Maximus formula iii I7 860 noob

[tazmanian mobo]

Hi Guys,

 

I built this system for Gaming and have been very happy so far..

I must admit to being a noob at o/clocking but my sleeves are up and I`m learning fast..

 

I`ve downloaded the neccessaries such as cpuz, gpu-z, prime 95 and realtemp....

I`ve tinkered a bit using the Asus OC Station, but before I go much further, I just want to know if I should have Hyperthreading and XMP enabled??

(they are at the moment)

 

I switched off the speedstep and Turbo mode and have the DRAM freq. set to auto..

 

I am yet to grasp what exactly the CPU PLL, IMC and PCH should be set at (and what the hell they are :->), but hell, one thing at a time right??!

 

I`ve read a lot about OC`ing but the stuff I`ve read uses some different terminologies so I`m a little confused..

 

So,

At least if someone would be kind enough to answer the Hyperthreading and XMP question I`ll be very grateful.....

If you feel like pointing me in the right direction about the other stuff, I`ll be VERY grateful!!

 

Till then, I`ma go shoot some baddies on Modern Warfare 2.. ;->

 

Thanx in advance..

[Zertz]

You can leave HT on. You want to turn off XMP and instead set a memory divider manually because when you increase the base clock, it also overclocks the memory.

 

CPU PLL - I always leave it at 1.8V

IMC - You need to increase this to reach high base clock. I hit 200 MHz (give or take) with about 1.28V on this board.

PCH - I always leave it at 1.05V

Edited March 15, 2010 by Zertz

[KuulJoe]

TAZ, I have got similar specs like yours, and so far it has run Modern warfare 2 smoothly, was very impressed.

The quality of the graphics is way more than the xbox360. PC leads the way.

 

However with my I7 860 2.8gh, I have been able to step up the CPU speed to a maximum of 3.2GHz using the

Turbo software on the DVD. The speed I guess is not stable its only get to that when i needed but when its idle

the speed is 2.8gh.

 

Am new to overclocking so just dont want to temper with bios settings. Been searching for help online.

But it looks like most people are just interested in the I7 900s.

 

Note: I say if Morden warfare is running OK, then your system could run most games currently available. My

advice is never overclock for the sake of it. And one more thing you should know, overclocking shorten the life

span of compenents

[RJR]

However with my I7 860 2.8gh, I have been able to step up the CPU speed to a maximum of 3.2GHz using the

Turbo software on the DVD. The speed I guess is not stable its only get to that when i needed but when its idle

the speed is 2.8gh.

OK, Joe/Taz the 860 defaults (with turbo on) to a little over 3.4 Ghz without doing any OCing. This is just the turbo feature.

Note: I say if Morden warfare is running OK, then your system could run most games currently available. My

advice is never overclock for the sake of it. And one more thing you should know, overclocking shorten the life span of compenents

As long as you don't go crazy (high voltages/temperatures) you really don't have to worry about degrading your components from OCing. Intel gives specific guidelines for both in the form of a data sheet that will break down all the pertinent information for you, just need to download it. So, keeping voltages under Intels recommended max and adding a good aftermarket heatsink (or water) so you can keep cpu temps in check, will keep everything running a very long time.