Is overclocking a work station a good idea?

[Halford]

well, on i7 cpu most peoples are buying the cheap 920 version as it looks very simple to OC.

I saw many users getting to 3.2 or 3.8 ghz with their 920 very easily on air cooling (not the stock cooler, but something like noctua NH12P and others).

I got myself a 920 and I'm trying to OC, I never did it before and I'm slowly getting there. At this very moment I got 2.8, not much, but it's mainly because I never did this and I take my time to read documentation.

with a good overclock, and not an extreme one, you will improve rendering time and I think (correct me if wrong) even single core tasks, without ruining or consume faster your hardware.

for me it's woth it.

my 2 Cts.

[biliousfrog]

Yeah go for a 920, save some cash and get faster clocks. There's a PDF from gigabyte that walks you through overclocking a 920 to 4ghz with their UD5 motherboard, I'm running 4.2ghz with no issues using a £55 Corsair cooler (H50).

Get the PDF here: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=282695

The gigabyte boards also come with software that has preset overclocks up to 3.2ghz.

BTW, spend the few extra bucks on a D0 stepping version which will be more stable to overclock and usually run a little cooler. Also don't expect to reach 4ghz with 12gb RAM although some people have managed.

As for whether it's a good idea...well, if you have a spare and can afford to replace it more often, why not? I was budgetting to get a new workstation every 3 years but it makes more sense at the moment to get an overclocked 920 system every year.

[ThomasTheToolman]

I purchased myself a i 7 920 System with a Gigabyte EX58-UD4 and 8GB OCZ 1800MHz.
It´s easily to overclock with the software appcalled "EasyTune 6" what comes right away with the Gigabyt board. There I have 3 preconfigured settings I can choose. Ones 2.8GHz, 3.0GHz and 3.2GHz. Other option is to overclock manualy the FSB ect. I got my oclocked to 3.2GHz standart preconfigured settings. I just was thinking to buy a i7 965, now I got a i7 920 clocked as an 965, saved me about 450€. Nice.


Cheers!

[olson]

Generally speaking its a bad idea, especially in a production environment. If you know what you're doing or can pay someone that knows what they're doing it can work. If you're unfamiliar with overclocking and building your own systems then you might want to start with a spare system at home. That way if things go wrong you don't get fired or lose a client. Cheers!

[Karnageddon]

As everyone has stated, you would be better off going with a 920 and overclocking that instead of buying a 940. Also, if you plan on rendering realistic animations on an overclocked machine, consider REALLY good air cooling or water cooling because your cpu running at 100% for days, rendering long animations will kill your Heatsink Fan pretty fast and a cheaper one will generate a lot more heat in the room running at 100%, which is bad for you; unless you like the heat.

[olson]

As everyone has stated, you would be better off going with a 920 and overclocking that instead of buying a 940. Also, if you plan on rendering realistic animations on an overclocked machine, consider REALLY good air cooling or water cooling because your cpu running at 100% for days, rendering long animations will kill your Heatsink Fan pretty fast and a cheaper one will generate a lot more heat in the room running at 100%, which is bad for you; unless you like the heat.

A larger cooler with more surface area will transfer the heat from the processor to the environment faster which means the processor will run cooler, but the environment temperature will remain the same regardless of what cooler is used (e.g. crap heatsink and awesome heatsink will both make the room hotter).

[Karnageddon]

A larger cooler with more surface area will transfer the heat from the processor to the environment faster which means the processor will run cooler, but the environment temperature will remain the same regardless of what cooler is used (e.g. crap heatsink and awesome heatsink will both make the room hotter).

That's true to that extent but i'm comparing a smaller fan with a lower rpm vs a larger fan with a higher rpm. In my case when my HSF died, my cpu was running at 75C on full load and it was noticeably warmer in my room than the rest of the house (always had been the case since i built the pc) but after changing it with a $85 HSF, my cpu runs at 55C full load and you can no longer feel the heat change when you enter or stay in my room. Keep in mind the heat from the processor contributes to the environment.

[olson]

That's true to that extent but i'm comparing a smaller fan with a lower rpm vs a larger fan with a higher rpm. In my case when my HSF died, my cpu was running at 75C on full load and it was noticeably warmer in my room than the rest of the house (always had been the case since i built the pc) but after changing it with a $85 HSF, my cpu runs at 55C full load and you can no longer feel the heat change when you enter or stay in my room. Keep in mind the heat from the processor contributes to the environment.

No doubt the processor contributes heat to the environment. My point its it'll contribute the same amount of heat regardless of what heatsink is used. Thinking the room the computer is in will be cooler with a better heatsink is nonsense.

[ThomasTheToolman]

You will need a good case cooling as well.
There are many ways how to set up good case cooling.
Here is a pic of my:

http://s6.directupload.net/images/091012/temp/pdueytkx.jpg (http://s6.directupload.net/file/d/1945/pdueytkx_jpg.htm)

You can see the bluish pipe is connected to the Northbridge and deflates the heat right away out of the case. Also I have 2 Arctic Cooling 8L Fans installed, they are noisless but still cooling pretty well. The air inside the case is allways under 35° even if the system run in 100% for hours or days.

[ddg]

Well guys I took the toolman’s advice and bought an i7 920!!! It is almost all here and I will be over clocking my system soon I hope. The configure of my system is

Case: Obsidian 800D

Mobo: Evga 760 classified x58

Processor: i7 920

Hard drives: western digital 1 TB SATA drive

Power supply: corsair 1000w

Memory: 12 Megs with memory fan. I know I should use 6 Megs but I am going to try 12 Megs and see where it will clock.

Video card: I am waiting for an Asus 5870 to show up at new egg. It supports the 3.0 open gl and direct 11 x. I know it will have some driver issues, but I am sure they will work those out in a couple of months.

Cooling: I am trying the corsair H-50 self which is a contained water system. I am also throwing in a few extra fans on my case to help pull out the excess heat. I hope what I have configured will keep my system cool enough to reach above 4 MHz.

I am going to try installing windows 7- 64 bit when It is released next Thursday. So I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping I can make this system live by the end of next week!

And thanks toolman and others for suggesting the 920…. I should have listened to you way back when… I really wanted that 975, but with the gulftown being released in a matter of a few months I would defiantly be paying a huge premium, and with the savings I can buy some much needed lessons in Maya 2010!

[Karnageddon]

Thinking the room the computer is in will be cooler with a better heatsink is nonsense.

I'm not here to argue, nor will bother arguing something I have experienced more than once, so let's just say that global warming smuggled itself within my bedroom when I bought my pc and decided to move out because it discriminated against the brand of the HSF I replaced my old one with.


And thanks toolman and others for suggesting the 920…. I should have listened to you way back when… I really wanted that 975, but with the gulftown being released in a matter of a few months I would defiantly be paying a huge premium, and with the savings I can buy some much needed lessons in Maya 2010!

Just think of it this way, with the money you save towards purchasing the 920 over 975, you can put it towards gulftown when its released next year or when the price is reasonable, the i7 920 is a great option until then. Best of luck with the OC.

[ttownfire]

Well guys I took the toolman’s advice and bought an i7 920!!! It is almost all here and I will be over clocking my system soon I hope. The configure of my system is

Case: Obsidian 800D

Mobo: Evga 760 classified x58

Processor: i7 920

Hard drives: western digital 1 TB SATA drive

Power supply: corsair 1000w

Memory: 12 Megs with memory fan. I know I should use 6 Megs but I am going to try 12 Megs and see where it will clock.

Video card: I am waiting for an Asus 5870 to show up at new egg. It supports the 3.0 open gl and direct 11 x. I know it will have some driver issues, but I am sure they will work those out in a couple of months.

Cooling: I am trying the corsair H-50 self which is a contained water system. I am also throwing in a few extra fans on my case to help pull out the excess heat. I hope what I have configured will keep my system cool enough to reach above 4 MHz.

I am going to try installing windows 7- 64 bit when It is released next Thursday. So I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping I can make this system live by the end of next week!

And thanks toolman and others for suggesting the 920…. I should have listened to you way back when… I really wanted that 975, but with the gulftown being released in a matter of a few months I would defiantly be paying a huge premium, and with the savings I can buy some much needed lessons in Maya 2010!

Nice Configuration!!!

However, a low end h20 cooler is less desirable than a high end air cooler and they cost about the same. Keep in mind that the 920 is 130w TDP which means it already runs quite hot in comparison to the 95w chips in previous gen.'s and the new lynnfield i7's. IOW, its a hot chip to begin with.

You dropped serious cash on your mobo and I'm wondering if you really needed to. I mean its a really nice board, but the feature set is very skewed toward the exterme gaming crowd, extrme overclocking crowd and the look at me factor. I.e. most 3D works stations don't SLI or crossfire and most workstations are not extreme benchmark rigs, etc.

"Most" workstations for real work simply require strong RAM support, a PCI-E slot, a raid controller and enough power phases to support modest (stable) overclocking. Any Gigabyte, Asus or EVGA motherboard in the middle of the road in x58 or p55 flavors will be more than enough to handle the most demanding applications of today.

You are definately overkill on the PSU and case as well. I mean, if you need lessons, you could have saved a bundle with a more modest choice of hardware with the same or better performance.

I'm not slaming your choice(s)... its all great stuff... I just don't think its nessesary considering your computer skillset and useage.

I have the i7 - 860 and I'd run it against a OC'd 920 rig in a heartbeat. Look at the reviews of the 860... clock for clock this thing is a beast and cool as a cucumber. Future proof is a myth.

[olson]

I'm not here to argue, nor will bother arguing something I have experienced more than once, so let's just say that global warming smuggled itself within my bedroom when I bought my pc and decided to move out because it discriminated against the brand of the HSF I replaced my old one with.

In particular see the conversions and associated units for wattage and watt hours.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_thermal_unit

Regardless of what cooler is used its going to transfer the same heat into the environment because the system is using the same amount of electricity no matter how you look at it. Not like using a crappy cooler can conjure energy from nowhere and put it into the room. Your experience with the elevated room temperature is probably coincidence or another factor unrelated to the cooler.

Its not personal and I'm not arguing just cause, but pointing out the facts so people don't start buying high dollar heatsinks thinking it'll make their room or office cooler because it won't. What actually would make a difference is buying low power processors like Opteron HE, or high efficiency power supplies (80 PLUS Program) so less electricity is transferred into heat by components. The first law of thermodynamics explains everything about why this is the case. Cheers!

[ddg]

Thanks ttownfire,



The Mobo was really rated as a great Mobo for overclocking. And the price had started to come down with rebates and all; I probably have 80 bucks more into it than a decent mid tier board. So I splurged in the hopes that I can get a tried and true Mobo with all the bugs worked out. BTW, this is not the new 4 way sli board, it is the classified....

My 1000w power supply is overkill, but I know I will be scaling my hard drives ( I just have two on the way), and I just might be buying a gulftown and maybe a soundcard in the future. They say that it will work with my motherboard (maybe). I am going to be adding a bunch of fans and a fan controller, and I know me if they get way to loud keeping my temps at a decent level, I will go for a full water cooled system.

The 750 to 850w was about 50 buck cheaper, and if I found out that I needed a 1000w in say 6 months, I will have to trash my 850w to buy the 1000w. I don’t think I have a big loss in over sizing a bit in the beginning.

As far as the case, it really appealed to me because it has front access to my SATA drives, and I found it on sale. I paid a little over 200 bucks for it. It has been delivered, and I got to tell you it is the best home computer case I have ever seen. It has plenty of room for anything you can imagine, and I know it will last me through many upgrades.

The biggest goof up for me has been buying the 12 GB of memory imo. I know I probably could do with 6 Gb, but I am going with the 64 bit window 7 and I am worried it will eat up ram. I know I will loose some clock speed, but it may pay off if I can keep Photoshop running with Maya. I bet cs5 will be really memory intensive when it is released.

[Karnageddon]

In particular see the conversions and associated units for wattage and watt hours.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_thermal_unit

Regardless of what cooler is used its going to transfer the same heat into the environment because the system is using the same amount of electricity no matter how you look at it. Not like using a crappy cooler can conjure energy from nowhere and put it into the room. Your experience with the elevated room temperature is probably coincidence or another factor unrelated to the cooler.

Its not personal and I'm not arguing just cause, but pointing out the facts so people don't start buying high dollar heatsinks thinking it'll make their room or office cooler because it won't. What actually would make a difference is buying low power processors like Opteron HE, or high efficiency power supplies (80 PLUS Program) so less electricity is transferred into heat by components. The first law of thermodynamics explains everything about why this is the case. Cheers!

You're absolutely right, in fact a better cooling system will direct more hot air out of the CPU and eventually out into the room. I cannot explain what else could have caused it since it was too much of a coincidence for my room to heat up noticeably only when my computer was on with my old HSF (for several years) and the room temperature dropping every time my cpu was off. It all stopped right after I replaced it with a HSF that was higher RPM and kept my cpu temp lower and my room temp barely rises by 4C now when my pc runs 100%, even during the hotter days.

Edit:On second thought, i just realised that I have to constantly clean the dust out of this heatsink, so this one is sucking air onto the CPU rather than blowing it away and it may be causing a whirlwind effect and recycling that hot air preventing it from leaving the case and out into the room.

[ttownfire]

Thanks ttownfire,



The Mobo was really rated as a great Mobo for overclocking. And the price had started to come down with rebates and all; I probably have 80 bucks more into it than a decent mid tier board. So I splurged in the hopes that I can get a tried and true Mobo with all the bugs worked out. BTW, this is not the new 4 way sli board, it is the classified....

My 1000w power supply is overkill, but I know I will be scaling my hard drives ( I just have two on the way), and I just might be buying a gulftown and maybe a soundcard in the future. They say that it will work with my motherboard (maybe). I am going to be adding a bunch of fans and a fan controller, and I know me if they get way to loud keeping my temps at a decent level, I will go for a full water cooled system.

The 750 to 850w was about 50 buck cheaper, and if I found out that I needed a 1000w in say 6 months, I will have to trash my 850w to buy the 1000w. I don’t think I have a big loss in over sizing a bit in the beginning.

As far as the case, it really appealed to me because it has front access to my SATA drives, and I found it on sale. I paid a little over 200 bucks for it. It has been delivered, and I got to tell you it is the best home computer case I have ever seen. It has plenty of room for anything you can imagine, and I know it will last me through many upgrades.

The biggest goof up for me has been buying the 12 GB of memory imo. I know I probably could do with 6 Gb, but I am going with the 64 bit window 7 and I am worried it will eat up ram. I know I will loose some clock speed, but it may pay off if I can keep Photoshop running with Maya. I bet cs5 will be really memory intensive when it is released.

Very sound reasoning. Its hard not to project your own direction onto other in this type of forum. I have to remember that not everyone has the same goals as I.

I don't think you've goofed up at all after reading this. The ram is non-issue unless you are a member of hwbot and trying to beat world oc records. Seriously.

I have vista 64 on 8 gbs of ram with a modest 3.2 oc (turbo enabled) and I run AI CS4, PS CS4 and Modo at the same time with 4 gb to spare. No problems.

I think you'll be very happy with your system. Good luck.

[ThomasTheToolman]

It´s a nice setup you have choosen, ddg.

Only the 1000W PSU might to be overkill. Even if you like to upgrade 10 HDDs. HDDs doesn´t need that much power, maybe 5W-12W each HDD. Green Energie HDDs and SSDs need even more a little less power. You only need that much power if you´re planing to setup 3-Way-SLI („Triple-SLI“).

If you like to overclock i would recommend buying a Zalman FB123 for cooling the memory as well or something similar. It is cheap, silent and really effective.

Also buying some Arctic Cooling 8L Fans for your Case Cooling would be a wise action, they are noiseless and effective as well. Especially the Northbridge, Graphics Card, CPU, RAM and HDDs produce a lot heat inside the case, you have to get rid off, even if you upgrade to an water cooling system.


Wish you much fun with your new hardware.
I am sure you find your way.


Regards

[biliousfrog]

Nice Configuration!!!

However, a low end h20 cooler is less desirable than a high end air cooler and they cost about the same. Keep in mind that the 920 is 130w TDP which means it already runs quite hot in comparison to the 95w chips in previous gen.'s and the new lynnfield i7's. IOW, its a hot chip to begin with.



The H50 is actually rivalling (and sometimes beating) a lot of fully water cooled setups. I'm using one on my 920 @ 4.2ghz and it maxes out at 66 degrees after rendering overnight. It also doesn't require a huge amount of room inside the case, just enough room for a 12cm fan, which helps with overall air flow inside the case.

Corsair recommend installing it to suck air in from outside the case but I, like most people, have it blowing air out. It depends on the air flow of your case but I have a 12cm fan drawing air from the front, another blowing air out from the side and the H50 blowing out the back. Because the CPU's heat is directed straight to the radiator at the back of the case then out the back the case doesn't get very warm and most of the heat rises to the top and gets sucked out of the side.

BTW I'm using a Lian-Li v1000 plus (http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.php?/cases_cooling/lian_li_pc-v1000b_plus/1) with an extra HD cooler which has excellent air flow.

[ttownfire]

The H50 is actually rivalling (and sometimes beating) a lot of fully water cooled setups. I'm using one on my 920 @ 4.2ghz and it maxes out at 66 degrees after rendering overnight.


I disagree 100%, but if you're confident in that statement; Why don't you post the same thing here (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=70). I'll keep an eye out...;)

[ddg]

The corsair 800D has an air flow problem with the stock fan set up. The main bay is too big for the bottom fan intake. So what I plan on doing is redirecting the back fan as a pull fan for the corsair h-50, and installing 3 Scythe S-Flex SFF21G 120mm Case Fan on top as a pull fan set up. They have the Fluid Dynamic Bearing by SONY and even thought their max speed is 1900 rpm’s they do pull 75 cfm per minute each which is pretty decent for a quiet fan. I also bought the CORSAIR CMXAF1 Fan just to focus on the memory, and I am sticking in the Zalman ZM-MFC3 Multi Fan Controller. If I still get heating problems I am going to ramp up the air intake at the bottom of the case and put that stock fan as a pull fan for my H-50.

With all of these unknown variables (at least to me) is why I went with the 1000w power supply. It is a lot easier to have a scalable power source then to put all this stuff together and realize you are marginal on your power output. I paid the extra 50 bucks so I don’t have to worry about this part of my build. I will let you guys know how it works out. However, I have the strangest feeling that when I put all this stuff together, windows 7 will blue screen me until they release their first service pack!

[biliousfrog]

I disagree 100%, but if you're confident in that statement; Why don't you post the same thing here (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=70). I'll keep an eye out...;)

What are you disagreeing with? I noticed that you said "a low end h20 (H50 BTW) cooler is less desirable than a high end air cooler" which is a matter of taste but the fact is that the vast majority of reviews are saying that it matches or beats the Fenrir and Noctua HSF's and many are comparing it to the cooling of water cooled units costing five times as much. From my personal experience I've noticed that it is almost silent, takes up barely any room, doesn't obstruct the airflow of the case and is keeping my 920 at a lower temperature than some people are getting at minimal overclocks. I don't need to visit a forum to have a pissing contest, I know what the H50 does, it was bought after a lot of research and the figures speak for themselves. If you're happy with what you have that's fine, just don't base your opinions on hearsay from people that feel the ONLY way to cool a PC is with massive heatpipe coolers or full blown water cooled kits.

FYI: http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&q=Corsair+H50+review&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=Corsair+H50+review&fp=c002bd16c2c5c27a

Yes it does seem too good to be true, I guess only time will tell.

[ddg]

The H50 really does have some impressive reviews even from some of the users. For the price that you pay, I got mine for 60 bucks on sale, they are a very efficient cooler. If you want to spend 400 bucks extra on a cooler, I am sure they will out do this set up. However, how much more gains are you goign to make. I will let you guys know how mine works in about 2 weeks...

[ttownfire]

What are you disagreeing with? I noticed that you said "a low end h20 (H50 BTW) cooler is less desirable than a high end air cooler" which is a matter of taste but the fact is that the vast majority of reviews are saying that it matches or beats the Fenrir and Noctua HSF's and many are comparing it to the cooling of water cooled units costing five times as much. From my personal experience I've noticed that it is almost silent, takes up barely any room, doesn't obstruct the airflow of the case and is keeping my 920 at a lower temperature than some people are getting at minimal overclocks. I don't need to visit a forum to have a pissing contest, I know what the H50 does, it was bought after a lot of research and the figures speak for themselves. If you're happy with what you have that's fine, just don't base your opinions on hearsay from people that feel the ONLY way to cool a PC is with massive heatpipe coolers or full blown water cooled kits.

FYI: http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&q=Corsair+H50+review&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=Corsair+H50+review&fp=c002bd16c2c5c27a

Yes it does seem too good to be true, I guess only time will tell.

Read the reviews again. Its "comparable" to the high-end air coolers. It doesn't come close to a standard WC loop. How many reviews did the h50 beat the almighty TRUE? Further, the test methodology was prime 95 for 15 minutes for most with a hour or so thrown in for good measure in a few reviews... meh. Spend some time on the enthusiast sites where they really push their equipment, like you do with a 12 to 24h render.

Another thing these reviews fail to mention is that your metal mixing. Aluminum, copper and h20 make a bad combination and heaven forbid, can make for a very bad day (possibly) one day. The radiator is built for for a 95w tdp chip in terms of physics (thermal dynamics). Further, you need to buy an additional fan or completely upgrade two fans, make it push/pull and hope your case is suitable for sucking air through an exhaust port to get reasonable temps with modest overclocks. SNAFU, when you could just buy a good air cooler and be done with it.

Heat dissipation is arguably one of the most important aspects to longivety in your hardware. Buy good cooling equipment and your computer will last a long time. period.

A few more questions for your particular setup:

Are you using RealTemp or the extemely inaccurate temp readings from the control panel or bios?

what is the ambient temp when you get "66c"?

[biliousfrog]

Read the reviews again. Its "comparable" to the high-end air coolers. It doesn't come close to a standard WC loop. How many reviews did the h50 beat the almighty TRUE? Further, the test methodology was prime 95 for 15 minutes for most with a hour or so thrown in for good measure in a few reviews... meh. Spend some time on the enthusiast sites where they really push their equipment, like you do with a 12 to 24h render.

Another thing these reviews fail to mention is that your metal mixing. Aluminum, copper and h20 make a bad combination and heaven forbid, can make for a very bad day (possibly) one day. The radiator is built for for a 95w tdp chip in terms of physics (thermal dynamics). Further, you need to buy an additional fan or completely upgrade two fans, make it push/pull and hope your case is suitable for sucking air through an exhaust port to get reasonable temps with modest overclocks. SNAFU, when you could just buy a good air cooler and be done with it.

Heat dissipation is arguably one of the most important aspects to longivety in your hardware. Buy good cooling equipment and your computer will last a long time. period.

A few more questions for your particular setup:

Are you using RealTemp or the extemely inaccurate temp readings from the control panel or bios?

what is the ambient temp when you get "66c"?

I haven't upgraded any fans, I haven't got a push/pull configuration, it's just as it came out of the packaging.

I'm using Everest 5.02 to monitor temps.

Room temperature is currently around 22-25 degrees, usually up to 28-30 after rendering overnight. It has been rendering for around 5hrs and the current temps are:

Motherboard: 45
CPU: 52
Northbridge: 69
3 x HD's all at: 30
GPU: 47

I can't be bothered to go through all the reviews to find out which ones compared temps to a water cooled unit, it doesn't really matter, the temps are generally slightly lower than high-end air coolers in every review I've seen and my experience backs that up.

[imashination]

12 Megs with memory fan. I know I should use 6 Megs but I am going to try 12 Megs

I hope what I have configured will keep my system cool enough to reach above 4 MHz.

Mr. Moore would like a word with you.

[ddg]

Mr. Moore would like a word with you.

I got my package today with my memory, and it was two different packs of 6 gb. So I do not have matched sets. I RMAed one pack and I am just going to run the system with 3 sticks of 2 gb... I am tired of ordering the parts and getting the wrong packages!I will just wait til the memory prices come down and then upgrade. I am sure I wil be pleased with 6gb for at least a couple of years.

[imashination]

I got my package today with my memory, and it was two different packs of 6 gb. So I do not have matched sets. I RMAed one pack and I am just going to run the system with 3 sticks of 2 gb... I am tired of ordering the parts and getting the wrong packages!I will just wait til the memory prices come down and then upgrade. I am sure I wil be pleased with 6gb for at least a couple of years.

Whats wrong with 2 packs of 6 gigs exactly? Its triple channel memory, you only need 3 sticks the same, each of those 3 sticks will not interact with the other 3 sticks. Hence you can only buy memory as single chips, twin packs for dual channel or triple packs. Theres no such thing as a packet of 6 chips.

Unless you mean you got 2 completely different branded packs?

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