Hi! I'm new here :) Need some help!

M

M4d-K10wN

[H]ard|Gawd
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Mar 7, 2004
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:eek: I was referred to these forums from bnet forums (those sux), anyway, i need some help because i want to oc a system i'm about to buy (alredy have some of it, the system that is!)

First off, i'm going for an Athlon-64 3200+, because i can't afford anything better. There's one question that rises from that already.

(1) How do i unlock it??? I know that to unlock an AnXP you have to find bridge L12, go to the right side (L5) Step two pins away ( the two pins you're after->: : <-- pins ) and scratch away the lamination, and then connect the two pins with conductive paint. Does that still work for A64's?? Or do you have to do something different??

Also, my goal is 2.5 Ghz on 3200. Is that possible? I have a good fan/heatsink, Thermaltake Venus-12 for K8. (the one with 3-bladed fan)

What is a safe operating temeperature for an A64? What should i set the auto power off to???

Also, the mb i want to use for it is Gigabyte K8N Pro, nForce3, has integrated sound. And supports DDR-400+.

(2) Is that a good mb??
(3) I'm not sure what they mean by DDR-400+. Does that mean that it supports DDR-400, or higher, or does that mean that it supports up to "400+", which is probably just "400". Confused. :confused:

What ram is best for overclocking??? I'm planning on getting Corsair CMX512-3200LLPRO 512MB PC3200 XMS PRO. Only 512 of it, and more later on.

(4) How do you overclock ram??? Does the frequency your ram operates at derive from your FSB clock too? I want to underclock the multiplier, and overclock the FSB to a high frequency, making not only my whole system faster, but also supposed to help keeping the cpu busy (in theory).

(5) Do i have to use a ram divider?? I'm not familiar at all with those... :( Do i have to delay my ram past the usual 2 cycles?? That would sux... :mad: Hmm i want to oc the ram to about DDR-466, mabe 500. Don't know how to do it though.

(6) What if i get Corsair TWINX512-3700 2x256MB PC3700 (basicly, two 256 sticks, but not that i care). It's faster than 3200, but do you think the motherboard will take it?? Also, is it any better if i plan to overclock it?? :eek:

Also, i (alredy have) an MSI-made GeForce FX 5900 (128 meg). How do i overclock it (if possible). Also, the fan on it looks shabby, should i get better cooling for it???

(7) Thermaltake GIANT II VGA Cooler ( http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/chipset/a1655.htm ) looks promising.

(8) How do i overclock the cpu on my video card?? I have no idea.

Also, i want to buy an extra 120-mm case fan , make a big hole on top of the case, and screw it on there.

(9) Do you think that's the best spot for it?? Is just keeping my case open on the sides a better idea?? How many fan power slots do i get on my motherboard?? I have no idea.

Thnx for reading my long post, please answer any questions you feel you have the best solution for, i really need some answers :(
 
shit load question, lol :eek: :eek:

For memory ..get ANYTHING with BH-5 chips. From your post, i'd guess u don't know what that means :D . BH-5 is a revision of memory chip made by --> Winbond. Most all the memory sellers (Corsair, Kingston, etc) use Winbond for their performance memories.

BH-5 is discontinued but highly sought after...so it's pricey and RARE now. Three guaranteed sources are:

ALL Mushkin Level II PC3200/PC3500
ALL Corsair XMS PC3500C2/C2PT
Kingston HyperX PC3200 (model # MUST BE KHX3200K2/256/512/1GB)

Your other Q's about RAM OC, dividers, speed etc are already answered here.
 
(1)You can't (at least, that i know of), only the FX-51 chip is unlocked by AMD, and none of the rest (XP or 64) can be unlocked (apart from XP mobile) - i am not sure about overclocking, as they are still rather new chips, but just try upping the FSB as high as you can and still be stable, that is all you can do

(2)not too sure, but it should be fine, at least it is from a good company - any mobo from a good company should be fine (that i know of) as long as it is socket 754, NOT 940 (940 is for the FX-51 proc)

(3) it just means it supports ram speeds higher than 400fsb DDR, for instance, PC3500 and higher (only means they are supported, not that the ram will be able to opperate at those higher speeds, you might be limited to a lower FSB, preventing you from maxing out your ram, but that isn't a big deal) Corsair XMS ram is good, and i recommend CAS2 PC3500 ram

(4)Ram speeds are the FSB speed, and that is determined by the chipset in the bios, for example, a 200FSB=400fsb DDR, and a 220fsb=440fsb DDR - get it? however, the lower/tighter the memory timings the better (you can google for info on this)

(5)DO NOT USE A DIVIDER - only do that on P4 systems if the ram is holding back your OC, always keep the CPU:RAM ratio at 1:1 (or 100% in some bioses), and you will only be able to get your ram speed as fast as your chipset speed (DDR500 is way out of reach, since that would be a 250fsb - which you currently aren't going to get without some serious cooling, IE phase change)

(6) just get the one stick of 512mb, since the athlon64 doesn't have dualchannel mem support (yet, i think that is going to be in socket 939 when it comes out), but like i said above, i would recommend PC3500 CAS2 ram at least

(7)I don't think the thermaltake is that good, either just use the stock cooling, or get the Zalman ZM80C-HP (here: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...118-211&catalog=129&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=0 )

(8) to overclock the vid card for nvidia cards, i believe you get the coolbits registry hack (again, google for it) or get powerstrip (google once again) - other should be able to help you with this more in the Video Cards section - and the "vid card CPU" is actually called the GPU or VPU (Graphics Processing Unit or Video Processing Unit, take your pick)

(9) Not sure, depends on your case, generally 2 fans front, 1 or 2 fans back, 1 or 2 fans side (above CPU and above Vid Card), and then a blowhole on top (what you could use that 120mm fan for, have it blowing out of the case on top, or just be like me, and have a vent up there and let the heat rises law or whatever do the work instead of a fan, and then use the fan somewhere else)

also, i would not recommend using the mobo fan headers to power your case fans, depending on the fans power draw, this could actually short out the mobo - instead, get a 3pin-4pin fan adapter (so it runs of a molex connector), and if you really want to monitor fan rpms, you can get said adapter with a special cable that then plugs into your mobo, so the fan runs straight off the PSU while being able to monitor fan rpms from the mobo

i really hope this clears some stuff up (btw, next time for the title, post something like "Athlon64 overclocking help", and then ask your other questions in the right sections, aka, vid card help in the vid card section, and case airflow help in the coolcases secition and/or here)
 
Thnx for the help :)


Can't find any of that ram you recommended on pricewatch, or my local chinese store that sells smuggled hardware.

HOLY !#$!*^ i just looked on pricewatch and saw this:

$297 - PC4400 DDR 1GB :eek:

probably high latency though.

Found the corsair.

Corsair CMX512-3500C2PT 512MB PC3500 DDR 434MHz $163.00

is that the one??
 
Originally posted by M4d-K10wN
Anything else i should know?
Click to expand...

probably, but i don't really care right now - btw, it is easiest if you have someone really good at computers that you know personally, that you can go to for help when you start screwing up (I sorta had my cuz)

also, just read around, you know, go to the news articles everyday at www.hardocp.com and such, just start picking stuff up
 
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