Long time reader, first time overclocker

[mmvm]

Hi guys,

I was wondering if I could get some help on how to overclock my CPU.

My motherboard is the Abit IP35-e and my CPU is the Intel Pentium E2180.

I've been scouring around for the overclocking capabilities of these two but wanted to get some proper insight.

Thanks guys

 

[j.col]

every board and cpu are different.
you have a decent motherboard for overclocking, so thats a good start.
what cpu cooler have you got?
as a proper cooler will get u a higher overclock
download cpu-z and make a note of the stock voltage and your ram speed.


this is a very basic explanation of overclocking

its basic maths. your E2180 is rated at 800mhz. you always divide this number by 4 so 800/4= 200, this is your fsb. (or cpu frequency)
then your processor (cpu) has a multiplier of 10 (or cpu ratio)
so 200 x 10 = 2000mhz or 2.0GHz, your stock speed

boot into bios, and disable C1est, and any other power saving features.

unlink your ram, using the ram divider, so it stays at stock speeds, you can overclock the ram later.
this means leave it at 667mhz or 800mhz or 1066

can you raise the fsb? yours is now 200 try rising it to 220
press f10 to save
boot into windows
download realtemp and coretemp (google them)
install and run them
then download intel burn test (ibt) and run it.
have a look in task manager and notice how much free ram is listed.

in ibt set threads to 2 (for 2 cores) and then click on custom ram and enter an amount just below the free amount.
eg. i have 2520mb free ram. so i enter 2500 into the custom ram.
run the test for 5 passes. for now,
u cant use the pc while this is running, so make sure any web browsers etc... are closed before running the test

keep an eye on temps (do not let it go over 65.c)

if test runs fine, go back into bios, and change frequency (fsb) to 240 and repeat the tests.
keep doing this in 20mhz steps until windows will not boot or fails the test. then just go back a step (remove 20 from the fsb) to the last stable frequency,
or
just raise the cpu voltage a couple of levels. it should now boot.
the E2180 is happy upto 1.5v, so dont be scared to raise the voltage.

its a balancing act, higher voltages will get you higher fsb, but it will also give you higher temps.

if you have 4 sticks of ram, try raising the northbridge voltage (NB or MCH) a couple of levels, (but do not go over 1.4v)

the trick is to do this step by step,

 

[mmvm]

Awesome mate thanks for your help. I'm using the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7, just got it. Fancied saving some money and getting a proper cooler than relying on the failing stock cooler than a new processor. Then try and overclock it.

The RAM... I'm not sure how to read the stock voltage... oh wait, it's 1.80V per stick. I have 4GB ram. I will try this tomorrow when I have time home from work and can concentrate on it. But thank you mate I'll take note of all this!

 

[j.col]

no probs, i mean the stock speed of the ram not voltage.
i meant your cpu voltage, just make a note of it, its called core voltage in cpu-z
your ram will be 667, 800 or 1066 mhz.
just make sure that in the bios, its set at its rated speed.

download cpu-z and have a look in the memory tab.
it may say 333, 400 or 533mhz for your ram.
this is normal, as its ddr2 ram u times it by 2, so for eg. if it says 400mhz, your ram is actually 800mhz as its 400 x 2 (ddr2)