n00b - Athlon 64 3200+

[Drifta]

Hey guy, i'm a n00b to anything to do with overclocking, but I have a craving to try it out!
I have an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ chip, 2Gb RAM, & a K8 Triton nForce 4 Ultra mobo...
Everytime i raise the CPU level a little bit, i poo my pants lol
I've managed to get up 205.00 Frequency...
What is the highest frequency I can expect to get out of my chip?
I also have a big ol' 120mm Akasa Amber Case Fan at the back of my case as well, if that helps...?

 

[Drifta]

I only have the factory cooler at the moment, but i'm planning to get a Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro CPU Cooler within the next few weeks.
What can i expect from the chip with the factory cooler, and with new cooler as well?
Thanks people

 

[Drifta]

bump

 

[Drifta]

Yeah, i've managed to get up to 2.35Ghz, but when i crank it up to 2.4 it becomes unstable and things start to go wrong... such as Cubase not working properlly, WMP not playing media files etc.
Is there any way to surpass this?

 

[Drifta]

add volts to the CPU vcore.

I had that mobo btw and it can be a tricky one, but I managed to get my CPU from 1.8ghz to 3.0ghz on it (albeit with water cooling).

invest in a freezer 64, they are well decent for the cash.

woah 3.0Ghz would be fantastic, but i don't have water cooling, and to be honest, i don't have the money for it!!

with the freezer 64, though, do you reckon i could get up to 2.6-2.8Ghz... maybe?

 

[Drifta]

great, thanks for the help bro

one final question, how many volts would u recommend me increasing the vcore voltage by? It's currently running at 1.6V

 

[Drifta]

i can't post pics of the BIOS settings, but here's a pic of the EasyTune5 app that i'm using...

the temp is sitting idle at 27 degrees

 

[Drifta]

using the Prime95 program my temps go up frighteningly high - up to 40 degrees, as soon as it hit 45 i stopped it, cos i got scared lol
is this normal?

edit:

i ran the app again, it's now on Test 3, and the temperature seems to be idle at 44 degrees... i'll be getting my getting my Freezer 64 soon though

 

[Drifta]

Hey there, I have the exact same mobo and cpu as you Drifta, I've got it running at 2.4ghz, with 241fsb and my ram is on a divider. Are you using the F8 bios? It's got some extra little bits in it from the version shipped with the board.

I'd definitely read the guide at the top of the Overclocking page, I did, and it helped me tons. I did manage to run my 3200+ at 2.5ghz (250 fsb), but it just wasn't stable after that, and my ram didn't like the fsb so high without slow it down lower than DDR400 on the divider.

btw I'd definitely follow the advice and stick to the bios for overclocking, easytune wasn't particularly helpful when I was setting up my rig, you just can't see everything you need to, and I didn't trust it's volt or temp readings either.

And on a lighter note, which bit of Kent are you from? I'm a Kent boy myself.

Yep, i'm using the BIOS for overclocking, just using easytune to monitor the temps whilst running the Prime95 app.

I'm from Bexleyheath, in Kent

@ Gr1mey, thanks for helping bro, i'm new to all this...

I did read the sticky guide at the top, but all the information just bewildered me

EDIT:

i will be ordering my new cooling tonight, from OCUK, so should have it sometime this week!
add me to MSN/AIM if you have either of them

 

[Drifta]

OK, i've just finished running a 8 hour Prime95 Blend Torture Test - the max tempurature my CPU reached was 49 degrees - is this result good or bad?
Plus, i ordered my Freezer 64, so it should be arriving today or tomorrow hopefully! Are these new fans relatively easy to fit?

 

[Drifta]

Ah ok, that's cool then (well, actually it's quite hot lol)
Is 8 hours enough to run the Blend Torture test? Or do I need to run it for much longer?

 

[Drifta]

I've just read the guide at the top and done some stuff, but need you guys to tell me if im on the right track...

I set the FSB to 240, and tried it, but the system was unstable, so i raised the DDR voltage by 0.1v and everything seems to be fine... so i run a Prime95 stress test, and the dreaded blue screen of death comes up

Why?

 

[Drifta]

Have you set the RAM to 133...?

my RAM frequency?

i haven't changed that, it's currently at 236

 

[Drifta]

Sorry dude, it's changed

I have a problem (yep, another problem lol) I can't find the option in my BIOS to change the RAM freq and even my easytune app won't let me lower it

Where would i be able to do it?

 

[Drifta]

That is why then, that is your max fsb for that RAM with current timings...

EDIT: What Ram are you using?

i've got 2x 1Gb Corsair DDR400/PC3200 sticks

there isn't an option in my BIOS to change the RAM frequency

All there is is:
> CPU Freq
> PCIE Clock
> K8 CPU Clock Ratio
> RG Booster
> CPU Voltage
> Chipset core PCI-E Voltage
> HT-Link Voltage Control
> DDR Voltage Control

 

[Drifta]

OK, tried 245 FSB, 1.45v CPU, 166 RAM - Prime95 failed after a few minutes
Tried 240 FSB, 1.45v CPU, 166 RAM - Prime95 seems to be ok!

My Arctic Freezer 64 Pro arrived today as well, so temps are steady at 35oC at full load!

Cheers to Townlea & the rest of you for helping a n00b out!

It seems my mobo is the only thing holding me back from serious overclockage! (or maybe a dodgy chip as well, i hope not though )
So my next purchase will be a DFI mobo, as recommend to me by Townlea himself

 

[Drifta]

Woah, dude... what's your setup like? Mobo, RAM etc.

 

[Drifta]

asus sli deluxe mobo

gskill hz pc4000 ram

i literally went from 2ghz to 2.7ghz straight off... i know it shouldnt be done this way, but i dont care

u running a stock cooler as well?

i think my mobo is holding me back, i tried the FSB at 265, 260, 255, even 250 and it wouldn't boot up - it would freeze at the first boot screen, you know, where it tests the memory and all that...