OC'ing my system, what do i need.

[Guest]

well.. im going to OC my system, a duron 800, asus A7V-E mb, 256 mb pc 133 ram(Apacer), and a gainward gf2mx 64mb.

what kinda software do i need before i start?? i already have motherboard-monitor..

and.. if you know of any good how-to's please tell me.. along with any tips you might have.

 

[lhgpoobaa]

not tooo familiar with the a7v-e
is that still limited to the 100mhz system bus running asycronously with pc133 ram?

things to have if you want a nice overclock.
1. mobo that supports small 1mhz fsb changes
2. decent quality ram
3. quality heatsink (she's gonna get hot)
4. a good PSU!
5. some skill with unlocking multipliers
6. luck.

helps alot if you can do #5 to get an unlocked processor.

i reccomend starting by changing the multiplier & core voltage. (small steps only) this way you can find the maximum limit of your system)
then reset your system back to default and start increasing the fsb by 5mhz untill it becomes unstable.
if it becoes minory unstable, try increasing the core voltage.
if you do this slowly and methodically you should now know what your max speed is, and also what FSB speeds your able to use.
note: an elevated FSB is more useful than pure Mhz.
set your system so you have a good fsb/mhz combo then do a extended burn in test.

i used seti@home as a good burn in too.
100% processor utilisation and ram.

if you want more details, ask. my fingers are tierd


Quote from the Hamster: "Why is it that Morons are just smart enough to understand how to breed?"

 

[Guest]

"5. some skill with unlocking multipliers
...
helps alot if you can do #5 to get an unlocked processor."

Are you reffering to the procedure to connect the L1 bridges on the duron cpu?

another thing..
whats the difference between cpu overclocking and motherboard overclocking? is there any difference?

 

[lhgpoobaa]

yep. an unlocked processor is good. apparently all (most) of the 1.4G are unlocked

and yes. im refering to the L1 bridges

cpu overclocking is incresing the multiplier for a faster top Mhz,
motherboard overclocking is basically increasing the FSB (system bus speed).

increasing the multiplier usually gives a greater net mhz increase, but increasing the fsb does much for all round performance. and gives you a better warm fuzzy glow

changing the multiplier is inherently easier. all you have to have is unlocked bridges, a decent heatsink & PSU, and maybe a voltage increase.

increasing the fsb is more touchy as you may be pushing a number of things beyond specification i.e.
the ram mhz, north/southbridge speed, PCI & AGP speeds.
any one of those could cause instability.

for example, my 1200C can run quite happily at either 10x133 (1333) or 9x150 (1350), but the latter gives me a much greater overall speed (more like a 1.4G). only problem ive found is that for some reason i cant run the graphics card benchmarks 3dmark & winbench at 150FSB.
yet i can run 3d games for ages. *shrugs* strange but of little worry.
i can run at up to 154, but beyond that i think my northbridge overheats, or my hard drives dont like it.



Quote from the Hamster: "Why is it that Morons are just smart enough to understand how to breed?"

 

[Unolocogringo]

One thing to add to the above remarks.Memory timing is critical for performance.
ON my setup I can run aP3 550e@158fsb with CAS2 memory timings for 869mhz and 3279 3dm2k1 score.I can also run the 550e@166fsb with CAS3 memory timings for 914mhz and 3102 3dm2k1 score.
This is the limit of my existing system. Anything above this I get harddrive errors or memory errors or just no boot at all.
WARNING!!!!!! Overclocking can be Addictive.

I aint signing nothing!!!

 

[Crashman]

I can push a PIII stably over 1.2GHz at over 2.4v core!

Video killed my Radio Card!