I would guess that your mem is hitting the wall, thus you would have to set other multiplier for the memory (4:5, 3:4 whatever...). I don't know thought which multis your motherboard supports.Your CPU is probably NOT hitting the wall, you can go up to 1.5V on the CPU without having any hard trouble with it, but only problem would be the heat. So be careful what temps you are getting. See if you can hit the 4,2. Otherwise the best solution is to test the FPS you are getting, using some saved situation. My guess is that more CPU speed will probably yield more FPS. In my tests, I concluded that for FS, running at CL4 or CL5 doesn't change even 1 FPS.And oh yeah, running DDR2-800 in such a high clock (and CL4)

Thanks Word Not Allowed,For memory I have linked or unlinked and then I have the option of 1:1 5:4 3:2 and sync mode... I could always force it down to 750 at 5 5 5 15 for testing. Thank you so much for the assistance I really appreciate it.-PPrimary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E6600 @3.2 gigs/E8500 @3.8Asus P5N32SLI-Plus2 gigs Corsair XMS PC6400 4 4 4 12 @810Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0

Sorry, edit time ran out...I have been playing even more and it seems like the "sweet spot" for this box with this board is definitely 3.8 @ 1.4V with DDR2 800 at 940 running 4 4 4 12. I actually think that my mobo or memory is my limiting factor. I am only seeing temps of 41-44 under full load and overall sys temps are looking great. So unless I want to dump another $300 to upgrade the memory to DDR2 1200 to really crank it and then still be stuck with the risk of needing a mobo. Technically I am on a 1333 FSB board so that 1600 FSB is most likely limiting factor.D*MN I wish I could have hit that 4.1/4.2 mark...-PPrimary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E8500 @3.8Asus P5N32SLI-Plus2 gigs Corsair XMS PC6400 4 4 4 12 @940Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0

I still don't get it why you can't hit the 4,2 mark. Usually every CPU can do it, just the question of temperatures.Two questions:Did you also possibly try raising NB/SB voltages?Did you turn off all power management options for CPU in your BIOS?I believe that with 4,2 vs 3,8 you would get nice 15% increase - if temps are stable.

I have not played with NB/SB voltages at all. Temperatures are not even close to a problem. I am pretty sure all power management is off.How far do you think I should relax the mem for testing?-PaulPrimary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E8500 @ 3.8Asus P5N32SLI-Plus2 gigs Corsair XMS PC6400 4 4 4 12 @940Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0

So here is a screen shot of where my system is sitting the most stable right now. Carl, can you show me what your DRAM frequency is under CPU-Z? Thanks in advance everyone.And BTW, I found a 2 gig set of Patriot 5 5 5 12 T2 PC9600 DDR2 1200 for $110 so I grabbed it. At that price why not.I am trying to squeeze everything I can out of this mobo not from a $ perspective but just because I DO NOT want to have to install everything all over again :) Otherwise I would just go with a better board for this chip. I gotta believe it is either voltage, memory or mobo holding me back at this point.Thanks for any and all help everyone I really appreciate it.Carl, if you prefer me to start a new thread opposed to hijacking yours please let me know :)Thanks again,-PaulPrimary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E6600 @3.2 gigsAsus P5N32SLI-Plus2 gigs Corsair XMS PC6400 4 4 4 12 @810Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/187536.jpg

Hey Paul-No worries at all! As long as we are learning (and getting better FS performance) keep posting here :)Here's my screen- sorry, I'm not really up on the memory stuff, maybe that's where I can get the extra performance unlocked....? Hope this is what you wanted-Best-Carl F. Avari-Cooper BAW0225http://online.vatsimindicators.net/980091/523.pnghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/187538.gif

The speeds are looking pretty good, mine are 370/4/4/4/12 1:1 multi.As I said, I opted for a little slower RAM speed against CL4, though I did try something around 900Mhz with CL5, and I got the absolutely same performance in FS9. I am not even testing FSX for how slow it is with addons.Concerning NB/SB, you can up them once, it will not harm anything. My P5B shows them as light magenta if I up, and if I up 2times, then it shows them red. I already did test with red marks, still, just a bit too much of a risiko for me.Now running all in green, and the difference between 3,8 (max on my E6600) and 3,3 are just not enough, cuz the CPU is running just too hot, not even my watercooling can keep up - cooling everything in my system.So, easying of to CL5 is not a problem. Just take a look what your memory can handle the most (concerning voltage) and set it there. After that just see that you have enough cooling on it.

>Hi Carl,>>What kind of perfomance (in FSX) you get with the E8500? I>just upgraded my PC to E8500, Vista 32 bit, 4 GB RAM, 8800GT>card and I am ...sort of disapointed. >>For example, running all slides at their middle position (or>below) I get around 8-10 fps at Aerosoft

So I say too...why do you think why am I flying FS9 still? Because it's stable? :D

Any difference between 4.0 and 4.2 in FSX you can actually see, to warrant pushing it over 4GHz?30 fps at 4GHz with a 5% increase to 4.2GHz gives at most 1.5 fps more. I'd bet you wont get the full 5% fps increase with a 5% CPU speed bump too.Maybe better to just get a stable cooler system at 3.8 to 4GHz...

Well, I can report following:Pushing my E6600 from 3,3 to 3,4 and FSB from 370 to 425, yielded in measured situation file an increase from 151 fps to 161 fps. And somewhat smoother.Still completely stable.

>Any difference between 4.0 and 4.2 in FSX you can actually>see, >to warrant pushing it over 4GHz?>>30 fps at 4GHz with a 5% increase to 4.2GHz gives at most 1.5>fps more. >I'd bet you wont get the full 5% fps increase with a 5% CPU>speed bump too.>>Maybe better to just get a stable cooler system at 3.8 to>4GHz...>>>Jack- you might have a point here! I am VERY happy with the performance at 4.0ghz- it is cool and stable (Prime95 24+ hours) and I do not want to fix what is not broken! So reading this was good- I am going to stay with what I have- it works well, very well- and another couple of FPS will not matter- whereas, more heat or instability will definitely be a negative! Thanks!Best-Carl F. Avari-Cooper BAW0225http://online.vatsimindicators.net/980091/523.png