AMD 6000+ Overclocking

Hey guys,

It's time to upgrade my processor. I'm going from a 3800+ (I know, ancient) to a 6000+. I've read a few places now that the 6000+ doesn't go well with DDR2 800 memory without a little tweaking. I've read all the technical stuff, it makes sense, but I'm still pretty new to this overclocking scene. I'm not looking for uber max settings, but can someone tell me what would be a good stable setting to use to maximize my RAM?

After the new processor my computer will look like -

AMD 6000+ 3.0
2056 Corsair XMS2 800
Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe
Geforce 9800GTX

As mentioned before, I'm not real concerned with milking my processor for all it has, I just want it to utilize the memory to the fullest. Thanks

Appreciate the info on the MB, but I'm really just looking at processor upgrades atm. I was told the M2N would work fine with the 9800GTX, do you think there will be an issue there?

Hmm, the 5000+ BE is cheaper too it seems. I'm not so much worried about overclocking, I just want the most bang for my buck with a new processor without having to switch from AMD. I heard the 6000+ was having RAM issues and wanted to make sure I wasn't buying into something that I couldn't get 100% performance out of. I'm trying to keep it under 200 bucks or so. Most of the post I read with similar situations as me were directed towards the 6000+. I'm open for any ideas.

You think the 5000+ BE would deliver the best performance overall for the specs I listed?

I personally havent had any trouble with my 6000+...so far its been running fine with my ram...I really don't know much about overclocking either so I decided to give the included OCing software that was included with my mobo a try...really wish I knew how to fine tune an OC...maybe someone can help both of us...

btw...X2 6000 + HD4850 = THE SHIZZLE!

Thanks a lot, that's good to know.

Also, as for the video card - I wish I would have known all of that before hand. My local computer store is anti radeon and hooked me up with the 9800GTX so I'm pretty much stuck with that


In regards to the 6400:

If I'm not looking specifically to overclock anything, would the 6400 be a noticable upgrade over the 6000 for 50 bucks more or so?

^He may be right. But I was just making a suggestion because its the highest clock available.

I agree with going over the 4850 over the 9800, but PCI-E 1.0 will have NO IMPACT at all on the performance of the card. THere is no video cards that can even saturate the pci-e 1.0 bus.

Stick with your initial plan - the AMD X2 6000+ - because it has an '8' memory divisor.

Without going into an exhaustive explanation AMD AM2 microprocessors need a little tweaking sometimes depending upon your system clock speed to run your memory at spec.

In the case of the X2 6000+ at 3GHz (or the OEM X2 5800+ at 3GHz noted by BM) the memory divisor is '8'. The memory speed is calculated like this:

3000MHz (200MHz x 15) divided by 8 = 375 x 2 ("double pumped" ) = 750MHz

If you drop the HT to 4x and increase the cpu frequency to 214MHz (from base AMD clock 200MHz) here yah go ...

3210MHz (214MHz x 15) divided by 8 = 401 x 2 = 802MHz

You may have to bump your cpu voltage just a little bit (1.375v ?)

The X2 5000+ (and the X2 5400+) has a memory divider of 7.

1Gb video cards are seeing increases of 10%+ when running PCIe Gen2.

Actually ...

Your are correct that 2GHz, 2.4GHz, 2.8GHz and 3.2GHz are all equally divisible by 400 but not all AMD am2 CPUs neatly fit at those clock speeds ....

AM2 CPUs

2GHz or less = memory divisor 5
2.1GHz to 2.4GHz = memory divisor 6
2.5GHz to 2.8GHz = memory divisor 7
2.9GHz and up = memory divisor 8

As another example the X2 5000+ at 2.6 GHz ...

2600MHz (200MHz x 13) divided by 7 = 371 x 2 (double pumped) = 743MHz


If you clock the base to 215MHz ....

2795MHz (215MHz x 13) divided by 7 = 399 x 2 = 798MHz

My 6000+ will only hit 3.2 on air with a zalman cooler. Its 90 nm and 125 watts its not going past that without water ! My Gskill DDr2 800 ram has run just fine with my 6000+ the past year. Have to tweak it a little to get near 800 speed though since multiplier isnt in sync with cpu. I get like 780 speed but still plenty fast, much more noticeable than a 3800 would be. But make sure you get a good cpu cooler and use artic silver paste! Im about to break tradition and go to the E8600 C2D. Have to it cant be beat and will run circles around my 6000+ when OCed past 4 ghz and get the same temps i do now at 3.2