Ok guys, I know that you all are sick of seeing the same questions over and over again with regards to overclcoking, so my idea is to start a big FAQ/Guide/Do's and Don'ts sort of thing here in the forum and just bump it occaisionally that way we *hopefully* won't have to answer these questions over and over. My experience with overclocking has been limited to celeron 1's and socket a tbirds, so i can only do some of this guide. i need everyone's help if this guide is going to be comprehensive enough to be called a guide and save us a lot of trouble. Here's what I have so far and i'm welcome to suggestions for additions, subtractions, corrections, etc.
AMD Athlon Overclocking Guide:
*Before you post anything, have you updated your drivers? This means the latest 4in1 drivers, the latest AGP drivers, the latest BIOS for your motherboard. If you're having problems, the solution may be as simple as updating these drivers, so do this first.
*Have you been to AMD's Support Page? THis has all sorts of information on approved heatsink/fan combonations, power supplies, airflow, and other various elements of building and running an Athlon system. Check that out next.
*If you want to unlock your processor, you can do it a couple of ways, but I don't recommend the pencil method. It's not permanent and graphite is not meant to conduct, so it isn't that reliable either. I recommend using the tutorial that Vpahm97 put together for using the Loctite Rear Window Defogger Grid Repair Kit. If you're going to buy the Loctite Kit, make sure it's not the glue, but the Grid Repair Kit. Almost every question regarding the repair kit can be answered in that thread.
*Don't use your CPU without thermal paste/grease/compound/whatever. Just don't do it. Don't ask why not, just don't. Unless you want a new, cool, high-tech-looking keychain that is...
*Do you want to know how your overclocking results compare with others'? Do you want to know what you can expect from that new chip you just bought? Check out Overclockers.com and click on CPU Database to see others' results and the average for each processor.
*Temperatures: keep it below 55 degrees celsius and you'll be fine. I promise. Really.
*Fans: The current champ is the GlobalWin FOP38, and it's very loud. If you want great performance with a quieter setup, check out the Taisol CEK734. Of course on the AMD support page, they have the HS/Fan rundown with the speed of the CPU that each fan is rated for, but you already knew that since you just went there right?
*Benchmarking: Don't use 3DMark2000. It's unreliable and gives widely varying results on similar setups. Tech review sites like Anand's don't use it for a reason. A more stable benchmark would be Quake3, Unreal Tournament, SiSoft Sandra, or all three! Compare your results with a Tech website's results on a similar setup to see how you're doing.
People, I'm open to suggestions. I also want someone to do one for a P3 setup, duron setup, celery2 setup so it's totally complete.
Vpham97, since the threads do expire, can I include your tutorial in the final version of this guide - giving you credit for it of course?
AMD Athlon Overclocking Guide:
*Before you post anything, have you updated your drivers? This means the latest 4in1 drivers, the latest AGP drivers, the latest BIOS for your motherboard. If you're having problems, the solution may be as simple as updating these drivers, so do this first.
*Have you been to AMD's Support Page? THis has all sorts of information on approved heatsink/fan combonations, power supplies, airflow, and other various elements of building and running an Athlon system. Check that out next.
*If you want to unlock your processor, you can do it a couple of ways, but I don't recommend the pencil method. It's not permanent and graphite is not meant to conduct, so it isn't that reliable either. I recommend using the tutorial that Vpahm97 put together for using the Loctite Rear Window Defogger Grid Repair Kit. If you're going to buy the Loctite Kit, make sure it's not the glue, but the Grid Repair Kit. Almost every question regarding the repair kit can be answered in that thread.
*Don't use your CPU without thermal paste/grease/compound/whatever. Just don't do it. Don't ask why not, just don't. Unless you want a new, cool, high-tech-looking keychain that is...
*Do you want to know how your overclocking results compare with others'? Do you want to know what you can expect from that new chip you just bought? Check out Overclockers.com and click on CPU Database to see others' results and the average for each processor.
*Temperatures: keep it below 55 degrees celsius and you'll be fine. I promise. Really.
*Fans: The current champ is the GlobalWin FOP38, and it's very loud. If you want great performance with a quieter setup, check out the Taisol CEK734. Of course on the AMD support page, they have the HS/Fan rundown with the speed of the CPU that each fan is rated for, but you already knew that since you just went there right?
*Benchmarking: Don't use 3DMark2000. It's unreliable and gives widely varying results on similar setups. Tech review sites like Anand's don't use it for a reason. A more stable benchmark would be Quake3, Unreal Tournament, SiSoft Sandra, or all three! Compare your results with a Tech website's results on a similar setup to see how you're doing.
People, I'm open to suggestions. I also want someone to do one for a P3 setup, duron setup, celery2 setup so it's totally complete.
Vpham97, since the threads do expire, can I include your tutorial in the final version of this guide - giving you credit for it of course?
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