Can I overclock these specs??

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Hi all,

firstly thanks to jamiehavok for all the help in picking out these components to improve my very ageing build. :D

Basically I would like to overclock my CPU & maybe RAM a little, more as a learning project! I've never done this before, so I would first like to know if this is possible, and second if someone could point me in the direction of a guide to help me... :confused:

Specs:

Mobo: Asus M5A 78L-M LX
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 640 3.0Ghz (Stock Cooler, but I can purchase another cooler)
RAM: Corsair Vengance 4GB 16000
Hypertec 4GB 10600
GPU: Asus Radeon 7850 2GB
PSU: 550w Corsair 80 plus

thanks in advance :p
 
any suggestions on a good cheap cooler also, that thread was mainly showing what is achievable but not how to start off. ive read the oc beginners guide fully so have basic idea. just would like more info on my board and the tools needed really. btw im using win 8. thanks
 
The cooler depends on budget, More buys better obviously

for a cheap and cheerful cooler something like this will offer mildly good performance
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-057-CM&groupid=701&catid=2330

if money is no object, look towards things like Noctua NH-D14, Thermalrights Silver Arrow, and the Phanteks cooler

the only tool you need is the Bios, consult your motherboard manual for more help

little tidbits I can offer,

You might want to ditch the 4 ram sticks and get 2x4Gb set, otherwise you will have a hard time overclocking your chip

Max voltage for your chip is 1.55v, On basic aftermarket cooling, i would recommend staying under 1.5v just to keep the temps down.
max temps you want to keep an eye on are 62c, generally speaking keeping things under 55c is better.

Monitor coretemps with CPUID HWMonitor, take the reading from the TMPIN0, ignore the actual coretemp readings because the thermal sensor in amd chips is not very reliable.


Once you have a better cooler, a good place to start clocking would be to lower the volts first, Stock volts on Athlons are usually higher than needed tbh, change the Vcore to around 1.3v or 1.275v if you feel brave, test stability with either prime 95, or just use your computer how you would normally use it.
 
i have a budget of 40 for cooler and i have 1x 4gb ddr3 16000 vengance and 1x 4gb ddr3 10600 hypertec. so i have 2x 4gb but differant speeds. will that cause a problem? and also what do i set prime95 and for how long?
 
Different speeds is not very good tbh, you would preferably want both sticks running at 1600, not 10600 (higher clocking window)

Just set prime to Small FFT's and let it run until you get bored.
 
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