n00b needs help with overclock - asus p5k-e

[wasupdog]

hi, like the title says this is my first time overclocking. my system is an asus p5k-e, crucial ballistix and an e6850 chip.

is it better to run the ram during the first overclock at 5-5-5-15 or the stock timings, which are 4-4-4-12 for my ballistix? i've read guides that say run it at stock and a different one that said run it at 5-5-5-15 and then loosen it after the system is stable.

i set the pci-e frequency at 100...why don't i have the option in the bios to set the pci clock synchonization mode to 33.33? i don't see it anywhere...kinda afraid i'm gonna burn something up with the stock auto settings.

 

[HarkovAdm]

well as long as you don't run the ram faster than it's stock speed (if you have ddr2-800 that's fsb 400) you shouldn't need to loosen the timings. If you go higher than 400fsb you might need to. But if you have a problem there's no harm in testing looser settings. It's all about guess and check really.

For instance if I loosen the timings of my ram I experience instability when the cpu is overclocked, but if I lower them to stock 4-4-3-5 timings I have absolutely no problems. Why that is I have no idea

 

[wasupdog]

yea the ram is pc6400. so it doesn't really matter then if i run it at 5-5-5-15 or 4-4-4-12? the guide i was reading said it would be easier to diagnose problems with the overclock if i ran it at 5-5-5-15 cus the ram wouldn't be the problem, if one came up.

 

[HarkovAdm]

well I see no harm in loosening the timings, that's what I'd do to be on the safe side, but on the other hand if I couldn't get to 400fsb with 4-4-4-12 timings then I'd be pissed at my ram

It's best to find the limits of each component one at a time, that's all the guide is saying.