Looking for assistance with boosting the performance of an Intel Core 2 Duo E8600?
Looking for assistance with boosting the performance of an Intel Core 2 Duo E8600?
I recently chose to increase the clock speed of my custom gaming PC. I boosted my Intel C2D E8600 from 3.33GHz to 4.1GHz by adjusting the FSB frequency to 410, and it appears stable enough except for the issue of reaching temperatures close to 80 degrees Celsius during gameplay. The core voltage remains set at 1.34V in the BIOS.
The remaining components are:
- Asus P5Q-VM Motherboard
- Arctic Cooler Alpine 11
- 4x2GB G.Skill DDR2-800 RAM
- EVGA 500W PSU
(Uncertain if these affect performance but I’m adding them)
- Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 750 TI OC Edition
- Western Digital Green Caviar 750GB HDD
My operating system is Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit. Temperatures stay around 45-50°C when idle, but spike to 70-72°C during gaming, occasionally reaching 75-80°C for a short time. Should I be concerned about the CPU overheating, or is this a manageable issue under load? Any suggestions on reducing core temperatures would be appreciated.
Would it be necessary to upgrade to a cooler designed for overclocking to reduce temperatures? What options are available for replacement? I’m not planning any drastic overclocking moves yet; I might increase speeds slightly once temperatures stabilize, but that’s the general idea.
The Paladin:
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is 30$ air cooled low profile
Enermax ETD-T60-TB also 30$ air cooled water cooled
water cooled :
Enermax LiqMax II Liquid Cooler 70$ at Frys.com
<<- what I use on mine
Which liquid cooler would be the superior choice among these three? How much temperature variation exists between using a liquid cooler versus a high-end air cooler? I’m not very familiar with liquid cooling setups beyond the custom loop systems shown in YouTube builds. My setup is a Rosewill Dual Fan Micro ATX Mini Tower (FBM-05). The case is compact and already quite full. Would I need to remove the rear case fan for the water cooler radiator and fan? Or should I consider another case? I feel the current one doesn’t provide optimal airflow, and it lacks good cord management—PSU cables are twisted together and hidden under the CD drive, making it less organized. There’s also space for two fans inside the case. The front fan is 120mm, but I’m not sure it can effectively draw air since the front area is somewhat enclosed.
If you have a compact case, I recommend opting for a mid-tower ATX model. They tend to be affordable while offering good cable management. Most cases can fit well, and the water cooler can replace the upper fan area (as shown in my system diagram). They usually come with longer screws for better installation. Many users on this forum overclock and use air or water cooling systems effectively, though they may add some bulk to the CPU. The EVO chip seems adequate, as I've seen people successfully overclock an I5 without issues. Your CPU will perform well with either air or water cooling. If budget is a concern, choose an air-cooled option. For better heat dissipation, consider going for a 212x model. It really depends on personal preference and what you can afford.
ok well thank you very much. Ill have to try and decide what it is that i want to buy then. I may just have to turn my overclock off for now until i can get a better cooler and maybe a bigger case. Do the CPU coolers that have 2 fans come with some sort of adapter cord to make it just one connector to connect to the motherboard??
some models include this feature, but the 212 evo is the one that has it. i thought the 212x would be better since it comes with the cooler, while a splitter could work if needed. if you don’t have the cooler, you can use a splitter which costs around 5-7 dollars. i used one on my own.
I'm considering getting the Enermax Liqmax 2 and purchasing the Rosewill BlizzCon Blue Edition Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case. This should provide significantly more space for a radiator, improved cable management, and room for future upgrades.