Does overclocking work

DirkVoodoo

OCUK have a detailed Gigabyte DS-3 thread, also Hardforum i think has a good guide. The DS3 is a good board, make sure you get BIOS F10. From what I have heard/read, Geil is good RAM for overclocking, don't know much about the voltages for it though.

Sorry that I don't have those links, I have them bookmarked on my home PC.

Chosen

Have fun reading

DanGerMus

well guys i've officially done my first overclock. i used these setting from the OCUK guy
1. Make sure that you have the latest chipset drivers and flash the board to the most recent bios version
2. On the main bios screen press Ctrl+F1 to open the advanced options within the menus
3. In the Advanced Bios Features Menu, Disable all of the following: CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E), CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2), CPU EIST Function
4. In the PC Health Status menu, set the FAN Speed Control Method to "Legacy" & FAN Speed Control Mode to "PWM" to maintain highest speed
5. Go into the MB Intelligent Tweaker (MIT) menu at the bottom of the page, set the System voltage control to "Manual"
6. These boards have a default VDIMM of 1.8v, set the VDIMM to co-ordinate with your ram. The Geil I have is specced as 2.1v so I have mine set to +0.3v
7. Set the MCH Voltage to +0.1v
8. Set the FSB Voltage to +0.1v
9. Set the VCORE to 1.45v - Please be aware that this will increase temps!
10. Set the CPU Host Clock Control to "Enable"
11. Set the System Memory Multiplier to "2x"
12. You're set to go, just increase the System bus Frequency to Overclock
13. I would reccommend that you use Intels TAT to monitor temps

Handy that i have the same RAM as him. )
i left cpu multi at x10
i have currently clocked at 3.65 but under load test in TAT system locks.
I tried 3.7 but got bsod and 3.8 wouldn't boot properly and 4 would boot at all. lol. learning curve i guess. my only benchmark is super pi for now so went from 46 at norm 2.66ghz to 35 at 3.65
my temps at 3.6 are core0,1 - 46,45idle to 66,63 load

some screenies attached
So now that i've tried it i'm left asking my self one thing..... 4????!?!?!?!

awhir

whats is it for a e6600 thats nice man

DirkVoodoo

Yup, all part of the learning process, gentle tweaks here and there, just like tuning an engine. There is no quick fix, click button here, to overclock (properly).

Is that on stock cooling? I was getting the same idle temps on stock, didn't test it though because it was way hotter than i liked. Heat is the enemy comrades!

Don't run your system OC'd like that without better cooling, or expect more crashes and shorter CPU life.

EDIT: also, consider getting a little fan (50mm) for the northbridge. I think they used to supply one, not with mine anyway. Anyhow, use speedfan as well, and keep an eye on your northbridge temps. They can get quite hot on the DS3. Also, I've read that a dab of superglue is good for fixing it in place.

Cooling Northbridge

DanGerMus

it's a e6700. with and arctic freezer 7 pro. and these readings are with all fans in my case blowing full blast. Antec p180 with its three regular fans plus a papst blowing air in the middle accross th gfx. have a zalman... something.. on my x1950 pro, the copper expensive one lol. think i might invest in a north bridge cooler they seem fairly cheap. i also didnt recieve a fan with my ds3. wasnt expecting one though lol. the greatest temp jump seem to come with the initial voltage increase 10 degrees. after that it's fairly gradual with the FSB increases a degree or so per 20mhz. So do i now have to increase voltages to get stability at higher clock? whats my safe thermal limit here?

DirkVoodoo

Keep it below 70C, but I would keep it below 60/65C.

Nearly had a heart attack the other day, intel fan control wasn't kicking in when I played oblivion, CPU was goin into 80s (briefly, before I turned speedfan to software controlled).

Case fans are good for air flow in the case, but they won't cool a cpu. Invest in a good cooler, its money well spent.

EDIT: Run orthos as well, see what you load temps are. If they go over 65C, shut it down and reconsider your overclock.

DanGerMus

right then i have water coolin gear. double 120 rad and a pump and hose. just no blocks. what would you recommend. OCUK have only got the dd tdx or zalman wb4 in stock. which is better? or other blocks from somewhere else?

DirkVoodoo

ooh, watercooling is not my specialty. Good route to go tho, plenty of experts here.