Core 2 Duo Stuff

[Capper]

well, when you compare two memory kits at the same frequency, the one running the tighter timings will win......but memory actually matters so little in overall system speed.....Overclocking headroom on a memory kit is really there to allow for a better overclock of the processor while keeping the divider as close to 1:1 as possible, and allowing for more bandwidth.

I personally think we're seeing the swan song of DDR-2....I believe a lot of what is causing this chips shortage, other than AMD's switch to DDR2, is the lack of good ICs capable of delivering these crazy speeds we're seeing (Corsair's Dominator Seriers, Patriots new DDR2-1200, etc).

If you look, theres not much in the way of kits over DDR2-1000, and even those suffer from poor OCing headroom, and are running well above the original DDR2 spec of 1.8V.

[Capper]

Anyway....back on topic.
The Core 2 Duo is an incredible series....I'd highly recommend either the E6300, 6400, or 6600....all three OC very well, its just a matter of how hardcore you want to be.....The E6300 is maybe the best value, but you need great supporting components to get everything out of it.
When it comes to the board.....the 590 SLI was great for AMD, but has really been a mixed bag for those using INTEL platforms.....I'd honestly recommend either the 975 or 965 chipsets

[GV2NIX]

Originally Posted by Capper

I personally think we're seeing the swan song of DDR-2....I believe a lot of what is causing this chips shortage, other than AMD's switch to DDR2, is the lack of good ICs capable of delivering these crazy speeds we're seeing (Corsair's Dominator Seriers, Patriots new DDR2-1200, etc).

If you look, theres not much in the way of kits over DDR2-1000, and even those suffer from poor OCing headroom, and are running well above the original DDR2 spec of 1.8V.

Couldn't have said it better myself! My mind is stuck in the past, I need to start thinking more in the present.

Do you think a 6600 is worth it? True, I'll be aiming for a speed that won't make full use of a 1:1 overclock with DDR2 800 with the stock 9x multi, but it might be nice to have the 9x multi just in case I get lucky. It may not be the best deal, but it still could be a good investment. As we all know, it's an expensive chip, so I don't want to be foolish. But then again, this upgrade is ahead of schedule and I'm hoping I won't upgrade again for a while, haha!

[Capper]

I think the E6600 is a fantastic processor....its what I'm currently using

[GV2NIX]

Ah, I see now that you're using it! I also see that you're using it with a DFI mobo. Are you noticing any shortcomings of the DFI board? Normally I would jump on DFI as I've had very good experiences with their boards, but I've never used a DFI board with an Intel chip before. Have you used any of the Asus P5W Premium and/or Deluxe boards with your C2D before?

It also seems that you're using the same PSU that I'm using. That's working without a hitch for you?

[jph1589]

Originally Posted by Quakindude

So far, I'm still trying ot figure out all the C2D overclocking stuff myself. I've managed to push just my FSB to 312 for a 2.8Ghz on my Conroe E6600. I'm using a CNPS9500LED, so my temps, overclocked and 100% load for an hour were still around 26-28C. I have a 590 Chipset board, so it will be interersting to see how far I can push this. I'm using DDR2-800 OCZ Platinum Ram, so Ino telling where I'll actually end up with it. I plan to tweak it around this coming week.

I am far from an expert on this, but I have been reading a lot. What I would like to recommend, is to get the program "Core temp" for more acurate C2D temperatures. I would be completely skeptical if I were you, if you have 26c at a load on an E6600 that is overclocked by 20%. That is only a few degrees higher than most peoples room temps. A lot of boards are not reporting the actual cpu core temp on the c2d, thus the program "core temp". Just google it and I'm sure you will see it. There is also a beta Intel thermal monitoring program called "TAT" ? I can't find it from any sites that I consider trustworthy though.

On another note, I was hoping to buy an Nforce 590 board myself and just got tired of waiting for them to come to market. I am curious how you like the board?

[Quakindude]

I've actually installed a temp sensor for a front panel Temp/Fan display. It reads about 10C higher than the Asus monitoring software does. I also use PC Wizard 2006 to monitor SMART data, fan speeds, temps and such. It reads right along with the Asus software.

So far, the 590 SLI board has been awesome. Everything fired right up after I figured out one setting that needed to be changed in the Bios since I was using a 250Gb SATA drive as the primary Drive. If you get a 590 board, let me know and I'll get more detailed about what I had to do.

[jph1589]

Originally Posted by Quakindude

I've actually installed a temp sensor for a front panel Temp/Fan display. It reads about 10C higher than the Asus monitoring software does. I also use PC Wizard 2006 to monitor SMART data, fan speeds, temps and such. It reads right along with the Asus software.

So far, the 590 SLI board has been awesome. Everything fired right up after I figured out one setting that needed to be changed in the Bios since I was using a 250Gb SATA drive as the primary Drive. If you get a 590 board, let me know and I'll get more detailed about what I had to do.

I would be curious to know what core temp reports the temps as if you have time to try it. I've heard a lot about it and wonder if it is acurate.

[GV2NIX]

I'm always paranoid that I'm getting wrong temps. Even if I use various temp monitoring software packages that report temps that appear more "reasonable" I still have no way of knowing how accurate it is. If you can, borrowing a laser thermometer would be very helpful...and fun too!

[Quakindude]

Originally Posted by GV2NIX

I'm always paranoid that I'm getting wrong temps. Even if I use various temp monitoring software packages that report temps that appear more "reasonable" I still have no way of knowing how accurate it is. If you can, borrowing a laser thermometer would be very helpful...and fun too!

You know, we had a laser thermometer here at work. Someone broke it two weeks ago though. It would have been very interesting to see the temps on the Conroe.

I had my X2 4800 O/C'ed to 2.8 for awhile. With the CNPS9500 and PC wizard going, the laser temp was within 1.5 degrees of PCWizard and speedfan was off by 7 degrees. Both read lower than what the laser thermometer said the real temp was, which was 59C. The only problem I had with PC Wizard was that it reports the Voltages from the PSU incorrectly for the 12v rail if you have more than one rail. It will report is as 13.04 give or take .03

JPH, I'll do that soon as I get home from work today and let you know.