My first overclocking attempts

Copied from my introduction thread.

Hello everyone. My name is Ryan. I have built my own PC's since I was introduced to computers about 15 years ago, but I have never bothered to try to squeeze more out of my hardware than what I get out of the box. Recently I built myself the first "descent" PC I have ever really had. Until now (and even now I would assume), I have always been a few years behind the curve so to speak. But a power surge (or a blessing in disguise) has allowed me to upgrade.
I have build me a PC to game on, and out of the box it runs really well. Here are my stock specs.

ASUS M4A88T-M
OCZ ModXstream-Pro 600W
XFX HD6870 1Gb (Currently RMA'd) --> Onboard HD4250
Phenom II X4 960T BE @ 3Ghz
Thermaltake Frio Cooler (Dual Fan)
16Gb Kingston HyperX Blu @ 1333Mhz
2 x SATA HD's
1 x SATA CD/DVD Writer

The case is an older Black HP (a6009n) which I like the look of (plugs ect. nicely on the front), but it will require a slight modification (ie. a hole cut out of the side panel) as a result of that insanely huge CPU cooler. No problem. ATM no side panel. lol.

I have so far managed to OC my RAM to 1600Mhz, and lower the timings to 9-9-9-24-33, and OC my CPU to 3700Mhz by setting the multiplier to 18.5 and the FSB stock at 200Mhz. This is stable as per MemTest and IntelBurnTest. Raising the FSB results in CPU instability, but the RAM is stable at 210 and I am sure it could go higher. This is all with stock (Auto) power to everything. Next, I am looking into raising the power to the RAM and CPU to see if I can get better results, which brings me to my question.

If my motherboard has the voltages set to Auto, will the components simply get what they need, or would manually raising them possibly allow me to achieve higher overclocks? I have not touched them as of yet, but I expect that when on Auto, my hardware is restricted. I would love anyone's opinion on the voltages, what I should try and what is safe for the hardware.

Thank you for any input.

Best Wishes.

Ryan
Edited by RyanCavers - 9/5/12 at 3:54pm

A new case is next on the list. I would love this behind tray cable management. These wires are everywhere atm.
VRM cooling? You mean for the ram? And, before any overclocking, or any more overclocking?
The Frio's fans are moving the air over the RAM at a nice rate keeping them nice and cool, if that helps...
I guess I forgot to mention my temps... 36 idle and 41 full load on the CPU. The MB sits around 35.
It is 28 ambient in the house.
I'm a little lost and I don't think I follow exactly what you are saying.

Thanks for the help though.

Edit. Seems you are talking of the motherboards chips if I am not mistaken. Seems they are protected by throttling, and they have small blue heat sinks on them, and the air movement in the case is intense so to speak. They should keep cool. But I respect your opinion and ask for further information regarding it.
Edited by RyanCavers - 9/8/12 at 6:19am

Ahh. Thank you all very much. I understand now. Thankfully I read this in his post... "This is why I have never seen ASUS boards fail even if people take a lowly 3+1 ASUS boards and try to overclock a Phenom II x6 on it; ASUS boards feature this technology, it is a part of the PWM controller design." At least our board is not a POS and our VRM's do have some protection. On top of the throttling, I have a 90mm fan blowing fresh air directly over them. Not directly on them, but past them. Directly onto my Frio cooler. This creates a vortex directly over these VRM's. They are kept cool. This area of my motherboard is in a good spot for cooling. Thankfully. I will get myself some of those heat sinks you linked to just to be safe (if they will fit under that huge fkn Frio that is...)
Do you think that would be sufficient?
I will have a look at those links rdr, thank you very much.
Edited by RyanCavers - 9/8/12 at 6:23am

D'oh. I pushed back instead of f5. Sorry for the DP.

Mmm. I also forgot to mention. I have not unlocked any of my 2 extra cores. 4 is enough for now. There is a lot of airflow all around them. It's like a vortex. Not as good as it could be I suppose, but much better then before. Those small heat sinks would take care of any heat issues on them for sure. I think as it is it is good, but I will get the heat sinks just so that you can't say I told you so... Thanks a lot for your help .

VRM heatsinks's are ordered and on their way. Got them off ebay 30% cheaper than newegg. Gonna need to remove the MB to get those heatsinks on though. Well worth it I hope.
In the mean time, the air flow around this part of the board is very good. I think I am ok. Although it is OC'd, the system wont be under any real stress until my gfx is back, and the heatsinks should be here around the same time, if not sooner.
I have changed the OC's a bit now.
210 FSB / 3780 CPU / 2520 NB / 1400 RAM / 2100 HT / 1.392 VCore max - All Stable says memtest, intelburntest and prime95. CPU temp 50 max at full load, 36 idle. MB 38 max.
A nice improvement from stock in my opinion. Not interested in going any higher I don't think, unless you have opinions...?. I was happy with stock performance, so any extra is just gravy. Now I just need my rma'd gfx back to see how gta4 and bioshock 2 deal with these new settings. And maybe tweak it a little bit too... We'll see. XFX is great with their warranties.
Again, thanks for your input guys. Very much appreciated.
Best Wishes.
Edited by RyanCavers - 9/6/12 at 12:35pm