Q6600 overclocking

[Oblivion121]

I'm about to buy a core 2 quad Q6600 (dotn know if B3 or G0 yet) and I currently have been using an Arctic Freezer 7 Pro on my core 2 duo overclocked to 3.10ghz (7x440fsb) The highest this processor has ever hit is 55C and idles around 33-35C. Now what im wondering is if i should buy another one when i build this computer or will it not be enough? I dont have that much money for the cooler about 30-45 dollars to be exact. Any other coolers that people use with and the q6600 temps would be appreciated to see.

Dont know which mobo yet (wanting to just set it at 3.0ghz oc and leave it)
2gb Wintec AMPX ddr2800 w/heatspreaders.
Gigabyte geforce 8800gtx 768m
2 lite on sata dvd burners
2 320gig hitachi sata drives
630w Raidmax psu 18a on 12v1, and 16 on 12v2. (is this gonna be able to handle this setup?)
Cooler unknown yet (wonderin)

 

[RaptureMe]

Hey dont mean to hijack your thread but I am in about the same possition as you and am looking at whats the best high end air solution to cool a q6600.
I just got my q6600 SLACR = Go stepping in today from the egg.
I will be overclocking to 9x333 = 2.97 or ruffly 3.0ghz I want to keep it as cold as possible and would like to know everyones thoughts on these bad boys..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835186134 only $19.00 bucks

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835200025 $40.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835150082 only $21.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835185037 $33.00

I think I should mention that I dont want to spend more then $50.00

Also if none of these pan out and since I am at it what is the very very best water block for quads right now?

Thanks for helping us everyone..

 

[Markfw]

SVC.com has the ultra120 extreme for $55+shipping, or the ultra120 for $50+shipping. Thats the only two I recommend.

 

[firewolfsm]

I won't say anything about the cooler but I really recommend lapping the IHS.

 

[jeffw2767602]

to the OP, that power supply should be fine, and to both of you, the thermalright ultima 90 is your best bet. it performs similarly to the ultra120 extreme and is right around $45. i have a thermalright ultra 120 extreme lapped on a q6600 g0 and at 3ghz i get temps of 30-35 idle and 40-45 load.

 

[PCTC2]

Well, OP, I would recommend at least an Ultra120 if you want to overclock your Q6600. Unlapped, mine idles at 39C and loads around 66C @ 3.2GHz.

For your motherboard, I would recommend a P35 chipset (or X38 if they are available when you purchase). Asus or Gigabyte are good bets, or for a cheap board, the Abit IP35-E is a good value.

 

[abast]

Tuniq t-120 gets good mentions and reviews. Xoxiode has it for $46.99 right now which is a great price.

http://www.xoxide.com/tuniq-t-120-hsf.html

 

[firewolfsm]

You really don't need an Ultra120. I got an average core with an average VID and with some testing, I got this OC on the stock cooler. It loads at about 65C at 2.9GHz. Something like an AC Freezer 7 is already much better than the stock cooler, there's a point of diminishing return and paying $60 to shave off maybe 7 degrees over the $20 cooler really isn't worth it for most people.

Try the quad with the cooler you already have. Start by lapping, once it's in your system, if the temps are low enough, bump it straight to 3GHz, then lower the voltage step by step and test in between. If it runs too hot go ahead and get a better cooler.

 

[RussianSensation]

1. Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme #1
2. Tuniq Tower #2 and Thermalright Ultra 120
3. Thermalright Ultima-90

Other candidates of worthy consideration:

4. Big Typhoon (including VX version)
5. Scythe Ninja
6. Zalman 9700

places to check out:

www.svc.com
www.heatsinkfactory.com
www.newegg.com
www.xoxide.com

If you are on a serious budget - $20 Thermalright Ultra 90 is an excellent cooler if you have a 90mm fan laying around.

Just dont expect anything other than the top 3 to handle the Q6600 above 3.4ghz.

 

[Oblivion121]

Well for the motherboard i got some extra funds and got the GA-P35-DQ6. so i should be set for overclocking...and on the cooler, I have heard that the Zalman CNPS9700 NT does pretty decent. Even on anandtech's review it does pretty good with the x6800, but that was stock settings. So if i were to set the seting at say....400x8 if possible or maybe 9x333, do you think that this processor will do alright with that cooler, because this board has that little plate on the back and i want to be able to use an aftermarket cooler but i dont want to remove that because it will probably provide a little less bending of the motherboard when a cooler is installed. So if anyone knows any coolers that will fit without removing that plate, it would be very helpful.

 

[Laminator]

I don't recommend the Ultra-90. I had one on my E6600 and the temperatures only dropped by a few degrees. More specifically, E6600 @ 1.30v w/ Ultra-90 had same temperatures as E6600 @ 1.18v w/ Stock Cooler. Good for dual-core chips, but quad-cores will run even hotter at the same voltages.

Then again, if you have a Vantec Tornado and don't mind the vacuum-cleaner-like noise, the Ultra-90 will suit you well...

 

[Oblivion121]

Yeah im not for the ultima, and those huge tower coolers. I know they will do better but im not looking for the best of the best....like in the B to B- range is fine for me. my room is cold enough to back up my coolers. My core 2 duo idle sits around 22-25 when im not doing absolutely nothing on it. I just leave core temp running on the screen and it goes from 22-25. now when the AC is off in my room the highest it hit while running call of juarez on my 8800gts was 55 and sometimes hit 58. So since i have a custom AC setup (my dad tried to make his own little "exhaust" for the AC which he screwed up and put 2 more ac vents in my room. which now im at 3 vents in the floor. So it gets plenty cold in here.) I would say along with that and when i have fans in my windows running at night just because of my habits it will run fine with the zalman. and i wouldnt doubt if i bought a freezer 7 pro again that it would be unsuitable for the q6600 either.

 

[Hans Gruber]

I've got the Q6600 "GO" processor paired with a Tuniq 120 tower and arctic silver 5. I'm using Vista Ultimate, which makes it impossible to use core temp, becuase of unsigned driver issues. At 1.25v I can run 3.2Ghz very stable, 3.3Ghz at 1.25v partially stable.

I cranked up the voltage on my CPU to 1.45v and the Q6600 was running perfectly at 3.6Ghz. It ran super pi 1M at 14.6 seconds. I also ran 2M and 4M with no errors.

I also have a thermalright ultra 120 on my C2D, but it took me forever to get that thing in, I will never take that beast out and reapply the fan with those crappy metal brackets.

I didn't lap either heatsink. The Tuniq 120 Tower idles between 35C-39C at 1.25v

My question, what's the highest Vcore I can run with my Tuniq 120 Tower? I need an accurate core temperature program that runs on Vista Ultimate 64-bit.

What does the non "GO" Q6600 run stock voltage at? I think they call it the B3 version. Does the "GO" processor overclock higher at lower voltage than the B3 or does it run at a lower stock Vcore?

 

[RussianSensation]

I dont see a point of GA-P35-DQ6. Any P35 Gigabyte board will do 400FSB. That's why I got $100 motherboard and invested the rest into a faster graphics card instead. In your case, i'd rather get a more reputable power supply brand like Corsair, Seasonic, OCZ, etc.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
I dont see a point of GA-P35-DQ6. Any P35 Gigabyte board will do 400FSB. That's why I got $100 motherboard and invested the rest into a faster graphics card instead. In your case, i'd rather get a more reputable power supply brand like Corsair, Seasonic, OCZ, etc.

No need to fork over more $ for bells and whistles that don't do squat to improve performance. I buy high-quality eSATA and RAID cards if I need them. And I can re-use these cards on another PC. Better performance and lower price over the life of the product.

A cool-running board capable of 460MHz FSB is more than adequate for many PC enthusiasts.

 

[Oblivion121]

Well i was told it was jsut about the best you can get because of the 12 phase power supply to the cpu. I was told that would amount to better overclocking with the Q6600. If anyone knows any other good boards like that or better for the same or lower price let me know as soon as possible. I dont see why you cant get core temp running on vista, i have it running on vista ultimate 32-bit right now and it does fine for me.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

BS advertising. Another forum member was able to hit 4.0GHz on air with Q6600 and Abit IP35-E. He also was able to run 1M SP. Go to my IP35-E review @ MB forum for a screen shot. BTW, the IP35-E is only a 4-phase board.

Note that the board was only pushing 445MHz with a minor bump in NB voltage. My E6320 is Memtest86 and Orthos stable @ 488MHz FSB with 1.30VNB.

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=237448

 

[Oblivion121]

So what would you recommend? I want a board that will have good heatsinks on it because like my ga-965p-ds3, the heatsink is hot to the point where i cant put my finger on it for more than 2 seconds. Now when i put a simple 40mm fan on it, it becomes room temperature in about 15 minutes. So i want a motherboard that isnt going to have a tiny north bridge heatsink on it. I will put my own fan on it to help with cooling but a better heatsink can only benefit me. So whatever board will do the job, let me know.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

The only way to effectively cool an extremely overclocked rig is with active cooling. Fancy heat pipe is worthless without cold air flowing across the fins. A large deep profile fan will have the necessary CFM and pressure to cool all the components on the MB without requiring you to wear ear plugs.

I remove the stock fan from the Big Typhoon and replace it with a medium speed 120 x 38mm Panaflo. The IP35-E's onboard fan controller does a fantastic job of keeping fan speed at inaudible level when the PC is idling. Under heavy load, this fan puts out enough pressure to cool the CPU, NB, MOSFETs, and SB. I also lockwire a low speed 80mm Panaflo to the 120mm to cool my RAMs.

If you want more cooling, then strap another low speed 80mm Panaflo fan to the 120mm (just above the NB). These Panaflos are dead silent at 0.5 meter.

 

[Robin B]

Got my Q6600 726B Vid:1,23 and its a real nice chip, does 3,8Ghz 1,44v Water cooled. But it does get hot, max temp when priming is 68c on the hottest core, next step is to lower the Vcore to see where it fails.
And i am running it on the Gigabyte P35 DQ6 with 4x1 Crucial BallistiX PC6400.

 

[Oblivion121]

Ok both post's had nothing to do with the question i asked, i didnt ask how you cool yours or how you overclocked it and its temps, i simply asked what motheboard you would recommend. I know i stated i wanted a board with a bigger heatsink. Also i didnt need to know about the fan setup I kinda have the same thing going with mine right now, they arent no panaflo's but they do keep the ram and NB cool. But the reason i wanted a bigger heatsink is because the fan i have is a little generic junky one that spins about 1800 rpm. It keeps the nb from getting hot but it doesnt make it cool, its still very very warm to the touch, but hey its better than being blazing hot all the time. For my ram, i have a fan hot glued to the top of the ram sticks. Dont get me wrong it works the ram is very cool and when idling it almost gets to the point where youd say its cold. But i would like a better setup with the fans, like an actual ram cooler, not a fan i have hot glued to it or my NB either.