Overclock Successful? i7-2600-k

Hi....

I just upgraded my case and added liquid cooling due to my airconditioning going out and causing my PC to overheat... I think it made my thermal paste into crap...

I've attached some photos of my Windows Experience Index before and after using the Easy Tune utility to OC.. The picture i took before i OC'd was with turbo boost off, though. Was suppose to be 7.7 not 7.6 .. After enabling TB in the BIOS and overclocking it jumped up to 7.8 ... Used easy tune to put Turbo Boost @ 4.3Ghz (According to what right clicking on My computer tells me.)

I've used an overclocking tool for the Turbo Boost feature on the i7 called Easy Tune. I downloaded it from the manufacturer of my Z68X-UD3H-B3. Check it out here. I am new to overclocking but the program seemed user friendly enough to use, and it was only effecting turbo boost feature. Plus i knew how to reset to defaults in BIOS so now biggie.

Based upon what you guy's see in these attachments, are my RAM readings OK? Anything you see i should watch for or i can improve on? Any other info i can give to help determine these things?

I've used Aida64 to monitor my temperature and perform a stability test. Highest temperature for the cores was 60 Celsius and that was only for a moment while OC'd. Highest for the overall CPU Temp was 46 Celsius. Correct me if i'm wrong but these temperatures are awesome, isn't it? I only did a 5 minute stress test with Aida though...

BTW as long as its not too complex and i feel confident i would like to lower Turbo Boost and increase the regular speed of 3.4 up to like 4ghz, if possible.

Thanks again guys. I love SevenForums.

Also ... When installing my RAM i skipped 1 slot ... idk why but i swear i remember hearing that doing this is a good idea. Right or wrong ??

You have DDR3 Ram installed in a dual channel mother board. That's okay.
If your motherboard came with a manual and it should of. Install the ram exactly as the manual indicates. If you don't have the manual ask Fry's for it. If that doesn't work, download it or contact Gigabyte. You need the manual. Your computer should of come with all the manuals.

Layback Bear said:

You have DDR3 Ram installed in a dual channel mother board. That's okay.
If your motherboard came with a manual and it should of. Install the ram exactly as the manual indicates. If you don't have the manual ask Fry's for it. If that doesn't work, download it or contact Gigabyte. You need the manual. Your computer should of come with all the manuals.

OK i'll refer to the manual ... i didn't know it changed from machine to machine. I think i ended up doing it based off what i heard one day cause i was having problems and have been doign it since....

Thanks again.... But what do you think about the information on the OCing i put up ? Everything look stable and safe? From what i've read, making sure the temperature's are low is basically the main concern ... But i also know that some times things have to be done to the RAM. Or at least that certain brands/types are preferred.

Many people have opinions on many brands of ram. When I pick a brand of anything in my computer the first thing is reliability to my way of thinking. The fastest computer today that doesn't work tomorrow doesn't mean much. To make sure a overclock is working properly I run Prime 95 using Torture 100% and watch the temperatures closely. No two computers overclock the same even if they have the same parts. That why one persons setting might not work on another computer. It is trial and test and see if its right for your rig.

exitPr0gram said:

Based upon what you guy's see in these attachments, are my RAM readings OK? Anything you see i should watch for or i can improve on? Any other info i can give to help determine these things?

None of those screen shots show what the actual ram timings are. Download CPU-Z and post a pic of the memory tab.

ie:

Correct me if i'm wrong but these temperatures are awesome, isn't it? I only did a 5 minute stress test with Aida though...

Temps are fine - but 5 mins is woefully inadequate for a stress test.

BTW as long as its not too complex and i feel confident i would like to lower Turbo Boost and increase the regular speed of 3.4 up to like 4ghz, if possible.

Better off ditching the OC app and doing it through the BIOS. It may appear daunting at first, but it's actually quite easy when you know what each setting does and what affects what.

For 4ghz, you could almost hit that on stock volts. All you'd really have to change would be to disable Turbo and adjust the multiplier to 40 for example.

Also ... When installing my RAM i skipped 1 slot ... idk why but i swear i remember hearing that doing this is a good idea. Right or wrong ??

Right. With two modules, and four slots, they have to be placed a slot apart S1/S3 S2/S4 to maintain dual channel mode. Placing two modules next to each other ie S1/S2 puts it into single channel mode which hampers performance.

exitPr0gram said:

Yea i heard it comes from the fact that no 1 processor is exactly the same coming off the assembly line, so each one overclocks differently.

Same applies to GPU's.

You can get good 'batches' where that particular run will perform better than others (ie Overclocks higher with less volts vs needing more volts to hit the same target, or even being unable to hit the same target.) But even within those batches each component is individual in it's capabilities.

You have 4 ram slots in two colors. Two stick install in matching colors. If you ever add ram you will need 2 more sticks. If you just install one more stick you will devert to single channel.

Very good looking numbers dude