First Time OC'er Looking for Help

[Gibberish]

First, let me tell you about what I have:
- DFI AK76-SN Rev. A+ mobo,
- 256MB PC2100 Crucial RAM.

Now, let me tell you what I'm going to buy next:
- AMD 1.4 GHz TBird 266 FSB,
- A cooler/heatsink/fan/whatever.

And finally, I will ask my questions:

- Question 1: What kind of CPU do I want? I'm confused by this whole "Y" variety. And is "AYHJA" the same thing? And what is "stepping" on an AMD? I've heard you can get a better gain with the "Y" variety. An AMD 1.4@1.7 is not unreasonable, I'm told. Basically, I want someone to tell me what all the different choices for an AMD 1.4 GHz TBird 266 FSB there are. And where I can get that specific one for cheap (definitely OEM). (Newegg.com?)

- Question 2: My mobo has a CPU frequency ratio setting and a CPU core voltage setting. If I want to OC my CPU to 1.7GHz, what will my ratio and my voltage need to be set at? Furthermore, how do you know that's what it will be set at?

- Question 3: What's the difference between a cooler and a heatsink, or is "cooler" just a generic term for both the heatsink and the fan? What should I buy if I want the best price/performance ratio? Keep in mind I want to OC my 1.4 to 1.7 GHz. I'm not too concerned about noise level, unless it's REALLY loud.

- Question 4: When I unlock my AMD, how do I do that? Someone actually SPELL it out for me (not literally). When you say pencil it in, do you mean just draw a line between them using any old pencil? Or must it be a #2 pencil, etc. I'm serious. I know you're laughing, but I don't care. I want this done RIGHT. Also, just using a pencil like that doesn't sound very stable. What else could I do that would be more stable? Or is it really stable enough? HELP!

- Question 5: When I OC my CPU, do I need to start at 1.6, test it out, go to 1.65, test it out, then go to 1.7 and test it out? Or something like that? How should I do this?

- Question 6: I've never heard of OCing RAM. Someone explain the process. Is it stable with the Crucial brand? Do I need some additional fans or something?

- Question 7: I've never heard of OCing the FSB either. In fact, I've only heard of OCing the CPU. So someone tell me anything else I should consider while building this system. What kind of power supply am I going to need with all this OCing going on? Figure in a CDRW, CDROM, soundcard, and a GeForce 2 MX400.

*AARGH!* So many questions!

Thanks a TON everybody! If there's anything else I'm forgetting, just go ahead and tell me about it. Also, if you can only answer one or two of my questions, just answer those. I don't expect one person to answer everything. (Although I'm sure there will be some who do.)

Thanks again!

 

[Gibberish]

BUMP. I'm leaving for work now. When I get back, I hope to have some replies! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?

 

[jchu14]

<< - Question 1: What kind of CPU do I want? I'm confused by this whole "Y" variety. And is "AYHJA" the same thing? And what is "stepping" on an AMD? I've heard you can get a better gain with the "Y" variety. >>


The Stepping of a AMD Cpu is the second line engrave on the die (the middle raised part) of the CPU. Y is the first letter on the third line of code. There are K and Y variety of AYHJA. Y overclocks better I think.

<< An AMD 1.4@1.7 is not unreasonable, I'm told. Basically, I want someone to tell me what all the different choices for an AMD 1.4 GHz TBird 266 FSB there are. And where I can get that specific one for cheap (definitely OEM). (Newegg.com?) >>


You probably shouldn't set your standard as high as 1.7. I haven't seen anyone overclock that high stable with just air cooling. Extreme cooling (water, vapochile) is often required to offset the higher voltage required for such a high overclock. There are basically no variations between the 1.4ghz besides the K and Y difference. Newegg is a good retailer. I have heard however, you can buy the 1.4 that's not specified as AYHJA and still get an AYHJA since it's the only stepping on the 1.4s and save a few bucks.

<< Question 2: My mobo has a CPU frequency ratio setting and a CPU core voltage setting. If I want to OC my CPU to 1.7GHz, what will my ratio and my voltage need to be set at? Furthermore, how do you know that's what it will be set at? >>


CPU frequency is teh multiplyer right? Does your motherboard allow FSB overclocking? FSB overclocking would be a better to go since it's also speeds up your memory and you can fine tune your OC better. The frequency ratio all depends on your overclock. The speed of your CPU is fsb x cpu frequency. CPU voltages default is 1.75v but AMD says the upper limit is 1.85v. However many OCers up the voltage to 1.9, 2.0, and some brave soul (or just people who doesn't mind buying a new chips) up it to 2.1-2.2. You've got to watch the temperature of your Chip carefully since upping the voltage can cause teh temp to go up considerably. You should be able to monitor the CPU frequency and voltage in your bios.


<< Question 3: What's the difference between a cooler and a heatsink, or is "cooler" just a generic term for both the heatsink and the fan? What should I buy if I want the best price/performance ratio? Keep in mind I want to OC my 1.4 to 1.7 GHz. I'm not too concerned about noise level, unless it's REALLY loud. >>


Cooler is the generic term for heatsink and fan. The best price/performance heatsink is probably the SK6. It runs for about 33 dollars plus shipping. If you want THE BEST, it's the Swiftech MC462, but you have to shell out quite a bit of dough for THE BEST. It costs about $80. If you're willing to wait, the Alpha PAL8045, it due to come out fair soon. It is suppose to beat the swifty in both performance and price. So it should drive down the price of the swifty when it comes out. The delta black label (38 cfm) is the most popular high perfrmance fan some OCers. Some people doesn't mind it's noise but some say it drives them nutty. If you're truly an extreme OCer (or just deaf) you will probably want a even more powerful delta (50+ db).


<< Question 4: When I unlock my AMD, how do I do that? Someone actually SPELL it out for me (not literally). When you say pencil it in, do you mean just draw a line between them using any old pencil? Or must it be a #2 pencil, etc. I'm serious. I know you're laughing, but I don't care. I want this done RIGHT. Also, just using a pencil like that doesn't sound very stable. What else could I do that would be more stable? Or is it really stable enough? HELP! >>

All 1.4s should be factory unlocked.


<< Question 5: When I OC my CPU, do I need to start at 1.6, test it out, go to 1.65, test it out, then go to 1.7 and test it out? Or something like that? How should I do this? >>

You should always go slowly at OCing. Increase the speed 10-20mhz at a time to start with, then in even smaller margins when you reach 1.65+ since most 1.4 seems to top out around there. I recommend Prime95 for stablity testing.

<< Question 6: I've never heard of OCing RAM. Someone explain the process. Is it stable with the Crucial brand? Do I need some additional fans or something? >>

When you up the FSB,you're upping the ram frequency as well. Crucial is good brand, a lot of peopel have good result overclocking with them. There are ram heatsinks for sale, (thermaltake makes them) but most people have no problem upping FSB with out them. I've never heard anybody burn out a ram stick from overclocking, besides for the price of the heatsinks, you could probably buy a new stick of ram.

<< Question 7: I've never heard of OCing the FSB either. In fact, I've only heard of OCing the CPU. So someone tell me anything else I should consider while building this system. What kind of power supply am I going to need with all this OCing going on? Figure in a CDRW, CDROM, soundcard, and a GeForce 2 MX400. >>

Ok, here's the quick run down on FSB ocing. The CPU speed is determined multiplying FSB and Multiplyer(CPU frequency ratio) together. The default on 1.4 266fsb is 133x10.5=1400 (266 is 133 doble pumped) If your mother board supports it, you can up the FSB to various speeds. Example: up the FSB to 150x 10.5=1575mhz. FSB overclocking is prefered over just multiplyer OCing since it speeds up the ram speed as well. On memory intensive programs such as SETI or 3D images (3dmark loves high fsb). You can lower the multiplyer to accomadate the higher FSB. Power supply is a crucial part of a system. You should have AT LEAST a quility 300watt. 400watt and up is prefered but definately not a must. I would say try your old powersupply first, and monitor the voltage with Motherboard Monitor. If it's not stable and the voltages flutuate a lot, then you should get a new powersupply.

WHEW!!!! that's a lot of typing. Good luck overclocking that chip. You won't regret it. It not only speeds up your system, you get the satisfaction of know you've pushed every last drop of performance out of your computer.

 

[Bovinicus]

One thing I think might help out your overclocking experience is "Burning in" the CPU. This is something a lot of people neglect. Basically it is just running your CPU at default clockspeed for 3-5 days (My opinion) before overclocking it. I always do this, so I can't personally comment on any negative effects I have seen. Many swear this is very important however. Also, if your CPU isn't factory unlocked, a conductive pen does a better job of unlocking the CPU. If you use a pencil (Yes, it should be #2), then you might want to put a piece of tape over the marks you made, maybe even a CPU shim. Good luck.