Need help with first OC

[Diezel]

I have been doing quite a bit of reading on OC'ing lately. I have pushed my AMD systems FSB up a bit and increased the voltages, but have never really been involved with memory timeings. I am putting together my first P4 machine and want to make sure I'm going in the right direction for the OC.

Here is what I have:
P4 2.4C - demands me to OC it =)
Cooler Master Aero 4 CPU Cooler w/ artic silver paste
Asus P4C800 E-Deluxe
OCZ Performance Series Dual Channel Kit
1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3500
Cas Latency: 2.5-3-3-7
Support Voltage: 2.6V
Bandwidth: 3.5GB/s

I hope to push this past 3.0 with air cooling and default voltages if possible.

Here is an example of another guy with same setup but different brand RAM is using ex. 277 FSB @5:4 divider 3.33 Ghz at 1.575v . . . Is this assuming the default timing for the RAM?

I know even the same setup can run differently, although I am using that as a reference only. I'm a bit confused on the RAM timings I will need and what are safe voltages to use on this hardware.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

 

[mtbaird]

umm no telling if its different latencies i dont think

you should shoot for a higher goal then 3.0 with stock voltages IMO

im running 2.4 @ 3.4 with stock voltages.

you should shoot for that if your cooling is adequate.

i have the same chip as you so IM me on mtbaird5687 on AIM if you wanna ask any questions

 

[Diezel]

What RAM/Timings are you using with your setup?

Default voltage for the P4 2.4c is?
I have always assumed that the Mobo automatiically assigns the "default voltage" for your hardware. Am I right?

My OCZ says - Support Voltage: 2.6V. I asume this means 2.6V is the default/recomended voltage for this RAM?

I assume the Aero 4 CPU Cooler w/ artic silver paste will be great for OC'ing. The reviews I read for it said it gave great temps for overclocking.

I almost got the ZALMAN CNPS7000A-AlCu Aluminum + Copper CPU Cooler, but it slightly exceeded the weight recommendations. I LAN quite a lot so I opted for the Aero 4.

 

[mtbaird]

im using 2-6-3-3 timings with my ram, those are the stock settings. but thats because im running my ram at 190mhz, due to the fsb:ram ratio of 3:2

if i were to OC my ram id drop them to 2.5-7-4-4 or looser than that if needed


default voltage for 2.4C processors is 1.52V and this is standard throughout all chips no matter what your hardware, although some boards like Asus, tend to overvolt slightly.

always stay below 1.7 on a P4 and only raise voltage slightly if you are losing stability at a certain overclock.

2.6 is the default voltage for ram. check the OCZ website or newegg and see if there is a list of safe voltages to use for you ram.




hope that helped

 

[Diezel]

Thank you for the help. To my suprise NewEgg/Fedex has already gotten my gear to Milwaukee and I just ordered Friday morning. I'll post the results. Thanks again.

 

[Diezel]

One more question. . .

5:4 ratio is a less relaxed timing than 3:2 correct?

So optimal is 1:1, then 5:4, then 3:2?

My goal is to hit a stable 3.4. I am going to manually enter in my default RAM timeing settings, and set the ratio to (5:4 or 3:2) at 250mhz FSB. Then slowly go up from there with the FSB to try to hit 275+mhz. Hopefully not having to raise the voltages. Oh yes, and locking the AGP/PCI bus to 66/33mhz.

Whew. . . Does that sound about right? In my old Athlon XP's I would just bump the FSB and VCORE up a tiny bit and call it a day! Of course I wasn't OC'ing by 1000mhz either =)

 

[mtbaird]

Originally posted by Diezel
One more question. . .

5:4 ratio is a less relaxed timing than 3:2 correct?

So optimal is 1:1, then 5:4, then 3:2?

My goal is to hit a stable 3.4. I am going to manually enter in my default RAM timeing settings, and set the ratio to (5:4 or 3:2) at 250mhz FSB. Then slowly go up from there with the FSB to try to hit 275+mhz. Hopefully not having to raise the voltages. Oh yes, and locking the AGP/PCI bus to 66/33mhz.

Whew. . . Does that sound about right? In my old Athlon XP's I would just bump the FSB and VCORE up a tiny bit and call it a day! Of course I wasn't OC'ing by 1000mhz either =)

well its not really timings really when talking about Ratios

those just let you run your ram at a slower speed compared to your FSB. to keep your ram at default speeds:

1:1 fsb = 200mhz
5:4 fsb = 250mhz
3:2 fsb = 300mhz

the timings should stay stock unless you are overclocking the ram also, say running your fsb at 285 with the 5:4 ratio gives your ram 230mhz x2 instead of 200mhz x2. this wont always work so you drop the ratio to 3:2 and run the ram at 190mhz x2 where its not overclocked and wont give you errors.

but ya 1:1 is optimal, drop to 5:4 when ram gets OCed to much, drop to 3:2 if ram gets OCed to much on 5:4 ratio.