Considering purchase of Athlon, need help with overclocking

[Bagheera786]

ok, I'm definitely in need of help, I've never overclocked before, but I'd like to overclock my new system. I've bought the Tyan Slot-A motherboard (S3280K7, I think), with the KX133 chipset. Now I need to buy my processor, and I have several questions.

First, I think I'd like to buy a 700 MHz, and I'm wondering how far I'd be able to overclock that processor. I am planning to buy a golden fingers device, btw.

On this forum, I've also read a lot about the core speed and week number. What do they affect, and is there a way to "hedge my bets" regarding getting a processor of a particular core speed or week number.

My next question has to do with cooling. I don't even know where to go for good cooler options. Any hints?

well, I'm sure that's a lot of stuff, but I hope someone out there can help. thanks in advance.

 

[Synthetik]

Okay, check out http://www.overclockers.com. Also checkout http://www.slota.com.

That will provide you with some excellent information as well as another set of message boards.

I haven't been in touch with the AMD overclockin "scene" since the earlier Athlon chips. Basically the Core speed is what the processor was actually rated to be able to run at. For some reason or another, i really don't understand it, there are chips spec'ed for say 650 mhz but actually have a 800 mhz core. This basically makes hittin' 800mhz easy to hit. Then it's just a matter of keeping the chip cool and giving it enough power to allow it to run higher. The best thing to do is increase incremently when you overclock unless you know it can hit a certain speed.

You'll definitly want a good cooler, even if you are able to overclock the processor with the standard cooler, if you can keep the chip cooler you'll be less likely to run into stability problems and overall less wear on the chip.

Goto:

http://www.millisec.com
http://www.plycon.com
http://www.coldcpu.com

Basically they all have about the same prices, they're all pretty good.

 

[DDad]

Well, you might go for a 700 Tbird- several of the slot A version have been spotted with 900 cores!

 

[Bagheera786]

thanks guys...
one more thing...is there any way to garauntee a particular week no?
or a particular core speed?

 

[Insane3D]

There are some issues with the T-Bird and the KX133 chipset, so check with your mobo manufacturer to see if they recommend it. AMD is officialy saying they will not work properly on a KX133 chipset. A 700mhz Athlon is a good choice for two reasons. It is highest clocked Athlon with the L2 cache running at 1/2 speed. The higher ones use 2/5 or 1/3. The 700 also comes with the 2.9ns NEC L2 chips which are far better than the cheaper ones used on the 750, and 800. I have seen some 700's go as high a 1ghz, but a good rule of thumb is to expect only 100-150mhz increase, however you may have better luck with a GFD. I am pretty sure any Athlon 700 you buy now will be a CPU made in 2000. They are not making the "classic" Athlon anymore, so you most likely will get a recent one. As for a cooler, the best Athlon cooler in my opinion is the Global Win Vos32, but it is very large and may not fit in your set-up. I have a different Global Win, not sure what model #, but it has a large black heatsink that is slightly smaller than the VOS32, and it comes with two YS Tech fans that blow 26cfm each. It works very well, my CPU runs only 81-86F at idle, and tops out at 91F under load. Good luck.

 

[veryape]

For week and year and also micron information look at my post in the AND ATHLON 700 RETAIL thread.