bobdragster

Part of my build, posted here - New [Q9550/4870/X48] Build
I know some of this may have been answered previously in other threads, but I would like one place to gather all info for my build. Thanks.

Intel Q9550 (E0 Stepping)
- Best cooling options for overclocking (Not Watercooling.)
- Any specific settings that need to be put in place for good overclocking stability. I've only ever OC'd one CPU, it was an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ 2.1GHz that I got up to 2.5, but then just put it back to 2.1 because I had no idea if I did any of it correctly.
- How to set fsb correctly on an ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X48. Why I would set it to that speed, and what it will do.
- How to set multiplier correctly on that same mobo. Why I would set it to that, and what it will do.
- Best programs to use for stability tests and monitoring.
-Anything else I should cover?

+REP will be given for any help!

Radeon915

Hi

The best air cooler would be the Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120, you can put 2 120mm fans on it. With only one fan it keeps my E6600 at 3.5Ghz at a nice 56c load.

For overclocking there aren't really any specific settings. It's mostly just trial and error.
For example, the Q9550 has a max/stock multiplier of 8.5, fsb 333Mhz, so it's stock speed is 2,83Ghz. Say you want 3.4Ghz. You divide 3400 by 8.5, which is a clean 400mhz, so you set the FSB to 400.
You can up the vcore a bit, but don't take it too high (max 1.36v). If you have a good chip it might even do 3.4Ghz with stock voltage. Lower voltages mean less heat, higher voltages more stabillity and more heat. Try to keep the RAM 1:1 with your FSB.

You can just try different settings without destroying anything. If the overclock fails, your system will not boot, and then if you turn it off and then on again it should reset, and propt a message saying the overclock has failed and if you want to go to the BIOS. (at least my asus P45 based mobo does, so I'm almost sure yours does that as well)

Use OCCT, Orthos or Prime 95 for stabillity testing. I mostly use OCCT, it works really easy and can stress multiple cores. For monitoring I use Speedfan.

That's about it. I'm sure there are some other people around who can give you a bit more in-depth information, but these are the need to know basics.
Just don't take it too extreme, and you'll be fine. Remember: trial and error!

__________________
The worst thing to do after building a computer is...

Rab1t_K1ll3r^

Hello, just to expand a bit on what Radeon915 said for cooling, in my opinion the tunique tower is the best cooling option for air cooling because of the size of the heat sinks expanding off of the heat pipes. Although Radeon915's idea for air cooling is just as good, choose between the two and you are set.

__________________

Aaroman

Radeon is right, The best Air Cooler is the Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120 (a.k.a T.R.U.E)

__________________