Overclocking issues

[Mark_Hardware]

Ok, so I decided to go ahead and ask... I can't seem to OC anything on my board. Now, I'm not a big overclocker, my gear is pretty fast at stock, but I would like to push my 3dMark scores a little higher. So here's what I have and where it sits;
qx9770- stock 3.2. I run 3.6 all day long. I can run 4.0 without an issue, and with decent temps, in the 35C to 45C range. I can't seem to break 4ghz though. I know it can go to 4.5 (I even saw one go to 5 with liquid N2) I have played around with the voltages, but I am hesitant. Even at 3.6 the bios sets the voltage kinda high. Can't recall exactly what it is right now, but I can find out if necessary.
OCZ ddr3 1800- stock 1800mhz, and that's where it sits. A lot of people use this memory with this same motherboard, because it's SLI memory, epp2 or w/e. supposed to be stable at 2000mhz, but I can't even get it to 1900. I've tried changing the voltage, again, to no avail.
evga gtx285 ftw- all stock speeds. I tried pushing the core clock to 730mhz and 3dMarkVantage would crash. (I scared myself by pushing this a bit too hard. Ended up with one black screen and one purple.)
I'm running an evga 790i ftw mobo with the digital pwm. Supposedly you can OC the north and/or southbridge, but I haven't bothered to try.

So, any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong? Am I just simply at the limits of my hardware? I'm not so super advanced, so there is probably something I'm missing.

[Mark_Hardware]

hmmm....

[billygoat333]

wish i knew more about OC'ing to tell you

[knowledgegranted]

Add me on msn

me@jamesatchue.com

[Mark_Hardware]

request sent

[mDust]

Did you get it figured out? I've had my q6600 up to 4ghz on water and its stock at 2.4! It was a hell of an OC but it ran too hot with my current loop so I bumped it back down to 3.6. It seems weird that you wouldn't be able to get your qx9770 well past that. Maybe Intel just OC's their chips and stamps a higher number on it which sells for more...j/k...or am I?

After I typed that I did some reading provided by Google. Here is what I found:
1) 4.0-4.3 is about as high as you're gonna get if on air while maintaining stability.
2) Those suckers (qx9770) run hot no matter how it's cooled.
3) Your mobo actually determines your OCing potential more so than the gear plugged into it.
4) Depending on your bios, you may not be able to OC your ram unless your FSB is OC'd to a certain point.
5) (from personal experience)If you have 4 sticks of ram you may be limited on the OCing there...2 large sticks are better than 4 small sticks.
6) The slots your memory is plugged into also may matter...I switched mine from the 'black slots' to the 'blue slots' on my mobo and just like that they auto-hit 1600mhz because asus is sneaky like that. I now have the ability to OC them to 1800 or 2000. Check your mobo manual.
7) I don't think I have the guts to OC the north/south bridges...that's pretty extreme.
9) Oops, skipped 8.
10) I think that's all I have to offer atm. Hope it helps a little.

[FuzzyPlushroom]

Did you get it figured out? I've had my q6600 up to 4ghz on water and its stock at 2.4! It was a hell of an OC but it ran too hot with my current loop so I bumped it back down to 3.6. It seems weird that you wouldn't be able to get your qx9770 well past that. Maybe Intel just OC's their chips and stamps a higher number on it which sells for more...j/k...or am I?

After I typed that I did some reading provided by Google. Here is what I found:
1) 4.0-4.3 is about as high as you're gonna get if on air while maintaining stability.
2) Those suckers (qx9770) run hot no matter how it's cooled.
3) Your mobo actually determines your OCing potential more so than the gear plugged into it.
4) Depending on your bios, you may not be able to OC your ram unless your FSB is OC'd to a certain point.
5) (from personal experience)If you have 4 sticks of ram you may be limited on the OCing there...2 large sticks are better than 4 small sticks.
6) The slots your memory is plugged into also may matter...I switched mine from the 'black slots' to the 'blue slots' on my mobo and just like that they auto-hit 1600mhz because asus is sneaky like that. I now have the ability to OC them to 1800 or 2000. Check your mobo manual.
7) I don't think I have the guts to OC the north/south bridges...that's pretty extreme.
9) Oops, skipped 8.
10) I think that's all I have to offer atm. Hope it helps a little.

"8, 8, I forget what 8 was for..."

You're right about the slots. Most of the time, the different colours mean the difference between running in single-channel versus dual- or triple-channel, if your modules are the same size (or, on some machines, they just have to add up to the same total).

[apbrit2009]

OC'ing a 285 on air?
just won't work, the temps will get WAY too high