Please recommend OC guide for newbies

[psionkey]

Would someone please recommend a good (web-based) guide with step-by-step instructions to overclocking? I would very much appreciate it, since I've never done any OC'ing before in my life, and I want to try it! =)

I'm purchasing a AMD 2100+ Thoroughbred B CPU and Epox 8RDA+ motherboard from newegg.com.
I have a Vantec VA4-C7040 cooler, and an Antec SLK3700 case (350W, 2 12cm fans in front and back).
I have 2 sticks of PC2100 256MB memory I got over a year ago.
Only other things going in this PC is an Maxtor HD (80GB/8MB), a Samsung CDRW/DVD combo drive, and some sort of graphics card (I think an ABIT Siluro GF4 TI4200 8X 128MB).

Does anyone anticipate problems with OC'ing in this setup (e.g. cooling)?

Thank you for your help!

 

[ChampionAtTufshop]

i dotn know much about that cooler, so im gonna refrain fromsaying anything...

i have one here
lmk if it helps

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: ChampionAtTufshop
i dotn know much about that cooler, so im gonna refrain fromsaying anything...

i have one here
lmk if it helps

PiMp.

 

[ChampionAtTufshop]

Originally posted by: pillage2001

Originally posted by: ChampionAtTufshop
i dotn know much about that cooler, so im gonna refrain fromsaying anything...

i have one here
lmk if it helps

PiMp.

also, just had a better read of your post, the pc2100 will hold back your overall fsb attainable...
maybe get some better ram while you're at it

 

[psionkey]

Thanks for the reply...

I was actually thinking of a more step-by-step instruction guide, with pictures showing what hardware modifications I'd make, followed by BIOS modification guides. There are some on the net, but I just thought people here might be able to recommend particularly outstanding ones.

 

[cowdog]

Having recently finished my first OC (2100+ and 8RDA+), here's some resources I found useful or would have found useful.

I read ChampionAtTufshop's guide. That gave me a good start. I really appreciated the up-front glossary. Thanks ChampionAtTufshop!

Another good resource for me was this lengthy thread here. Lengthy, but I found the information very helpful.

You might check out this site. I wouldn't take everything there as gospel, but they seem to have some good info there, esp. on mods you might consider for the 8RDA+.

This was posted at aoaforums. I haven't read this specific thread on overclocking 101, but aoaforums does seem to have good info for EPoX mobos, even if the moderated vibe there gets weird sometimes IMO.

I recently did my first overclock, and the 3 key things I learned were 1) be prepared for things to go wrong, 2) remember patience is fundamental for OCing, and 3) don't panic when something goes wrong (which it seems is pretty much guarenteed). The techy details needed were always available if I looked hard enough; I was the weak link. In my case, a lack of patience was my "axis of evil."

I found OCing a rather entertaining and productive venture. I'm hooked.

Good luck. I hope these are helpful.

 

[psionkey]

Thanks for the links! They're quite informative!
So what I understand, using a thoroughbred and a 8rda+, I don't have to make any sort of hardware modifications at all? (Forgive me if I sound like an idiot...)

 

[idea]

How about a guide that shows me how to perform the actual overclock? Like what to do first, raise the Vcore or FSB? If so, how much? etc

 

[cowdog]

8RDA+ is very OC friendly, in my experience. The BIOS has a lot of options and seems straightforward to me. At least with the Thoroughbred B 2100+, modifications to the chip were not required to OC. I am pretty sure that holds for a variety of AMD cpus. There should be a list somewhere of which will work and OC. A quality heatsink and cpu fan were, of course, required.

So far this hobby is less expensive than my hobbies of skiing/ski mountaineering and mountain biking. But, unlike those hobbies, every modification (including OC efforts) turns off the warranty. I assume I will eventually destroy something (or several somethings) at the cost of my system and pocket book. Proceed at own risk. Apparently, I like hobbies with risk.