Tweaking EVGA Nforce 680i sli mb

[Don Burnette]

Hey gang,

Looking for some tips here. Just upgraded my system with the following:

Intel Core2 Duo E6600 cpu
Zalman 9700 NT cooler
EVGA Nforce 680i sli mb
2gb ( 2 x 1gb) Corsair XMS2 PC8500 DDR2 ram

Please note, am using my current Saphire Radeon X850XT PCIe , so non sli.

Have been doing some research, and think I have a good start, but some
things I am still a little puzzled about, hoping someone here might help
shed some light.

I have tweaked the FSB setting, and am now running it at 350 mhz ( 1400
qdr), for an overall cpu speed of 3.15 ghz. Not bad so far, for a stock 2.4
ghz chip.
Ok, it appears, with the cpu voltage set to " auto ", as I up the fsb, it
increases - I presume to help insure stability. With the fsb set to 350, in
cpu-z, it shows my voltage at 1.42

Checking my temp in the bios, it shows the cpu core at 30c with the above
settings. However, checking with CoreTemp, it lists core1 at 43c, and core2
at 46c. Not sure why the discrepancy, between the two. Under load, appears
to be reaching around 54c in CoreTemp.

Ok, so, I have my memory speed set to manual, at 800 mhz. I presume by doing
this, I am not overclocking the ram so far. I have the memory clock mode set
to " unlinked ". I take it, I should be able to up my ram speed, with it
being pc8500? What might be a reasonable goal to attain?

SLI ready memory - in the bios, there is an option to enable/disable this. I
noticed, on my new ddr2 Corsair ram, it states on it " sli ready ".
Currently, in the bios, it is set to disabled by default. Not sure I
understand, what this setting would do if anything. If enabled, it has
choices like cpuoc 1%, cpuoc 2%, up through cpuoc 5%, and then cpuoc max? Is
this setting only used, when running graphics cards in sli mode?

Lastly, the HT mulitplier. Mine is still set to 5, and it shows one for the
Nforce SPP, and one for the Nforce MCP. Seems like, with my previous Athlon
socket 939 system, it was a good idea to lower this number when upping the
fsb. Is this the case with this socket 775 board as well?

Any tips/advice would be appreciated. I have read some articles at Tom's
Hardware and elsewhere, which gave me general guidelines, but so far I have
not been able to come to grips with these questions.

Thanks for any help,


Don

 

[Gojira]

Hey gang,

Looking for some tips here. Just upgraded my system with the following:

Intel Core2 Duo E6600 cpu
Zalman 9700 NT cooler
EVGA Nforce 680i sli mb
2gb ( 2 x 1gb) Corsair XMS2 PC8500 DDR2 ram

Please note, am using my current Saphire Radeon X850XT PCIe , so non sli.

Have been doing some research, and think I have a good start, but some
things I am still a little puzzled about, hoping someone here might help
shed some light.

I have tweaked the FSB setting, and am now running it at 350 mhz ( 1400
qdr), for an overall cpu speed of 3.15 ghz. Not bad so far, for a stock 2.4
ghz chip.
Ok, it appears, with the cpu voltage set to " auto ", as I up the fsb, it
increases - I presume to help insure stability. With the fsb set to 350, in
cpu-z, it shows my voltage at 1.42

Checking my temp in the bios, it shows the cpu core at 30c with the above
settings. However, checking with CoreTemp, it lists core1 at 43c, and core2
at 46c. Not sure why the discrepancy, between the two. Under load, appears
to be reaching around 54c in CoreTemp.

Ok, so, I have my memory speed set to manual, at 800 mhz. I presume by doing
this, I am not overclocking the ram so far. I have the memory clock mode set
to " unlinked ". I take it, I should be able to up my ram speed, with it
being pc8500? What might be a reasonable goal to attain?

SLI ready memory - in the bios, there is an option to enable/disable this. I
noticed, on my new ddr2 Corsair ram, it states on it " sli ready ".
Currently, in the bios, it is set to disabled by default. Not sure I
understand, what this setting would do if anything. If enabled, it has
choices like cpuoc 1%, cpuoc 2%, up through cpuoc 5%, and then cpuoc max? Is
this setting only used, when running graphics cards in sli mode?

Lastly, the HT mulitplier. Mine is still set to 5, and it shows one for the
Nforce SPP, and one for the Nforce MCP. Seems like, with my previous Athlon
socket 939 system, it was a good idea to lower this number when upping the
fsb. Is this the case with this socket 775 board as well?

Any tips/advice would be appreciated. I have read some articles at Tom's
Hardware and elsewhere, which gave me general guidelines, but so far I have
not been able to come to grips with these questions.

Thanks for any help,


Don

A good place to ask questions on this board would be the forum at
www.hardocp.com
A lot of people there have used it in their systems.There were problems with
some early on,but it seems to have improved,the general consensus seems to
be that it's the best core 2 platform for overclocking.

 

[Don Burnette]

A good place to ask questions on this board would be the forum at
www.hardocp.com
A lot of people there have used it in their systems.There were problems with
some early on,but it seems to have improved,the general consensus seems to
be that it's the best core 2 platform for overclocking.

I'll check it out, thanks!

Don