adwise on OCing

[godisknugen]

I´d like to OC my system to somewhere between 3,6-4.0GHz

the rig so far :
cpu: e8500 (on its way =0) )
mb: asus maximus formula
mem: 4GB pc8500 (brand not yet decided) but looking at these two:
"Corsair Dominator TWIN2X8500C5DF 4096MB, DDR2, 2x2GB(KIT), DHX, E.P.P, with FAN"
"Crucial DDR2 BallistiX TRACER PC8500 2048MB CL5 Kit, 240pin, 1066mhz, LED`s"

graphic: sapphire hd3870x2

what i like to know is:
what is a reasonable OC level
what ram does the work and is it a good idea to run a faster ratio than 1:1 say 3:5 or even 1:2?

 

[GarfieldtheCat]

Originally posted by: godisknugen
I´d like to OC my system to somewhere between 3,6-4.0GHz

the rig so far :
cpu: e8500 (on its way =0) )
mb: asus maximus formula
mem: 4GB pc8500 (brand not yet decided) but looking at these two:
"Corsair Dominator TWIN2X8500C5DF 4096MB, DDR2, 2x2GB(KIT), DHX, E.P.P, with FAN"
"Crucial DDR2 BallistiX TRACER PC8500 2048MB CL5 Kit, 240pin, 1066mhz, LED`s"

graphic: sapphire hd3870x2

what i like to know is:

what is a reasonable OC level

Whatever you feel comfortable with, based on how much voltage you give it and how hot it gets. It's really up to you. Everyone has different limits.

That being said, if you go with regular air cooling, and not overvolt more then 10%, chances are good you will hit or get close to 4GHz. But nothing is ever guaranteed.

what ram does the work and is it a good idea to run a faster ratio than 1:1 say 3:5 or even 1:2?

Decide on what you max OC most likely will be, and what the FSB will be at that speed. That will tell you what memory you will need.

400FSB = 3.8GHz
450FSB = 4.275GHz (if I did the math right)

If you want to shoot for >4GHz, you need to get DDR2-900. If you think you can go over 4.2GHz, then you will need DDR2-1066 (or whatever the next speed bump is)

For RAM speeds, you can run the RAM faster then the FSB buss speed, using memory dividers, but it really doesn't gain much in performance (~1-3%). Plus faster memory is more expensive.

The best (IMO) is to run your RAM at 1:1, so double whatever FSB you think you will hit, then double it, and that will give you the RAM speed you need.

Example FSB 400MHz = DDR2-800 RAM