need some info on 939 overclock

[mizzou]

I have an older system running a 939 amd 3500+, and will be overclocking this to get some better overall performance so i can play bordelands at a decent level.
Came into some new hand me down parrts so comp went from a 6600gt with 2x512 ddr to 7900gs with 2x1gb ddr.

When 7900 is overclocked, game performance isnt bad at all. Going to push it further with a overclock on cpu aswell.


Question. How far can i expect to get with just a FSB increase? Cpu multipliers are locked. This is a 120nm chip i beilieve.

Is this even worth it? I also have a spare pentium4 2.23ghz but after morr research i think the amd chip is far superior

 

[veri745]

The Athlon is definitely better than the P4, but I'd be really surprised if you could get acceptable framerates out of that CPU/GPU combo, especially with the single core CPU.

 

[toyota]

yeah with that old single core cpu there is no chance to make a noticeable difference. really you need a modern system as a 7900 will barely get by and single core cpu just doesn't cut it anymore.

 

[veri745]

The Athlon 3500+ is slower than the Sempron I have linked, and check out what a $75 CPU upgrade will get you:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/112?vs=42

 

[Rifter]

there is no way you are going to get anything noticeable out of that old system on newer games, its just not going to happen.

Spend the cash on a new system or stay away from newer games. Even a GPU upgrade is pointless on that single core you are going to need to go with a whole new CPU/GPU/RAM/mobo upgrade.

 

[kalniel]

Without changing volts then 10-15% should be no problem. With volt upping then significantly more, you have to make sure to keep the hypertransport and PCI clocks down while increasing CPU clock. You might need to run your RAM on a lower divider too.

 

[toyota]

I just fired up Borderlands and disabled one of my overclocked E8500 cores and my framerate dropped into the 30-35fps range as opposed to 55-60. even if you oced the 3500 to 3.0 it would not even come close to one of my E8500 cores at 3.8.

 

[Martimus]

I have an older system running a 939 amd 3500+, and will be overclocking this to get some better overall performance so i can play bordelands at a decent level.
Came into some new hand me down parrts so comp went from a 6600gt with 2x512 ddr to 7900gs with 2x1gb ddr.

When 7900 is overclocked, game performance isnt bad at all. Going to push it further with a overclock on cpu aswell.


Question. How far can i expect to get with just a FSB increase? Cpu multipliers are locked. This is a 120nm chip i beilieve.

Is this even worth it? I also have a spare pentium4 2.23ghz but after morr research i think the amd chip is far superior

My X2 4200 (Manchester) could get 240 MHz HT link with minor voltage increases, but 250 MHz HT link took a lot of voltage. The 3500+ would probably do better because it is single core, but I would say you should be able to get up to 240-250 MHz at least with a good cooler.

Here is a good guide to get you started: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=1077&highlight=a64+overclocking

 

[toyota]

My X2 4200 (Manchester) could get 240 MHz HT link with minor voltage increases, but 250 MHz HT link took a lot of voltage. The 3500+ would probably do better because it is single core, but I would say you should be able to get up to 240-250 MHz at least with a good cooler.

Here is a good guide to get you started: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=1077&highlight=a64+overclocking

he probably has a stock cooler anyway. even with a better cooler he isn't going to get more than a couple of fps difference in a game like Borderlands. it will still be under 30 fps for an average in most of the game no matter what.

 

[mizzou]

he probably has a stock cooler anyway. even with a better cooler he isn't going to get more than a couple of fps difference in a game like Borderlands. it will still be under 30 fps for an average in most of the game no matter what.

Its a zalman cu cooler, this used to be my main rig back in the day, but i was damn suprised when i got well over 30fps at 1280x1024 with borderlands, it does hiccup a bit at big battles so im thinking with the doubled ram and a bit more cpu juice it will play alright or even maybe at native res 1080x1050 of the hand me down monitor i have laying around.

I raided my moms house over the weekend and it had a nice cache of 2003-2005 era hardware

 

[toyota]

Its a zalman cu cooler, this used to be my main rig back in the day, but i was damn suprised when i got well over 30fps at 1280x1024 with borderlands, it does hiccup a bit at big battles so im thinking with the doubled ram and a bit more cpu juice it will play alright or even maybe at native res 1080x1050 of the hand me down monitor i have laying around.

I raided my moms house over the weekend and it had a nice cache of 2003-2005 era hardware

well I doubt you average much more than 20 fps during action so an additional 1-2 fps probably isn't going to help. also more cpu power is not going to let you play at higher res. that would take more gpu power. btw if you have widescreen then don't play at 1280x1024 because you are cutting off much of the field of view. just choose a lower widesreen res.

 

[mizzou]

well I doubt you average much more than 20 fps during action so an additional 1-2 fps probably isn't going to help. also more cpu power is not going to let you play at higher res. that would take more gpu power. btw if you have widescreen then don't play at 1280x1024 because you are cutting off much of the field of view. just choose a lower widesreen res.

Sorry, dont mean to be misleading but i try to keep posts as concose as possible asi type from a smartphone.

Wife had a spare pc, it hada crappy 17 in lcd 1280x1024 max.

I installed borderlands and it would run OK with most mJor options on low or medium settings after i threw in the 7900gs to replace the 6600gt.
when vid card isoverclocked tge game is def averagimg over 30fps in regular gameplay except the biggest of battles

This past weekend i upgraded the ddr ram from 1g to 2 g and am also hoping squeezing some more cpu juice can get her to play it on my spare 22"lcd that does 1680x1050 or maybe add some eye candy on the 17" monitor