Newbie OCer needing help/advice.....

[WickedWaZoom]

Hello everyone, I'm fairly new to over-clocking and would like to have some help/advice as I attempt my first oc. I tried alittle of it and thought I was about to have a bonfire in my room, which is obviously not good.....

Here are my system specs:

1. intel i3-530 2.93Ghz
2. EVGA P55 SLi E655
3. Cosair CM3X2G1333C9 x 2(2gig sticks)
timings = 8-8-8-20(CL-RCD-RP-RAS)
4. Nvidia GT 9800
5. Stock heatsink

Here is what I know thus far: I have dummy OC enabled and it took core frequency up to 3.5Ghz. I then up the fsb to 180, tried 185 but I get the BSOD at that value; at 180 fsb, I have 3.986Ghz. Tried to change boot vcore and eventual vcore from 1.3 to 1.3125 thinking that it might increase stability for higher fsb values, but my system won't even boot after I change those two to that. Can ne one help me achieve 4.0Ghz or more, my comp runs at 48-50C at rest on current settings. Is stable under Prime95, but temps get alil too high for my taste under full strain(78-80C)

[bigBonehead]

5. Stock heatsink ?

[SoloCamo]

Welcome to TechIMO!

First off... 50*c idling and 78-80c under load?

Not to sound blunt here, but you have no business and are only pushing your luck overclocking on stock cooling. Let alone trying to achieve a 1.1ghz on it, or to make matters worse, increasing your Vcore with it too!

You need to start slower, and start with the very basics. With those temps and a stock cooler, do not expect more than maybe a safe 200-300mhz OC stable and even that I would not recommend with a stock cooler.

The bottom line here is you need to upgrade that heatsink before even considering overclocking, let alone one that high on an Core i3.

78-80*c is not stable, even if Prime95 doesn't fail. Increase the room temp 5*f and that "stability" becomes dangerous.

Also, what power supply are you using? That is often a VERY overlooked but extremely vital part.

Higher the speed, more volts = more stability required from psu.

On top of that, what are your goals with wanting 4ghz?

If it's for gaming, I'd look at replacing that 9800gt before anything else.

[WickedWaZoom]

Thanks, Glad I joined

I got a 750Watt cosair brand psu and my main reasons for ocing my cpu is for my gaming and emu's. The emu's are VERY cpu intensive and I need every bit of performance I can squeeze out of it to maintain high, stable fps rates for some games(god of war series, ffseries series, beyond good and evil, etc etc....). I cleaned out my case recently and now my cpu runs alittle cooler thanks to it. Stays around 45c idle and 60-65 under full load of the emu, Prime95 still takes into the high 70's though. Can you recommend me a good heatsink for me since you say I definitely need one if I wish to oc my cpu to the level which I want? GPU isn't really a problem right now, although i will definitely upgrade it too when I get the money to do so. And do you think if i upgrade my ram to 2x4gig sticks of 1600Mhzz will help my oc any too?

P.S. I haven't been able to change my vcore any. Every time I change my vcore settings to anything, but [AUTO](boot and eventual vcore), my comp doesnt even post, period. Only been increasing the cpu frequency to oc. I increased it from 130 to 180 to achieve my current oc, but I will take your adnice and lower back down to 165, which is a 3.5Ghz oc. I cant change the multiplier either, it seems locked at 22......for sum reason?

[bigBonehead]

IMO, a GPU would help more than a set of new RAM...

[ShyguyXPC]

yeah, those CPU's have a locked multiplier, the only ones that don't are Intel's "K" Series for socket 1155, like the i5 2500K, i7 2600K and i7 2700K models.

as to the RAM, it would help some to get some 1600MHz Stuff, but I'd get 1600 with 1.5V power, not the 1.60 or 1.65V RAM, this way you don't have to mess with the voltages at 1600 Rating.

Agreed on the GPU though, for most PC games, a 9800GT is getting long in the tooth and less and less effective these days.

As to the CPU OC for the Emulator's, which Emu's are you using? (Console system that its emulating)

I know some are more intensive than others, I'm guessing your using something like a PS1 or PS2 Emu. Otherwise if its Like Dreamcast or N64 those should do fine on your system as is, Ran N64 surprisingly well on my Mom Atom Dual Core Netbook almost 2 years ago, in Win 7 with only 1GB of RAM on it.

As to the Heatsink, you'll want some good thermal paste with it too.

usually the recommended stuff is Arctic Silver 5 or Arctic Silver Ceramique (the latter they have a new version out).

or for more higher end stuff, and pricier IC Diamond is one I've used before, but have never OC'd with it, though supposed to be some of the best stuff out there.

I think besides Shin Etsu x23, there is Indigo Extreme which is one I've heard of, can't remember if thats the "Liquid metal" stuff I've heard of, but I know usually any thermal interface material like that, you better know what your doing, as you can f*ck your entire system if it gets spilled on the board, or anywhere it can short out.

A good all around OCing cooler, that doesn't cost much is this one:

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+



Thermal Paste:

Newegg.com - Arctic Silver CMQ2-2.7G Céramique 2 Tri-Linear Ceramic Thermal Compound - Thermal Compound / Grease

or

Newegg.com - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - Thermal Compound / Grease

Personally I've never used the latter, but the Ceramique I've used many times, for stock and for some mild OCing and its pretty easy to put on, clean up, and if your spill a little, its non conductive and won't fry your components or short them out.

[WickedWaZoom]

Thanks for the advice guys

I actually just ordered that 212 evo earlier today lol.

The Emu's that I run are....well basically every mainstream console platform ever made; except for the current consoles since no one has been able to successfully make one that can play anywhere close to acceptable and the fact that you'd probably need a computer stolen from NASA to even come close to running it doesn't help. I run mostly pcsx2 and dolphin emu, dolphin being the more intensive unless im tryin to run god of war series on the pcsx2. I'm pretty sure unless I can oc the i3 to something ridiculous like 5Ghz, im not ever gonna be able to play it drag free.

If you have any suggestions for a decent gpu for a reasonable price, say under $200.....that gives alot in terms of cost, then please suggest away. Most BANG for the buck is what I'm looking for here, since gpu's aren't exactly cheap. Thanks again guys for all the help (I plan on getting GW2 whenever they decide to release it, hopefully before the next millennium comes; so a card that can run that in sharp detail be preferred).

[Taxmancometh]

There's little performance gain with Artic silver and generic stuff... so I read.

[ShyguyXPC]

some people notice a difference, others don't. But I've never used it myself, reason I've used Ceramique is due to its non conductive nature, so if I spilled a little on board its no big deal.

not to mention its dirt cheap in comparison.

On the other end of the spectrum there's IC Diamond, also mainly non (electrically) conductive, but costs a huge amount in comparison.

Innovation Cooling

Both of these is what I've used. on my newer upgraded system I bought some Shin Etsu x23 stuff to replace on the Corsair H60 Liquid Cooler in case that needed to be redone down the road. But I still mainly use Ceramique and IC Diamond as my choices.

[ShyguyXPC]

GPU recommendations from Best to least in price and Performance:

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1460-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Newegg.com - MSI R6870 Twin Frozr II Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Newegg.com - DIAMOND 6870PE51GB Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

All of those are probably close to the same performance level.

This one: Newegg.com - EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1363-KR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Is also about the same. The GTX 560 series is just an improvement on the "Older" GTX 460 1GB models, the 560 Ti is the full fledged 560 model, with the Non Ti Model being similarly spec'd to the 460, but running at faster clock speeds.

The GTX 460 1GB can still go up against the Radeon 6870 in most cases, and this one is a factory OC model that is comparable to the 560's for much less in price.

Here you can see the comparison specs of the GTX 460 1GB vs GTX 560:

Video Card Comparison - GPUReview.com

As you can see the 460 linked above exceeds a stock 560's clock speeds and WELL beyond a stock 460's clock speeds.

Personally, thats the card of choice for the Sub $200 range right now IMO, or at least as long as its in stock. There is another EVGA 460 1GB model also in this price range but with lesser OC on the card, still comparable to a 560.

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1361-KR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Any of those cards will be 2 to 3 times more powerful than the old 9800GT.

for the Sub $150 range a GTX 550 Ti, or Radeon 6770/5770 is the choice, still both should be almost twice what the 9800GT was. Comparable to a Radeon 4870 or 4890 range card.

Newegg.com - MSI N550GTX-Ti-M2D1GD5/OC GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Newegg.com - MSI N550GTX-Ti Cyclone OC GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Newegg.com - DIAMOND 6770PE51GB Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100328VXL Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Newegg.com - MSI R5770 Hawk Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Theres practically no difference between a 6770 and 5770, they were rebadges with some minor feature improvements related to Video and other things like that. Basically the same as when Nvidia Rebadged the 9800GT from the 8800GT.

Both the MSI 5770 and Sapphire 6770 are also slight factory Overclock cards as well.