NEWBIE OVERCLOCKING QUESTIONS!

[FlyingHamster]

LoL, I have some NEWBIE overclocking questions, and I just got an updated system. I bought some new computer parts. Here is my system specs:

Epox 8K3A+ (2815 BIOS)
AMD athlon xp 1700+ JIUHB; Thermaltake Volcano 7+ hs/f
1x512mb TwinMOS pc3200
Leadtek Geforce4 Ti4200 (OC'ed @ 295/285)
Antec 300watt psu, SX-1030 case with 6 case fans
Realtek NIC
100gig Maxtor hard drive @ 7200 rpm (ATA/133)
19" ViewSonic A90 @ 1152x854x32
HP cd16 CD-RW 24x10x40

My main point is that I want to overclock this cpu, as that is what most people get this cpu for lol. Anyway, I need to know what to do so that I can possibly overclock past 2ghz.

I wish overclocking was as easy as going into the BIOS, changing the FSB to 200, lowering the multiplier, and BAM!!! your cpu is at 2.2ghz. But as we all know, it's not lol. What do u recommend me lowering the multiplier to 1st, when upping the FSB?

I know there are several settings in my BIOS that I need to change, to allow my cpu to be capable of gaining such speeds. My question is.. what and where are these things?

I've heard of FCD, my "AGP/PCI 1/5 divider" or wutever lol, aggressive ram timings, etc., but I don't know what do set these things to. I know if I were to just up my FSB straight away to 200, a lot of things would go wrong, and thats why Im asking about all these things.

Looking at my system specs, wut do you think is the best BIOS for me to get? 3117? Why??

And what is this hard drive corruption I hear people talking about? Like if I get my FSB to high, my kt333 chipset may not be able to handle it and I will need to lower my HDD "ATA" speed. My maxtor is set at ATA/133 right now, so let me know if I will need to change something.

Ive seen people with things like "2-2-2-6-2t-4way" in their sig and stuff, and I know this is their ram timings, but WHAT NUMBER STANDS FOR WHAT SETTING LOL?! What do u think I would be able to get my kt333 chipset motherboard stable at??

And do u recommend me using the cpu burn-in wizard in Sandra once Ive overclocked? will it help?

That's about all I have to ask. Again, I just want some of u guys that have OC'ed to let me in on your secrets lol. Thanks and hope to hear soon..

 

[SilverBack]

I wish overclocking was as easy as going into the BIOS, changing the FSB to 200, lowering the multiplier, and BAM!!! your cpu is at 2.2ghz.

Uhm that's actually exactly what I did.
Only thing though I'm using a Barton cpu.
11x200
Asus N7V8X deluxe , Barton 2500+
Cooling is an Alpha 8045
Vcore up .10 to 1.75v
Ram is Corsair XMS3200 5,2,2,2

 

[DivideBYZero]

Damn, you say 'LOL' too much.

Just try it, if it messes up, reset the CMOS jumper and try again. Thats what we all do... 😉

 

[Soulkeeper]

i'm betting yur psu is gonna be yur limiting factor here
300watts is really pushing it even for a non-overclocked athlon system these days

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: Soulkeeper
i'm betting yur psu is gonna be yur limiting factor here
300watts is really pushing it even for a non-overclocked athlon system these days

Agreed, especially as I just noticed you have 6(!) case fans.

 

[JCE86]

When you OC why do you up the FSB as high as possible and lower the multiplier. I never OC'ed a AMD before so I'm a bit new to this so pardon my ignorance. I do, however, remember that Intel users OC'ing by upping the FSB and I have never heard of them lowering the multiplier. What makes AMD so different that you must lower the multiplier?

Also, will upping the FSB create any problems for the graphic card? Again, I have read that upping the FSB in Intel chips too high, may create a problem for graphics card. Perhaps something about frames being off? I do not remember. I'd gladly appreciate any in site on this matter. =)

 

[JCE86]

Originally posted by: Soulkeeper
i'm betting yur psu is gonna be yur limiting factor here
300watts is really pushing it even for a non-overclocked athlon system these days

How does the PSU come into play if you do not up the voltage?