Beginning to OC an E6600

[StGermain575]

I'll be buying a new gaming PC in the very near future and, in order to save money, I've opted to buy the E6600 over the E6700 with the intention of OCing the 6600 to make up the speed difference. The only problem with this is that I've never done anything like this before and despite the last few weeks of trying to read up about how overclocking works, I'm still in the dark. I've been reading these forums for a while but have yet to have it click for me, so my question to you all is the following:

Does anyone have any recommendations for a simple, step-by-step beginner's guide to overclocking? I'll have the E6600, the water cooling, and the 1:1 FSB/Memspeed ratio -- I just need to figure out how to clock this cpu now.

 

[Sigma_Hyperion]

Very easy, step-by-step instructions on OCing the E6600. This is on the 680i motherboards though, so the steps might be slightly different. And this won't net you crazy, insane power, but it will net you a considerable gain over factory.

http://pc.ign.com/articles/747/747606p1.html

 

[StGermain575]

Thanks, that guide was almost exactly what I was looking for. Very straightforward and to the point.

I noticed though that they got the Conroe's FSB to about 370MHz on Air. If I understand this correctly, that's getting pretty close to the DDR2-800's speed capacity of 400MHz, correct? If I choose a water-cooled solution, should I invest in getting DDR2-1066 to give myself more overclock room?

 

[grogers]

Thanks, that guide was almost exactly what I was looking for. Very straightforward and to the point.

I noticed though that they got the Conroe's FSB to about 370MHz on Air. If I understand this correctly, that's getting pretty close to the DDR2-800's speed capacity of 400MHz, correct? If I choose a water-cooled solution, should I invest in getting DDR2-1066 to give myself more overclock room?

If you're one of the lucky ones your CPU might be able to hit 400+ with water cooling and DDR2-1066, but not every CPU can hit the higher speeds even with water cooling and faster RAM.

 

[orion23]

If you can get a good deal on the 1066 RAM, get it. It's good to know that you'll have the extra speed if needed.

If the RAM is too expensive, then get DDR2 800mhz (Good kits can be overclocked to 900+) which will allow you to run @ 3.6ghz or more.

But remember that even having a WC setup and faster RAM does not mean that your CPU will go any further than 2.4ghz or that your Motherboard will support a 400-500 FSB.

You really need every part to do a great job. So get a great board, good RAM and hope that your E6600 is a golden chip!