Stock air

[shadowbreaker513]

My brand new E6420, EVGA NF68-T1, and 4 gigs of Mushkin eXtreme Performance came in today, and I'm looking to start overclocking with it as soon as I get my video card back from an rma. What I'm wondering though is, how high is it possible to expect the processor to go on the stock air cooling. I have a Cooler Master Aquagate mini that I plan to install eventually, but I'd like to get everything working and know for a fact that I can overclock decently before I start pushing it with the water cooling (and I may need to buy a spare intel bracket and more thermal paste >.>). I know it's impossible to say what a processor will overclock to beforehand, but I'm just curious as to how high is average under the stock heatsink,

 

[unclewebb]

I ran 24/7 with the OEM cooler for months at 3400 MHz. It's not the MHz that hurts as much as it is the core voltage you need to run stable. An E6420 should be able to run close to 3200 MHz at very close to the Intel default of 1.325 volts so shoot for that. 400 MHz FSB X 8 multi works good with these processors and allows your memory to run in sync at DDR2-800 speed. They should write a book and call this setup, Overclocking for Dummies. It really is that easy.