Help a newbie to overclock

[bigweed]

Hi to everyone

I have built the PC below, and now it is all done and everything, I want to overclock it. However, I am not sure where to begin. Can anyone give me some guidance?? I have read many oc'ing guides, but it does not make much sense. Also, what settings does my memory need to be at? And are there any probs with the mobo when ocing, and any quirks??

Thanks
Bigweed

 

[GFreeman9]

What do you plan to overclock?

 

[bigweed]

CPU and memory, and anything else I should to gain some extra FPS in HL:CS

 

[kumquat]

The best way is to individually find out your max HTT, then your max CPU speed, then your max RAM speed.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=28&threadid=1497607&enterthread=y

This is a good article.

A couple of basics to start off if you've never done this before.

The speed the CPU actually runs at is a result of the CPU multiplier times the HTT speed. Default HTT on an Athlon 64 is 200MHz, and the default multiplier on a 3200+ is 10, giving 2000MHz.

The speed the RAM runs at is a result of the HTT speed times the RAM multiplier if your motherboard supports RAM multipliers. Default is 1, or 200MHz (since it's Double Data Rate, that's an effective 400MHz, hence the name DDR400). The multiplier can be listed as fractions (5/6), decimals (0.83), or effective RAM speeds (PC166, DDR333). The HTT times this multiplier (if they're listed in terms like PC166, divide that number by 200 to get the actual decimal multiplier) is the speed the RAM is running.


So, here's the procedure in a nutshell:
Turn down the CPU multiplier and the RAM speed and start increasing your HTT/FSB from 200 in increments of 10 until it fails to boot. Bam, max HTT speed.

Next turn down the HT multiplier (try not to let HT multiplier times HTT be over 1000) and RAM speed, make the CPU multiplier its stock setting, and start increasing HTT until the system is unstable. At this point you can consider upping the CPU voltage a bit and trying that speed again. More voltage = more heat, though, so keep an eye on temperatures whenever upping voltages. You have your max CPU speed.

Now turn down HT multiplier and CPU multiplier, set RAM to normal speed, and start increasing the HTT until the system is unstable (or doesn't pass memtest). You have your max RAM speed.

Now try to put all these together in the best possible way. For example, my board has a max HTT of about 255, my CPU has a max frequency of 2.5GHz at 1.45v (though it's a bit unstable there), and my RAM has a max frequency of 230MHz. So, I set the HTT to 240, the CPU multiplier to 10, the RAM speed to PC166 (giving an effective speed of 166/200*240 = 200MHz), and the HT multiplier to 4. My CPU is therefore 2.4GHz, my HT is 4x240 = 960MHz, and my RAM is right at DDR400 specs.

CPU is most important.

Have fun!

 

[contaminant]

The best way is to individually find out your max HTT, then your max CPU speed, then your max RAM speed.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=28&threadid=1497607&enterthread=y

This is a good article.

A couple of basics to start off if you've never done this before.

The speed the CPU actually runs at is a result of the CPU multiplier times the HTT speed. Default HTT on an Athlon 64 is 200MHz, and the default multiplier on a 3200+ is 10, giving 2000MHz.

The speed the RAM runs at is a result of the HTT speed times the RAM multiplier if your motherboard supports RAM multipliers. Default is 1, or 200MHz (since it's Double Data Rate, that's an effective 400MHz, hence the name DDR400). The multiplier can be listed as fractions (5/6), decimals (0.83), or effective RAM speeds (PC166, DDR333). The HTT times this multiplier (if they're listed in terms like PC166, divide that number by 200 to get the actual decimal multiplier) is the speed the RAM is running.


So, here's the procedure in a nutshell:
Turn down the CPU multiplier and the RAM speed and start increasing your HTT/FSB from 200 in increments of 10 until it fails to boot. Bam, max HTT speed.

Next turn down the HT multiplier (try not to let HT multiplier times HTT be over 1000) and RAM speed, make the CPU multiplier its stock setting, and start increasing HTT until the system is unstable. At this point you can consider upping the CPU voltage a bit and trying that speed again. More voltage = more heat, though, so keep an eye on temperatures whenever upping voltages. You have your max CPU speed.

Now turn down HT multiplier and CPU multiplier, set RAM to normal speed, and start increasing the HTT until the system is unstable (or doesn't pass memtest). You have your max RAM speed.

Now try to put all these together in the best possible way. For example, my board has a max HTT of about 255, my CPU has a max frequency of 2.5GHz at 1.45v (though it's a bit unstable there), and my RAM has a max frequency of 230MHz. So, I set the HTT to 240, the CPU multiplier to 10, the RAM speed to PC166 (giving an effective speed of 166/200*240 = 200MHz), and the HT multiplier to 4. My CPU is therefore 2.4GHz, my HT is 4x240 = 960MHz, and my RAM is right at DDR400 specs.

CPU is most important.

Have fun!

Probably one of the most succinct guides to OCing. It’s just the basics, a good place to start. You are going to want to read more though, and you’ll want to read articles that used your same hardware (e.g. your motherboard, CPU, and RAM).