New to overclocking, need help

[GRagland]

have a locked 1800+ CPU.
I just got an AX-7 & TT Smart Fan 2.
My temps right now are 38c idle with the smart fan 2 set to medium speed (3500rpm). At Lowest speed (1600rpm) it gets up to 44c at idle. At full (5200rpm) it is about 36c idle.

Anyway, the most i was able to oc my cpu was 1.66Ghz (145fsb).
At this speed 3dmark runs fine with my fan at 3000+ rpms. When i turn down the fan to 1600rpms it locks up in 3dmark even though my temps are still pretty low. If my temps are low i dont know why it would lock up.

I want to oc past 1.66Ghz, do i need to up my vcore to do this? I am new to overclocking so i have no idea what vcore is. Motherboard monitor says my vcore is at 1.76 now.

What do you suggest, and why do you think im getting lockups with my fan turned down even though my temps are good?

 

[Traen]

The same thing happens to me once I FSB overclock it past 2000+ (I also have an 1800+), even when I have uber low temperatures. I think it locks up because of the overclock lock that the Athlon XP has on it.

As it says in the link below, the easiest way to overclock an Athlon XP is to use an overclocking kit. You can buy this cheap overclocking kit (which can be used on 20+ CPUs), and the sky is the limit. Check the invaluable information below.

A brief synopsis of Athlon XP overclocking:
http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=376&dPage=9

Here's a review and instructions how to use the overclocking kit; it's very helpful:
http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=review&dId=203

Where you can buy this overclocking kit ($12 plus shipping and handling; this is a great deal!):
http://www.highspeedpc.com/

 

[GRagland]

yeah, i bought my 1800+ a couple months ago from someone. he said he tried to unlock it many times, but he was unsuccessful. so i dont think im gonna attempt it. for me 2000+ speeds sometimes locks up in games. so i have it at 1.61Ghz now and its fine.

what about upping the vcore, would that make the system more stable at 2000+ and allow me to oc higher??

 

[GRagland]

I upped my vcore to 1.85, the highest i can go is fsb 147(1.69Ghz). With my fan at full, after 3dmark my temp is only 41c. If i put my fan on lowest it will probably be about 55c, so i dont want to try it. At fsb148 i get an error when loading windows.

Do these temps sound right with an ax-7 and tt smart fan 2 and my overclocked cpu. I could buy some arctic thermal 3 (i have antec silver thermal paste now.), but if these temps are right for my system then ill just leave it.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: Traen
The same thing happens to me once I FSB overclock it past 2000+ (I also have an 1800+), even when I have uber low temperatures. I think it locks up because of the overclock lock that the Athlon XP has on it.

As it says in the link below, the easiest way to overclock an Athlon XP is to use an overclocking kit. You can buy this cheap overclocking kit (which can be used on 20+ CPUs), and the sky is the limit. Check the invaluable information below.

A brief synopsis of Athlon XP overclocking:
http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=376&dPage=9

Here's a review and instructions how to use the overclocking kit; it's very helpful:
http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=review&dId=203

Where you can buy this overclocking kit ($12 plus shipping and handling; this is a great deal!):
http://www.highspeedpc.com/

There is no such thing as an "overclocking lock" on the Athlon XP CPUs, nor on any CPU. Neither AMD nor Intel lock the CPU so it can't go higher then a specified MHZ. The physical limitations of the chip using your current cooling are the only things stopping you from reaching higher overclocks. Using conventional cooling, nobody will ever reach the true physical scaling limitations of the individual chip. To do this you normally have to use extreme water cooling w/ peltiers or phase-change cooling.

They're not traditionally called "overclocking kits" as much as they are called "unlocking kits". That unlocking kit is a pretty good one, and will allow you to adjust the multipliers on the chip. This will normally allow you to push around an extra 50-100mhz outta the chip.

GRagland: what stepping is your 1800+? Is it a Tbred? A Palomino? If its an older Palomino, it normally won't overclock that well. If you want to overclock it higher, I suggest keeping the fan speed at the highest possible setting, and then increasing the Vcore up to at max 1.85v. If you can get the computer stable at 1.85v, try turning the voltage down to 1.8v to see if it runs stable (less voltage will result in less heat being produced). If so, continue this until it is no longer 100% stable. This will help you reduce some of the heat being produced in your system.

Edit: Well the Arctic Silver will help reduce temps about 2 degrees C. I think what you might be running into at 149FSB is a PCI problem. Some hard drives and cards are very sensitive at running on an overclocked bus, and at 149mhz ur running at 37.25.

 

[GRagland]

i can only adjust the vcore .1 at a time. i went from my default vcore of 1.76 to 1.85. how do i select anything in between? off the topic, but is ut2k3 pretty cpu limited, cause im only getting like 40fps average with everything turned up and no aa or af on.

I have a palimino, dont know the stepping.
thanks.

 

[SFang]

You may need to download a little software called "Prime95", run it for several hours to make sure your system is stable, and then enjoy the fun of Overclocking.