Striker Extreme Overclocking - Data Collection Thread

*Puts his hand up* - I had to take the bottom card out when I was messing with my RAM and using the buttons on the motherboard - I then decided to put my bottom card back in and realised that running SLI brings in a whole new bunch of problems - YAY!

I'm going to have to do something interesting and new with the temps in my case. I'll post pictures as soon as I get a chance. Maybe you guys can help me out with it in some way..
 
Drazek said:
I have updated the file again ;o v1.02
Click to expand...

That is very helpful, Drazek, to have all the info in one form to compare. Thx..hopefully more peeps will submit their settings.

btw..the Dark Forces site looks cool...I'll check out the forums there later.
 
I'm having a weird problem, I'm running my system stock and Orthos blend doesn't give me any errors. Memtest86+ 1.65 did 9 passes with no errors. But whenever I try to run 3DMark06 it freezes up on the first test. My system appears to be perfectly stable, I have only been using my system to rip DVD's and convert the videos to PSP format. Haven't tried any games as of yet. Just curios to know if anyone has a clue to what the problem could be.
 
Seems the board is pretty much limited with the QX6700 to not going past an FSB around 1300 (some go a little further it seems). I have seen reviews and reports of OC's going way over 1800MHz FSB but that seems rather unlikely on this CPU.

Cooling is Danger Den water cooling on a half inch high flow system. The cooling is not optimal yet im not getting good enough thermal contact witht he CPU. It idles at 43C and on Orthos peaks close to 80C. But it is stable.

Processor: QX6700
Case: ThermalTake Tai-Chi Tsunami
Cooling: Custom water cooling, DD, Swiftech, Zalman, XSC
Graphics: BFG 8800 GTX OC (single card - air cooled)
CPU clock speed: 3.4GHz
3DMark06: 13153

-- Board Info --
Bios: 1002
Stable: yes, Orthos, 3DMark06
CPU: QX6700
RAM Manufacturer: Corsair Dominator PC2-8500-CA5D
RAM Amount Installed: 2x 1gig

-- FSB & Timings--
CPU FSB: 1250
CPU Multi: 11
DDR FSB: 1066 unlinked
tCL: Auto (5)
tRCD: Auto (5)
tRP: Auto (5)
tRAS: Auto (15)
CMD: Auto (2T)
tRRD: Auto
tRC: Auto
tWR: Auto
tWTR: Auto
tREF: Auto
Async: Auto

-- Voltages --
vCore: 1.475v
Memory: 2.2v
1.2v HT: 1.5v
NB Core: 1.45v
SB Core: 1.55v
CPU VTT: 1.40v
 
Thanks for the reply cap232, i'll update the file and get it posted up for everyone...

i've had a few problems with my system lately :( because of the poor nvidia drivers i took all my overclocks for a while, but the newest 150+ nvidia drivers (i use the 165.01's) seem to have fixed ALOT of problems with Vista,... i was going to start overclocking again, but alas... my motherboard has decided it would be a great idea to start crashing constantly nomatter what i do now... even in the bios, it's crashing non stop. :( - i didn't change anything either! ... okay my watercooling pump stopped working, causing my cpu to hit 90c and turn off the whole system, this happened a couple of times before i found out the pump had stopped working (oops?) but i got that fixed... didn't think that would effect the mobo though? :/

Version 1.03 Uploaded! - Grab it here: Download the Striker Extreme Overclocking - Data Sheet v1.03 here!
 
Wow Drazek, that sucks. Did you change your CPU after the pump stopped working? What CPU are you running? If you are running a Dual-Core you might have fried the CPU. :(
 
oh no, the CPU still works.. i removed all un-neccisairy components and swapped out the cpu, ram, and graphics card with brand new ram, cpu and graphics cards (luckily we had just ordered 3 brand new C2D machines with 8800GTX's so i used them to test my system) ... and nomatter what i swapped out the system still continuously crashed inside the bios.

i even used a pci graphics card removing the 8800gtx and the system still caused the same freeze up's during the bios setup menu.

so i'm pretty much 99% sure it's the motherboard that has become rather faulty and needs replacing, and that my CPU is perfectly fine. *whew*
 
tried flashing to bios version 1102 rather reluctantly... because the machine freezes in the bios i was afraid it would freeze during the bios flash and fuck my whole board up... which it DID !! - except it froze after the new bios was written, so i managed to restart the pc and it worked with the new bios. - but the same freezing problems even in the bios setup menu were still there.

anyways, sending my board back tommorow should get a replacemnt by friday.
 
Incidentally, after reviewing the cooling efficiency of my setup posted above ive decided im really not getting much more benefit out of it than a very good air cooled system. CPU core being at 80degC, water temp at 29-30degC i think the Danger Den block is not efficiently moving heat between the core and the water supply. So im going to replace it with an Apogee GTX which has been designed to deal better with the heat output of the quad cores. I believe if i can get the CPU down 10-15C ic an probably use a 12x multiplier and get the CPU nearer 3.8GHz. After that i might look into water cooling the chipset with a pair of EK Northbridge Asus blocks, tehn i might also be able to get more out of the FSB speed. I might also need to upgrade the radiator to a Thermaltake 120.2 and use some 90CFM fans and the DDC2 pump. Ill do it one step at a time and let you know how i get on. After that its the end of the road for water i think and only pahse change will provide further opportunities...
 
did you post that right?? CPU core is at 80c while the water temp is only 29-30c ?

sounds to me like you haven't seated your CPU Block properly or used too much thermal paste... or none at all? even with a bog standard block you should be getting 50c on idle at the very most with water temps at 30c.

my CPU usually sits at around 30c +/- a few degrees on full load, and i'm only using a 3/8 system that came with my Thermaltake Kandalf LCS Case ... which has a -very- nice radiator by the way.

as you'll probably notice i added a "cooling" section into the v1.3 data sheet, i figured that was a fairly important piece of information that i forgot to add ;D
 
Drazek...well not quite, 80C was running Orthos blend which seems to be the single most CPU taxing program that can be run. Prime95 and SuperPi run about 10-15degC cooler. But you are quite right i initially 'slung' the system together using some old thermal paste of not the best quality and probably not enough so i knew i could get better thermal seating. As evidence of that I have just changed to Arctic Silver compound, Iso cleaned and compound polished the cpu and block, and changed the block to a Swiftech Apogee GTX. Idle temps have droppped from 40degC to just over 20degC, fully loaded Orthos x 2 instances its down from 80degC to 43degC. So now i can try push the clock speed some more....
 
...better cooling has enabled a new max clock speed of almost 3.8GHz with the following changes to my originals earlier:

FSB: 1260
Multi: x 12
Ref: 315
CPU: 3.780GHz
vCore: 1.6v
NB: 1.55v

Stable: Prime95 / SuperPi / not Orthos (more cooling!...)

Will upgrade fans to 90CFM SilenX next hopefully that will enable a boost to perforrmance further. Heat is the enemy!!
 
awesome, my idle's are at about 22c with my cooling setup. - sometime in the future i want to upgrade a few parts like the cpu block and the pump/reseviour as they look rather 'standard' and i hate the high pitched (although quiet) sound that my pump makes ;s

do you think a D5 pump and an Apogee would work in a 3/8 system?
 
The DDC1 or 2 i would think would be better in a 3/8 system since the smaller bore tubing means the system would benefit from the pumps higher head pressure without loss of efficiency. Generally the Apogee GTX is good in high flow rate systems and the Fuzion better in lower flow rate, so maybe consider the Fuzion (though i havent personally tested this assertion).
 
... SilenX 90CFM fans in now, idle temps now another 8-9degC, with the new 3.8GHz settings its idling at 30degC and fully Orthos loaded 55degC. So down on temps even more when fully loaded. Water temps did average around 31degC now down to 27degC. Quiet fans too considering the airflow, pity most of it blows back around the fan edge from the radiator back-pressure!

Did some basic OC of the 8800 on air, and a new shader clock speed flahed into the BIOS. This overall has now improved 3DMark06 to 14120, not bad at all for one card!

Next upgrade is the GPU from air to water cooled, Fuzion GFX arriving tomorrow...

Anyone tried the soldering and resistor tricks on the 8800GTX, and know if its worth the effort for the higher performance? or shall i stick with stock voltages?
 
I wouldn't try to volt mod a 8800GTX due to it's high exuberant price mate, as soon you have the watercooling kit on it you will be surprised by it's low temps, mien dropped to aroudn 30°C idle and onyl goes up to 40°C under load, I haven't tried the shader trick via flashing I just upped core speed to 635 and ram to 1050... works fine but i don't run these settings 24/7

I drop down the CPU to 3ghz ( 9 x 333) ram at stock 1066Mhz 5-5-5-15 2T 2.1 voltand for benching and fun I go up to 425Mhz FSB on the CPU (3825mhz) and ram at 880mhz 3-3-3-9 1T 2.25 volts, just to be on the safe side...I really don't believe these core2 duo's can be run at 3.8Ghz 24/7 during years, something will break down eventually
 
yeh, would be nice if they bios'd the 8800gtx volt regs then there would be no need to physically modify the board.
 
i sent my mobo back on wednesday, they should be getting it tommorow morning...

which means i probably won't get my board back until tuesday now... :( (monday being a bank holiday)

soon as i get my system back up and running though i'm gonna have a go at that crazy 3.8Ghz overclock. and grab myself a water block for the 8800GTX.

i can't seem to find the DD 8800GTX water block anywhere though :/
 
Good luck with the new mobo...

Extreme Prometia have got the DD 8800 water block, http://www.extremeprometeia.com/acatalog/DangerDen.html

I was browsing there when deciding what to do next. The Thermochill PA120.2 + Silenx fans has got the temps down even more, even though ive added the GPU into the loop. Fully loaded max CPU and GPU temps are around 50degC, it idles around 30degC. Thats actually lower than some aircooled at standard clocks! Which just shows how effective water can be. Everyday stable clocks ive settled on 3.6GHz, at 3.8GHz boot is unreliable and it fails Orthos. Ive taken the plunge and ive got a Prometia quad killer phase change unit on its way in a couple of weeks! Roll-on a sub-zero processor and 4GHz++
 
Final benchmarks after tweaking water cooling and volt mods on the 8800 GTX werent bad. Finished up needing to hike up the GPU volts to 1.6v, idle temps 53C, load temps 78C. Core clock speed 653MHz, memory 1100MHz, shader 1674 MHz. 3DMark06 stable, no artifacts, score 15259. In SLI mode i didnt volt mod the second card so had to throttle both cards back to core clock 521MHz, memory 1100MHz, shader 1566MHz. SLI 3DMark06 score was 18470. It will be interesting to see what a bigger WC system and phase change can do to improve on that.

Single 8800 GTX:

3dMark06-15259.jpg



SLI 8800 GTX:

3dMark06-18470.jpg
 
wow, you're going all out aren't you?

and here's me struggling to get a 100% stable overclock of anything other than stock speeds ;p

my mobo was reported 'Delivered' on Thursday 24th March, and i haven't had a single email from Scan yet confirming that my board is even there... i'm going to phone them -again- today and find out what the hell is taking so long.
 
Dealing with RMA's can be one of the most frustrating things to do with your life ;p best of luck...
 
Hello and thanks to Drazek for starting this thread and putting together this great Excel doc. It was very helpful to see what other people have done, as this was my first OC attempt. Being a developer and DBA, I'm more used to putting together servers and RAID systems where stability primes over performance and where your bottleneck will almost always be hard drive throughput before RAM or CPU becomes a problem (HD config & optimization can be a bitch too). So this was different and interesting...

After quite a lot of trial and error, I was able to achieve a stable config. For some reason though, I couldn't get my E6700 to 1600 FSB, no matter what voltage adjustments I tried. Anyone had a similar problem ? 1500 worked fine, but it was running hot (60° C idle / 75° full load). I eventually lowered to FSB 1333 with RAM at 667 and lower voltage. I wish I could have reached 1600 so I could make full use of my DDR2-6400 at sync rate, but I guess that's life... I eventually settled for that, with temps running at 49° C idle and 62°C on full load.

I compared people's voltage settings with mine and find my own to be unusually high for the OC achieved (it just wouldn't run stable at lower settings). See data below. Do those voltage settings seem *really* out of range to anyone ? Any possible explanations or suggestions ? Thanks in advance...

3DMark06 score with single Asus 8800 GTX / 768 @ 620 core / 980 memory: 11732.

-- Board Info --
Bios: 1102
Stable: yes
Cooling: Air (CoolerMaster Mars)
CPU: E6700
RAM Manufacturer: Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4PRO
RAM Amount: 2x 1Gb

-- FSB & Timings--
CPU FSB: 1333
CPU Multi: 10
DDR FSB: 667 (linked : sync)
tCL: 4
tRCD: 4
tRP: 4
tRAS: 12
CMD: 2T
tRRD: Auto (3)
tRC: 22
tWR: Auto (4)
tWTR: Auto (8)
tREF: Auto
Async: Auto

-- Voltages --
vCore: 1.475
Memory: 2.05
1.2v HT: Auto (1.2)
NB Core: 1.45
SB Core: Auto (1.5)
CPU VTT: Auto
 
[d]mantra - Your CPU Voltage seems a little high to me, however that could just be me. You may need to up your CPU VTT voltage to get things stable without using that much VCore. I would try 1.35 or 1.40 CPU VTT personally.

Also, try pushing to 1604FSB instead of straight 1600FSB because I believe that this pushes the board into a different strap? I could be remembering this wrong but I think people have had success by doing this before.

As for the rest of your voltages - they seem fine to me. This board loves it when you give it to her... :)

You will find my new and updated voltages below: I started messing with my FSB last night on my Quad-Core instead of just bumping my multiplier.
 
Drazek - my new and improved settings... :) :p :)

-- Board Info --
Bios: 1102
Stable: Hell yeah.
Cooling: Air (Zalmann 9700LED)
CPU: QX6700
RAM Manufacturer: Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C3DF (<--- and they said this wasn't stable on this board)
RAM Amount: 2 x 1Gb (Currently while 2GB is in RMA)

-- FSB & Timings--
CPU FSB: 1200
CPU Multi: 10
DDR FSB: 800 (unlinked)
tCL: 3
tRCD: 4
tRP: 3
tRAS: 9
CMD: 2T
tRRD: Auto
tRC: 22
tWR: Auto
tWTR: Auto
tREF: Auto
Async: Auto

-- Voltages --
vCore: 1.3500
Memory: 2.35
1.2v HT: 1.40
NB Core: 1.40
SB Core: 1.60
CPU VTT: 1.35

-- Other Settings --
Spread Spectrums: All Disabled
LDT Frequency: 4x
 
Thanks a lot WorthIT.

I hadn't really tried playing with VTT yet. I will definitely play a bit with it. Thanks also for the advice on trying 1604. I hope I can get this to work.

It may have to wait till fall to keep it OC'ed steadily that way though... I live in the South of France and it is starting to get awfully hot here... about 26-28° C already and it will hit 35 - 40 in July & August. Without watercooling, I doubt my system will be able to handle the temperature ;)

Take care.
 
Hello Everybody!

i have added [d]mantra to the list, and added your new clocks worthIT. ;D

i have also added the LDT Frequency to the list, as i have since found out that knocking the LDT down to 4x can make a big difference to clocks sometimes ;o

and i have changed the wording to say i'll accept any bios revision from 1002 and upwards ;D (i dislike bios 901 now, after having 3 motherboards totally die on me with that bios ...)

version 1.05 can be found HERE or on the first post :)

c'mon peoples! lets get some different setups in here i can log down ;D
 
Well, this is a different setup for sure!

Quick update now phase change fitted. All BIOS settings same as on my previously posted water cooled setup other than those changes below. Water loop is currently doing 1 GPU only, will test SLI later. Only changes are:

vCore 1.7V (at 1.8V the motherboard seems to go a bit freaky and throw wierd errors)
Multi x13
fsb 300 (x4)
CPU 3.9GHz
Idle temp -40C
Load temp -29C
bespoke phase change 200W+ thermal dissipation
Orthos stable

An unstable though usable overclock of 4.15GHz was acheivable and cpu-z verified:

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=220739


Im dissappointed i havent got more out of the CPU i had aimed to get over the 4GHz hurdle but it might improve as thermal contact gets better, early days.

and on a new eVGA 8800 Ultra card with EK full cover water block at Core 726MHz, Shader 1680MHz, Memory 2250MHz (anything over 2000MHz memory seems to make little difference to graphical performance!) 3DMark06 of 16111. A new best for me on one card! SS below. Seems the Ultra cards run cooler and faster than older GTS/GTX cards now they have cleaned up the manufacturing a bit.

UltraWaterCooled726evgamax.jpg
 
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