New stuff arrived -- Help Overclock

[MethralArc]

I'm new to doing this so please guide me through and give me a good starting point please.
I have:

epox 8RDA+
AthlonXP 2100+ Tbred (Got from Newegg -- Retail) "B"
2x 256MB of XMS3200C2 RAM
Thermaltake SMART CASE FAN II used with AS3


Thanks in advance.

 

[human2k]

What kinda HSF? I hope its a good one. And what is the stepping? (serial printed on the cpu)

 

[MethralArc]

2100+ Tbred "B" AIUHB 0302

I also have Smart Fan II

 

[MethralArc]

Is it true that the 1700+ are able to be overclocked faster than 2100+ for Tbred Bs?

I bought a 2100+ instead of a 1700+ because I am new to overclocking and not really sure what to do heh.

 

[MethralArc]

bump

 

[human2k]

I have an 0302 doing 14 x 166 at 1.8V with an SLK800 and 92mm YS tech fan. Try something like that, then back down to a 10-11 multiplyer and try for 200mhz fsb if your RAM is good enough.

 

[MethralArc]

My case has two fans -- one that is a cut-out on the top part of the case and one on the side.

I have a Antec 430W Power Supply TRUE430 (Good PSU -- Or should I get another one)?

Anyways, more advice please!

Oh and can someone explain to me why it is better to have 2x256 and not 1x512?

 

[Jeff7181]

My first suggestion is to read. Go to overclockers.com and read... go through the message boards here and read... go to tomshardware.com and read. Search google for more overclocking web pages and read.

I say this because overclocking a computer is more of an art than a science... you can't just follow a step by step procedure and get 2.4 Ghz out of your XP2100 because it's rare that you find two people with the EXACT same configuration. You have to consider the CPU's stepping, your motherboard, your RAM, your video card, your hard drive, your power supply, your cooling...

I don't recommend someone who's new to overclocking to just get a few quick tips and go mess with their stuff... learn about it first... learn what overclocking does, learn how increasing voltage helps maintain stability, learn the negative long term effects of increasing voltage.

 

[MethralArc]

Well I'm not THAT new.

I know those things -- because I have read them.

 

[Jeff7181]

Then you should have no trouble... just increase the speed by small incriments until you find it to be unstable, then increase the voltage a little and see if that helps... if it doesn't, increase it a little more. It takes some time to find the max. If you go for broke right away, you may miss an instability in the RAM or video card or something that would prevent you from getting higher speeds even if your CPU is capable of it.

To test for stability, I first run Prime 95... if it runs for 15 minutes I'm satisfied that the CPU is stable and running cool enough. Then I run PCMark2002 to run the RAM through it's paces... if I'm satisfied with that, then I run 3DMark2001 to put the processor, RAM, and video card through it's paces... if that's fine, then I'll either increase the clock speed again, or use it for a few days at that speed and make sure it's stable. If it is, then I may go for a little more speed and do it all over again.

 

[MethralArc]

kewl kewl. i just would like to know a "safe" starting point. A "for sure" area, then a gray area, then a critical area.

i dont know much about amd and epox heh.

 

[bgeh]

imo, the 2100+ can hit 2.167GHz with little or none extra voltage, then at around 2.3-2.4GHz, you will begin to max out

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: MethralArc
kewl kewl. i just would like to know a "safe" starting point. A "for sure" area, then a gray area, then a critical area.

i dont know much about amd and epox heh.

Safe is anything you can get it to run at below 1.7 volts... grey would be between 1.7 and 1.8 volts, and above 1.8 volts I would consider to be some hefty voltage.

 

[Chumpman]

I'd say you could try bumping the FSB straight to 166 with the worst case scenario being a no-boot and a required reset of CMOS. Then try bumping up gradually as others have said.

 

[MethralArc]

I'm guessing a voltage of 1.7 or 1.75 for vcore is possible place to stop ehhh?

I'm hoping at least 185 FSB with my equipment.

 

[bgeh]

im, the absolute max you should go is 1.85v