Overclocking Core i7-950 processor

[DKRON]

I am thinking about overclocking my CPU to minimize a possible bottleneck when i put in my new crossfire ASUS Radeon 6970 DirectCU II 2GB cards, should i be putting it up to 4GHZ?

Oh and if you don't know already the standard clock of the 950 is 3.06GHz, i also have a CoolerMaster V10 to cool the CPU so heat shouldn't be a problem

 

[dividebyzero]

...should i be putting it up to 4GHZ?

That kind of depends on the chip. Always best to OC incrementally. Some chips don't overclock well, some do, and some will but might need a bucketload of voltage tossed into the CPU and chipset. The first couple of 950's I tried OC'ed moderately well, but required close to 1.4v to get them there. The chip I now use won't OC as high (~3.8-3.9) but does so at good voltage (~1.18-1.2v)

Oh and if you don't know already the standard clock of the 950 is 3.06GHz, i also have a CoolerMaster V10 to cool the CPU so heat shouldn't be a problem

The V10 is a good air cooler. The TEC doesn't work overly effectively until the heat production starts ramping up. Overall it's going to be no more effective than a top-tier air cooler (i.e. Noctua NH-D14, Thermalright Archon) or closed loop all-in-one watercooler (i.e. Corsair H80/H100, Antec Kuhler 920) so keep an eye on the temps during stability/stress testing.

 

[DKRON]

even 3.5-3.7 would give me a FPS boost i would think, the V10 alone is a passive cooler but i have combined it with 2x 200mm (140CFM) fans sucking air up, 1x 200mm (130CFM) fan out the side and 2 on the rear so i have never even gone above 50c degrees under load