Quote:
Originally Posted by Cman333
I have it OC'd right now to 3mhz. They cores run from 30-39 on idle. From 49-59 on load.
This is running stock cooling. I was thinking what I could safely bump it to. Or if I ran an aftermarket cooler whether I can actually make it significantly faster.
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what are you using to determine your temps?
- I use a little program called coretemp
how are you "putting the CPU under load?"
- I use Prime95 (whatever the latest version is)....make sure you're using all 4 cores when testing and let it run until your temps are going any higher. (10min usually does the trick for me)
have you tested your stability?
- Again, I use Prime95 - i consider it stable if it lasts longer than a 3 hours...but that's because the most intensive task I do on my computer is play games. If you're using it as a server that is on 24/7, then you may want to run prime longer to ensure maximum stability (12+hrs?)
- I also use 3D mark to test overall stability, since it stresses CPU/GPU/Memory in a gaming environment.
there are too many variables to say what your "max oc" is, but most Q6600s are hitting in the range of 3GHz-3.4GHz on air cooling (3.4 being the extreme side). Most people can achieve 3GHz with little to no voltage increase.
I hit 3.2GHz with a minor voltage bump, but stopped there because I saw no performance boost in games (which is what i mainly use my desktop for), so i left it at 3GHz on stock voltage. @ 3GHz, my temps are 28C idle and 55C under 100% load for 4hrs. I'm staying cool with a Scythe Mugen w/Arctic Silver thermal compound.
As for temps, you probably don't want to exceed 70C with the Q6600.
If you have determined that heat is your limiting factor, then yes, running aftermarket cooling will help you OC more.
If you're like me and only use the machine for gaming, then you should know that today's games are more GPU intensive than CPU, and a faster clock speed will not boost frame rates much (if at all)....For example, going from stock 2.4 -> 3.0, i gained only 4-5fps in Crysis.
However, if you do a lot of video/music encoding, you might notice a bigger difference with a higher clock speed.
With that said, I don't know what you use your desktop for, but that's my 2 cents.