Ok so lets just start off by saying I don't consider myself a hardcore gamer. My last rig was a XPS710 and until today, I've never ran a 3DMark test. So, I just finished my scratch build over the weekend and thought I'd run a test just to see where I'm at on a completely unmodified setup. Mind you I'm still learning whats considered low and high so this whole thing is quite new to me. The difference now is I'd really like to get more involved in learning how to OC and setup a very stable system. Anyways onto the specs:
 
i7 2600k
EVGA P67 FTW
(2) GTX460 SSC+
Corsair AX850 PSU
Corsair Vengeance 8GB
Crucial M4 128 GB SSD 
 
3DMark11 Score Results (unmodified system)
Overall: P7317
Graphics: P7453
Physics: P8235 (below target score of P8800)
Combined: P5612
 
Now my question is (1)how good/bad is this score considering my setup and (2) what suggestions do you have on improving performance while still maintaining a stable system for everyday use.
 
Lastly, what temp monitors would you guys recommend using? I was using realtemp and speedfan on my last rig but I'm not sure what's the most accurate nowdays.
 
Any help greatly appreciated!

follow these steps:
I) OVERCLOCK,
hit barrier/freak out from temps

II) Get better cooling
OVERCLOCK
 
(hit the barrier)
CRY yourself to sleep
 
bottom line unless soemthing  ( programs ) running in background are slowing you down. OC is only way to get performance out of what you already have

And get used to seeing BSOD's...........many times.

In my experience there are 4 variables that can change your scores:
 
Overclock on CPU
Overclock on GPU(s)
Video Driver version
background applications
 
I am less than impressed that changing the video drivers will noticeably change your scores while having no effect on the real performance of the system.  The rest is mostly CPU/GPU speed.
 

your 2 460s have a score on par with my 1 580 w/ a crazy o/c. so yeah once you o/c your cpu it will be great.
 
for the driver version you might want to ask the guys in the 400 section of the forums. people that hang out in their sections tend to know more about them.
 
kill anything that windows does not need to run. everylittle bit helps. http://forums.evga.com/fb.ashx?m=532538 has some usefull stuff.
 
as for your o/cing the cpu follow either jacobs guide or mine. they are both pritty much the same his goes right for the big numbers mine sets up a few inbetween. team jacob mine

i think you can only 2way sli the 400's

needs more o/c!

Ran another test. Hit P7410 this time! Inching closer.....
 
3DMark Results: Click Here
Heading to bed. Tomorrow we will try 4.2ghz and see what kind of results we get. I'm also looking into seeing if I can o/c my 460 SSCs and increasing the voltage a little to stabilize it.

What temps are you running at with your current 4.6 o/c? I've got some Arctic Silver 5 I'm thinking of trying out to replace what the Kuhler 920 came with. Maybe I'll try after I get the o/c settings done to see what type of results I get.
 
Only reason I'm doubting the thermal compound is because my idle temps are around 34 with fans on low and 30 with fans on high, which seems slightly higher than other setups.

Thanks for the tip. I'll do that tonight. I can already wee where this is heading......full w/c setup :P

Very true. One thing I've been looking into is getting some better fans on the 920. At full speed they are a little loud for my liking, although they do a good job. I've heard Scythe fans are pretty quite so I may be looking into them as a quiter solution.

benching for a score and being stable are 2 different things. you don't need to be 100% stable to do a run, you just need it to complete and save for the bragging rights. i run prime for about 10min for bench stability.
 
that being said keep adding multipliers until she bsod then add voltage 25mv at a time until stable again. keep going until it hits 75'C. this temp is not a hard wall and going over will not kill it. ive gone as high as 90'C for 15min to do the 5.0ghz club and its still working just fine.
 
for your cards d/l precision and start by adding 5-10mHz (hit apply) to the core clock. run the benchmark, if it passes without crashing, locking up, resetting drivers or heavy artifacts(glitches or tears) add another 5-10 and repeat until it does. when it does (it will at some point don't panic!) back off 10mhz and start adding to the memory clock in the same fashion. add... bench... add... bench... crash!

Dropped you a comment on ModRigs regarding your rig..... nice!

techsoldier

wrinvert,
Just curious but how long do you run your Prime95 for? I hear people saying 24hrs other stating 6hrs is plenty. Also, what test are you running (small FFTs, Large FFTs, Blend or Custom)? I've been running mine for about an hour for each increment I increase and I figured until I started hitting a wall I'd start running 6-24hr tests. In regards to the 3DMark scores, I am not just looking for bragging rights as I too believe its only fair to post those results from which the system is stable. The o/c'ing I've done so far seems rather conservative considering what I've seen. As I get closer to the limit, smaller increments and more testing will be common practice.

As for the GPU o/c'ing......lets just say I know 100mHz increase doesn't work . I'll try smaller steps once I get the CPU o/c'ing dialed in.

Thanks again for all your guidance and feedback.

when im just checking benching stability like 10-15min but for full stability like 2-3hours of blend. honestly i think people get to hung up on it, if its gonna crash it normally will within the first 10-30min.

Quick question guys. I'm currently running at 4.5ghz however when I open EVGA E-Leet the CPU tab doesn't show the correct multiplier or core speed. I switch back to Bios and sure enough, multiplier is set at 45. Anyone else have this issue? I'm running Bios 1.18
Also, I think I hit a wall today on the o/c'ing. Increase the multiplier to 46 and got an error. Looks like I'll have to slightly increase voltage and try again.
 
BTW anyone here running a 2600k with the FTW mobo and an overclock? If so please post your vcore and multiplier settings!