Yeah, I can run a stable 3dmark on 1t timings, but when it comes to actual gameplay
my system becomes unstable and likes to crash. I am still new to overclocking but i think my northbridge is overheating. I dont have enough room to put a larger heatsink on due to the videocard. Any suggestions?
What is your mobo? Most have cheap thermal pads or low quality thermal paste under the sinks. First thing to do is to remove them, if you can safely, then clean and apply some good quality paste. While Arctic Silver is about the best, I prefer the Ceramique. Sacrifice a degree or two in cooling, but if some gets where it is not suppose to be you don't get a worthless piece of kit. And it's still better than the junk the makers use.
On my P5WDH I had the same problem with my SB. My Crossfire covered the sink partially and I could not get decent air to it. Picked up a small (40mm?) fan and epoxied it to the side of the sink so it blows across the sink. Temps dropped by 8 to 10c! I go for performance, not looks in my rigs.
I put better compound on my NB and seem to be running 1t timings fine. Here is my score after i changed my timings. Not much of a difference but i still have some tweaking to do.