overclock questions

[v-8power]

I have a home built comp.

M7VIGPRO board
AMD athlon XP 1800+ CPU
not much memory as of yet. I have 1GB stick of pc2700 on order.

My question is how would i go about oc'ing it? I just want to go a little just to try it out. I have plans for a new puter eventually, but it's not in the budget right now.LOL

I basicly don't do much with it beside internet and a couple of differnt programs. Thanks, Brian

Edit: running XP pro if it makes much difference

[Wicked_Sludge]

enter your bios (usually by pressing the delete or F2 key while the bios screen is displayed during startup). poke around in there until you find the option of changing system clocks.

i wouldnt get into overclocking unless you have a very well ventilated case with at least one case fan.

[v-8power]

Ok thanks. I'll poke around in there. Would i look to change voltage settings or what?

Thanks. Brian

[Wicked_Sludge]

since you arent looking at much of an overclock, id leave voltages alone for the time being.

you might get ahold of mjones or hahnsBII. they are two of our resident computer junkies.

[v-8power]

Ok thanks.

[superdave1984]

Also you want to overclock in small increments. Eventually it WILL crash so you want to find the highest speed at which it is stable. Clock it a little, run it a day or so using the programs and games you normally run. Then go higher by a little and repeat.

[v-8power]

I looked in the BIOS and i don't think i can get much out of it. If i was looking in the right spot it does'nt look like i can make adjustments to the clock speeds.

Am i looking for the DRAM speeds? Latency(sp?)

Thanks, Brian

[fleck]

Well, you can't change the multiplier on that processor, so you need to increase the Front Side Bus speed, on your processor it set at like 166 probably, you might need better RAM than PC2700, it takes PC3200 to make a FSB of 200.

[Cyberbeer]

The key is to get the highest stable clockspeed at the lowest voltage. You can either change your bus speed, I think that CPU is 266 (133x2 due to DDR bus), raise it up a bit at a time, or you can try to change your multiplier..but I believe its locked on that chip and board.

You will get better results out of raising the FSB as opposed to changing the multiplier as FSB makes everything run fast, ram, cpu, communication between the board, ram and CPU. Raising multi will only make the cpu faster. Check out overclockersclub.com for lots of info on overclocking. In addition I would download a temp monitoring program and Prime 95 to check if its stable.

Make sure the temps are stable and run Prime95 when you goto bed, check to make sure it ran through the night when you get up. If it did you are good to go. I CAN NOT stress this enough make sure your temps are stable before you run PRIME95. It tests the system at full load and will heat the computer to its max.

[DannyG]

If you don't feel comfortable, READ READ READ. Don't just trial and error it, try to find the specs on the board, or testimonials from others that have overclocked a similar setup as yours.

On a side note, make sure to write down the settings you used at each time, in the event of a crash and BIOS reset you will know where you were at.

The best thing you could have done though you already did, and that was ask for advice and guidance.

Hope all goes well, and above all... HAVE FUN.

[v-8power]

I appreciate the advice guys. I think i'll actually wait until i have the money for a new MB and CPU before i try this. Again thanks for the imput. Brian

[mjonesjr]

If you have a "retail" CPU, then you can't overclock it. First off, make sure you don't have a retail version of your CPU.

If you don't have a retail CPU, make sure your motherboard allows overclocking. Again, not all motherboards will support overclocking.

I agree you need to overclock the CPU & RAM for best performance.

You do need to make sure you have proper intake and exhaust fans on your case before overclocking. Overclocking creates a lot more heat than the standard settings. You should have at a bare minimum 1 exhaust fan (probably 120mm with a CFM of around 65+), 2 intake fans with the same specs as the exhaust fan, and a GOOD CPU heat sink and fan. Not all CPU heat sinks can handle the heat of an overclocked CPU. Make sure yours can.

[v-8power]

I have a couple of fans but i'll need more. Thanks, Brian

[mjonesjr]

I am running 5 fans in my case right now and still do think it is enough. I have 1 120mm x 95 CFM exhaust fan, 1 120mm x 95 CFM intake fan w/ a partially blocked air flow, 1 80mm x 70 CFM intake fan, 1 80mm x 55 CFM intake fan, and 1 120mm x 65 CFM CPU heat sink fan.

I also need a better case too. The better case is coming soon, very soon.

[DeanMoriarty]

If you can find a cheap mobile Athlon XP on fleabay or something, they're awesome for overclocking on an old Socket A. The multiplier is unlocked, and they require less voltage to operate. Not sure how hard it would be to find one though.

[mjonesjr]

Finding a XP wouldn't be hard, it is finding a good motherboard to run one on would be hard.

[DeanMoriarty]

Yeah true... guess you couldn't do much with it on that board.

[mjonesjr]

Yea the boards that can handle the XP wouldn't have any PCI-E slots on it.

[DeanMoriarty]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Abit-NF7-S-Version-1-2-Socket-A-462-agp-AMD-with-box_W0QQitemZ300292991220QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_Def aultDomain_0?hash=item300292991220&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A13 18|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

This one will run 400mhz fsb or more and supports multiplier overclocking... for only $11

[DeanMoriarty]

Yeah... You'd be stuck with AGP. I really don't think the poster has PCI-E on the current board though.

[fleck]

I appreciate the advice guys. I think i'll actually wait until i have the money for a new MB and CPU before i try this. Again thanks for the imput. Brian

That's your best bet. You should only need a motherboard, CPU, RAM and most likely a newer power supply to get you started. Hard drives are bone cheap these days too, 1TB can be had for $100.

[Mark_88]

If you want to muck about in the bios settings you can always use the "reload default" option if you destablize the system...as long as you don't fry something...but it depends on your Mobo whether it changes the clock/bus speed...some do some don't..writing everything down or taking a screen shot of the current settings is an excellent idea...some you can print off right from the bios by using the Print Screen key...

I like the last option you chose though...buy a better system...maybe keep the old one around to play with since you won't need to worry about leaving yourself without computer...

[Jaymz9350]

If you want to muck about in the bios settings you can always use the "reload default" option if you destablize the system...as long as you don't fry something...but it depends on your Mobo whether it changes the clock/bus speed...some do some don't..writing everything down or taking a screen shot of the current settings is an excellent idea...some you can print off right from the bios by using the Print Screen key...

I like the last option you chose though...buy a better system...maybe keep the old one around to play with since you won't need to worry about leaving yourself without computer...

Yeah about the only option is a new system. Even if that board will allow upping the FSB it can screw up the whole system easily. That chipset doesn't lock the pci/agp frequencies when upping the fsb and can corrupt your hard drive and mess with any add on cards in the pc.

On a side note though overclocking can get pretty addictive. I started just getting a little more out of my first self built and now I try to squeeze every last bit out of my systems.

[mjonesjr]

Just be careful.

I crashed my system last night and cooked my board. Now I am waiting on a replacement board to come in from XFX.

[Mark_88]

Ouch!

The only system I had oc'd was an old PII 350 that I think I squeezed up to 500 or so...that was my previous system...this one I just replaced the chip and it works just fine...I prefer boards that take various cpu's where you can upgrade as needs require...haven't looked at Mobos for a while, but that's how I would approach a new system...if they still offer those options...

On a side note...there was an old server sitting in the computer lab at school...the instructor said it was donated by one of the staff...it's an old IBM system (RISC 6000 or something like that I think) and he gave it to one of the students free...

That system was probably worth $100,000-$250,000 when it was cutting edge...it's probably still a kick-a$$ machine and it works...but it's huge...took two of us to lift it into his trunk...takes four processors...has like four HDD bays, and I think he said had 2 gigs of RAM (IBM proprietary of course)...