The Official OC (OverClocking) Thread!

Well that depends on how much cash you have to splash.

I don't have much and bought an AMD Athlon 64bit 3000+ Newcastle core running on a Leadtek/Winfast NF3250 Series Mobo with 1500mb RAM, and a 500W PSU. The CPU has an Akasa (AK-855-BL) cooler fan on it, which cools a supprising amount and allows for easy O/C ability. I am also running two case fans, one in, one out.
All of this cooling means that the inside of the case is cool and so therfore the CPU is cooler even before the mid-high class cooler is applied, with a stock cooler it would run a little hotter, but not a great deal.

I get 38degC Idle and maxes around 48degC full load with it overclocked to 2.31ghz and a Vcore of 1.6v. My HTT multiplyer is running at x4 with an fsb of 231mhz.

Stock for this setup is; HTT x4, 200mhz, 1.5v. 30idle..anything above full.

Just so you know (even though it isn't nesecary) I am also running a Leadtek/Winfast Geforce 6200 with all chip speeds clocked as much as is safe, and also unlocked to 8pipelines rather than 4 pipelines as is stock setting, this increases my GFX card to around the same level as Geforce 6600...for about £50 less.

 

Ok, well if i get a new one i wont oc it. And how much did you have to spend?

 

Well my mobo was about £55 and my CPU was £90. I know you probably aren't UK, but I am, and that is what I spend :Þ

 

Yeah, i live in Australia, i wouldnt spend over $500 AUD.

What one do you reccomend?

http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/index...product_code]=CP-AM643000&input[category_id]=

http://www.i-tech.com.au/products/1406_AMD_Athlon_64_3000_Boxed_with_CPU_Fan.asp

 

Well for starters they are the same chip, so I would say either, depends on the price (one $247 and the other $245 but then there is also shipping).

The main thing about 64 bit chips is there is not much difference between them and a 32bit chip. My AMD 64 is the same stock power as my old AMD Athlon XP 2400+ which was 2.0ghz non O/C (because I didn't know how to :Þ). All that a 64 bit chip offers at the moment is slightly more safety if something crashes/seems to freeze. For example, if I am playing my favourite game (CSS) and it freezes (which is has been doing lately) then with the Athlon XP I would have had to hard restart the pc (push the reset button), and with the 64bit I can alt+tab to windows and tell it to close the program. Basicaly all that the 64bit chip helps you to do is multitask more than with a 32bit chip.

If you are currently running an AMD 1.8ghz 32bit chip then I would advise getting either a more expensive 32bit chip like a 2.8ghz or something as that will give the same difference as a 2.8ghz 64bit chip for your average PC user. 64bit Technology hasn't been implimented yet and so is infact currently a waste of time, once windows releases their 64bit version of XP and games and programs (the most important things aside from your OS) are built utalising 64bit technology you won't notice much if any difference.

About all a 64bit chip is really for is telling your mates that you have one and gloating that it is so much better (only because they don't have a clue about them).

 

What would you reccomend?

 

Well it depends on what you are currently using, if you list those specs that would be helpful, but also it depends on what you want to use your PC for, because just increasing one thing doesn't have enough effect to boost power.

Basicaly if you have a top end chip, say an AMD 4000+ and you have a cheap-ish mobo and like 256RAM and a 64mb graphics card then you will be lacking in enough power to run most things.

So basicaly you have to increase everything in respect to the each item. A mid priced mobo of the correct socket for whichever chip you choose should be fine if you don't have huge amounts to spend. Also the maximum RAM that you should need if you are not a power user and only use your PC for most homebased things (word processing, games etc) then 1GB of DDR RAM will easily suffice. If you are a gamer then the minimum graphics card size you will want (if you want decent looking games :Þ) is a 128MB card, [bold]BUT[/bold] and this is a big but as most people DON'T know this and seriously don't understand it, any card that is 128MB should also be [bold]128bit[/bold] as this is a crutial part a lot of people overlook and don't understand why their graphics card doesn't produce great results.
I had a GeForce 256MB card, but it was 64bit and so lots of games could not be pumped up to high quality and still run well. Then I bought my current card a GeForce 128MB 128bit card and it easily knocks the pants off the 256MB card.
The MB reffers to the amount of RAM on the board, and the bit, basicaly, refers to the processing power of the chip on the graphics card.

OK, so I know that is a lot of extra information and still doesn't answer your question asking what I would reccomend but untill I know what you are wanting to do and what your current spec is I can't really recommed much. Once I know I'll take a long gander over Aus. pc websites and see what I can dig up, and what should best suit you.

 

[EDIT] Update:

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Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
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Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2005-08-07
Time 11:37


Summary

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name (Old Computer)
User Name

Motherboard:
CPU Type Intel Pentium IIIE, 733 MHz (5.5 x 133)
Motherboard Name MSI MS-6309 (1 ISA, 5 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 AMR, 3 DIMM)
Motherboard Chipset VIA VT82C694X Apollo Pro133A
System Memory 192 MB (SDRAM)
BIOS Type AMI (07/25/00)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter S3 Trio64V2 (2 MB)
3D Accelerator Trident 3Dimage 9880 (Blade 3D)
Monitor Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB] (65216843009)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter VIA AC'97 Audio Controller [H]

Storage:
IDE Controller VIA Bus Master IDE Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive ST310211A (10 GB, 5400 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
Disk Drive Maxtor 31024H1 (10 GB, 5400 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
Optical Drive ATAPI CD-R/RW 40X12 (40x/12x/40x CD-RW)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

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C: (NTFS) 9530 MB (2447 MB free)
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Keyboard PC/AT Enhanced PS/2 Keyboard (101/102-Key)
Mouse Microsoft PS/2 Mouse

Network:
Network Adapter NETGEAR FA311 Fast Ethernet Adapter (192.168.1.101)

Peripherals:
Printer
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Monitor LTN6615: Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB]



The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

 

*wetshimself*

WOW that is a old setup, I haven't seen anything under 1.0ghz in atleast 3 years...and that was my AMD Duron 1.0ghz...which is still laying around my house, wating on some PC bits to arrive so that I can build it into a pc again and sell it.

your specs simplified;
CPU Clock 733.49 MHz
64 MB PC133 SDRAM
Trident 3Dimage 9880


Right, well I would sujest an AMD Athlon XP as you can pick one of those up for about half the price of a 64bit chip. (I would be running an Athlon XP still, but I fired a mobo and when I bought the new one wasn't paying attention and bought a 64bit one, so my chip didn't fit so I got a 64bit chip to go with it).

I am highly biased on chips though aditidly, because I don't like Pentium...I've used AMD since I can remember :Þ

Next thing, what do you plan on using your new pc for?

 

Right, well just considering your current pc unfourtunatly you are going to have to spend in the region of $1,000 for a pc that will happily run modern programs and games etc without taking ages to load.

 

Well the other pc will be just for programs like microsoft office, internet, and bittorrent, P2P, stuff like that, the newer one is for games

 

Alien 13 if your going amd 64 DO not get socket 754 get socket 939 for future upgrades. If on a budget go for the 3000 but i would go for the 3200 for the extra multi.

MOTHERBOARD-agp msi k8n neo2 platinum this is probably the best board for socket 939 in agp flavor.

now if you want pci express and dont want to use a agp graffix card get the DFI board for hard core ocing and if not also the asus board with pci express is a good board.

Look at the benchmarks floating on the net the amd 64 chip has more instuctions such as SSE3 (like intel) and is superior as of now to athlon xp and the p4.

 

AMD 64 ROUTE

well if your looking at getting an amd 64 3000, go for the venice core if your going to overclock, most winchester cores seem to top out between 2400 - 2600 mhz

with my venice i have had it upto 2750 (got limited by the memory speed,but did have my geil pc3200 running at 470 mhz stable with no v increase)using a combination of the bios and clockgen (which is availible from the cpuz site)
im using the vapochill mini silent cooling and still kept sub 38`c
under full load in prime 95, but clocked back to stock till i get a proper vapochill unit =o)

but if your not overclocking it it isnt as important.
one thing that might be worth checking before you spend out is that the mobo you get is dual core ready, as it may save you money in the longterm.

motherboard wise try looking at nforce 4 boards, great boards and not over expensive if you dont go for sli.

garphics card wise, i went for an xfx 6600 gt extreme gamers edition, and it runs as good as my mates 6800gt so im happy with it.

GOOD OLD 32 BIT ROUTE

but even for a gaming system you could easily get an old xp3000 400fsb job , they do exist, just werent on release to manufacturers that built pc's so less heard about, they over clock nicely and fit into the good old socket a with an nforce 2 mobo , xp3000-400fsb and a gf 6600 or 6600gt you might just sqeeze in under budget, throw in a bit of pc 3200, 3500, or 3700 you should have a comp suitable for gaming and a bit of tweaking, games wont be 64bit for a while yet going by a lot of forums im in.

the bottom line is, check out as many forums as possible, and also dont always trust a shops advice as they are sales based after all.

better to go over budget and have a sorted system, than going under and realising that your mobo/g card/memory isnt up to scratch.

amd's own forums has good advice on what to get and look for.

happy hunting


DJCSURF - you tried clocking using bios and clockgen, you can squeeze more out of her

 

Well he said he doesn't want to O/C so that means that it doesn't matter so much abot O/C ability, so can spend less.

 

Well, I don't think its a very good idea to buy an AMD Athlon Xp nowadays. IMO, they're not future friendly at all, and they run very hot. I have 2 120 MM fans, and 1 80 mm fan blowing right at the processor(not to mention a stock HeatSink and Fan), and the temp of my 2800+ never dips below 57*C, even in idle mode.
As for the future-friendlyness, the Athlon XP's are already pretty outdated. If you want to, you can save up some money(since you don't wanna OC) and buy a nice Proc(maybe Athlon64 3500+?)

 

skidme , that temps nasty, get an ThermalRight SI-97 with a nice 92mm quiet fan on there.

InvGIR i would love to see your settings now you have managed to unlock your 6200td, cos unless you have volt modded it it cant be as fast as a 6600gt, the hynix memory max's out at about 680mhz without the volt mod, but would still be interested to see your settings

glad you managed to unlock the 4 xtra pipelines btw

 

Mate, I really am not supprised by that, you are running STOCK cooling, that never cools much. That's why people go out and buy highclass CPU heatsink and fans.

Nothing is future friendly, because you don't know what is going to happen in the industry of computing, like about 1 - 1 and a half years ago 64bit chips were just a dream, now everyone can buy them.
The thing about 64 bit chips is that the idea is that they are future friendly, but because of the fact that when there are 64 programs they will probably need bigger CPUs etc, and so buying a 64 now does not mean that it will be good when everything is 64. Think about it, if the components are only just being made and the programs are in the works, then by the time the programs come out the chips will be high power 64 or 128bit.

 

It does about 660mhz safely, but it beats my mates 6600GT which he has O/C, this is on performance side of things, I have better graphics quality and higher FPS than he does...it really is an amazing card for the price I bought it for

 

yeh i agree theyre good cards yeh thats where mine got to when it bottlenecked on the memory, but you can do volt modding on it if you have a multi meter / steady hand for either soldering a volt mod or using the pencil trick to up the memory voltage a little. but i think best not to try unless you can afford a new card if you make a mistake.

ill try dig some links up for you on this if you like

 

Actually I probably should have been more specific. IMO socket 939 is future friendly---->As time goes on the socket 939 line will become cheaper and more afordable, although I do not see 64 bit computing as being the wave of the future(I'm gonna eat my words in a couple of months).

Oh and as for my cooling, I prolly won't get another HSF, just because I'm getting a new Mobo/Proc. I might get an aftermarket HSF for that one because I'm planning on overclocking to FX-55 standards.