Standing at a crossroads, not sure what to do.

[KeithTalent]

First off, let me say hello: hello!

Now, my little (well it's pretty massive actually) PC that I put so much TLC into last year is chugging along ok (now that I have a decent BIOS for my mobo). However, I will be upgrading my video card very soon, from an X1900XT to either an 8800 or R600 card and I want to ensure I am not limiting the thing.

Here are my relevant specs:

ASUS M2N-E BIOS 0502 :thumbsup:
2GB Corsair XMS PC2-5400 DDR2
Lian-Li V Cool PC-V1200
Seasonic 500W PSU

So I figure I have a few options:

1. Overlock my X2 3800+ note: I have absolutley no OCing experience. I have read Zebo's quick & dirty guide and am still not sure I can do it...looks really hard and scary. Plus I think my mobo sucks for overclocking.

2. Buy this: X2 5200+

3. Profit?!?

Since I will be spending a bunch on the new video card, I would rather not spend too much (i.e.: no C2D upgrade quite yet) which is why I think these are my only real options.

Any advice, guidance, flames, laughing/pointing is welcome.

Thanks for reading!

KT

 

[myocardia]

You have one of the better overclocking motherboards for AM2's. You should be able to hit at least 2.6 Ghz with that motherboard, if not a bit higher. Have you read the guide? The only difference between that guide and your processor and RAM will be the RAM voltages (vdimm). Instead of 2.8v of vdimm, I would keep it at 2.1v, and use 5-5-5-15 or 5-5-5-18 timings. Everything else will be identical.

 

[KeithTalent]

I did read that guide, but was still a little, um, nervous

I had no idea about that board's OC abilities though, I just assumed it was an overall piece of crap.

More quick questions:

1. So it seems my RAM is what would hold me back on the OC?

2. Assuming I can hit 2.6(ish) on this, is it still better than paying for the 5200+?

3. Can I do all of this OCing on air with the stock heatsink? I don't really feel like changing the heatsink, but I guess I can if I must.

Thanks again for the help.

KT

 

[f4phantom2500]

See how high you can OC before the chip gets too hot (reaches its maxtcase). If your chip never reaches the maxtcase but you hit your overclocking limit then you're probably fine with the stock cooler, however even if you get a top tier air cooler for it it will still be cheaper than an x2 5200. I'm not 100% sure because I've never used AM2 but from what I remember of the reviews, and from what I know from 939 OCing, you can just use a memory divider so that you can max out your processor and RAM, or at least get both within a ballpark range of their maxes. If you could get the 3800 to the same speed as the 5200 (2.6), the difference would pretty much be due to the cache sizes, and, at least in gaming, that difference probably wouldn't even be noticeable. IMO if you can get your 3800 to 2.6GHz then the purchase of the 5200 would not be justified, even if you need to buy a better cooler for the 3800. After all, you can always upgrade to the 5200 later, and use the aftermarket cooler (if you buy one) on it, so why pay so much money now for the performance when you can have it for free?

 

[KeithTalent]

Hmm, free performance does sound delicious

May I ask what "maxtcase" means and how exactly do I measure it?

I have been reading and re-reading Zebo's guide (along with some other stuff) and am starting to become a little less scared. Still a little unsure on some things, but I guess I can just post here if I get totally stuck, right guys?

 

[myocardia]

That just means the maximum temperature that your cpu was designed to be run at. As long as you keep the core under 60°C, you'll be fine.

edit: You can use SpeedFan to keep track of all of your temperatures. And no, don't ask here, if you have any more questions. We've decided that those were the only questions we're gonna anwer from you.:laugh:

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: myocardia
That just means the maximum temperature that your cpu was designed to be run at. As long as you keep the core under 60°C, you'll be fine.

edit: You can use SpeedFan to keep track of all of your temperatures. And no, don't ask here, if you have any more questions. We've decided that those were the only questions we're gonna anwer from you.:laugh:

Lol, thanks...I think

I have decided to set aside Saturday for this. No friends, no family, just me and my CPU, RAM, and anyone/everyone here on Anandtech who wants to help.

Thanks again guys!

KT

 

[BlueWeasel]

A64 Guide

I found the above guide useful when I made the jump from XP to Sempron64/A64 overclocking. The fundamentals are the same, but it goes into further detail compared to AT's A64 guide.

I think you'll probably find there's not much to it and you should get a nice performance increase from overclocking the X2. Good luck!

Oh, and don't listen to myocardia...he doesn't know what he's talking about.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: BlueWeasel
Oh, and don't listen to myocardia...he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Okay, now I'm mad! You aren't supposed to be telling my secrets.:laugh:

edit: This is also a very helpful link, for someone who doesn't understand the guide that's stickied here. The A64 section is down near the bottom of this page.

 

[KeithTalent]

Thanks for those additional links guys! Looks like I have some extra reading to do before Saturday.

This is kind of exciting

 

[KeithTalent]

Wow, ok, I knew I was a noob, but...holy crap am I ever a noob!! I decided to give everything a try tonight, since I ended up having some time.

I had read the links you guys posted before, and I had a printed copy of Zebo's guide with me...but I was lost after about 2 minutes (actually more like 30 seconds).

I increased my CPU multi to 6 (to take the CPU out of the equation as indicated) and then it said "set memory to SPD and 100"...uh, erm...what?? Totally lost now...

Sorry for being a total idiot/complete moron/annoying noob, but wtf, where do i find these things?

I ended up using the the auto-overclock options just to see what would happen and it bumped up to 2.2 (the max that the auto-overclock will do) and was totally stable (dual-instance Prime95 for several hours) so I am thinking there is quite a bit more room here, if only I can figure out how to get it there.

Anyways...help? Please??

Thanks guys and sorry!

KT

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
"set memory to SPD and 100"...uh, erm...what??

To prevent RAM from limiting your overclock, it should be set to safe settings in the BIOS. It may be called different things depending on the BIOS version, but "SPD" refers to memory timings (CAS, RAS etc) e.g. 3-3-3-8, and you should use an AUTO or "By SPD" setting. "100" refers to memory speed, and you should simply select the slowest available setting (it may 100MHz, 200DDR, or 1:2 ratio).

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: betasub

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
"set memory to SPD and 100"...uh, erm...what??

To prevent RAM from limiting your overclock, it should be set to safe settings in the BIOS. It may be called different things depending on the BIOS version, but "SPD" refers to memory timings (CAS, RAS etc) e.g. 3-3-3-8, and you should use an AUTO or "By SPD" setting. "100" refers to memory speed, and you should simply select the slowest available setting (it may 100MHz, 200DDR, or 1:2 ratio).

Ohhhhh, that makes perfect sense now. I guess I got hung up looking for that exact term "SPD" which I did not see anywhere (went through about 40 different RAM settings).

I am going to look into this when I get home tonight. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the help!!

KT