new computer.... help me overclock?.. newbie :/

[quanfer]

first post..

i've read articles online.. but i figured i'd get the best feedback from a forum..

help me maximize performannce..? bios tweaking.... i've never done this before..

thanks guys

p4 2.8C northwood
asus sis655tx
ati radeon 9800 pro
512mb pc2700 kingston, and 512mb pc2700 patriot (re-badged corsair?)

 

[Jeff7181]

Don't plan on doing it anytime this week. Spend this week reading these forums and reading the CPU articles on the AnandTech home page. X-bit labs is also a good source of information, as is HardOCP, TweakTown, Toms Hardware, and Guru 3D. There are many more good sites, but I figured those should get you started, lol.

(for the rest of you, no comments about me calling Tom's Hardware a good source of information )

 

[quanfer]

thanks for the links.. but i have read some of them.. and im still wondering how i should set my bios according to my comp specs...

 

[Jeff7181]

Overclocking is somewhat of a crap shoot. Nobody can really tell you the exact settings to use because every piece of hardware is different, even the same models with the same stepping and whatnot. That's why when a friend of mine asks me how to overclock, I hesitate telling them to go change the FSB to this and the voltage to this, etc. because it may not work for him... I usually tell people to learn what every setting does so when they change it and something doesn't work, they know why and can correct it.

 

[myocardia]

I agree with Jeff, with one exception: I personally think that the best way to learn, if you're a complete newbie, is to spend an hour or two in your bios. Don't change anything, or you'll more than likely regret it, but spend some time in there finding out what all of the settings are and what they can be changed to, before you go scrolling through forums. Me or Jeff telling you to set your vdimm to whatever value will mean absolutely nothing to you, unless you know what the hell vdimm is, and what options you have for it in the bios your board has.

 

[Jeff7181]

A perfect example...

My old PC3200 wasn't stable at anything lower than 2.8 volts... my new Mushkin PC3500 Level 1 is ONLY stable at 2.6 volts. If a newbie was in the same situation, they would most likely think if it's not stable, they need more voltage to the RAM... increasing the voltage to this RAM only makes it more and more unstable. At 2.9 volts it won't even finish the RAM check during the POST.

 

[Elbryn]

Originally posted by: quanfer
thanks for the links.. but i have read some of them.. and im still wondering how i should set my bios according to my comp specs...

what in your bios are you having trouble with?