Barton 2500 Heatsink

[Rappsny]

Hi,
I'm a newbie here. I just ordered the 2500 Barton from Newegg. I want to overclock it a bit. Is it OK to use the retail heatsink and fan? Do I need to do anything special to it?
Thanks.

 

[tchybrid]

how much are you planning to overclock ur barton? if you want overclock to say a 400FSB, you might need a better cooler. but you can try it out also, it should be sufficient enough.

 

[MachoDonut]

I have noticed that Bartons tend to run a bit warm. I have always been of the philosophy that your cooling can never be too good. Since you say that you plan to overclock it, I would recommend something a bit better than the retail fan and heatsink. The SLK-800 has been a mainstay for many along with it's more affordable cousin, the SK-7. A good place to to check them out would be:

SVC

You can also find an assortment of fans there too. I personally have the YS-Tech variable. Pick one based upon how much airflow you want versus how much noise you can deal with. Since it sounds as if your proccessor is retail, make sure you clean it up good after removing the stock HSF and use a good thermal compound, such as Arctic Silver 3. Just a dab of it will do.

Good luck and welcome to the forums.

 

[Rappsny]

Thanks for the replies. What happens if I overclock too much? Does it just start getting unstable? I could try a little bit with the retail stuff and then upgrade.

 

[tchybrid]

well, you can try overclocking with ur retail HS/F, but once it becomes unstable, you've reached the limits of ur cooling, also, what ram will you be using? because ur RAM will also be a factor on how well you overclock also.

 

[Rappsny]

I ordered the ASUS Nvidia deluxe mobo but haven't decided on the RAM. What do you think? 2700 or 3200? I would like to get 512, but the 3200 is a bit pricey.

 

[MachoDonut]

Originally posted by: Rappsny
I ordered the ASUS Nvidia deluxe mobo but haven't decided on the RAM. What do you think? 2700 or 3200? I would like to get 512, but the 3200 is a bit pricey.

PC2700 will be ok if you run your FSB at stock speeds, but PC3200 will give you more headroom for the future.