some help for a new newbie/550e overclocking

ulysses32

Junior Member
Jul 9, 2000
14
0
0
abit be-6 v2
550e proc
128meg pc100 ram

i'm just getting into this overclocking 'thing' and i'd like to ask a few questions to the pros in this area of the neighbourhood ;-)

my bios allows me to change my proc up to 700(100)...

a)what device can i run to test that it ACTUALLY is at 700...
b)it also allows me to change the settings manually within the bios, can someone please tell me a 'safe' level i can get this board to using the manual settings and what exactly i should be looking for so that i don't completely fry everything

thanks
 

slpaulson

Diamond Member
Jun 5, 2000
4,407
11
81
a: Motherboard monitor will tell you if you are really running at 700mhz. Don't be suprised if its a mhz or 2 off though.

b: If you are talking about setting the bus speed anything should be safe as long as its stable. If you are talking about setting the core voltage I wouldn't go over 1.8. Use the lowest possible voltage you can that still makes it stable.
 

Ulysses

Platinum Member
Jun 17, 2000
2,136
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Love that handle. :)

RTM.

And, like the man said, be careful with voltage - no more than a 10%-15% max increase. Other changes, even if the machine won't POST, etc., should't do any permanent harm, although their effects may seem scary.

Before you start o'c'ing be sure you know how to reset the BIOS to defaults at startup, so if it won't POST you can get it back to a normal baseline (on my board, by a different maker, you hold down certain keys at startup to reset to defaults. Also learn how to "clear the CMOS", which is even more basic and usually involves fiddling with jumpers on the board. You'll then have to restore your BIOS parameters to your desired settings. Again, RTM - first.


Start by increasing the FSB until you get instability. Then try to restore stability, and determine which component is the problem, by messing with various BIOS parameters. If it becomes stable then increase the FSB more, and so on.

The parameters you'll want to adjust to increase stability include voltage (increase it), RAM CAS and RAS settings (decrease them), and not much else. There's no magic too it and it doesn't take long. Understanding the myriad BIOS settings is a job though.

Once you've done the above the only thing left that you can do (or should do first) to further o'c is to improve the CPU or case cooling.

See also:
http://www.tweak3d.net/tweak/cpu/print.shtml

If you use Win 98 you can also get some performance help here:
http://www.speedguide.net/Windows/win_perform.htm
 

ulysses32

Junior Member
Jul 9, 2000
14
0
0
Damnit...
so you're the one who stole 'my' handle idea[hence the addition of 32] ;P




Thanks for all the tips.

I don't mean to sound like a newbie -probably a bit of a contradiction considering the topic eh- but I've never been much of a fan of overclocking[more of a s/ware nwork'g person myself] and with my 'usual' carefree attitude i'd have that puppy fried within an hour of 'attempting' to take it over the top.

Basically, what I'd really like to know is the no-nos of o'clocking...but, specifically dealing with my comp.