How do I overclock a P4 machine properly??? (using a Alb 845PEV Pro)

[Winjer23]

So, picked up a P4 2.4B chip (found out recently it has C1 stepping, whatever that means) and popped it into an Albatron 845PEV Pro, and it worked great. The mobo came with a little instruction page on how to O/C, but although I get it to O/C, I don't really understand what I am doing. Any help on the right process.

I have decent memory - 512mb Corsair XMS 2700 DDR.

I guess on this machine, my multiplier is 18? (18x133 = ~2400)

So, I just go to the BIOS, change the 133 setting to 150 and bam, everything is faster. I go to 155, even faster. I go to 160, great. I change the memory multiplier to 2.5x (if it wasn't there already) and everything is wonderful. I'm not testing it, really... just seeing if it boots up. At some point, I'm playing a game and the machine reboots. So... I boost the voltage a little... from 1.5 or 1.525 up to 1.55. Maybe I drop the 160 down to 158... everything is nice, now (on the surface).

I think that my machine says it's running around 2.8 or 2.9GHz now, and memory is around 400. Sisoft sandra says my cpu and mem perform well.... better than the base specs.

Here are some questions:
1) What is the 1.5x, 2.0x, 2.5x, 2.66x (turbo) setting for memory speed?
2) when I change the 133 up to 150+ (is this bus speed?), what is this really doing?
3) When and why do I need to increase voltage? (and how much is too much voltage - I've heard don't go past 1.75 on other threads)
4) What temperatures are normal and too high for a P4 CPU, and what causes temp to go up? My temp doesn't appear to change (if the sensor is right, I'm always around 69C), even with minor voltage adjustments.
5) What if I push too far - will my PC not boot? Do I need to clear CMOS then?
6) MEMORY SETTINGS... I can let my memory set based on SPD settings... or I can set them manually. What are all the sub settings (e.g. 2,3,3,7) for? CAS is related to speed, right, and I can run mine at CAS 2. The other settings, I figure, I want to get as low as possible... but I notice sometimes they reset to crappy values (esp. when I use the 2.66x/turbo setting). What is a reasonable target (e.g. 2-x-x-x)?
7) If I am O/C'ing the memory, does it need more voltage? How can I tell?

To help answer these Q's, I've been looking for a decent O/C handbook, but the best I could find was some 1997 version on Tom's Hardware that is a wee bit outdated. Please let me know if there is something more modern - maybe specifically for P4s out there?

Thanks!
Winjer

 

[halkebul]

picked up a P4 2.4B chip (found out recently it has C1 stepping, whatever that means)

Basically means it can overclock higher than the initial 2.4Bs. That's a good thing in laymens terms. Pentium4 Northwood overclocking guide

 

[SupermanCK]

Originally posted by: Winjer23

Here are some questions:
1) What is the 1.5x, 2.0x, 2.5x, 2.66x (turbo) setting for memory speed?
yes, but the initial overclock just set up 1.0x
2) when I change the 133 up to 150+ (is this bus speed?), what is this really doing?
yes, it increases the system bus speed
3) When and why do I need to increase voltage? (and how much is too much voltage - I've heard don't go past 1.75 on other threads)
When you starts to get crashes, or not being able to load programs normally, ie windows.
Do not go over 1.75v actual voltage reading in windows
4) What temperatures are normal and too high for a P4 CPU, and what causes temp to go up? My temp doesn't appear to change (if the sensor is right, I'm always around 69C), even with minor voltage adjustments.
69C is way too high, either your sensor is wrong or you didn't set your heatsink right, double check everything. Temp will gradually increase when you up FSB and Vcore.
5) What if I push too far - will my PC not boot? Do I need to clear CMOS then?
yes, if you push too far, you pc will most likely not boot, you have to clear CMOS usually, but it depends on your mobo manufacturer's setup
6) MEMORY SETTINGS... I can let my memory set based on SPD settings... or I can set them manually. What are all the sub settings (e.g. 2,3,3,7) for? CAS is related to speed, right, and I can run mine at CAS 2. The other settings, I figure, I want to get as low as possible... but I notice sometimes they reset to crappy values (esp. when I use the 2.66x/turbo setting). What is a reasonable target (e.g. 2-x-x-x)?
Initially, you should set your memory CAS setting to the slowest as possible so when you hit a wall you would know that it is not the memory holding your back. Read answer to question 1 also.
7) If I am O/C'ing the memory, does it need more voltage? How can I tell?
You really don't have up the memory voltage, it can cause more harm then upping vcore. Unless you are running 400+ddr, you can just leave everything at default 2.5v/2.6v.

 

[THUGSROOK]

follow my example in this thread to get an idea of how its done correctly