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Upgrading my computer to overclock; what do I need and how do I do it?

Forum Overclocking : General Discussions - Upgrading my computer to overclock; what do I need and how do I do it?

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coolgamer512   09-20-2008 at 09:05:38 PM

Around Christmas time, I'm want to upgrade my computer to do some serious overclocking. But here's my current computer...

HP Pavilion Case
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+, Stock clocks and cooling
3 GB of DDR2 RAM (1 GB Each, 2 modules 667 MHz, the third defaults 800 MHz (But of course downclocks to 667 MHz)
KFA2 GeForce 9600GT OC with Dual Slot cooler
2 Disc Drives (one DVD-RW, the other DVD-ROM)
Seagate Barracuda 500 GB 7200 RPM
ASUS M2N68-LA nForce 4 (HP Narra2)

As you can see that's going to need some work.

I already got my case picked out.

Good airflow is needed for overclocking, so the Antec 900 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129021) is my pick. I'm also adding Antec TriCool Blue LED in those 120mm fan slots.

But my biggest trouble is deciding which motherboard to use.

I want an nForce 7, but I don't know what nForce 7 I want. I don't need a 780a, just a 750a will do. But most Important is that I can put a VERY BIG CPU cooler without blocking RAM slots. And most importantly, I need it to overclock like a champion (this part is much more important than the space for a giant cooler). So try to help me decide on a motherboard (as long as it's on Newegg!)

But I sorta know the CPU cooler.

This one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233003), or this one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835887011).

And then this thermal grease (url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007[/url])

And I almost forgot memory heatsinks for the 667 MHz that don't already have heatsinks (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835106098)



So this is a good upgrade, isn't it?
And tell me which nForce 7 I should get!

And I also need to know how to apply the thermal grease and do the CPU and RAM overclocking.

Thanks all

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gators1223   09-20-2008 at 09:12:11 PM
- 0 +

i know that if you want to do big over clocks then you should get better ram ddr2 800 or 1066

Reply to gators1223
megamanx00   09-20-2008 at 09:25:13 PM
- 0 +

Go with the XIGMATEK cooler. You really should have an even number or RAM modules so that they can run in dual channel configuration. For overclocking you should look at these modules from Mushkin such as these two.

http://www.mushkin.com/doc/product [...] asp?id=661

http://www.mushkin.com/doc/product [...] asp?id=647

The Redline series has lower timings. As far as motherboards go it depends on what features you want but definetly get something from MSI, GIGABYTE, or ASUS. I find that MSI boards have alot of BIOS options but don't always overclock as well as ASUS boards. ASRock isn't too bad if your on a budget. You should check out some roundup reviews for different 750a boards to compare their features and overclocking potential.

------------------------------ Playing X-Men Origins: Wolverine Athlon 64 X2 5000+ @3.24 Brisbane | GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-DS4 | 4GB Mushkin DDR2 1066 | Plextor 760A| 2x 3850 512M CF| WD 1TB Black| Fortron Blue Storm II 500W | APEVIA X-Dreamer Black | Win XP Pro & Vista Buisness 32bit
 Reply to megamanx00
calinkula   09-21-2008 at 06:57:08 AM
- 0 +

For a big OC do you want to stick with AMD? Intel is the OC king right now.

Reply to calinkula
coolgamer512   09-21-2008 at 07:21:41 AM
- 0 +

First of all, I'm not getting a new intel. It costs money. A lot of money.

But megaman, thanks for the comments. Here's my revised list....



I'm still going for the Antec 900 and 2 extra fans (since there's 2 more places to put them).

I'm now all in for the Xigmatek cooler. Hopefully it fits, but it seems that its a beast a cooling.

I am now considering the ASUS M3N72-D 750a SLI motherboard. Hopefully this and the CPU cooler lets me overclock my 2.6 GHz chip to 3.3 GHz, or mabye even more.

I'm still sticking with that Artic Silver thermal grease.

Now I'm not really concerned about RAM overclocking as DDR2 1066 is for the Phenom only. So I sided with the OCZ DDR2 800 SLI Ready RAM (2 modules 2 gigs each).

Good choices for the upgrade? Tell me if I should change something. And thanks for the advice.


I still need instructions on overclocking and the thermal grease though.

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to coolgamer512
Superhal   09-21-2008 at 07:24:23 AM
- 0 +

i think you'll have an easier time with better results replacing the chip than everything else.

regarding cooling, here's a buyer's guide:
http://forums.amd.com/forum/messag [...] erthread=y

regarding mobo, here's the oc'ing world records site:
http://www.ripping.org/

You can get a lot of good information there about settings and equipment by looking at their cpu-z validation information.

or, you can try the source:
http://valid.x86-secret.com/
they don't have a search engine though.
this one would be of particular interest to you:
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=309749
the amd record is held by a x2 5000+.

Depending on how much you want to overclock and how much you want to spend, you should go water or hybrid peltier for serious cooling. the highest voltage you can probably cool with air is maybe 1.4v.

However, if you are just going for casual overclocking, air is cheap and effective for moderate overclocks.

i just bought a cooler recently, the sunbeamtech core contact freezer (newegg is giving a $5 rebate on that cooler this month.) my short list was:
Sunbeam
Xigmatek S1283
Xigmatek S1284EE (don't get the achilles)
Silenx iXtreme ixc-120ha2
Thermalright Ultra 120/True

All of these are within 1C of each other in performance (www.frostytech.com). The thermalrights don't come with AM2 clips, a fan control, or even a fan, so that was eliminated right off the bat, as I didn't want to remove the motherboard this time. The xigmatek was eliminated because it didn't come with a fan control. The Silenx and Sunbeam both have fans and fan controls, but the sunbeam is better quality. the Silenx also can handle 2 fans, but in all tests I saw, this only affected temperatures by 1c. so, i got the sunbeam because it is $10-15 cheaper.

I'm pretty happy. So far, I get +4-5C over ambient idle, and the maximum temp i can get it to under any condition (my mobo maxxes out at 1.36v) is 54C (about 23-24C over ambient.)

also, the site i bought from (www.heatsinkfactory.com) carries ic diamond 7, which is very hard to find.

Overall though, i would really recommend getting a better processor before spending on a new mobo.

there's a k8 overclocking guide at amd.com forums too.


Message edited by Superhal on 09-21-2008 at 07:27:56 AM
Reply to Superhal
coolgamer512   09-22-2008 at 03:55:06 AM
- 0 +

Well to clarify things, I am just casually overclocking, and I'm trying to stay below $500 for the upgrade. I'm don't plan to overclock the CPU past 3.6 GHz... So that leaves no room for new RAM, and it won't make much of a difference anyways. But I can always overclock to 800 MHz. It has lower volts, so it can survive the OC without heat spreaders.

But now I'm turning myself over to the Republic of Gamers...

The ASUS Crosshair II Formula. It's crazy.

But this one brings up an issue.

I have a 500 watt power supply, can it handle this with everything else I have?

Here's the planned specs again

ASUS Crosshair II Formula 780a SLI
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 3.4 or 3.5 GHz
2 Modules of 2GB DDR2 800
9600 GT, slighly overclocked
1 DVD-RW, 1 DVD-ROM
1 500 GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
Supreme FX II Sound Card (Shipped with motherboard)
Antec 900 with 2 extra LED fans
Windows Vista


Message edited by coolgamer512 on 09-23-2008 at 10:12:42 PM
Reply to coolgamer512
eddieroolz   09-22-2008 at 06:55:06 PM
- 0 +

The thing is, from what I know, its hard to push the A64 5000+ past 3.2GHz...I was looking at a Black Edition before I settled for a E7200 and most of them were around the 3GHz mark. Don't know if yours is a Black Edition or not, but don't expect 3.6GHz.

Reply to eddieroolz
megamanx00   09-23-2008 at 08:07:52 PM
- 0 +

coolgamer512 wrote :

First of all, I'm not getting a new intel. It costs money. A lot of money.

But megaman, thanks for the comments. Here's my revised list....



I'm still going for the Antec 900 and 2 extra fans (since there's 2 more places to put them).

I'm now all in for the Xigmatek cooler. Hopefully it fits, but it seems that its a beast a cooling.

I am now considering the ASUS M3N72-D 750a SLI motherboard. Hopefully this and the CPU cooler lets me overclock my 2.6 GHz chip to 3.3 GHz, or mabye even more.

I'm still sticking with that Artic Silver thermal grease.

Now I'm not really concerned about RAM overclocking as DDR2 1066 is for the Phenom only. So I sided with the OCZ DDR2 800 SLI Ready RAM (2 modules 2 gigs each).

Good choices for the upgrade? Tell me if I should change something. And thanks for the advice.


I still need instructions on overclocking and the thermal grease though.





DDR1066 is really just overclocked DDR2 800 RAM that can reach 1066. If you want to overclock it's not a bad idea to go with 1066 RAM, altho good 800 RAM can generally overclock to 1066 with a voltage increase. The way the Athlon sets RAM speed is by using a divider on the core speed. Since you have an Athlon 5000 at 2.6, I'm assuming Brisbane, you should have a memory divider of 7 thus giving you a 371 (DDR2 742 effective) RAM speed and a CPU multiplier of 13, since the default FSB is 200. Once your CPU speed goes past 2.8 Ghz, you're going to be overclocking your RAM. If you want to reach 3.185 GHz your RAM will be running at 455 (DDR2 910), so make sure you get good RAM if you wanna hit around 3.2

------------------------------ Playing X-Men Origins: Wolverine Athlon 64 X2 5000+ @3.24 Brisbane | GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-DS4 | 4GB Mushkin DDR2 1066 | Plextor 760A| 2x 3850 512M CF| WD 1TB Black| Fortron Blue Storm II 500W | APEVIA X-Dreamer Black | Win XP Pro & Vista Buisness 32bit
 Reply to megamanx00
coolgamer512   09-23-2008 at 10:11:43 PM
- 0 +

So the RAM goes to like 920 MHz if I go to 3.2 GHz on my CPU? Looks like I need good RAM. With a good heatsink.

If the OCZ SLI RAM still can do the job (and do it well), I found a cheaper version (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227334). I'll take the $10 off, even if it has the Fatal1ty logos. Timing is just a little bit higher.

Or I could get this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146692) since it's pretty cheap, and it's Mushkin.

If there's another one I should get for less than $70, let me know. I'm looking for 4 GB DDR2 800.

I'm still asking is that 500 watt PSU is going to work. Read my last post for my planned specs...

And I almost forgot, I'm pretty sure I have a Brisbane core. I'll make sure about that.


Message edited by coolgamer512 on 09-23-2008 at 10:17:00 PM
Reply to coolgamer512
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