OCing AM2 Orleans 3500+

kniewiar

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Jun 16, 2006
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Hi everybody!
I am building a rig with the following components:

Proc: Athlon 3500+ (AM2 Orleans)
RAM: 2x1GB DDR2 PDP Patriot PC8000 ELK
Mobo: Asus M2N-E
GPU: Ati Radeon X1900XTX
PSU: Hiper 580W

I would like to OC my proc as much as possible on air cooling (thats why I bought Partiot mem and Asus mobo). Unfortunately, this is my first time OCing my system, so I need your help:

1) Is there a good tutorial on OCing AM2 procs?
2) How far can I push it?
3) What impact does OCing have on the proc's lifespan?
 

kniewiar

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Jun 16, 2006
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1) Yes, there is a good tutorial for overclocking A64 Processors, just go here:
http://wiki.extremeoverclocking.com/wiki/Athlon_64_Overclocking_Guide
This guide is about socket 939 processors and DDR1. I need to OC an AM2 socket 3500+ with DDR2 mem. Is there no big difference in OCing?
 

Pompeii

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There isn't much of a difference in oc'ing the processor. The main factor you have to take into account is the DDR2 ram, it runs at much higher latencies than DDR.

Still, the process is basically the same. Lock your pci and pci-express buses, increase the HTT frequency of the chip 1 mhz at a time and reboot. If you start having trouble, do one of three things. 1)Lower the HTT multiplier, 2)Increase the latency of the ram, or 3)Increasing the voltage.

The most dangerous part of overclocking is increasing the voltage, that is where you could fry your chip. After you overclock to a level that you are happy with, run Prime95 on it for 24 or so hours. If any errors appear, it means the chip is not stable, so lower the speed and run Prime95 again.

Skim through the guide, like I said, the concept of overclocking remains the same even with DDR2. I do not however, know the safe voltage range for the Orleans chip, so I can't help you there.
 

1337n00blar

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Jun 13, 2006
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I just ordered pretty much an identical rig except with some Corsair memory and the SLI version of the mobo. I also ordered a Zalman CNPS9500. How high it will go depends on how high the mobo will let you raise the FSB and how well you can manage the heat - I'm hoping to be able to get it up to 333 (with an increase in voltage), although that's probably just wishful thinking. 333 because that gives you 3000 with a 9x multipler and 1000 HTT with a 3x. This is the only guide I found for OCing the 3500, and while not great it's the only one I found. Please PM me/post the results of your OCing adventure

http://www.virtual-hideout.net/articles/AMD_AM2_3500+_Overclocking/index.shtml
 

kniewiar

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Thanks for that link! It should really help me out :D
As soon as I have all the parts for my rig I will test it and see how far can I get. I am still waiting for the PSU :?
 

kniewiar

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I am having some problems with my Asus M2N-E mobo - I can't set the FSB:DRAM divider - there is simply no such option. It seems to be set to CPU/6 frequency. Do u happen to know this problem?

My current OCing results are:
HTT Multi: x4
FSB: 235 MHz

CPU Multi: x11
CPU voltage: Auto (1.40V@load)
CPU core speed: 2200 MHz -> 2585 MHz
CPU temps: 40C idle, 50C load (currently fu**ing 32C in my appartement)

RAM: 862 MHz 4-4-4-12
RAM voltage: 1,95V (Board doesn't support higher...)

According to the mobo specification setting higher RAM voltages is supported, but currently it doesn't seem to. My BIOS is the newest available 0203.