Overclocking advice on new C2E rig..

[Milque]

Ok, I'm more of a photo editor than a gamer, and was donated a 4gig Core 2 Extreme system..

Unfortunately the system it came in was a tiny HTPC case with a CPU fan that wasn't up to the task and I nearly fried the CPU running photoshop..

Being just after Christmas I decided I was going to rebuild the machine and went a little nuts.

After watching my CPU hit 72c running a photoshop filter I panicked and ordered a CoolIT Eliminator (which should be here tomorrow..)

I've got the chip on an Abit AWD9 Max motherboard. With the extra cooling I'm looking to overclock but the ram is generic low end DDR2 533, so I'm not sure what to expect..

Anyway here's the full system specs:

Core 2 Extreme
CoolIT Eliminator water cooler
Abit AWD9 Max mobo
4 gigs DDR2 533 (and I need all 4 for photoshop, so can't switch to 2 gigs of faster mem)
eVGA 8800 GTX (replacing a ATI 1800)
4 74gig raptors in Raid 0 (once again for performance with photo editing)
2 500gig seagates (data and backups)
Thermaltake Toughpower 750
Antec Nine Hundred (second revision, I needed the airflow since the Eliminator replaces the rear case fan, the mobo is passively cooled, and there's 6 HD's in the case)..

So, do you see any major hurdles I'm going to have to overcome, and do you have any ideas/hints as to how I should approach overclocking?

Thanks in advance,
Milque

 

[Mustanggt]

I dont think you really need to overclock it ,that CPU will run photo editing with ease at stock. If you must overclock it make sure you get all your Power setting right before you start ,I mean Cpu Vcore NB vcore etc. getting these set wrong can kill your rig. Here are some links to sightd with good Info on overclocking Link ----- Toms Good luck

 

[Milque]

Thanks.. I'm not entirely sure I'm going to try.. I do still do some gaming.. EQ2, the Half Life's.. But not nearly as much as I used to.. Before this I ran an AMD dual core system with the raid array, and since the system I was given was already pre-installed, I had a system that was way faster than anything my AMD could ever do with a much slower HD setup.. That and the heat issue led to me wanting to rebuild the thing.. Which led to a bunch of needed purchases.. Which led to some unneeded purchases (like the 8800 GTX).. Looking at all those parts coming together my inner PC Tech is screaming at me to try it..

I wonder about just upping the CPU clock.. It's been so long since I've had access to a system where raising the multiplier was even an option that I've lost track of the relative merits.. I know the overall system won't be as fast, but assuming the watercooled CPU can handle it would it be less stressful on everything else?

 

[Shimmishim]

Err... I assume you were donated an X6800 and assume the 4gig is referring to the amount of memory...

The X6800 (assuming that's what you have), has unlocked mults, so you can overclock w/o having to worry about your memory too much.

Since you have ddr2-533, your mem is rated for 266 fsb.

so you can actually up the mult from 9 to 10 and get 10 x 266 = 2660 or 11 x 266 = ~3000 which is close enough to stock. or 12 x 266 = ~3200 or 13 x 266... you get the point...

you are going to have to increase your vcore from default to a little higher once you start overclocking.

 

[StopSign]

X6800 has a 266 FSB like all the other Conroes.

 

[Milque]

Really..? Shows how much I've stepped out of my depth going from AMD and DDR to Core 2 and DDR2..

I'm at work now so I can't check, but I'm going to have to run home and find out at some point what the thing's clocked at (I haven't even looked at the bios of the original mobo I was given..) I know it posts at 2.93.. And assumed it was just standardly clocked.. Either I misread the label on the memory chip (pulled one to peek).. Or it's not set at it's default clock like I assumed..

Thanks for the heads up.. I'll dig into this.

EDIT: Did some checking.. Got me confused now.. x6800 is listed as a 1066FSB part, which is a quad pumped (or whatever the term is) 266 is it not?

 

[Shimmishim]

Originally posted by: StopSign
X6800 has a 266 FSB like all the other Conroes.

oops. yeah you are right. dunno what i was thinking.

 

[Shimmishim]

Originally posted by: Milque
Really..? Shows how much I've stepped out of my depth going from AMD and DDR to Core 2 and DDR2..

I'm at work now so I can't check, but I'm going to have to run home and find out at some point what the thing's clocked at (I haven't even looked at the bios of the original mobo I was given..) I know it posts at 2.93.. And assumed it was just standardly clocked.. Either I misread the label on the memory chip (pulled one to peek).. Or it's not set at it's default clock like I assumed..

Thanks for the heads up.. I'll dig into this.

EDIT: Did some checking.. Got me confused now.. x6800 is listed as a 1066FSB part, which is a quad pumped (or whatever the term is) 266 is it not?

yeah. i was wrong. i wasn't thinking properly. the new E6X50 chips are 1333 chips.

 

[lopri]

Where can you get such a donation? PM me with details, plz.

 

[Roguestar]

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=28&threadid=1947261&enterthread=y