Question about OCing

A

Avareyne

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 5, 2008
Messages
209
I've never overclocked before, so I'll be a noob. I was debating between the Q6600 and Q9450, it seems the Q6600 would be better for overclocking (people still argue it, but I'd like the 150$ extra for the new vid cards coming which probably matters more for what it's purpose is, gaming).

Now my question is what other factors do I need to consider if I want to OC it? I read I can get up to 4.0 with it. I'm going to buy OEM probably and get a better CPU cooler of course (though I've read retail OC's better? Does that really matter?).

But I keep reading stuff to do with memory. The memory I was going to get is: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145197

Help!

And the mobo is: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188026

I'm not sure what to look for in cooling, I was thinking one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835887011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001

Noise isn't too much of an issue for me as it seems to be for some, I'm used to loud as hell fans on my laptop blowing at full speed a foot away from me.

Thanks in advance. :confused:
 
Are you actually going to use SLI? Because if not, you can save a lot of money on a motherboard, and get a P35 board for a little over $100 which work great with Q6600s. If you are getting that board because you "might" go SLI later, just get something else. By the time you get around to it, there are usually single slot cards that are more preferred than going SLI with older hardware.

For coolers, Xigmatek S1283, and Thermalright Ultra Extreme (TRUE) as going to often be picked as the best coolers. I used the Xigmatek myself and MX-2 thermal compound. If you get the Xigma, spend an extra $5 for a bolt through kit. AS5 thermal compound is also good...
 
I am not 100% right now. I just plan to get the single GTX 280 and that'd be it for a good while. I was planning originally (before I knew of the new GPU coming this month) to do dual 8800 GT's but if this new card smokes that set up, then no.

Can you recommend a board if I'm just going with the GTX 280?

I can't seem to local the Thermalright ultra extreme on newegg. But I noticed someone used a TR to hit 4.0 ghz. I would like to hit 3.6 ghz with the Q6600 if at all possible.

But I did find the xigmatek I think: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003&Tpk=Xigmatek+S1283

Which is in my price range. Thanks. Can you link the bolt on kit?
 
Avareyne said:
I am not 100% right now. I just plan to get the single GTX 280 and that'd be it for a good while. I was planning originally (before I knew of the new GPU coming this month) to do dual 8800 GT's but if this new card smokes that set up, then no.

Can you recommend a board if I'm just going with the GTX 280?

I can't seem to local the Thermalright ultra extreme on newegg. But I noticed someone used a TR to hit 4.0 ghz. I would like to hit 3.6 ghz with the Q6600 if at all possible.

But I did find the xigmatek I think: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003&Tpk=Xigmatek+S1283

Which is in my price range. Thanks. Can you link the bolt on kit?
Click to expand...

Here is the bolt through kit:

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/lgbowiscsp.html

Shipping is about $1.50 and ships via the mail, so you will get it in ~2 days. Also Sidewinder sells various good thermal compounds and the TRUE.

I would not worry too much about what other people hit for speeds with a specific cooler, do not be too disappointed if you can not get to 3.6 though. Plus it is summertime now which can mean higher ambient temps and people scaling back previous stable overclocks.

For a motherboard to pair with a Q6600, check out the DFI Blood Iron, Abit IP35 Pro (if its cheap), Asus P5K, MSI Neo2 FR... All of those are around $110-130. This is all presuming you are going for the best value for your money spent.

I would say to avoid the popular Gigabyte boards since I feel they have a serious design flaw. Others would disagree and say its normal for a motherboard to reset BIOS defaults and not tell the user, then enter stupid mode and require a CMOS reset.
 
Will the Q9450 be faster at say, 3.6 OC than the Q6600? Enough for the price difference really? And would the Q9450 hit 3.6 easier? I was going to get a g0 off ebay.

I have central air in my house, my office is generally cool due to the fact I like my house cold and can get it dark in there during the day. I'm not too concerned with room heat atm.

I think this is the same as the true they have: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109125&Tpk=thermalright+ultra-120

Oh yeah, thanks for the board recs. Definitely looking for best bang for the buck. I had a max of like 250 for a mobo. Saving somewhere gets more $$$ for somewhere else.

annndddd... one more thing, if I go with the TR, what do I do for a fan? (or do I not need one? :confused:)
 
Nope, a 9450 would not be faster than a 3.6GHz Q6600. Clock for clock, the 9450 is about ~6% faster, so a 3.4GHz Q9450 would be close to a 3.6GHz Q6600..

Now if you are doing something that uses the new SSE instructions in the Q9450 (like HD video encoding, and lots of it), the Q9450 would be faster.
 
Nope, I'm just playing games on it (Age of Conan, Warhammer, WoW, and more mmo's for the most part).

I'm actually building this specifically for AoC and WH if that matters any. I want high detail and no lag no low fps ideally.
 
Avareyne said:
Err, cut off, so which is ideal, Q6600 or Q9450?
Click to expand...

Q6600 for value. Q9450 if you want to pay a lot more for a performance gain you will not see while playing games. You had it right when you first posted :D
 
Thanks for all your help. It's much appreciated by my indecisive mind. :p

I could bring the Q6700 into the equation as well, as I guess that should hit 3.6 easier than the 6600? Not much more either I don't think...

Not going for the 9450 since yeah, not going to see a gain in what I do. Everything else I do is on my laptop. :D
 
Here's a question that came up when I asked a builder about this - at what point does cooling become an issue? I was told that to reach the 3.5 range on a Q6700,water cooling was necessary,while a Q9450 could do it on air.
 
michael: all the reading and researching I've done lately, some people were able to get higher on air cooling (up to 4 ghz). It just depends on a lot of things. Ambient temp, how good of a cooling system you have, even the case makes a difference. I'm trying to get as much cooling as I can.

I don't want to deal with water cooling cause I know I'd screw it up. :p

oh and getting the 9450 stable is another issue it seems.
 
Can you get it to 4+? I ask because I'm not sure of the extra 150 if the Q6600 will go to 3.6 easy.
 
It boots at 3.8GHZ but it freezes at window login or bsod in middle of booting. I think my Southbridge is the cause because its overheating at 56c. I already replaced the northbridge with thermalright Hr-05 sli/ifx now its time for
SB replacement with thermalright Hr-05 sli/ifx. I might list the results if 4.0ghz is successful at booting stable into windows. Bye
 
Avareyne said:
I could bring the Q6700 into the equation as well, as I guess that should hit 3.6 easier than the 6600? Not much more either I don't think...
Click to expand...

Not really. The Q6700 and Q6600 OC exactly the same.
 
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