what can i expect?

X

xXaNaXx

Gawd
Joined
May 15, 2003
Messages
954
i just ordered some new parts to upgrade my aging Opteron 165 system (listed in sig), and i want to know what i can realistically expect as far as overclocking is concerned.

parts list:

DFI LP DK X48-T2RSB PLUS
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Kingston HyperX 4GB DDR2 1066
Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme

up until this point, all my self-built systems have been AMD rigs, because at the time, they've been the better performers....but it's been 2 years now since i built this rig, and it's definitely time for an upgrade, but don't really have much experience in Intel overclocking.

is it possible that i will be able to hit 3.8ghz - 4.2ghz with this setup, or is it wishful thinking?

aside from the parts listed above, i will be re-using the rest of the parts in my sig....but at some point, i will probably be upgrading the video card to a 1gb radeon 4870
 
You main issue will the the complexity of the DFI bios settings and the difficulty avoiding messing with all the stuff in it. Keep it simple, give the cpu and MCH some extra voltage, set your ram voltage and timings to manuf specs and gently start raising the FSB. Should get 3.8 easy. More depends a lot on the cpu itself as you likely know. Some are just not good OCers. But really my point is, download the manual while you are waiting for the stuff to show up and read it, then reread the bios section 5 times and google till your fingers bleed any settings you dont understand until even if you still dont understand them, you know if they will affect the OC and if you should mess with them. Have fun.
 
well, so far, i've been able to boot into windows (xp 64-bit) @ 4.5Ghz (500x9), but once i started playing WoW, it showed its instability. but then again, that's without really tweaking it too much, i can possibly improve stability a bit by messing with the RAM timings & whatnot.

but for the moment, i've backed it down to 4.25Ghz (500x8.5), and although i haven't fully stress tested it yet to check for total stability, it hasn't crashed on me in WoW yet.

and i still need to tweak the RAM timins & such also.

so for the moment, my settings are:

4.25Ghz (500x8.5) @ 1.36v
FSB:RAM = 1:1
Timings: 5-5-5-18-2T

i lapped both my Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme & the CPU heatspreader to a mirror finish and applied Antec Formula 5 thermal compound to the CPU, NB, & SB

all this with a mild overclock to the 8800GT (512MB) has improved my framerates in WoW by a LOT. i haven't dropped below 20fps in Dalaran yet since these settings, and average 30 - 35 fps. on my old system, i would dip into the low teens, and occasionally single digits, even with the same video card. this is all @ 1920x1200 res w/8x AA enabled, and all settings to max except ground clutter (don't want/like it), shadows, and weather intensity, all of which are at lowest settings.

mild O/C:
Core: 675 (from 660)
Mem: 1050 (from 950)
Shader: 1750 (from 1650)

needless to say, i'm a VERY happy camper.... :D :D
 
not bad.. if you dropped your AA to 4x you would probably sit around 50fps.. 512mb isnt enough vram to do 8xAA in WoW.. but if you can stand 30fps.. then no use changing it..

just shows you how much the cpu can bottle neck a system though eh.. now your gpu limited instead of cpu limited :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top