*Official Retail G0 Q6600 Overclocking Thread*

[JustChill]

Also, does anyone know of a reliable cpu temperature application for Vista x64? Speedfan give me seemingly incorrect temperatures (they look much too low).

I love PC-Wizad. I think it is very underestimated. One of the best things about it is the fact that as soon as you minimize it, all the info you need pops up on your desktop... LIKE THIS.............................................. .................................................. .............................VVV

[Skerlnik]

I love PC-Wizad. I think it is very underestimated. One of the best things about it is the fact that as soon as you minimize it, all the info you need pops up on your desktop... LIKE THIS.............................................. .................................................. .............................VVV

Hey that *is* cool! I didn't notice that the first time. Looks like I'm going to have to lapp the cpu and heatsink. Some of the cores are 5C different in temperature at idle.

- Sker

[sesdave]

Hey that *is* cool! I didn't notice that the first time. Looks like I'm going to have to lapp the cpu and heatsink. Some of the cores are 5C different in temperature at idle.

- Sker

PC wizard feature does look neat - didn't know a new vesion was out. I might use insread of coretemp/everest as the display is more compact.
Re the CPU - might be worth doing a razor test on the IHS before lapping cos if its not concave you probably wont gain much from lapping it. I had the same thought but mines flat. That way you dont waste your time , have aching wrists and have its resale value as new-lol!.

[Skerlnik]

PC wizard feature does look neat - didn't know a new vesion was out. I might use insread of coretemp/everest as the display is more compact.
Re the CPU - might be worth doing a razor test on the IHS before lapping cos if its not concave you probably wont gain much from lapping it. I had the same thought but mines flat. That way you dont waste your time , have aching wrists and have its resale value as new-lol!.

I had the foresight to check my CPU and heatsink with a razor before installing. Both parts weren't flat, so I'll probably do some sanding work eventually. The funny thing is, I threw this box together quickly, and just used Thermalright's paste (yes I have some AS-5) without even properly cleaning the CPU, and it runs at 3600 mhz @ 1.38v at 43c idle. Not a shabby CPU! I imagine once I lapp the parts I may see another 5c drop.

- Sker

[Hans Gruber]

I had the foresight to check my CPU and heatsink with a razor before installing. Both parts weren't flat, so I'll probably do some sanding work eventually. The funny thing is, I threw this box together quickly, and just used Thermalright's paste (yes I have some AS-5) without even properly cleaning the CPU, and it runs at 3600 mhz @ 1.38v at 43c idle. Not a shabby CPU! I imagine once I lapp the parts I may see another 5c drop.

- Sker

I'm skeptical about lapping CPU's or heatsinks. If done right, it might lower your temps, but I don't think the difference is really all that apparent. Some lapped CPU's look very cool with intense reflections.

I think it's your motherboard and the Thermalright Extreme heatsink that are giving you very good overclocks. That MSI board is the same as the platinum with lower quality heatpipes. Everyone is on the Gigabyte/ASUS bandwagon, but MSI has been making some outstanding motherboard over the years. The P35 NEO-2 is one of those great boards.

[sesdave]

I'm skeptical about lapping CPU's or heatsinks. If done right, it might lower your temps, but I don't think the difference is really all that apparent. Some lapped CPU's look very cool with intense reflections.

I think it's your motherboard and the Thermalright Extreme heatsink that are giving you very good overclocks. That MSI board is the same as the platinum with lower quality heatpipes. Everyone is on the Gigabyte/ASUS bandwagon, but MSI has been making some outstanding motherboard over the years. The P35 NEO-2 is one of those great boards.

If the IHS is concave and the HS uneven lapping will provide better contact and reduce temperatures - check the 10c drop in the link posted previously. Achieving even flat surface on the CPU and HS is the objective - if already flat dont waste your time lapping. Mirroring adds nothing as paste will still be applied to complete the thermal transfer connection.
MB and HSF are part of the overclock but CPU heat output is a main contributor to restricting the overclock. He has a good CPU(lucky swine -lol) but he hasn't maxed his overclock out. So when raising FSb and other parameters he will be limited by the amount of vcore that can be applied for stability before the resulting temperature rise causes instability or fries the CPU. Water and air cooling have a limit to what they can hold the load temps at no matter how good they are - so any reduction in the heat output under load is good to achieve the maximum overclock. That is why people use phase for extreme overclocking.

[Skerlnik]

If the IHS is concave and the HS uneven lapping will provide better contact and reduce temperatures - check the 10c drop in the link posted previously. Achieving even flat surface on the CPU and HS is the objective - if already flat dont waste your time lapping. Mirroring adds nothing as paste will still be applied to complete the thermal transfer connection.
MB and HSF are part of the overclock but CPU heat output is a main contributor to restricting the overclock. He has a good CPU(lucky swine -lol) but he hasn't maxed his overclock out. So when raising FSb and other parameters he will be limited by the amount of vcore that can be applied for stability before the resulting temperature rise causes instability or fries the CPU. Water and air cooling have a limit to what they can hold the load temps at no matter how good they are - so any reduction in the heat output under load is good to achieve the maximum overclock. That is why people use phase for extreme overclocking.

Hans, I'll admit I was a little skeptical before my first lapping. I had an E6600 that ran somewhat warm, so I decided to lap the heatsink and CPU, and it ended up running 7c cooler! That's not too shabby! Also, my MSI *is* the Platinum edition with the crazy heat pipes which kind of make mounting a fan to a Thermalright U-120 somewhat tricky! I've owned Asus, Giga, A-open, Abit, and Intel MB's, yet this MSI definitely has impressed me.

Sesdave, you make some good points! Once I lapp everything I'll ramp up this CPU to see what it can really do! *oink*


- Sker

[andressergio]

Hey Guys !!

I'm about to buy one of this babies....I have a store that has some SLACR..do you recommend any batch ??

Regards
Sergio

[Bail_w]

L23A or L26A

[Hans Gruber]

Hans, I'll admit I was a little skeptical before my first lapping. I had an E6600 that ran somewhat warm, so I decided to lap the heatsink and CPU, and it ended up running 7c cooler! That's not too shabby! Also, my MSI *is* the Platinum edition with the crazy heat pipes which kind of make mounting a fan to a Thermalright U-120 somewhat tricky! I've owned Asus, Giga, A-open, Abit, and Intel MB's, yet this MSI definitely has impressed me.

Sesdave, you make some good points! Once I lapp everything I'll ramp up this CPU to see what it can really do! *oink*


- Sker

Glad to hear that your lapping was successful. Obviously you knew what you were doing. Some people have posted little or no gain in lower temps. I assume skill (lapping) has more to do with it than anything.

I have the Thermalright Ultra 120 as well on my C2D setup. It was very difficult setting up the Thermalright 120. So difficult that I actually prefer the Tuniq Tower 120 for simplicity and the fact it comes with its own fan. The Tuniq fan is ceratainly a lot louder than the Thermalright.

[Hans Gruber]

L23A or L26A

I've got the L23A. I was wondering why many people were having trouble overclocking their Q6600's. Mine runs quite stable at 3.4Ghz at 1.35v. I'm trying to save the earth by conserving energy.

[chuckbam]

I understand why you would lap the CPU cooler. I have seen some real ruff ones. But, would not a very thin application of some good thermal compound do the same thing on the CPU? I do it with a razor. takes a little time to break in but, I think it works. I did not know that CPU were that tough. If they can stand a good lapping. I always treated then as being fragile. But sine the removal of the pins, I have not been so careful with them.

Hans, I purchased a P35 NEO-2 FR and am installing it soon. Your approval of it had an influence on my decision. In fact, I would not even looked in to it, if it was not for your posts. Other than the 4 phase power, ( but it does not appear that you are having any problems with that) it seems like a good deal. I had a few MSI products before.

I have an 8 phase power with the P5B-D. And, it has the greatest Vdroop I have ever seen on a performance motherboard.

[Skerlnik]

I understand why you would lap the CPU cooler. I have seen some real ruff ones. But, would not a very thin application of some good thermal compound do the same thing on the CPU? I do it with a razor. takes a little time to break in but, I think it works. I did not know that CPU were that tough. If they can stand a good lapping. I always treated then as being fragile. But sine the removal of the pins, I have not been so careful with them.

Hans, I purchased a P35 NEO-2 FR and am installing it soon. Your approval of it had an influence on my decision. In fact, I would not even looked in to it, if it was not for your posts. Other than the 4 phase power, ( but it does not appear that you are having any problems with that) it seems like a good deal. I had a few MSI products before.

I have an 8 phase power with the P5B-D. And, it has the greatest Vdroop I have ever seen on a performance motherboard.

If you've ever checked the flatness of a CPU with a razor edge, you'll see that they're never uniformly flat. Same goes for heatsinks. You can sand their metal casing down quite a bit before actually damaging them. I like to keep the little plastic cover that comes attached over the socket side on while lapping. I've used wet/dry sandpaper & have even gotten a CPU wet on it's electronic bits (probably not a good idea) and it's still worked fine. They're not as fragile as you may think.

Also, you may want to check Arctic Silver's instructions on how to apply thermal compound to a core 2 or quad core CPU. I wouldn't recommend applying it with a razor blade, but instead squeeze out a thin line down the CPU and let the paste ooze where it needs to go once you seat the heatsink.

Nice choice on the MSI part! I'm another satisfied consumer. One of the best features on this board is the LED error code display. Comes in very handy!

- Sker

[GripS]

Every posting of a Q6600 progressively being lapped that i have seen shows that the outer edge of the IHS is clearly higher then the center(where the cores are). This is not good. Intel doesn't really care as long as it's close. They don't make chips to be overclocked. And at stock speeds the stock HSF is good enough to do the job. But we are all overclocking our chips so 'good enough' doesn't cut it . Lapping netted me significant decrease in temps under load (idle went unchanged).

[flesheatinvirus]

I have a 726A running at 4G at 1.5v rock solid on water.

[GripS]

I have a 726A running at 4G at 1.5v rock solid on water.

Sweet! Post some screens.

[Talonman]

Glad to hear that your lapping was successful. Obviously you knew what you were doing. Some people have posted little or no gain in lower temps. I assume skill (lapping) has more to do with it than anything.

Sometimes I wonder if after sanding a water block, and CPU for hours, it kind of makes you apply the paste a little 'better' too?

Or even that the surfaces were super clean so everything bonded better...

Not sure, but I skipped lapping.

[rbsmontemor]

Just use liquid Pro

[flesheatinvirus]

I have been working way too much lately, I just got home about an hour ago for another 15 hour day. I will try to crank out some bench work over the weekend and post it up but so far it looks pretty good. Pulled over 14,000 in 3DM06 with just a slight clock on the 8800GTX on just the second try. I need to fine tune this setup.

[rbsmontemor]

Full load temps plz plz plz. And the watercooler config

Just askin' coz' I'm going to buy a watercooler kit...and need to know how better is it against Ultra-120 extreme.

Thanks!

Rbs.

[timber715]

I have a 726A running at 4G at 1.5v rock solid on water.

by this you mean rock solid with SPi 32m? hope you can post it with prime95...

[GripS]

by this you mean rock solid with SPi 32m? hope you can post it with prime95...

You gotta admit that even a 32m run with that low of voltage is impressive. But i do agree..... Let's see some prime.

[flesheatinvirus]

Ok I tried Prime V25.5 at 4G and its a no go after only a few minutes so I began dropping down the speed. Right now Im running at 3753mhz at 1.56v with all four cores loaded. Temps so far after ten minutes running are cores 0-1 61C cores 2-3 62C but its way to early to say anything yet. I will let it go for at least a few hours and post the results,if everything looks good I will start to climb back up with the speed. I have however ran every other bench at 4G with zero issues but then again this is the last word. Will check back later with results.

[Hans Gruber]

It would be nice to see people quote their speeds with Prime95 loads stable for 30 minutes or more. I can run at 3.4Ghz 1.30v(bios setting) CPU-Z shows my vcore overvolts 0.25-0.50v. Prime95 brings my Q6600 to it knees within minutes. Usually after 10 minutes, one core will fail and the test will continue. Suprisingly, the core that fails changes after each Prime95 setting.

I doubt some of these 4.0Ghz overclocks can run Prime95 stable for more than an hour. However, some of you guys with kick ass phaze change and massive cooling on every other component could do it with no problem at all. I would guess 10% or less of overclockers would count as professional overclockers. I've seen some pretty crazy looking guru overclocking gear, makes me feel like an amateur.

Anandtech.com did a comparison of cheap water cooling >$300 vs. Air Cooling. The Thermalright Ultra 120 and extreme120 as well as the Tuniq Tower 120 as well as several others provided better cooling than watercooling under $300. I've got 2 Tuniq Tower 120's and one Thermalright Ultra 120. If you spend over $300, water cooling beats out the best air coolers.

I use Arctic Silver 5 paste. There's a new paste that betters the cooling of Arctiv Silver 5 that was reviewed recently, can't recall the name but it was reviewed by frostytech.com

For those getting the (Chuckbam) MSI P35 NEO-2 FR, I'm using bios 1.1 on a Vista 64 bit system. I've turned up the FSB one notch below red setting and the Northbridge up to 1.45v (I think) which is one notch into the red danger area of the MSI bios. I've heard bad things about some of the newer MSI bios releases by MSI. Gigabyte definately spends the most time tweaking their bios compared to MSI. However, MSI bios 1.1 works very well.

[flesheatinvirus]

Ok here is Prime 95 v25.5 after 9+ hours at 3753mhz, Looks like I need to retract my statement about being rock solid at 4G at least right now with prime included. Testing continues.