Overclocking a Sempron

[imported_LoKe]

I'll be building a whole new system in a few months, and I have some questions. I've never overclocked anything, ever.

So, this will be my setup :

Note : It's a budget system, obviously

AMD SEMPRON 2600+ PROCESSOR S754 PALERMO 1.6GHZ 128KB L2 CACHE 90NM 333FSB
ASUS K8N ATHLON64 S754 NFORCE3 250 DDR AGP 5PCI SATA SOUND LAN MOTHERBOARD
CORSAIR VALUE SELECT DUAL CHANNEL 512MB KIT PC3200 DDR CAS2.5 2X256MB MEMORY

With regular cooling, what kind of results could I see from this?

Thanks.

 

[mindwreck]

you should be able to hit 2.4ghz with ease. I've heard some hit that with stock cooling, but i have a xp90 on mine adn it still hits about 50C.

note: aren't the semprons running on a 400mhz bus? why does it say 333mhz?!

 

[imported_LoKe]

According to NCIX and a few people, it's 333. Hm...Thanks!

How about overclocking the ram what whatnot? Or do I not even have to?

I won't be playing any major games on this by the way. Only like, StarCraft, Diablo II, UT.

 

[Vegitto]

You might wanna overclock it, but that's not gonna work with Value RAM. Get some GeIL Value RAM, those (if you can find them) are made of the old Winbond BH-5 chips. You'll love them.

Also, for these games, I recommend a minumum of 1 GB of RAM. Sorry, mate.

 

[imported_LoKe]

I was playing all three of them on 256 RAM a while back. My familys comp runs on 2x256 Infineon and it runs them without any problems.

 

[Vegitto]

Yes, it runs them without any problems. My comp runs UT2004, too, but at an average frame rate of 5. That sucks. You'll really notice the difference with 1 GB of RAM. Load times and all.

 

[imported_LoKe]

Heh, I probably won't even be playing games at all. Just, those are the only three I'd ever even consider playing.

Oh, and I have a choice of ram, should I pick either

1 x CORSAIR VALUE SELECT DDR SDRAM 333MHZ PC2700 512MB CAS2.5 VS512MB333
or
1 x CORSAIR VALUE SELECT DUAL CHANNEL 512MB KIT PC3200 DDR CAS2.5 2X256MB MEMORY
?

 

[Vegitto]

If you really want to work with 512 MB of RAM (which I wouldn't do, really), I'd get the second. PC3200 is faster, and overclocks better. Although you have higher chance of having a high overclock with just 1 stick of RAM, so I'd get 1 stick of 512 MB if you really don't want to take advice .

 

[imported_LoKe]

I'm trying to keep this system as cheap as possible.
Right now, after shipping and taxes, it's 426$ CAD, which fits by budget PERFECTLY.

EDIT : What about CORSAIR VALUE SELECT PC3200 512MB DDR 400MHZ CAS3 VS512MB400 MEMORY

 

[Vegitto]

Originally posted by: LoKe
I'm trying to keep this system as cheap as possible.
Right now, after shipping and taxes, it's 426$ CAD, which fits by budget PERFECTLY.

EDIT : What about CORSAIR VALUE SELECT PC3200 512MB DDR 400MHZ CAS3 VS512MB400 MEMORY

Nope, wouldn't get that, unless it's $50 cheaper than the

Originally posted by: LoKe

1 x CORSAIR VALUE SELECT DUAL CHANNEL 512MB KIT PC3200 DDR CAS2.5 2X256MB MEMORY

memory. Where do you shop, I'll take a look-see for you. How many can it cost, in Canadian Dollars?

 

[imported_LoKe]

I'm shopping at NCIX.com right now. And, I think the highest I'll go is about 85$ CAD. If you can find something good...

I really appreciate your help. :thumbsup:

 

[Vegitto]

You're welcome. Now, the following have catched my eye :

This one is Kingston memory, with a CL of 2.5. It's one stick of 512 MB. I know someone who has it, and he's pleased.

This baby is an OCZ one, with TCCD chips. It's kind of expensive (still under your set budget of C$85), but the latencies are very improvable. It'll help you achieve a greater overclock.

This OCZ Value RAM'll make you happy. It's cool, you'll love it.

This RAM is cool, but you cannot use it with a Socket 939 setup, especially if that S939 setup'll be made with an ASUS board. But with your choice of board, it'll do the trick, just fine.

That's about it. That's all the nice RAM NCIX.com has to offer. Do you have any other websites I could scavenge?

 

[imported_LoKe]

The only other Canadian website I know of is TigerDirect.ca, but aparently they have a bad reputation lately and high(er) prices.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

So, if I had to decide, would it be between the OCZ and the OCZ Value?

 

[imported_LoKe]

Okay, so far my system will be as follows :

1 x ANTEC SLK1650B BLACK MID-TOWER 3X5.25 5X3.5 ATX12V 350W
1 x AMD SEMPRON 2600+ PROCESSOR S754 PALERMO 1.6GHZ 128KB L2 CACHE 90NM 333FSB RETAIL BOX
1 x ASUS K8N ATHLON64 S754 NFORCE3 250 DDR AGP 5PCI SATA SOUND LAN MOTHERBOARD
1 x OCZ 512MB PC3200 DDR400 CAS2.5 184PIN W/ BLACK HEAT SPREADER

Everything look good?

 

[Vegitto]

I'd get the OCZ if I were you. TigerDirect hasn't got anything interesting.

EDIT: Yeah, it looks good. But, if you want to overclock, I'd get a tray Sempron (without a cooler) and get a better cooler. What can the cooler cost?

 

[imported_LoKe]

I've only got like, another 20$ to play with here. For now, atleast..

 

[Vegitto]

See what the tray Sempron costs. That gives you some leftover .

 

[imported_LoKe]

I can't seem to find a tray sempron at all, let alone the one I want. You seem to be better at finding things though.

 

[Vegitto]

From NCIX.com also? I'll take a look.

EDIT: It appears I forgot the fact that AMD no longer sells tray 754 processors. What's the max you wanna spend on a cooler? C$20 won't cut it.

 

[imported_LoKe]

Yeah, I'll have to go stock. Sometime down the road I'll probably pick up some more hardware (including more ram )

 

[Vegitto]

Sorry for the doublepost, but this deserves a new one . I looked around for cooling, and this is what I found.

People seem to be really happy with this Artic Cooling cooler. It's low noise, and moves a lot of air. It's a 42 CFM, and that for C$20!
Also, I've heard some good things about this GlacialTech cooler. It seems to do its job very quiet, and it runs cooler than the stock cooler.
This Zalman cooler doubles the given budget, but it's hella worth it. These coolers are the most quiet, and they cool great, too.
That's all on the NCIX.com website that's worth something .

EDIT: It's not a doublepost! Yay!

 

[imported_LoKe]

That Zalmans looks crazy! !

 

[Vegitto]

Crazy as in price or as in cooling? It's both, but it's really worth it, really. Expect a much higher overclock with it.

 

[imported_LoKe]

It just looks cool, must be very good for cooling. If I had the money, I'd definitely grab that.

 

[Vegitto]

Well, I saved C$10 off of the RAM, that makes up to C$30 for a cooler, and leaves C$13 for the Zalman. How hard can it be to get 13 bucks?!

EDIT: Get, not het.