P4 overclocking

-Andy-

-Andy-

-Andy-

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Joined
27 Jan 2006
Posts
2
Hi, new to these boards and to overclocking ;)

Firstly - Just to explain the situation I am looking at a whole new gaming system which I plan to build myself towards the end of this year at the earliest, however I'd like to get a little more from my current machine as I'm starting to struggle with newer stuff at 1280x1024.

My spec:
System ChipSet - Intel 845PE
CPU - Intel P4 2.66GHz
GPU - Connect3D ATi Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB
PSU - 345Watt Peak stock Dell unit
Memory - 1GB RAM (PC2700)
Also running 2 Hard Drives and Pioneer DVD-RW

I've already spent just over £200 on a few bits and peices over the 3(+) years I've had it to keep it relitively up to date (getting extra 512MB RAM, DVD-RW, 2nd HDD & replacing the ancient & useless GeForce MX420 :eek: ) and to a certain extent it's done it's job well, it plays WMV HiDef material on my projector, gameswise it handles BFV, FarCry, HL2, COD, GTR etc fine @ 1280x1024 with high/medium details at reasonable fps, but I'm struggling with BF2, Doom, Q4 etc keeping that resolution oh and I'd like to be able to switch most things on like HDR, AA, AF etc all the bells and whistles if you like.... but that will have to wait ->

This guide/article I've come across shows that overclocking with this CPU can make quite a difference http://www.ocprices.com/index.php?action=reviews&rev_id=119&page=3 but is it really as easy as get a new/better CPU cooler/heatsink then up the core voltage? Not wanting to hit the any limits by the way but if I could oc to say 3.00GHz I'd be happy as long as it will be worthwhile and I won't be sacrificing any reliability as want this computer to last as a second family machine or the posibility to sell in working order in the future.

Secondly - Unfortunately my 9800 Pro has the R350 core not the R360 one as with later version so not able to flash to 9800 XT with no extra pipes there to unlock, is it worth overclocking this as well?

Not expecting a massive difference and I know AMD Athlon's etc are better for games and overclocking it seems but would like to know if it's worth it?

Oh and sorry for the long post :D
 
Hi,

You don't say what kind of P4 you have, but as you have PC2700 RAM, I'd say it's probably a 533FSB Northwood. Some of these are phenomenal clockers, some are not so good.

With the RAM being good to 166MHz FSB, you should be able to just turn up the FSB from 133 to 166 in 3MHz increments and you'll probably find the chip is stable all the way upto 3.0GHz and possibly even upto 3.3Ghz (166MHz FSB).

You also don't say if the motherboatrd will let you increase the CPU voltage, but at this point you might need to increase it 1 or 2 steps. After that it's just a case of going up slowly until you hit the maximum.

A good cooler is a definite advantage, but the S478 cooler as supplied with most Intel chips is good for well over 3GHz, but £12 for a freezer 4 could be a good move.

Either way - I think you've a good chance of a straightforward overclock on the CPU. If you want to upgrade the whole system later this year I would leave the graphics as is, as you won't get a massive improvement from overclocking in my experience.
 
If you have a look at your BIOS setup, you may find you are able to lock your PCI/AGP bus whilst increasing the FSB 1mhz at a time. This kind of motherboard is what you need, and 3ghz on stock cooling is a very achievable overclock for these P4s. My 2.8b runs at 3.4ghz since I got my new Zalman heatsink. :)

The 2.66b runs at 133 (x4), so if you can increase the FSB to 150, you will get a nice round 3ghz.

If you get any instability, increase the core voltage a little.
 
Hi

You mention that you have a Dell PSU. From this I gather that you have a Dell PC? They use non standard PSUs and motherboards unfortunately with no overclocking options what so ever

Sorry to say this but if this is the case you'll need a new PSU, motherboard (and possibly case) so that you can overclock
 
D'oh :o

Yes, I have a Dell which has already meant limitations in some parts like brands of memory to use & £80+ to upgrade the PSU... oh well, not the end of the world I suppose as it surely couldn't have made a massive difference.

Thanks for all the info and replies anyway guys, I'd better start now saving for a new system then :D
 
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