Newbie, what can I do to my rig??

[Mattyboy90]

Hey guys. I never OC'ed in my life and was wondering if I can do anything for my machine? I have:

Antec Sonata with 1x120mm stock fan
Asus P4P800-Deluxe
P4 3.0CGhz
2x512MB (1GB) Corsair TwinX PC-3200LL RAM
2x120GB WD HD in RAID 0
Ati AIW 9600 Pro

Right now my CPU temps idle at 39 C and usually do not go above 44 C. RAM temps usually under 30C. Everything is set at the default bios settings.

Any information will help
Thanks

 

[NokiaDude]

Add more HD's?? Personally, you've got a good system right there. I think you're set for the next two years.

 

[mato7742]

maybe you should get a new sound card (audigy 2 zs perhaps) and maybe another 120 mm case fan. you wouldn't even have to do any of that, it sounds perfectly fine now.

 

[Mattyboy90]

Another HD? Acutally I have another IDE drive. Total space is 270GB, don't you think that is enough? Sound card might be nice, but I am happy with the onboard sound already. I know I have a good setup now, but if I wanted to try overclocking, what should I try?? Putting another fan it that case might be tuff because of where it is mounted and all the cables are in the way. Don't want to do that.

 

[BlueWeasel]

I have no idea of the overclock-ability of P4 systems, but I'd be perfectly happy with what you have.

You could check out theOC Database to get an idea of how much (if any) headroom you have on that chip.

 

[Keysplayr]

Honestly, there is nothing your system cant handle quite nicely the way it sits now. Overclocking would be just an amusement for you. Most people try to overclock to speeds that you already have stock. You could also try enabling HyperThreading if you havent already.

 

[myocardia]

Matt, you own the highest overclocking P4C made. 4.0ghz isn't rare with that chip. All you will have to do is starting raising your fsb. I would definitely recommend putting the other 120mm fan in your Sonata, though, if you are going to overclock. You will also have to go into the bios and make sure that the PCI bus is locked at 33mhz and the AGP bus is locked at 66mhz. And if you try a massive overclock, you will need to set your ram to run slower than the processor, at a 5:4 ratio.

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: myocardia
Matt, you own the highest overclocking P4C made. 4.0ghz isn't rare with that chip. All you will have to do is starting raising your fsb. I would definitely recommend putting the other 120mm fan in your Sonata, though, if you are going to overclock. You will also have to go into the bios and make sure that the PCI bus is locked at 33mhz and the AGP bus is locked at 66mhz. And if you try a massive overclock, you will need to set your ram to run slower than the processor, at a 5:4 ratio.

Unless it's a revision B chip it might not make it that far. Your RAM will also be a problem unless you can get that chip to 250MHZ FSB, where you'll be able to run a 5:4 divider and set it back to DDR400. If you are serious about overclocking, and do indeed have a revision B 3.0C, then get some PC4000 or better memory, add another 120mm Fan, and get a nice big heatsink like the Zalman CNPS7000-Cu or Thermalright SP-94 and start having some fun. Otherwise, just enjoy the nice fast system you have now and forget about overclocking.

 

[myocardia]

Yeah, you're right, jdogg, I was assuming he had a brand new system with a Rev. B chip. But even the non-B's are getting between 3.5 & 3.6ghz. That's not too bad!

 

[Soulkeeper]

if you aren't happy with a system that is that fast then you might as well sell it
you could prob get enough money from selling it to buy a complete new system (maybe spend an extra few dollars if you want)

 

[Mattyboy90]

Thanks for the advice guys. I am 100% happy with the system the way it is now, just wanted to see what I can do with it, that's all. I spent enough money already on it.