A few questions...

[wkabel23]

I have been a long time reader of anandtech yet this is my first time posting on the forums because I am in need of some specific help.

I have a Pentium 4 2.4c, Asus P4PE-X mobo, and 512mb Corsair XMS PC2700 RAM. Due to the fact my RAM is only PC2700 the FSB on my 2.4c is 533mhz. So my first question is, would I notice a significant difference between 800mhz FSB and 533mhz FSB (In other words, would it be worth my money to upgrade my RAM)?

If I should upgrade my RAM to PC3200+, then would 2x256mb Cosair XMS RAM PC3200 run faster/better than one 512MB stick of the same type of RAM?

Lastly, I was wondering how much your power supply affects overclocking. I currently have a 300w power supply and when I increase my FSB bus speed in my bios to 210 my computer is stable for about 10 minutes then turns off. My computer still appears to be at a reasonable temp (below 45C), so the only thing I can think of is if the vcore is too high (1.62v+ at that speed).

One last thing (although it doesn't really belong here), does anyone have any recommendations from personal experience on new video cards below $200?

Thanks for the help

 

[BlvdKing]

It sounds like you have a 2.4 'C' running at a FSB of 200 MHz (800 Eff). Your CPU would be running at greater than 3600 MHz if it were a 533 MHz FSB part. You should be able to run the memory at 1:1 ratio (200 MHz) if you buy some good PC 3200 or better. It sounds like you are running a 4:5 ratio on you memory at the moment. You would notice some difference in speed with better memory but how much I do not know.

Your system instability could be several things, from weak power supply to not enough voltage to the CPU to support its speed.

 

[wkabel23]

How do I up the voltage sent to the CPU and/or what causes not enough voltage sent to the CPU?

 

[wkabel23]

Also, does anyone have any suggestions for good motherboards under $180

Thanks

 

[BlvdKing]

There is a setting in the BIOS called vcore. Do not mess with it until you know more about it! You could fry your chip. There is an overclocking FAQ in this forum that will give you all the info you need.

 

[VIAN]

I would upgrade the ram with 2x 256 PC3200 XMS. 2 sticks would ower latency by about 5%.

 

[wkabel23]

Originally posted by: BlvdKing
There is a setting in the BIOS called vcore. Do not mess with it until you know more about it! You could fry your chip. There is an overclocking FAQ in this forum that will give you all the info you need.

Didn't really find much info in the FAQ..........

 

[wkabel23]

anyone?

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: wkabel23

Originally posted by: BlvdKing
There is a setting in the BIOS called vcore. Do not mess with it until you know more about it! You could fry your chip. There is an overclocking FAQ in this forum that will give you all the info you need.

Didn't really find much info in the FAQ..........

Okay, concerning vcore, pretty much anything under 1.8V is okay, but the lower the better. Make sense? For instance, if all your chip will do is 3.2Ghz, but it will do it at 1.7, then you want to run it at 1.7V. And, you don't have to buy new memory to overclock, just set your memory divider in the bios to 3:2. You should be able to go quite high with 333 ram (PC2700), if you'll set your mem divider to 3:2. Lastly, as far as I'm concerned, the only 2 cards that are worth the money in the under-$200-class are the 9800 non-pro (but not the SE), and the nVidia FX-5900 non-pro. Plus, if you buy either of them, you will have DirectX 9 support, so you won't have to be buying a new card when you get your next game.