1st time OC'er AMD 3500+ Needs Help

[h0mez]

Hey guys,

I am looking to getting a new system later this summer, and in the meanwhile I decided to buy a Tuniq Tower and since the C2D are so overclockable and I have never overclocked I was thinking I would give it a try on my old system first as some practice. Anyway heres current my system.

SOLTEK SL-K890Pro-939 Socket 939 VIA K8T890
2x CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) PC3200 (2gig total)
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ ClawHammer 2.2GHz Socket 939
1x Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB
2x HITACHI Deskstar 7K250 160GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150
ATI X700 Pro
DVD & DVD-RW

Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-400 ATX12V 400W Power Supply 115/230 V UL
Tuniq Tower 120
ZALMAN VF900 – CU 2 Ball VGA Cooler
Antec Sonata Case
Arctic Silver 5

So I have found a couple of posts on some other sites as how to overclock, and what software I should be using. But my question is with the current system should I even try? I think even a OC'ing a little would help me out alot, but my memory is pretty basic and I don't know if its good enough to even bother with. Any suggestions or links or anything as to get me starter would be a great help!!

Thanks

 

[Aelfgeft]

I can tell you from personal experience that Corsair ValueSelect memory usually can't go much past 210-215MHz from its base of 200. However, if your motherboard's BIOS settings have a memory divider, that will allow you to push the CPU without toasting your RAM. Make sure you enable any AGP/PCI lock as well, to avoid damaging your cards.

I currently have an A64 3000+ Venice OC'd from 1.8GHz to 2.26GHz, with a 1GB stick of Corsair ValueSelect DDR400 and a 1GB stick of Corsair XMS DDR400 running in dual channel (yay me!) and they are running at roughly 212MHz I think, with a 3:2 RAM divider if I recall. Sorry, been a while since I've messed with my settings.