overclock possible?

[tango.charlie]

Hi my PC is about 3 years old now and in real need of a boost so i thought i would give overclocking a try.

Intel E8400
MSI P35 Neo-F
4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800
ATI HD3870 X2
Hiper Type-M 630W

I understand the E8400 overclocks well but i don't understand how overclocking the CPU affects the other components. Will the rest of my setup be O.K.?

Thanks

 

[AshenShugar1873]

I had the same set-up until recently and was running the E8400 at 3.6GHz.
At the moment the Front Side Bus (FSB) will be running at 333MHz, so the Double Data Rate Memory is probably at 667 (333X2) unless you have manually changed in the BIOS. The processor is currently running at 9 x 333 for 3GHz. Increasing the FSB will increase the speed of the processor and memory. So making the FSB 400 would make the processor 9x400 for 3.6GHz and the memory 800 (400x2). Your memory is rated at 800 so will be OK at that speed. Have a look at the sticky guides at the top and post here if you need more help. Take it slow, watch your temps, run the stress tests and see how far you can comfortably go. If you are using the stock Intel cooler you should also be looking to spend a bit on an after market cooler to keep the temps down. I was using a Zalman 9500, you could get something like a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 or a Gelid Tranquillo (bit more expensive but quieter). A lot will depend on how good the motherboard is for overclocking, some people have it running stable at 400 FSB so you have a chance