Conclusions
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from overclocking the Xeon X3320. Server and workstation processors have proven to be potent overclockers in the past, but quad-core chips present a greater challenge. System stability can suffer even if only one of those cores isn't comfortable at a given speed. AMD's Phenom processors can set independent clocks for each core, but that's not possible with Intel's Core 2 processors or the Xeon X3320.

Our off-the-shelf X3320 was perfectly stable up to 3.26GHz with its stock voltage and a large—but relatively inexpensive—Scythe Ninja cooler. Some of the chip's cores were clearly capable of running at higher speeds, but as a whole, 3.26GHz was all she wrote. This 30% jump in clock speed isn't the most impressive overclock we've seen, but it's a decent margin for a quad-core chip. The fact that our X3320 didn't require any extra voltage to hit 3.26GHz suggests there's plenty of headroom to be exploited in the Penryn core, as well.

Even though we didn't hit jaw-dropping clock speeds, this is exactly the kind of overclock I love to see as an enthusiast. Exotic water and phase-change coolers are marvels to behold, but I'm more interested in the "free" overclocking headroom that can be exploited with modest air cooling. And since plenty of affordable P35-based motherboards have no problem running at front-side bus speeds beyond 400MHz, you don't need a fancy motherboard to push the Xeon X3320, either.

Whether the Xeon X3320 has more overclocking potential than its Core 2 Quad Q9300 desktop counterpart remains to be seen. If our experience is any indication, though, you should have no problem cranking the X3320 up to 3GHz and beyond.