Best Core 2 Series Desktops-Results and Specs

[mano111]

Its strange that you are getting such low scores when OCing. I am currently running Q6600 at 2.86 (9*318) and Dverb score is up by 30%. Maybe its the ram?

as for your questions
1. no
2. IMO there is no advantage to running 1:1 oposed to other ratios. Just make sure your RAM stays at or below its specs.
3. It varies (probably about 75-80 would start seeing issues) but I personally don't feel cofortable running anything abouve 65. I have tweaked my system to stay below 55 on full load.
4. The bottleneck seems to be your RAM. If anything replace it with DDR2 1066 5,5,5,15. Its really cheap these days

[mykhal c]

Originally Posted by Digiwins

Hi DUCs, I learned a lot from this forum, especially the Dverb threads

I am now using the following specs:
Q6600 G0 (normal VID 1.3250) + ASUS Silent Knight II CPU Cooler
Kingston 2*2GB PC6400 800 5-5-5-18 (doesn't support overclocking)
Gigabyte GA-EX38-DQ6 mobo
ATI HD4550 512MB (fanless)
Profire2626/PT8
3GB Switch
Room Temp: 30 and above in summer

159 DVERB2 with chorus @2.4GHz

After reading this thread, I thought of OCing my Q6600 until I buy the i7 monster

OC Q6600 @3.2 GHz (8*400) stable only with VID 1.3250 and got 179 DVERB2 but running load test the cpu temp reached 57-60 and some cores exceeded the 65.

I then decided not to OC to the max while preserving the 1:1 FSB:RAM ratio and after many trials I felt good with the following
OC Q6600 @2.8 GHz (7*400) stable with VID 1.2000!! and got 162 DVERBS.

My questions here (please):
1. This 1.2 VID is keeping the CPU temp very low 38-40 idle and 52 with 100% load. Will lowering the VID that much harm my cpu or anything on my mobo?

2. If I have my Q6600 [email protected] GHz without 1:1 FSB:RAM ratio will this be better than having 1:1 ratio?

3. I remember I went stable [email protected] (9*400) with 1.5 VID but the temp idled @ 54! what is the max temp that the Q6600 can bear?

4. Is there anything you recommend to have better performance!

Thanks in advance for your help dear friends

i OC my rig to 3.1 (7*442) and my temps are like yours...mid 30's on idle and low 50's on max load. don't forget that PT8 cut DVERB test scores waaaaaay down. grab the 7.4 dverb if you want to compare apples to apples. that's what most of us were testin' with back then. and DDR2 1066 ram wuld definitely make a difference in your scores too

[mano111]

Originally Posted by mykhal c

don't forget that PT8 cut DVERB test scores waaaaaay down. grab the 7.4 dverb if you want to compare apples to apples.

I said

Its strange that you are getting such low scores when OCing.

just to be clear I think your stock speed scores are fine, its just the OC scores are low in comparison.

[Digiwins]

Thanks mano111 & mykhal for your advices.

I downloaded DVERB1 v7.3 and OC to 3.2GHz (8*400) and got 292 DVERB.

Now, will this: Kingston HyperX 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 Desktop Memory Model KHX8500D2/2G boost my rig performace? This chip can 5-5-5-15 with overclocking!

[mykhal c]

Originally Posted by Digiwins

Thanks mano111 & mykhal for your advices.

I downloaded DVERB1 v7.3 and OC to 3.2GHz (8*400) and got 292 DVERB.

Now, will this: Kingston HyperX 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 Desktop Memory Model KHX8500D2/2G boost my rig performace? This chip can 5-5-5-15 with overclocking!

yes it will, no doubt. as stated before i get 340+ dverbs with my OC at 3.10ghz, ram is 1066 but under-clocked to 1061. rig is super stable and temps are very good too

[Digiwins]

Questions for Benchmarking (comparing apples to apples )

1. In PT8 should I use 32 Audio Tracks and start using Aux or 48 Audio Tracks? I tried both and found that using 32 Audio Tracks then Aux gave more D-Verbs than 48 Audio Tracks.
2. Can I set my Protools CPU usage to 95% instead of 90%
3. Am using 1024 buffer and not 2048. Is this correct?
4. Should I leave the Elastic Audio turned on (by default) on all audio tracks?

thnx

[mykhal c]

Originally Posted by Digiwins

Questions for Benchmarking (comparing apples to apples )

1. In PT8 should I use 32 Audio Tracks and start using Aux or 48 Audio Tracks? I tried both and found that using 32 Audio Tracks then Aux gave more D-Verbs than 48 Audio Tracks.
2. Can I set my Protools CPU usage to 95% instead of 90%
3. Am using 1024 buffer and not 2048. Is this correct?
4. Should I leave the Elastic Audio turned on (by default) on all audio tracks?

thnx

1) 32 has been the standard
2) yes
3) yes
4) yes

[Digiwins]

Originally Posted by mykhal c

1) 32 has been the standard
2) yes
3) yes
4) yes

Thank you mykhal for your help.

Now comparing apples to apples!
310 Dverbs on Q6600 OC to 3.2GHz (8*400) 4GB RAM 800 [with extra plugins installed]
CPU Temp 52 @ full load!

EDIT:
265 Dverbs on Q6600 stock speed 2.4GHz (9*266) 4GB RAM 800 [with extra plugins installed]
CPU Temp 45 @ full load!

[mykhal c]

Originally Posted by Digiwins

Thank you mykhal for your help.

Now comparing apples to apples!
310 Dverbs on Q6600 OC to 3.2GHz (8*400) 4GB RAM 800 [with extra plugins installed]
CPU Temp 52 @ full load!

excellent you'll see a gain if you choose to go with the DDR2 1066 ram. either way, nice job and happy Toolin'!!

[Digiwins]

Originally Posted by mykhal c

excellent you'll see a gain if you choose to go with the DDR2 1066 ram. either way, nice job and happy Toolin'!!

Thanks mykhal for the tip I bought the kingston 1066 4GB. After installation, I set the ram voltage to 2.08v and set the timming manually to 5-5-5-15 then did the test once again and wow... I gained 34 DVERB+ with the new 1066 ram

So my final results are (solid tone for 5 minutes):

265 Dverbs on Q6600 stock 2.4GHz (9*266) 4GB RAM Kingston PC6400 800
310 Dverbs on Q6600 OC to 3.2GHz (8*400) 4GB RAM Kingston PC6400 800
344 Dverbs on Q6600 OC to 3.2GHz (8*400) 4GB RAM Kingston PC8500 1066