TechStop

So last month my wife got me a Intel Core 2 Quad q8200 for our anniversary. I have been wanting a quad for the last 3 years since I first spotted the legendary Q6600 at Micro Center for $299.

I'm a big time overclocker so the first thing i did when i dropped my new quad in was pump up the FSB to 430mhz and increase the CPU voltage to the max OEM level of 1.3625 volts. I have always had great success overclocking Intel processors ever since the Intel Pentium D 905 but this was my first experence with a quad.

Once I made the chages in the bios my computer booted right up. I started in with Prime95 only to find that 2 cores had errors right off the bat. This was pretty disappointing considering i had already set my max cpu voltage and planned on working my voltage lower as time went on. no such luck. No matter how much voltage I gave it those 2 cores would not remain stable.

After reading a few blogs i found that raising the Northbridge voltage was essential for a good overclock on a quad core processor. I had to bump the voltage to the max of 1.40volts on the northbridge to get the cpu stable. I also had to increase my memory voltage to 2.00 volts. when it came down to it those were the only two increase i had to make. I was able to leave the cpu volts on auto after increasing the northbridge and memory.

With the increases in those voltages my northbridge temps went through the roof! My temps were running around 65-70c at full load. I checked into a few coolers but went with the one that had the best rating on Newegg Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II. It sports a solid copper base with heat pipes and a 40mm blue LED fan. Very nice results too. Dropped by temps by about 30c! WOW! let me know if you have any questions.