Just a little update on my overclock progress:

I've lapped both my heatsink and cpu with good results. Idle temp has gone down a couple of degrees and load temps and few more too....although the whole process took a lot longer than I expected it to. I probably spent about 4 hours from start to finish doing it but it was worth it and it's all a learning process.


Also, I've finally managed to get a 3.6GHz overclock but i'm a little concerned that i'm risking things with too much voltage (1.5375v in BIOS, 1.520 in cpu-z). Idle temps range from 33C to 37C but they hit 70C under load. It's Prim95 stable for 30 mins....I haven't tested it for any longer as I think it would fail at some point. Is this pushing things too far? The Intel spec sheet says 1.5v is the 'max' for an E6600 and temps should be under 60C.

I haven't got a Thermalright Ultra 120 as yet as i'm not 100% sure it will fit my case (Enermax Black Knight CS527). Would it make a noticeable difference anyway? If it's a tight squeeze into the case, would that be counter-productive to airflow? I'm currently using a Zalman CNPS9500 which is pretty good but if i'm able to lower temps with another heatsink, i'd be more than happy to give it a shot. Ultimately, i'd like a good water cooling kit but finances are a little tight so i'm trying to do things to a budget but I may just put some cash aside for a while so I can invest in a kit and a specialist case.