E6600 & DS3 overclock

[GBInterloper]

Hi gang,

got my computer together, no problems:
E6600 (stock air cooling)
2GB DDR2 800 Corsair 5-5-5-12
Gigabyte DS3 motherboard
MSI 1900xt g-card
Antec TP550

It fired up no problem right off the bat with no memory issues, installed windows in record time (for me), and plays BF2 like a friggin' champ.
Now.....I have never OC'ed anything before, but I would like to put a mild OC on this rig. I have tried Gigabyte's Easytune software to do it but I am really unsure what I am doing and I don't want to fry anything. Is there better software out there to do this with? Or should I just use EasyTune5 and jack it up to 3MHz (from 2.4), and leave it at that?

 

[myocardia]

If you use EasyTune, you can't "jack it up to 3 Mhz (sic), and leave it at that". Once you reboot, it will be back to 2.4 Ghz. If you don't mind overclocking it every time you restart the computer, that will definitely work, although it's going to depend on what RAM, and what power supply you own, also, not just the processor and motherboard.

 

[GBInterloper]

OK, that explains the "flakiness" of Easytune I was seeing. So do you just change it in the BIOS?

 

[myocardia]

Actually, it's best to start out by using EasyTune, then once you've found your "sweet spot", then go back and change everything in the BIOS to match what you've been doing with EasyTune. That alleviates having to reset your BIOS 15 or 20 times, every time you do something that doesn't work well.

Remember, though, that you'll want to raise your memory timings considerably to start with. Once you find out how high your processor can go, then you can start lowering them, before you finalize the BIOS settings. Also, make sure that you've locked your PCI-E bus to either 100 or 101, and your PCI bus to 33, in the BIOS, before you even start.

 

[GBInterloper]

Cool. thanks for the tips myocardia, they are greatly appreciated )