Core 2 Duo E6600 and NVDIA's latest offering for Intel platform, 680i, are a very popular selection among enthusiasts. However I noticed that many are clueless when it comes to overclocking due to the lack of reference point or guides over the net. We've had two long threads going on here and here, but the sheer length of the threads might make it difficult to find basic information needed for an aspiring overclocker to get things started.
This post is by no means meant to be a complete or definite answer to everybody. Rather, it's just a couple of tips (which might/might not work for others) that I gathered while playing with my board (EVGA) with my components. While I don't expect everyone to have the same setup as mine, but considering that there is a tendency among enthusiasts that a certain product is more popular than others (such as Micron D9 memory), I do think the variety of different hardware has its limits - and therefore one might find something useful from my experience.
Without further ado, I will start with one of the most popular and desired setup: E6600 @3.60GHz (9x400) / DDR2-800 (4-4-4-12)
Advanced Configuration
System Clocks
CPU Configuration
FSB & Memory Configuration
Memory Timing Setting
System Voltages
In most cases, the above settings will get your E6600 @3.60GHz up and going. Disable the features that you won't use under CPU configuration. NV GPU Ex and LinkBoost should be disabled, too. HyperTransport multi shouldn't really matter but some folks reported that lowering the default (x5) to x3 could help memory stability. It doesn't seem to hurt performance so you might want to give it a shot, too. Once the system boots, check the system stability with Orthos/Dual Prime95. If you don't want to bother with any more tweaking, you'll have to run the test for at least 4 hours (preferably 8 hours). Otherwise, run the test for 20 mins and move on and change to your desired configuration. 3DMark05 (CPU Tests) is also good for a quick test.
I am intending to expand this post as time goes by, but please note this post/thread is not a replacement for the above linked threads. Whenever you get a chance, read those two sticked threads from the beginning. There are a lot of experiences from many fellow forummers (including myself) in there and chances are your problems aren't just yours.
This post is by no means meant to be a complete or definite answer to everybody. Rather, it's just a couple of tips (which might/might not work for others) that I gathered while playing with my board (EVGA) with my components. While I don't expect everyone to have the same setup as mine, but considering that there is a tendency among enthusiasts that a certain product is more popular than others (such as Micron D9 memory), I do think the variety of different hardware has its limits - and therefore one might find something useful from my experience.
Without further ado, I will start with one of the most popular and desired setup: E6600 @3.60GHz (9x400) / DDR2-800 (4-4-4-12)
Advanced Configuration
System Clocks
CPU Configuration
FSB & Memory Configuration
Memory Timing Setting
System Voltages
In most cases, the above settings will get your E6600 @3.60GHz up and going. Disable the features that you won't use under CPU configuration. NV GPU Ex and LinkBoost should be disabled, too. HyperTransport multi shouldn't really matter but some folks reported that lowering the default (x5) to x3 could help memory stability. It doesn't seem to hurt performance so you might want to give it a shot, too. Once the system boots, check the system stability with Orthos/Dual Prime95. If you don't want to bother with any more tweaking, you'll have to run the test for at least 4 hours (preferably 8 hours). Otherwise, run the test for 20 mins and move on and change to your desired configuration. 3DMark05 (CPU Tests) is also good for a quick test.
I am intending to expand this post as time goes by, but please note this post/thread is not a replacement for the above linked threads. Whenever you get a chance, read those two sticked threads from the beginning. There are a lot of experiences from many fellow forummers (including myself) in there and chances are your problems aren't just yours.