Overclocking and memory

[jimh33]

hi i have a q6600 on a evga 122ck-nf67t1 mb with 4x1gb corsair c4d dominator ddr2 6400 .my question is i would like to ease into overclocking and my question is is it better to overclock with 2x2gb or ok with the 4x1 gb setup .also anybody with this board would appreciate your settings to set it up am looking about 3.0 ghtz thanks

 

[Technochicken]

I would say that in general it is better to overclock with less sticks of ram if your CPU does not have an unlocked multiplier. If it does not, like your q6600, you will overclock by increasing the FSB speed, and therefore increasing the speed of the ram. It is possible that your overclock will be limited by your ram instead of by your CPU. The fewer sticks of ram, the less likely that you will be limited by your ram.

For your particular overclock, my guess is that you will be fine. The above probably only applies to pretty extreme overclocks. If you already have 2x2 gb of ram, then use them, but otherwise it is not worth it to spend around 100$ on ram so you can overclock a little bit better. Also before you start, make sure you have a decent aftermarket cooler so your CPU does not get too toasty.

Good luck on your overclock!

 

[dividebyzero]

Your board is a nVidia 680i LT chipset. Overclocking RAM on any nVidia chipset is a much easier proposition than any Intel solution as you can OC RAM independently of the CPU and not limited by memory dividers.
Overclocking RAM depends more upon the quality of the RAM being used than quantity of modules or density to a degree.
1Gb Dominator DDR2-800CL4 should overclock only fractionally better than 2Gb modules, while the 680i chipset has no difficulty maintaining voltage over four DIMM's for a 4x1Gb setup. Weak boards with iffy power delivery to the MCH (Northbridge) would favour a 2 DIMM setup but your board isn't one of them.
As for the OC, going for 3 GHz should be easily attainable on the board (333 Core freq x 9)
Stock cooler or aftermarket?
What stepping Q6600 ? B3 (sSpec SL9UM) or G0 (sSpec SLACR) ?
VID ?
Vcore in BIOS (if different) ?

For overclocking you will need some basic software tools-if you don't already have them.
Reporting utilities:
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php (CPU-Z. Good basic info of your system)
http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php (Speedfan-in depth voltage reporting)
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Info/MemSet.shtml (Memset. This utility will show you the pre-programmed RAM sub-timings within the modules, should you need to adjust timings from Auto in the BIOS )
Testing
RAM
Memtest86+ A DOS utility that will test RAM timings for stability outside of the OS enviroment) I've outlined the setup and testing procedure in this thread (2nd post) https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic140759.html
CPU
OCCT : A good alrounder, you can test CPU, GPU VRAM, PSU. Each completed test will provide you with a graph like this:

Prime95 (32 or 64 bit): A very good CPU stress test. The blend (small+large FFT) torture test is usually seen as the true test of system stability
Stress Prime Orthos : SImilar to Prime95. Use one or the other
Intel Burn Test (IBT) : Stress test likely to show the highest CPU core temps you'll likely ever get.
OCCT, Prime95, IBT and Orthos here http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/browse.php?c=18

You will no doubt come across people who tell you that such a small overclock that needs only a bump or two in the Vcore (and northbridge if OC'ing the RAM more than moderately) you don't need to stress the system too much -if at all. Quite simply, they are wrong, any setting on the computer should be stress tested for stability, including stock, because if you don't start from a basis of complete stability then any instability you encounter will not be able to be pinned down without going back to the start or a lot of trial and error.

 

[jimh33]

memory

i do have a good cpu heatsink and fan it is a noctua with fan 30c at idle 37 c full load gaming . and i am running 4x1gb sticks corsair.

 

[dividebyzero]

Sweet, thats a good start.
If you can download the software and post the necessary info I'll be able to offer some guidelines- You'll find what is best for your CPU/RAM/board combination through testing. CPU's vary markedly in their ability to hold a stable overclock, so the idea is to get a stable core frequency without running any more voltage that is necessary as increasing Vcore usually has a knock-on effect with other voltages and hence their stability-and as the 680i chipset isn't the coolest running I'd avoid pumping too much juice through it as the heat you would need to dissipate increases greatly.