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Apparently, what one of my Lit professors always said is true: Written word is *always* subject to interpretation. I gave you a starting point. Read the sticky I linked to and you're golden. Make small increases and write down every single setting you change and the results of those changes. Overclocking is (for lack of better words) a scientific process and you should treat it as such. If you get in some sort of hurry and start out too high... and then throw voltage at a problem that might not even exist, you're not going to have very much fun and your parts (your buddies parts) might not survive.

How did you "gather" that? Vcore: Every chip is different. Unless you've already gotten it stable at 3.6, then you don't know how many volts it will require. FSB: Maybe, but really the same as I said about the CPU. Until you get where you are going, you won't really know if you need that much or not. RAM: Don't make that assumption about your memory. Look at the spec your memory is supposed to run at. It might be 1.8v... it might be 2.3... [...]. If you keep your memory strapped to whatever its stock speed is, you might not need any increase in voltage. Anyway, start slow and make small increases. When you experience instability, add voltage. Don't just guess at values or assume that because someone else is using those values that you should. See this http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=71656

Just an addition to that thought to make it perfectly clear - Strap the memory down to where you know it isn't the memory. Get the CPU stable at your target, and then work on the ram. Trying to OC both at once leaves you in the exact position you are in. You have a problem and you don't have a clue why you have the problem. My dear old mom used to tell me that patience is a virtue.

I wonder what fan he put on it. Mine came without a fan... And, though it does a fine job on an e4700 I have, I think it would need a lot of air to keep up with any of my Quads.

Start here: http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=71656

Have you strapped your memory yet? You can't leave it at auto with that board (or most others) when you raise your fsb. You have to select a multiplier for the memory to keep it within spec when you raise your front side bus. After you get your CPU OC'd, then we can talk about what you might be able to get out of your memory, but it is not advisable to try to OC both CPU and Memory at the same time and expect results. When you raise your front side bus, you are overclocking pretty much everything (cpu, memory pcie bus, pci bus, - you name it, you are overclocking it). You need to strap your memory and probably your pcie bus. The memory will be done with a multiplier value, the pcie will need to be locked at 100hz. If you haven't read this sticky http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=71656 , then you need to. You will learn most of what you need to know there to at least get you started.

Well, yes... but NO. You are not there yet. The most likely reason your system didn't post after increasing the FSB was that you didn't strap your memory. If it won't post in an overclocked state, you can't stress test. And, if you go about this carefully enough, you won't know your system is unstable unless you stress test.

Well, be careful with that. As an example, I have some DDR2 800 right here on my desk that requires 1.9 v to run at 800. I have a set in my file server at 800 that requires 1.8v. I have some 1066 that requires 2.1 and won't even run at 800 with less than 2.0v. I have some 1200 that requires 2.3 v at and above 1000 but still needs 2.1 to 2.2v to run at 800. The likelihood of having success mixing and matching DDR2 is pretty slim these days because of the different voltage requirements.

I think they say it is the "central die thing" when they give it an 80c rating... Personally, I think I'd give you slightly different advice. I would have a mild stroke if I saw any of my cores above 65c. As to what to use to tell you what your core temps are accurately... Well, realtemp says my cores are cooler than coretemp says they are and the reason for that has been discussed ad-nausium in this and other forums, so I won't get into it. Core temp is higher, so I use it and keep my cores under what it says is 65c. If I am actually keeping them under 60 because realtemp is the accurate one and freaking out if they go higher, then so be it -so much the better.

It will be fine on that board. The other thing to keep in mind with all of the big coolers is if your case door has clearance. By the way, the OCZ Vendetta 2 is made by Xigmatek. The Xigmatek S1283 and the Vendetta 2 are the same cooler with a slightly different set of fins.

Coolerguys has it in stock http://www.coolerguys.com/840556069577.html They also have the TRUE Black http://www.coolerguys.com/840556086949.html

You are already approaching the upper limits for the majority of 1.325 vid Q6600s on air. If you drop $150 on a new board and never achieve whatever it is you consider to be a reasonable overclock, will you be disappointed that you didn't just save the money towards a whole new rig? It is an interesting time in the roadmaps right now. The 45nm chips have been out for a while and seem to be proving their worth. A whole new architecture from intel is only a few weeks from showing itself. The DDR2 vs DDR3 battle is starting to bring down the price of DDR3... Who knows. Maybe you've got a golden chip that will crack 4ghz with a better board under it.

3.5 Ghz on a Q6600 is nothing to sneeze at. My first G0 Q6600 wouldn't do 3.2 Both of my current ones can get in the 3.8 neighborhood (one a little less - the other a little more) Bump your NB to +.1 and feed a little more vcore to the chip. Most of the fellows I read in this forum seem to be pretty comfortable giving their Q6600s 1.5v. I have no idea if that will get you as far as you want to go... and I have no idea if your chip can go as far as you want it to under any circumstances, but you might give it a try. You said your vid is 1.325, so I have to say that the majority of overclockers in this and other forums I've read seem to think the 1.325 vid chips have a lot less potential than lower vid chips. My first was a 1.325 and as I mentioned, I couldn't get it completely stable at 3.2. My second one is also a 1.325 and I couldn't go any farther than 3.75. Really, 3.75 was pushing it really hard and there is no way I would leave it there for a 24/7 OC. My newest one is a 1.1625 vid and I'm still messing with it. I've been a little over 3.8 ghz, but I don't know yet what its max is going to be or where I will run it 24/7. So, back to my point: 3.5 may be as far as that chip goes no matter what board it is in. And, don't forget the fact that an 1100 mhz overclock is amazing no matter how you look at it. You described it as low overclocking. No it's not. That may not be the highest mhz I've seen a 6600 at, but that's still a crazy sick OC. You are pushing 4 cores more than a ghz higher than Intel sold it to you stock.

What do you have for audio? Not your card, but your speakers? Some guys plug in to their home audio... some guys build their own preamps and do some seriously sick stuff DIY... At one point, I decided I wanted better PC audio, but really didn't care if it was like my home system, - I just wanted excellent PC speakers. I enjoy my MP3s, but I play some first person shooters and I am just as likely to watch a DVD on my PC as on my home theater, so I ended up pretty much exclusively looking at 5.1 sets. I've had my Logitech Z5500 speakers for maybe two and a half years now and I've never regretted the purchase for even a second. As all-around performers for games, music, and movies, I haven't found anything better. How's that razer mouse treating you? I've owned a few and they have never failed to impress right out of the box... until they develop the random disconnect problem or they start tracking weird, or the buttons start registering clicks for no reason or refuse to accept a double click, or the wheel starts either getting far too sensitive or completely losing sensitivity... or any other multitude of issues razer mice are prone to. I've purchased every single "gaming" mouse currently being made with the exception of the ROCCAT. For comfort and durability, I've narrowed it down to two very fine mice that have some advantage or another over any of the razers. You could get a SteelSeries Ikari Laser or you could spend half the money and get a Cyber Snipa Stinger. Both of those are right hand only mice, but if you happen to be right handed, have a look at them and decide on what to replace your razer with when it craps out on you. But, I see that you are using a wireless keyboard, so maybe the gaming mice are overkill for you as you are probably not a gamer. At least, I have never met a serious gamer who used a wireless keyboard. I sure wouldn't use one for gaming.

You're going to have to ask some retired Ma Bell technicians instead of PC enthusiasts about that one. The word Dongle has been around since at least the 1970s and probably a good bit longer. Old telco guys used that word for just about anything with a BNC connector.