The Official OC (OverClocking) Thread!

Crowy,
I calculate $50.36 USD for the 4400 at 3.2. I haven't heard of anyone with one not being able to hit this speed. They might have to back it down a little because they are using the stock cooler. I think the 4400 came about after Intel decided not to mess with the overclockability. A lot of people were pissed when Intel changed the stepping on some of the C2Ds, and I think they let Intel know about it. Can't think of any other reason Intel would change their minds. Imagine that, Intel "unofficially" promoting overclocking! LOL!! Even their bios chips have gotten a lot more overclocking friendly! I think that Intel has wised up and realizes that people are always going to compare the AMD and Intel chips by their overclocking ability, not their base speed!

Rock On Intel, Rock On!!!

Clock On,
theone :}

 

Russ,

Funny thing is Russ,
Intel would know better than anyone else the threshold of there cpu's.
They could easily set (for example) the c2d e6600's (earlier revisions)
to run at 3.2ghz knowing it will perform admirably.
But then it will only o/clock maybe 400-600mhz.Thats not as impressive as a cpu set at 2.4ghz that overclocks to 3.6-3.8ghz and more.

They new that a super performing 2.4ghz chip with extreme overclockability would cause more interest than a super performing 3.2ghz chip with only mild overclockability.

 

What if I add an extra fan and then maybe add water cooling? My cousin overclocked his Pentium 4 big-time and added a water tank inside his machine. By the way, I'll revert back to stock and see how hot my CPU runs at idle and under maximum load.

@fasfrank: That's not my motherboard, it's P5B-VM, plain. I can adjust the VCore voltage in my BIOS but I'm afraid to fry something so I'm leaving it as it is.

@Mort81: Here's my RAM details:
Make: Kingston
Type: DDR2
Size: 2x1GB
Channel: Dual
Frequency: 356.9MHz
FSBRAM: 4:5
CAS Latency: 5 clocks
RAS to CAS Delay: 5 clocks
RAS Precharge: 5 clocks
Cycle Time: 15 clocks
Command Rate: 2T

 

Ace_2,
I finally managed to download the manual and it is as you said, there is a Vcore adjustment as well as a few more memory voltage options.

OK, you increased your FSB from 266 to 286... problems occurred.

Probably because you overclocked your RAM (memory) faster than it could go. FSB speed not only controls your CPU speed but also your RAM speed so....

After you change your FSB speed make sure to go into "DRAM Frequency" and set it so you are using a frequency equal or less than your RAMs rated speed.
In your case you mentioned "667 MHz Kingston". So set it to DDR2-667 or whatever is closest but lower than DDR2-667.

Next...

Start over using your original FSB speed and voltages.

Make these adjustments, leave everything else at the default settings:

Set your PCI Express frequency to 100
Set the Spread Spectrum to Disabled
Set Vcore voltage to 1.30

Go to CPU configuration...
Disable CPU TM
Disable Speedstep

Save your changes and boot into Windows, open Orthos.
Set orthos for "Small FFTs - stress CPU".
Run Orthos and CoreTemp for 15 minutes or more.


Start your overclocking

When you start increasing speed, do it gradually. If you start at 266, make the next step 5 Mhz higher, so that would be 271. Don't forget to check and set your DRAM Frequency each time.

Once set, see if your PC will boot into Windows. If it does, run CoreTemp and Orthos for 15 minutes or longer.

Repeat this process.

If the Orthos stress test fails, reboot and add one step of Vcore voltage. Start the test again.

Always monitor your temperatures with CoreTemp. If temperatures go higher than 59°C stop the test. You will need to reduce the speed and voltage or add better cooling.

Edit: you mentioned a temperature of 54°C under load so you do not have much "headroom" here.

Also it would be very helpful to have your RAM's bandwidth & part number:

CPU-Z > SPD tab >
Max Bandwidth:
Part Number:

 

I'm sure you can get more than 2.28 out of even the worst binnings, good cooling and good RAM are essential, and I suspect it's the board and RAM that caused your problems rvinkebob.

 

Ace_2,

fasfrank took the words outa my mouth. follow his suggestions/instructions. thanks for reporting ram info. that helps us help you. as I previously mentioned, you will need a better/aftermarket cpu hsf for moderate to high overclock.

@fasfrank,

well done buddy. only 1 thing to add. set your PCI clock to 33.33mhz.

 

Thanks Mort,

After I posted that I did find where you had already mentioned the memory linking issue.

When I first started overclocking my Asus board I got the same kind of failures as Ace did. I didn't have to reboot the PSU but I did loose all my bios settings.
I've sort of figured out that when you have a crash with a CPU undervoltage it just sort of reboots itself. It seems quite different with a memory crash...
I'd get a frozen black screen and when I did get it to boot up, all my previous bios settings were lost and set back to default.

Ace doesn't have a PCI Clock Sync. Mode setting as near as I can tell from the manual. I guess it's following FSB speed.
On my board I've got it set as:

PCI express frequency: 100
PCI clock sync. mode: 33.33Mhz
So I suggested changing the one setting he does have to 100.

 

Could that cause a problem with my graphics card? I have it plugged in there. It's an nVidia GeForce 7600 GT. What would 100 setting do to it?

EDIT: Okay, so I set everything up(except VCore, still not confident enough to change the voltage), and, so far so good. Windows booted, and the processor is at an idle temp. of in between 30 and 32 degrees. Time to stress it... initiating test now.

Extra RAM info coming right up.

RESULTS: After 15 minutes of torture, my processor peaked at 53 degrees. Keep in mind I didn't change the VCore voltage. And here's the extra RAM info, and yup, it was overclocked too, as it's now at 333.3MHz frequency:

Max bandwidth: PC2-5300(333MHz)
Part #: 6C040C7D

 

I think mine's 100, I fail to see why it would be anything else.

 

Hi Sam, IGoogle searched this,
When PCI Express is set to Auto it will default to 100 MHz and increase as the FSB increases. At some point the data on the PCI buss can get corrupted if it gets to high.
100 seems to be what everyone uses.
Would you agree?

Ace,
As near as I can tell your RAM isDDR2 667 (PC2 5300)
333.33 is the correct speed for this....333.33 x 2 =666.66, which is DDR 2 667. It's right where it should be at stock settings. Try and keep it at or below 333 as you raise your FSB speed. You shouldn't have any issues with it. With the Asus mobos you just have to pick the closest one.
Some FSB speeds don't let you get close at all. Others will let you nail it. I like to run FSB speeds that do that.


BTW, I see this in the specs for the P5B VM board at Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131043

I'm not sure what that implies but it does make me wonder why you have DDR2 667 RAM and not the DDR2 800.

 

Can anyone recommend a good cooler. Cheap would be good but if I have to pay a lot it's still fine. Also I followed the things fasfrank said about changing DRAM Freq, and so far I have FSB at 210 and haven't had one hitch yet! Average temp increased to 42 and that's at around 30% CPU load. 100% causes temp to go to 54~55 degrees C which is acceptable for the moment. Just want to get a good internal cooler.

 

Ace_2,

If your 7600GT is PCIe, that's the stock setting! Most motherboards will let you lock the PCIe frequency. I have an XFX 7600GT and the PCIe frequency is locked at 110 with no problems. The video card itself is overclocked to 653MHz core and 1600MHz memory and works very well!

rvinkebob,
Most around here use either the Arctic Freezer series or the Zalman 9500 if they're overclocking. I prefer the Arctic in both price and performance. It cools as well as the 9500 and is a lot easier to clean! Use Arctic Silver 5 with either of them and they will do a good job. Cooler master has a new cooler out that rates high with the customers, but it is quite large. About the same price as the Arctic Freezer at around $35 USD. The Zalman is in the $50 range!

Clock On,
theone :}

 

Ace_2,

Can you tell us what psu is in your computer?

 

Sweet! Found the exact cooler you said and it's at the place I usually get all my parts! Only 39.99 CDN! Goin to pick it up tomorrow and use it with my CPU and hopefully get it up to 3300 from my current 2800. Thanks!

 

rvinkebob,

What CPU are you cooling? What cooler did you decide on? Just curious! LOL!!

Clock On,
theone :}

 

I switched to a relatively cheaper one for my CPU. I was so excited that I didn't check for the CPU model which in my case is socket 754. I'm getting the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler for K8 which is for my CPU AMD Athlon 64 2800+. I just might get a cooler for my Vid card seeing as they have one for my exact card which is NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT.

I'm going tomorrow afternoon and get ready to setup. Also is the cooler a complete replacement fan for the CPU? Wanna make sure and I want to take the fan out tonight just to save time tomorrow.

 

rvinkebob,

Yes it's complete with PWM control from your MB if you want! Remove the fan when you install it. It's easy and no tools! Just pop the little clip and it comes right off! It just makes it easier to handle without the fan. I have one on my A64 4000+ and it works good about 12% OC'd! I run mine on my E4300 with the fan control on the MB set to PWM. It's 28C in here and it idles at 30C and the fan is at 1100rpm and it's OC'd from 1.8GHz to 3.276GHz!

It's a shame they get so much for a socket 754 3200+. I have one here that needs a CPU, but at the prices I'm seeing here, it will stay in the junk pile! Supply and demand! LOL!!

Clock On,
theone :}

 

Russ,
I saw this on a site today:

Benchmark test from PCModding shown that MX-1 outperform Arctic Silver Ceramique by 8ºC at load, and test from SystemCooling shown that MX-1 outperform Arctic Silver 5 by 2ºC at load!!

MX-1 may be the best thermal paste in market, as it BEAT the performance of competitors (such as Arctic Silver 5), stable, safe to use, easy apply and remove, not the last is Bargain!

http://www.hdaudiovisual.com.au/pc/mx1.htm

The bonus here is the paste is right up there with the best and it's already applied to the freezer7 pro.
That makes it an even better bargain!!

 

crowy,

I know that whatever they apply to the Freezer 7 Pro is very good. I used it on the D-940 and the 4000+ and switched to AS5 for mine to see if there was any difference. Didn't see any real difference in temps! It is good stuff! I also like the Ceramique, which I tested on several coolers. Once it cured there was no difference at all from the AS5. I have both and it's not worth buying something else!

Clock On,
Russ :}

 

Now, I'm even MORE limited in how far I can overclock my processor. I couldn't get the front side bus to go over 274MHz without it doing the same thing as when I had it on default setup and at 287MHz front side bus. Something's wrong, this can't be normal, unless my VCore voltage is too low. By the way, could my BIOS version be the problem? It's version 0613.

EDIT: Still no difference. Even though I raise the VCore voltage a little more, it still decides to turn on with no power light as soon as I raise the front side bus frequency to 275MHz. This can't be right!

EDIT 2: My power supply is a 450W ATX Alpha Raidmax.