Howdy! Just built a new rig and I would like to have a go at overclocking it. I've got a Core 2 Duo E6600 and an ASUS P5-B mobo.

I also have a huge fan/heatsink combo on it (not stock).

At the moment I have been using the utility which comes with the motherboard to overclock. So far I got from 2.44 GHz to 2.8. However, temperatures went from 49C at load (prime 95 torture test) to 60C.

I think I didn't apply the thermal paste properly....

Also, what is the max temperature I can go to under load? I don't want to fuck this.

Oh, and how can I overclock my nvidia 8800GTS? ntune gives me a BSOD in Vista. And before you flame me, I got Vista for DX 10.

Cheers,

†Jesus†

Don't use the software OCing utility. Go into the BIOS and up your FSB. You'll also have to up your vCore some along with your vDIMM, and you might have to loosen your RAM timings. What kind of RAM did you get?

Your chip can handle well over 80*C for a decent length of time, but to preserve the long-term life of the chip, most OCers try not to let their load temps get to far over 60*C. The only way you're going to frag your chip immediately, is if you raise the vCore to some insanely high voltage like 1.8v and not be using LNO2 or phase cooling (you shouldn't need to go anywhere near 1.8v though)

Your temps don't look too abnormal, but I'll need to know your current vCore to be sure (Use CPU-z for that). If you suspect that you jacked up mounting the heatsink, reseat it. Another thing might be the IHS on your CPU. This is the metal plate that covers the core and has the chips stepping info etched into it. C2D's have been shipped with bent and concave IHS's. Mine was extremely bent on one side. To correct this problem, I sanded the IHS down to where it was level. This is called lapping. However, judging by your temps, it does not appear that your IHS is bent, but if you rule out voltage, case air flow, and the mounting of your heatsink, lapping might bring your temps down a bit.

The software program just changes the BIOS settings....

RAM is 2 x 1GB Kingston 800MHz DDR2 chips.

vCore is 1.20.

I took the heatsink off. The thermal paste appears to have spread properly and there is a nice thin layer as described on a guide i found.

Thanks for the detailed answer, I bumped the RAM up to 889MHz and my computer froze under heavy load. I suspect it was the vDIMM.

I'm thinking of grabbing some water cooling, but it's about $300 Australian.

What's a resonable expectation of what I can acheive?

Cheers, I would rep you but it won't count.

†Jesus†

start worrying when you'r chips touching 90deg+

you have plenty of headroom just keep on pushing. you wont fry it unless you'r getting 90deg+ or a overly high voltage

1.35V is about the normal OC'ing core2duo voltages.

You're NOT allowed to post in overclocking threads ANYMORE. GET THE FUCK OUT NOW.

Fuckin' stupid kid... Alrighty... First off you MUST HAVE put that paste on wrong. Turn the machine off, let it sit for ten minutes, and put it back on properly. (just enough to cover the bottom of the POLISHED heatsink).

Otherwise, the only thing you should do different is decided how high you want to push your machine. You may need to play with settings on your own if you want to go above 2.8ghz.

http://www.overclock.net/

Read. Know. Do.

consider arctic silver heat sink grease, for your best results.

Shhhh.. It was more of a generic CPU statement.

Cheers man. I'll look at applying the paste this afternoon (about 10 hours).

I think Artic Silver came with it, too.
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†Jesus†

You fucking idiot... There isn't a "generic" CPU. Hell, even CPUs that are of the same batch can have different thermal tolerances.

Fuck off if you can't understand the basics of overclocking.