Have my parts on order but haven't received them yet so I've been reading everyting I can find on overclockingand have a question.My system (when I get it) will be:Q6600 CPUP5N32-E SLI 680i motherboard2g (or 4G) Mushkin 996535 DDR RamKandalf LCS CAse with built in liquid coolingThermaltake Toughpower 850W PS8800GTX 768 video card (1 only)320G 7200RPM Samsun drive for XP/Vista(maybe)2-74G WD Raptor 10K drives in RAID 01 500G Samsung 7200 drive for backupsKnowing absolutely zip about o/c - I want to get a good o/c but I don't have to be on the absolute edge of performance.I read where you can o/c the CPU and the memory.My question - should one o/c the memory first and get it where they want and then proceed to the CPU or leave the mem at default settings and o/c the CPU first. I read where in o/c the CPU you may have to change the ratio for the memory as you go so wouldn't this disturb any prior o/c of the memory?Hope all that made sense.Thanx,VicVisit the Virtual Pilot's Centerwww.flightadventures.comhttp://www.hifisim.com/Active Sky V6 Proud SupporterRadar Contact Supporter: http://www.jdtllc.com/

Vic,The only way you can overclock in these days of locked multipliers, is to increase the FSB speed. (unless you get Xtreme editions of course)When you overclock the FSB the memory speed will also increase.Let's take your Q6660 for instance. It runs on a 1066mhz FSB. It is actually a quad pupmed FSB so the actual number is 266 x 4 = 1066Your CPU speed comes from the FSB x the CPU multiplier. In the case of the Q6600 the multiplier is 9.266 x 9 = 2394mhz (2.4ghz)The only way to overclock this CPU is to increase the FSB speed.This also has consequences for your memory.DDR2 comes in several speeds. 533, 667, 800 and 1066 (maybe even more now and DDR3 is also coming into the mix)You don't say what speed the Mushkin memory is but at a minimum it has to be 533. This is double rate data, so it's actual speed is 266mhz which fits nicely in a 1:1 ratio with your FSB speed. The issue here is that there is no room for overclocking.If you buy 667 DDR2 you can now increase your FSB to 333mhz and still keep the 1:1 ratio with no overclocking of the memory required.This gives you 333*9=2997mhz (3ghz)If you buy 800 DDR2 you can push the FSB to 400mhz with no memory overclock required.This will give you 400*9=3600mhz (3.6Ghz)In reality the quad cores don't OC past 3.2ghz very easily without some vcore alterations and more extensive cooling.If I was you I would buy some good DDR2-800 and set the FSB around the 333-350 mark. This is the only setting you would need to change to get the overclock running. It really is that simple. Hope that explains it a little for you. PS- I don't have a Qaud Core myself, but the principle is the same and I have heard that they are touchy after 3.2Ghz or so.Glenn

Glenn - Thanks! That really helped me see the whole picture a little better. The Mushkin memory is 1066 so I'm good to go. I happen to really like the case and it has a liquid cooling system built in so that's a big plus also. I think that if I can get the quad up in the 3.0 - 3.2 range it will be fine for me.I finally see how the 1:1 ratio works thaks to your explanation.LOL! I'm sitting here with a big smile on my face because it now makes sense.Thanx again!VicVisit the Virtual Pilot's Centerwww.flightadventures.comhttp://www.hifisim.com/Active Sky V6 Proud SupporterRadar Contact Supporter: http://www.jdtllc.com/

Vic,No problem.The good thing about buying 1066 rated memory is that you will end up being able to run at tighter timings should you choose to run in a 1:1 ratio at around 400mhz FSB.If it's 4-4-4-12 (or similar) at 1066 it will probably do better timings at lower speeds.Good luck!Glenn

>Vic,>>No problem.>>The good thing about buying 1066 rated memory is that you will>end up being able to run at tighter timings should you choose>to run in a 1:1 ratio at around 400mhz FSB.>>If it's 4-4-4-12 (or similar) at 1066 it will probably do>better timings at lower speeds.Yes it is 4-4-4-12>>Good luck!>Thanx! Now I just have to wait for the parts to start coming in.Visit the Virtual Pilot's Centerwww.flightadventures.comhttp://www.hifisim.com/Active Sky V6 Proud SupporterRadar Contact Supporter: http://www.jdtllc.com/