Overclocking DDR 3500 ram?

[cgm3]

How would I overclock PC3500 RAM on a Asus P4G8X Deluxe MB (spec's say it has a max of PC2100). (sorry I'm new to the OC world).

What are the risks?
Advantages?

Sorry for the stupid question,
Chris

 

[Yotem]

Not sure how to do it, Read the Manual and see if it says anything.

The advatage is that you give the p4 mroe memory bandwith (2100 is only half of the bandwith for optimal performence).

The disadvanatge is that you may get instability.

 

[cgm3]

Great thanks, I'll take a look at the MB manual.

Does anyone know?.....or know where I can find out some numbers on the stability?

thanks in advance

 

[Viper96720]

The memory runs at the fsb speed . So with intel you overclock by increasing the fsb. Say you had a 2.66B P4 it uses a 133mhz fsb with a 20x multiplier. The memory will be running at 133mhzx2 for ddr. Then you increase the fsb say to 166mhz as long as the cpu can handle it the memory need to be able to go faster also. Some motherboards have dividers that allow the memory to run asynchronous with the fsb. They allow you to run the fsb faster then the memory. The GB boards only have a 1:1 ratio so fsb speed=memory speed.

 

[Bovinicus]

There is always the potential of damaging components. There are a few things you can do to reduce the risks.

#1: Get good case cooling. If the ambient temparature inside your case is lower, then the increased heat from overclocking will do less to shorten the lifespan of the memory.

#2: Overclock gradually. Don't just set the clock straight to 400+MHz and hope all goes well. Start by increasing the FSB/Mem speed by 2-3MHz, or the smallest incriment available to you if you don't have 1MHz incriments. Wait a day or two to make sure all has gone well. Run some stability tests (3DMark, Prime95, BurnInTest) to make sure your system is rock solid. If all goes well, then increase another 2-3MHz. Repeat this cycle until you reach the wonderful world of instability. Then, back it down the previous speed which was good for you.

#3: Don't increase the voltage. Increased voltage is the main reason for shortened component lifespan and possibility of damage. It is risky to increase it. I have always overclocked using default voltages without any problems. If you really get the OC bug, and you just have to overvolt, don't do it by more than 10%.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[cgm3]

Great thanks for the info.......

I'll have to start running some tests

 

[jhites]

There is a pretty good review with some BIOS setting information HERE

Might help you get started.

 

[cgm3]

Should I just get PC 2100 RAM?

or should I still go all out and get 3500? or 3000?

 

[bgeh]

Originally posted by: Yotem
Not sure how to do it, Read the Manual and see if it says anything.

The advatage is that you give the p4 mroe memory bandwith (2100 is only half of the bandwith for optimal performence).

The disadvanatge is that you may get instability.

it's actually 2100 x 2 = 4200
that is why it is called dual channel ddr
so it is supposed to give full bandwidth to the p4 (if you don't count the memory controller overhead)

Should I just get PC 2100 RAM?

or should I still go all out and get 3500? or 3000?

if you plan to overclock, you can get pc3200 ram because i've never seen any p4 that has surpassed 200mhz fsb(except for the p4m)