggest you just relax a little in your method of delivery and stick to what you have first hand experience with...not what you read on the internet. i'm sure some users here appreciate your enthusiasm for providing information but when it is incorrect, it isn't helping anyone. in this thread or any other thread you have volunteered assistance in.

don't take this post the wrong way. this is simply some friendly advice to help you understand the situation. and like others have mentioned, we don't need a thread to brag about our overclocks. we are mature enough around here to know when something might be of importance or beneficial to the rest of the group and we will start a thread about that topic to discuss. a general e-penis thread is not only not required, but not really welcome...head to [H] and sound off if thats what you are interested in.

[Lithotech]

Innocent enough thread to begin with. I can chaulk the bravado blethering up to enthusiastic youth -- it is easy enough to forgive or ignore.


Extreme OC? I don't qualify. Strictly AIR for me at this point, mostly due to cash, or rather, a nasty habit of buying other stuff. :p

I am nearly finished moving into my 680i E6750 system (still have to edit my sig lol). I am quite happy with it, except for RAID performance. It's on a 2 drive RAID 0 array, and I'll be adding 2x more drives soon, then hopefully get a decent RAID card. For now, I accept that it is at least faster than a single drive.

All on Air, Scythe Ninja Plus Rev B w/ Antec TriCool (80cfm on the cheap and noisy), and two different E6750's, one MALAY and one Costa Rica.

• 24/7 Orthos, Prime, Folding stable: 3.8ghz with 1.5 volts, RAM at 950mhz and 2.1 volts.
• 24/7 stable 500 FSB: 3.5ghz with 1.42 volts, RAM at 1ghz and 2.0 volts
• 24/7 Max FSB: 520 FSB 3.6ghz with 1.42 volts, RAM at 1040mhz and 2.0 volts

Since most any boards out there rarely do more than 520mhz FSB, the P35 isn't necessarily better than a 680i, except perhaps they will run 45nm cores better. The straps are different, FSB holes different, and required voltages different, possibly less heat on the NB, but otherwise, 3.6ghz or 3.8ghz is still 3.6ghz or 3.8ghz. How you get there doesn't matter, providing it is stable. Getting there is all the fun for me.

Numerous overclocks with the E2180's. I like the 10x multi, and cheap price. For the most part, maximum stable overclocks have always been about 3.2ghz -- again, on AIR. Stock voltage OCs usually about the 2.7ghz mark, which is enough to get your RAM really rolling on boards that don't have a strap past DDR2-800. A couple of these have been on nForce 650i's, a couple on mATX boards, and my Asus P5B Plus (P965) is currently running one. I'll list a few of these E2180 overclocks when I get a chance to dig up the worksheets.

I strive to achieve clocks with the least amount of voltage possible, many of my final setups are on stock volts or even lower. I also like 24/7 stability, no suicide runs here! I'll pass some settings with 8 hours orthos, but use a 24 hour run with any setting that looks to be final. My real test is to use the system daily and see how much uptime I can rack up -- not always possible if the system won't standby in an overclocked state. This real world test of uptime is really pushed to it's limit if I give the system to my youngest daughter for a month, watching for bluescreens or lockups, and see if it gets days or weeks of uptime. She stresses a system pretty good with all the crap she runs simutaneously, and a system that isn't rock solid stable won't last 4 hours under her pressure LOL. Nothing like a 14 year old's numerous chat programs, games, youtube, and light video encoding, to prove a stable overclock! I had one system that couldn't handle her at stock speed! It was fine otherwise, just couldn't handle everything she does simutaneously.

I like the simplicity of the intel nForce chipsets, while still getting the job done. The only thing I don't like about the 650i is the 2.1 volt Vdimm limitation. Otherwise, it's my favorite pick for a budget gaming system. I plan to try one of the new Gigabyte E series motherboards, probably the Gigabyte EP35-DS3R -- there is a good chance it'll knock the 650i off my list. I'm also very interested in power savings systems, as many of my clients have no interest or knowledge of overclocking and simply want cool, quiet and stable. The prospect of an all solid-cap P35 board for around $100, that'll save power and prove it by logging actual power use, is extremely interesting to me indeed!

I am starting work on two other P35 boards (Asus P5K Premium and DFI DK P35), the Asus for a home server I want to upgrade and the DFI as a bench tester (my current one will not run older CPUs like the Prescott). So I should have some practical experience on a P35 in a couple weeks. From my experiences with a P965, I expect the P35s to impress me. I may even pull my E6750 to see what she does in these two, but more than likely not. I'll run E2180s in them now, thats all I have available and no cash to pick up an E8400 just yet. I also have to try my P4-640 in the bench tester to be sure it runs Prescotts (it did 4ghz in my P965).


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[crazyazn]

Maybe I don't qualify...but anyways my rig is in my sig...

I haven't tested higher FSB as I'm too lazy to find out the max my mem can do...and even at this speed my Ninja isn't cooling all that well...load temps hit 75 max under TAT. This is currently my 24/7 speed...and I'm limited by my cooler and i think my RAM which doesn't seem to like high voltages.

I guess I don't really need to run it at OC speeds since I've only got a 7600GT and I've kinda stopped gaming already...

[Lithotech]

Originally Posted by crazyazn

Maybe I don't qualify...but anyways my rig is in my sig...

I haven't tested higher FSB as I'm too lazy to find out the max my mem can do...and even at this speed my Ninja isn't cooling all that well...load temps hit 75 max under TAT. This is currently my 24/7 speed...and I'm limited by my cooler and i think my RAM which doesn't seem to like high voltages.

I guess I don't really need to run it at OC speeds since I've only got a 7600GT and I've kinda stopped gaming already...

Good call on the vid -- faster CPU won't help much with recent games, when it's always waiting for the vid.

You are not alone! I think it's quite rare for people to overclock their system to optimal (maximum possible) speeds. For many systems, I myself will simply set a goal/speed that I want or feel the system should be able to attain, and am completely satisfied if I can get that speed and still be stable. I would then reduce voltages to minimum stable, and perhaps tighten RAM timings, then done!

No need to find the max ram speed, becuase you are already at 1000mhz it's safe to assume that P965 board's next memory strap will be well beyond what that ram is capable of (1200mhz, 1300mhz+). You probably can't tighten the timings at that speed though.

I can tell you that the Mushkin will almost certainly do 1066mhz, these days just about any decent kit of ram will do at least one speed grade faster than it's rating: DDR2-800 ram does DDR2-1066, and DDR2-667 ram does DDR2-800. It should also do one less tick on memory timings at their stock speed SPD values: DDR2-800 @ 5-5-5-15 ram does DDR2-800 @ 4-4-4-12, and DDR2-800 @ 4-4-4-12 ram does (maybe) DDR2-800 @ 3-3-3-8(or 10)(or 4-4-4-10, or 4-3-4-8/10 because not many mainstream DDR2 kits can do Cas Latency of 3 at any speed).

Mushkin has two different kits of HP2-6400, the kit I have has SPD timings of 4-5-4-11 (PN: 996533), and the other kit they have is 4-4-4-12 (PN: 996603). Both are priced similar, same heatspreaders, and both are called HP PC2-6400 (or HP2-6400). Mine run 3-3-3-8 1T at DDR2-800 (1.9 volts), but need 5-5-5-15 at 1000mhz+ (2.1 volts). It's possible the other kit won't match this, but I think it will, and every other kit I've worked with always does (Buffalo Firestix, Corsair, Crucial Ballistix, G.Skill, Patriot, and more).

Temps do seem a little high, although that's an earlier C2D chip, a Ninja should keep it under 60-70. Are you running the stock Scythe fan with the Ninja? It is a bit gutless albiet quiet. You could try a faster fan, or a second fan in push-pull configuration.

What thermal paste did you use? It's also possible it isn't making good contact with the CPU. Intel's integrated heatspreaders are rarely flat, and I've run into some AMDs that have way high corners that at least Intel grinds down a bit. The Ninja's base should be very nicely machined and flat. It's also possible one or more of the pushpins have come loose. Another possibility is the thermal sensor is out of whack, what are the stock speed idle temps at?

So here's what I would do to try and reduce temps, most likely in this order:

I love the look of the Ninja, the grooves on each corner giving it a maltese look. But they are for function as much as look! Get a flashlight and look down the open grooves/slots, you will be able to see the pushpin at the bottom! The direction of the slot on the top of the pushpin should be angled toward the inside of the heatsink, towards the CPU. If any of them are pointing sideways, it has come loose.

If the pushpins are OK, I'll add another fan or swap in a more powerful one, and see how much temp that takes off.

If the pushpin(s) have come loose, reseat them and check temps. I would then shutdown and pull the heatsink to give it fresh TIM/goop. Coming loose has broken the seal and leaving it on may cause pockets of air in the contact patch -- very bad!

Even if the pushpins are OK, if you pull the HSF off you can get a look at it's contact patch. If the problem is a non flat surface, the patch of goop on the base and CPU will be very obviously not touching in some areas. Now all you have to do is check the flatness of the HSF base and CPU top -- I use a credit card and hold the part up to a light, any area not making contact will show light through. To fix this problem you will have to lap and polish the offending part. Let me know if you have to proceed with this, I can get you a good lapping and polishing kit for $20US (comes with a thick piece of glass, and several grits of wet sand paper).

If the contact patch is OK, pushpins OK, and adding fan speed didn't help, I would then get a temperature reading from somewhere other than the OS/motherboard. I have thermal sensors that I can plant on the HSF/CPU, they came with front panel fan controllers I got for cheap (gotta live with this till I can afford an infra red thermometer). The only other way I can get at some different readings would be to plop the CPU into another motherboard, and see what it gets there. Since I work out of my home, I have the luxury of a small inventory, so trying a diff mobo is easy for me. For others, perhaps a $20 front panel unit with thermal sensors is cheaper and easier.

Obviously, if I get the same temps in a different mobo, it is simply a hot running CPU and nothing to do with the HSF, contact, TIM, fan or bad mounting. Maybe it's a quad core that was neutered to a dual core, yet still sucks current to all four cores and hence generates more heat? Who knows?

.

[crazyazn]

I'm considering dropping my OC back to stock or something lower (eg. 3.15/2.8) that can run on stock voltage/undervolted.

The RAM I have is the older 4-4-4-12 set, I think the PN is 996576. Also, my fan is sitting on top of my RAM, which means that it isn't blowing through the base of the Ninja, which might be the reason for my higher temps...as part of the air is just moving over the top of the HSF instead of through the base.

I was using the stock fan but then someone suggested I use the S-Flex instead since it should have more static pressure. The temps seem about the same though, and the SlipStream is making more noise than the S-Flex as my exhaust. I don't really wanna get a crazy fan as I want quiet operation as well, so no Scythe Ultra Kaze for me. Also, I don't think I have room for a second fan unless I put them blowing towards my PSU.

I used AS5 as my TIM. I put a line down the middle and just mounted the HSF, which I think is supposedly the best way for dual cores.

I might reseat the HSF, and I'll see about putting 2 fans and having them blow towards the PSU...as the NB HS is pretty tall so I might have to get something else for it.

I probably won't lap it...too much effort...hahah...and I think I know what site you are talking about.

EDIT: I'm undecided about lowering my OC because sometimes I transcode my music so it takes less space on my phone/mp3, and I'm unsure how much the process will slow down without the OC.

Thanks for the advice.

[Lithotech]

Originally Posted by crazyazn

I'm considering dropping my OC back to stock or something lower (eg. 3.15/2.8) that can run on stock voltage/undervolted.

... my fan is sitting on top of my RAM, which means that it isn't blowing through the base of the Ninja, which might be the reason for my higher temps...

I was using the stock fan but then someone suggested I use the S-Flex instead since it should have more static pressure. The temps seem about the same though...

I used AS5 as my TIM. I put a line down the middle and just mounted the HSF, which I think is supposedly the best way for dual cores.

I might reseat the HSF...

I probably won't lap it...too much effort...hahah...and I think I know what site you are talking about.

EDIT: I'm undecided about lowering my OC because sometimes I transcode my music so it takes less space on my phone/mp3, and I'm unsure how much the process will slow down without the OC.

Thanks for the advice.

YVW!

I know what you mean about the fan on top of the ram, I have the same issue in my 680i -- alternatively I could move the ram to the two outer slots, then lower the fan. When it was on my HSPC Tech Station, there was a 120mm fan blowing directly through the base of the HS, towards the video card, and it didn't make a hellova lot of difference. I had even mounted the Ninja 90 degrees out so that the base's slotted heatsink fins were parallel to the airflow. I forgot about this when I put it all in a case, and was scratching my head as to why I had the HS mounted wrong when I clearly remembered being careful about it. It finnaly clicked, and I reseated the HS before putting the sys into a case. So, I think, that isn't your problem.

Considering a fan change made no difference, verifies the above and eliminates a couple of the possible problems. The S-Flex should be more potent than the stock fan, isn't there several speed grades of it though? Still possible that the S-Flex isn't any better...

TIM is fine. I don't use that method, but thinking it out I can see that it should be fine, whether the line is splitting inbetween the two cores or intersecting right through both cores. It'll spread out with a bit of heat and use.

That about eliminates everything except a pushpin that has come loose, or very bad contact due to uneven surfaces, the mobo is reading the temps inaccurately, or the CPU is just a hot little bugger.

Did you check the pushpins at all?

I've run into many inaccurate temperature readings, almost always due to BIOS version that was released before the CPU model. Almost always, a BIOS update fixed it. Your CPU is an early core, so while this is unlikely it is still possible that your particular version of BIOS is not reading the CPU correctly. Before reseating the Ninja, might be worth a try to flash to the latest BIOS, update the mobo and chipset drivers too, and recheck your temp readings.

Oh, what do you use to read the temps other than TAT?

If you reseat the Ninja, as soon as you get it off you will be able to verify the contact is OK or not by looking at the TIM residue on the HS and CPU.

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