Do I dare venture into OC-land?

[blacktankofhopelessness]

Alrighty then, I got myself a new system based on an A64 3000+ and the new Abit NF8. This due to my previous system, a mobile 2500+ and a ASUS A7V8X breaking after some overclocking. Well, actually the mobo and my OC'ed 9800 Pro were the 'only' things that went toast, but still..

My question (might seem like a stupid one since you'd think I learnt my lesson by now) is do I dare OC'ing this system? I'm not touching my graphics this time, but I've heard so many success stories about OC'ing the A64 so I really want to give it a go - especially after reading Zebo's excellent sticky!

What is the limit of my overclocking if I want to make SURE I don't mess up my mobo?

 

[qbackin]

How did you 'toast" your stuff?
Just go easy on the Vcore.

 

[blacktankofhopelessness]

Dunno really. The Mobo just went dead, though it was pretty old for overclocking: 2 years plus some... My 9800 Pro definately died due to overclocking though.

 

[Necrolezbeast]

If you do decide to overlcock this one remember to read as much as you can...see what other people are getting to and see what they say a safe vcore is. Never jump right into a high overclock either, just because 90% of the people out there can do it....it still doesn't mean it is possible for your system. Just take everything slow and make sure you don't give it too much juice. If you slowly find the limits the worse thing you will have to do is reset the CMOS, or if you're lucky hold the Insert key when you start your computer to reset to default and let you enter your bios without messing with jumpers.

Good luck!

 

[imported_Kensai]

Don't push your voltages too much.

 

[Sexy D]

similar to what necro said.... dont aim for an overclock, find ur max cpu speed n take ur time. I aimed for an OC (2.6ghz on a 3200 90nm) n i was trying for days.... pointlessly lol !

 

[blacktankofhopelessness]

I will be careful while I'm finding my optimal Ghz for the 3000+. I was really just curious if a high FSB or HTT will risk frying any components on the motherboard, or is it all down to voltages?

I will never push the Vcore over the safe setting Zebo recommended in his guide (1.55 right?) so that should put me in the clear.

 

[blacktankofhopelessness]

Bump

So, are voltages the only thing to worry about, or can I seriously damage the motherboard with just a higher FSB on stock voltage?

 

[yliu]

I would say that it should not damage most motherboards that are built well, such as the DFI and MSI boards. However, using a high FSB with stock voltage will raise your CPU temperature, and may still damage your CPU if your cooling isn't good enough. To minimize this risk, you need to push your FSB very gradually, use prime95 as a stability test, and watch your core temperatures.

The truth is, computer components may get damaged because of overheating and other reasons even without any overclocking. For example, one might apply the thermal grease improperly, use a PSU that doesn't supply clean power, or live in an area that's extremely hot... This is why it is better to make sure that everything is working 100% safe and well at stock speeds before you start to push it.

 

[blacktankofhopelessness]

Thanks for that!

I have during the evening followed Zebo's guide and managed to push the FSB up to 280Mhz, maxed my CPU at 2,5 Ghz and reached my mems ideal setting at 410Mhz. (The Kingmax stick is holding me back I'd say...). For stability and safety reasons I've now set my system at 250x9,5= 2,38Ghz and Mem at said setting. Scored good results in Sandra 2005 and ran Prime95 without a glitch for over an hour. My Zalman CNPS 7000B should be enough for cooling and running Rome: Total War did not yield any crashes! Will try to run Prime95 during the day tomorrow at 250x10 and see if that's ok. Temps are a pain to read on my board though, even after the BIOS updates the NF8 reports strange and highly fluctuating temps... Nothing higher than 49C on the CPU though.

Thanks for your help and big up to Zebo. You the man!