Total noob interested in OCing his 1800+...

[brigden]

I'm a few months away from buying a new CPU and I'm interested in trying to overclock my current processor. Here's what I'm working with:

AMD Athlon XP 1800+ (T-bred 'A')
EPoX 8RDA+ (Rev. 1.1)
512 MB of Corsair TWINX512-2700LLPT (2-2-2-5)
ATi Radeon 9700 Pro

Now, the Athlon's HSF is stock and I've used the thermal pad. I have no desire to apply thermal paste, or otherwise alter the HSF. Temp. is about 46-48C once Windows boots.

I'm not 100% sure of the voltages, but they're all at default levels as I haven't changed them.

My question is: Can I overclock this current setup easily with the stock Athlon HSF without posing a serious threat to my mobo or other components?

TIA.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

yes but not much. the stock hsf with the thermal pad is very limiting. you could proboably get to 1.8ghz but if you get that high they it will deffinatly be your ceiling inless you have a freakishly good chip.

 

[brigden]

Probably not worth it then?

 

[Twista]

If your temps are already 48-50 stocked than just imiange them @ 56-65 @ 1.9ghz when just booting up into windows from a 4 hour shutdown.

 

[JSSheridan]

As long as you do it correctly, you shouldn't damage your hardware. It's not likely to go higher than 1.9GHz, but that's over a 20% speed increase. With that vid card, your CPU is the bottleneck, so it will help in games. I'm not responsible for what happens to your CPU, MB or other hardware.

Before you start, you may want to check your manual and get familiar with the clear CMOS jumper. If the computer doesn't post, the bios can be restored via this method. Now, start by setting your CPU voltage to 1.75v in bios, and set your FSB to 166 (333) and your multiplier to 9.5. Keep an eye on your temps, see that they stay under 65C. In the sticky thread at the top of this catagory, you will find a link to Prime95, so download it and run the torture test. Monitor temps during the test also. Increase the multiplier in half steps, and run P95 for at least 4 hours, 12 recommended, to check if it's stable. Also, if any games crash on you, it's likely shows an unstable configuration.

Good luck. Peace.

 

[MDE]

Tbred As aren't renowned for their overclocking prowess. Well mainly because they don't do it well. Don't expect much of an OC and be happy with the small boost you'll get.