Overclocking advice please...

[cusimar9]

I've just bought some stuff to build myself a new computer. I'm intending to overclock it straight away but this will be running 24/7 so it needs to be reliable. I should point out I use Vista, never play games on it and don't often do processor intensive stuff, though when I do it'd be nice if it was fast.

I've bought the following:

Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 Socket 775 (1.8GHz) 1MB L2 Cache OEM Processor
MSI P35 Neo2-FR iP35 Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard
Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB Hard Drive SATA II 7200rpm *32MB Cache* - OEM
2 x OCZ 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 CL 4-4-4-15 PLATINUM XTC with LIFETIME WARRANTY
Scythe Mine Rev-B Socket 478, 754, 940, 775, 939 & AM2 CPU Cooler
Sapphire HD 2400PRO 256MB DDR2 VGA DVI HDTV out PCI-E Graphics Card

I've based this on TH's article on overclocking the E2140, but I've gone for the E2160 because it was £1 more and it'll allow slightly lower FSB speeds.

The comments from buyers of the memory seem to suggest it'll overclock very well

Chose the CPU cooler based on this cooler roundup which conclude its cheap, very good and very quiet.

The stuff will take a few days to arrive so I'm trying to get my head around how I need to configure the BIOS to get this running properly.

Does this all make sense?

Intel E2160 1.8 Ghz
200 Mhz FSB and 9x multiplier 200 x 9 = 1.8 Ghz

Raise FSB to 333 Mhz - 333 x 9 = 2997 Mhz
With the memory divider set to 1:1.25, memory will be running at DDR2-832

Would you suggest it could run any faster and if so what should I try?

Any advice would be great, cheers

 

[Evilonigiri]

I'd say you can do 350MHz FSB without any problem. You may need to tweak the voltage for the cpu and memory though.

 

[cusimar9]

Assuming the cooler could keep the temperatures reasonable, would it be a bad idea to overclock it to 3.4Ghz or thereabouts? Or would the dangers outweigh the (only slight) performance increase?

 

[Evilonigiri]

Reasonable as in temps lower than 65C? Well, if you can hit 3.4GHz in under 1.5V, you can try it out. Do keep in mind that bringing the voltage to extreme heights, 1.5V being the limit, your cpu life will shorten.

I say it's really not worth going 3.4GHz if it takes too much voltage.

 

[cusimar9]

Actually this is quite interesting, going from 3 to 3.5 Ghz (with memory speeds of DDR2-900 and DDR2-876 respectively) often the performance goes DOWN rather than up, because the memory speed is reduced slightly.

Might be better off clocking the memory to maximum, and the CPU just as high as necessary to allow it.

 

[Mugz]

The thing about adjusting the voltages is that you need to pay very close and detailed attention to the cooling on that sucker.

 

[Thanatos421]

Yes, good rule of thumb for overclocking.

Raising FSB frequency increases CPU temperatures linearly, while raising voltages increases temperatures exponentially.

It is entirely possible that you can get 3.4 on that chip, but I'm not sure that cooler can handle it. You can try but make sure you calibrate your thermal monitoring before you start. 3.4 will push your thermal limits on that chip, and you want to make sure you are reading the temperatures accurately.

 

[cusimar9]

"Calibrate my thermal monitoring?"

 

[Thanatos421]

Refer to the following post:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/221745-29-core-quad-temperature-guide

Very nice guide for properly calibrating temperatures. It is a fair amount to wrap your head around, but well worth it.

 

[cusimar9]

Thanks I think I'll just stick to 3Ghz lol