Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 overclocked to 5GHz

Only a few hours have passes since Intel raised the NDA off its latest quad-core baby, the QX6850 and already the CPU is being pushed to it limits by overclocking enthusiasts. This time the culprits are the guys over at VR-Zone who have paired up a QX6850 with a EVGA nForce 680i SLI motherboard and let the megahertz pour out of the CPU. The results returned by the new processor have been very impressive, with the FSB reaching 490 MHz up from the 333 MHz (that are quad-pumped). But, the piece of resistance in VR-Zone's OC session wasn't the FSB, it was the frequency. By using liquid nitrogen and lots of coolers they have managed to push the 3 GHz QX6850 to 5 GHz. At this frequency they were able to run 3DMark06's CPU benchmark (which proves it was relatively stable) and score 7629 points. Even better, it seems that the overclockers will not be stopping here and are aiming even higher as soon as they change the thermal paste. Sweet!

Read more...