Is it worth Overclocking?

Overclocking is always worth it but you need a capable board and your's is extremely limited. I had one in a second pc a while ago with a E4300. This particular E4300 was capable of 3.4Ghz in a decent board. In this board it struggled to hit 2.2Ghz. Even so, this was a 400mhz overclock and if it did that with your E5200 would get you to 2.9Ghz so it's worth a shot. Just remember, as you increase the fsb you are also increasing the ram speed so keep an eye on it and try to keep it within it's rated speed.
 
Oddly enough I used to have that exact CPU/mobo combination. :)

I managed to get 3.15GHz out of it by dropping the RAM to it's lowest setting, and gradually increasing the FSB. I remember it was completely stable at 3.15, but upping the FSB by even one more notch would result in it not booting at all.
 
PhoenixUK said:
e5200 used to hit around 3.2ghz on stock voltage so motherboard shouldnt be much of a problem here as long as the temps are ok. Just go into BIOS and crank up the FSB to 233 but don't forget to unlink the memory off the CPU if it's linked so you don't mess the ram speed up for now.

As far as I remember the e5200 was a 200x12.5 multi so 233 should set you at a nice and cool 2.9ghz, then we could do some stress testing, look at temps and take it from there.

-------
Most of the 4850s were great clockers as well and you should easily get it to around 4870 speeds.
Click to expand...

pastymuncher said:
Overclocking is always worth it but you need a capable board and your's is extremely limited. I had one in a second pc a while ago with a E4300. This particular E4300 was capable of 3.4Ghz in a decent board. In this board it struggled to hit 2.2Ghz. Even so, this was a 400mhz overclock and if it did that with your E5200 would get you to 2.9Ghz so it's worth a shot. Just remember, as you increase the fsb you are also increasing the ram speed so keep an eye on it and try to keep it within it's rated speed.
Click to expand...

Blue160 said:
Oddly enough I used to have that exact CPU/mobo combination. :)

I managed to get 3.15GHz out of it by dropping the RAM to it's lowest setting, and gradually increasing the FSB. I remember it was completely stable at 3.15, but upping the FSB by even one more notch would result in it not booting at all.
Click to expand...

DETAILED instructions please :P I'm soo new to this and so I have NO IDEA where to go :P Btw, I'll be happy with 3GHz for CPU, and GPU, well, tell me whats best :P
 
0. Hit del at startup to enter bios (you wanted detailed :p)

1.Find the RAM frequency and put it at it's slowest speed.

2. Now find FSB and raise it by five. Boot into Windows. If it boots run Prime95 for a bit to check stability. Run coretemp or realtemp to make sure you aren't cooking your CPU as well.

3. Repeat step 2. until no longer stable/able to boot. With that board you can't do much else :)

4. When it's no longer stable/bootable back off the FSB in increments of 1 until it is.

5. If your CPU and board work the same way mine did enjoy having a 3GHz CPU :) Run Cpu-z to check what speed you are actually running.
 
Last edited:
Blue160 said:
0. Hit del at startup to enter bios (you wanted detailed :p)

1.Find the RAM frequency and put it at it's slowest speed.

2. Now find FSB and raise it by five. Boot into Windows. If it boots run Prime95 for a bit to check stability. Run coretemp or realtemp to make sure you aren't cooking your CPU as well.

3. Repeat step 2. until no longer stable/able to boot. With that board you can't do much else :)

4. When it's no longer stable/bootable back off the FSB in increments of 1 until it is.

5. If your CPU and board work the same way mine did enjoy having a 3GHz CPU :) Run Cpu-z to check what speed you are actually running.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what i needed :P

Few questions:
1) RAM speed, how do I know what is the lowest? do I check it beforehand or does it tell me?
2) Prime95 is a program yes? :p
3) Wtf is FSB :P In the BIOS will I find it as FSB, or does it have a different/full name?

That is it :P As soon as I get answers, I'll go :p

Thanks mate :)
 
Have a look around the bios, and preferably have a read of your motherboard manual.

1. As I remember you have a menu of three or four different settings for the RAM. Just pick the smallest number.

2. Prime95 is a free program you can use to stress test your CPU. Google is your friend.

3. FSB is Front Side Bus. It is the clock that controls all of the speeds of components attached to your motherboard. The higher the FSB, the faster everything goes. I can't remember exactly what it's called in your bios. I think it may actually be called FSB. Have a look around for it.
 
Blue160 said:
Have a look around the bios, and preferably have a read of your motherboard manual.

1. As I remember you have a menu of three or four different settings for the RAM. Just pick the smallest number.

2. Prime95 is a free program you can use to stress test your CPU. Google is your friend.

3. FSB is Front Side Bus. It is the clock that controls all of the speeds of components attached to your motherboard. The higher the FSB, the faster everything goes. I can't remember exactly what it's called in your bios. I think it may actually be called FSB. Have a look around for it.
Click to expand...

1. Ok will do :) Will this effect the RAM or no?

2. Downloaded and installed. Started it up, and got this. http://i56.tinypic.com/28l6rg3.png
Which option?

3. Kk, will do.

These 2 questions should be the last :P Thanks for your time :)
 
The__Malteser said:
1. Ok will do :) Will this effect the RAM or no?
Click to expand...
Yes, but the boost you get from the overclocked CPU will more than make up for any underclock you end up with for the RAM

2. Downloaded and installed. Started it up, and got this. http://i56.tinypic.com/28l6rg3.png
Which option?
Click to expand...
Just click ok. The blend test is the one you want
3. Kk, will do.

These 2 questions should be the last :P Thanks for your time :)
Click to expand...

No worries :)

ETA: When I overclocked my E5200 I had a Freezer 7 cooling it, so you may not get as far on the stock cooler. Keep an eye on temperature while running Prime. If your cores start getting into the 80's buy a better cooler or lower your overclock.
 
Last edited:
Blue160 said:
Yes, but the boost you get from the overclocked CPU will more than make up for any underclock you end up with for the RAM


Just click ok. The blend test is the one you want


No worries :)

ETA: When I overclocked my E5200 I had a Freezer 7 cooling it, so you may not get as far on the stock cooler. Keep an eye on temperature while running Prime. If your cores start getting into the 80's buy a better cooler or lower your overclock.
Click to expand...

80s:eek: I would have gone 60 tops when idle.

Should do it tonight.
 
My old E5200 was the best £50 I ever spent on a cpu, was a brilliant overclocker, def clock it to 3ghz at least, should be fine even on a stock cooler.
 
Ok so, finally I tried this out but ran into a few problems.

I started by putting DRAM frequency to 667MHz
then I put AI Overclocking - Overclocking Profile
Overclocking Options - Overclock 5%

All seems to be the same :S

I did find an 'FSB' thing, which was at 800MHz, but it was greyed out, I couldn't alter it :S

This is what RealTemp gives me
21bm4qs.png


This is what CPU-Z Gives me
f1jitv.png


And Prime95
zspydg.png


Did i even do anything :S CPUZ still says [email protected] but the core speed is 2625 MHz

FSB is also at 840, I SWEAR it was 800 on the BIOS.

Anybody? Help?

EDIT: Normal temperatures are around 35. Doubt 5% increase boosted the temps up by 20 C though :S Maybe the weather is getting warmer :D
 
Tripple post -.- Not my intention to bum thread but I feel that I need to tell you (next person to answer)

Temperatures seemed to have calmed down. Rocking 33 atm, which is identical to what I was running before OC, if not a bit lower :P Obv all idle, but still :P

I'm going to test a game now (BF:BC2) for like 15 minutes and try to get temps when in use.

Still need to know if all is the norm or no :P So answer pls :) Thanks <3
 
billysielu said:
I would put it back to stock. Don't spend any money on that rig. Save your money. Get a completely new rig when you can.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know I need a new one but I got no money.

Tbh, BF:BC2 ran ok. 45 degrees when I came off it, doubt I need a new cooler. Back to 33 now :P

Cooler seems ok till now. Should I crank it up a tad more? And if so, is the method I did the first part good? (or did i do anything at all? :P)

EDIT: Tbh, I do fancy pushing it a bit more :P

EDIT 2: Restarted PC and went into the BIOS.
As expected, frequency is 2.63 GHz, and if you do the maths, thats bang on, 5% increase. Assuming 3GHx will work, I should be able to crank it up to 20%.
The FSB was also upped to 843 MHz.

Didn't touch anything else.

One thing that concerns me is that when the PC is being used for web browsing etc., CPU-Z tells me core speed is 1250 MHz to 1600 MHz, but when I start opening tabs and stuff, it cranks up to 2600 MHz, and the temp rises a tad. As stated, as soon as I got off BF:BC2 (didn't play for much, 10 minutes max) it was on low 40s. I assume the CPU went all out whilst playing, and temp didn't rise too much, so I'm safe as it is.

1 question, should I continue cranking up (will skip 10% increase and go to 15% before I try 20%) or should I go back down?

YES I AM A NOOB and have asked a lot of obvious questions for more experienced people, but hey, you gotta learn somewhere ;)
 
Last edited:
Tbh I'd just crank it straight up to 3GHz (240MHz FSB) then stress test, there's really no need to bump it up at tiny 5MHz intervals.

It's an E5200 they clock for fun, 3GHz should easily be achievable on stock voltages and stock heatsink unless you've got the worst clocking E5200 in the world!
 
coupe69 said:
Tbh I'd just crank it straight up to 3GHz (240MHz FSB) then stress test, there's really no need to bump it up at tiny 5MHz intervals.

It's an E5200 they clock for fun, 3GHz should easily be achievable on stock voltages and stock heatsink unless you've got the worst clocking E5200 in the world!
Click to expand...

So I should just go at 20% easily? And what about temps? Can it be they sky rocket?
 
I had trouble when using the AI overclock on that board. 5% worked fine, but 10% produced memory related BSOD's on a regular basis. Manually raising FSB worked, but if that's locked down in your bios you may be stuck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom