X2 3800 overclock

[JK949]

I finaly managed to oc my 3800 to 2.2 and my temps are 29c idle and 40c load.
I changed a couple of things in the bios based on info read in this forum.
HT 4x, cpu voltage 3.3% over and fbs / htt 220 @10.
First, what can I run in windows to check stability without having to use
prime95 and mem86. I know these are the best tools but I don't have
the time it takes to run them. Second, should I be able to go higher
by making more adjustments. I have an Msi Neo2 F motherboard
with a Zalman 9500 cooler and 2 gig ( 512 x 4 ) of Corsair XMS 3200 ram
a Thermaltake Amor case and a Thermaltake Purepower 460 ps.

 

[DrMrLordX]

It takes time to test stability. The very essence of stability is running your system at full tilt over al ong period of time without errors.

 

[Unkno]

no point in overclocking if you don't have time to test stability. 95% of the time it takes while overclocking is testing stability....other 5% is if you find an error, forces you to reformat, fix overclocks.....

 

[allies]

Originally posted by: Unkno
no point in overclocking if you don't have time to test stability. 95% of the time it takes while overclocking is testing stability....other 5% is if you find an error, forces you to reformat, fix overclocks.....

Since when do you have to reformat due to overclocking?

 

[filetitan]

lol trust me overclocking does force you to reformat due to it curropts window files

 

[Leper Messiah]

Originally posted by: allies

Originally posted by: Unkno
no point in overclocking if you don't have time to test stability. 95% of the time it takes while overclocking is testing stability....other 5% is if you find an error, forces you to reformat, fix overclocks.....

Since when do you have to reformat due to overclocking?

memory bus OC too far= corrupt data written to HDD= FUBAR'd Windows install. I think every over clocker has done it at least once...

 

[DrMrLordX]

Smart people install their OS before overclocking

 

[imported_michaelpatrick33]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX
Smart people install their OS before overclocking

?

Edit: Do you mean they make an image of it on a secondary partition or external drive and simply pull it back up after corruption? Usually an O/S is required for running a computer

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: Leper Messiah

Originally posted by: allies

Originally posted by: Unkno
no point in overclocking if you don't have time to test stability. 95% of the time it takes while overclocking is testing stability....other 5% is if you find an error, forces you to reformat, fix overclocks.....

Since when do you have to reformat due to overclocking?

memory bus OC too far= corrupt data written to HDD= FUBAR'd Windows install. I think every over clocker has done it at least once...

confirmed

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX
Smart people install their OS before overclocking

ofcourse, but windows can get corrupted due to o/c after installation.

 

[JK949]

Thank you for the very important feedback. Now can anyone tell me if I can get any higher than I have and how. What program would
you suggest I use to test stability for the long haul. So far the only problem I have encountered is the computer not restarting
from windows a couple times. I have played BF2 for an hour, ran a 10 loop 3DMARK 05 and did sisoftwares burn in for a half hour and temps never went above 48c and no noticable hiccups of any kind.
I also was curious what the voltage should be from the ps. What is the acceptable plus and minus %.
One last question. Is there a way to make the taskbar stay visable on the screen when playing games and benchmarking ?

 

[Markfw]

I think 2400 is almost a lock. Try 250, HHT 4x. What does the vcore say when you are in windows ? What motherboard ?

 

[JK949]

1.37 vcore. An MSI K8N NEO2 F as I stated at the first post.

 

[Markfw]

well, crank those volts ! 1.37 is nothing, I have mine at 1.475, and that is not dangerous. If you are worried about damage, dont go over 1.45, thats very safe. The try 2500 (250x10) and just test it. reply with results. Superpi is a good quick and dirty test. If it does thats, then try prime95 or Folding@Home.

 

[JK949]

Thanks for some accual information and tips. I'll try Superpi and see what
happens. How long does that take to run and how long should I run it.
And what type of problems would I expect to encounter if my modest
oc won't be stable. Do you think my 9500 cooler will handle things
above 2.2.

 

[Skott]

That 9500 has the potential to get you to 2.6 or 2.7 from what I have seen reported on this forum. Seems like those going over 2.7 tend to have watercooling.

 

[Unkno]

The 9500 is one of the BEST air coolers, it would be enough to handle like 1.60V (talking about the temperatures)

 

[BoboKatt]

I've got the same cpu and same mobo. I am currently just running 240X10 myself instead of the stock 200X10. HTT is X4 and RAM is set to a 166 divider... which actually underclocks it a bit. I had tried stepping down to a 9 X and 270 mhz and that was no problem and actually got a way better score in all my benchmarks which I still find hard to explain (I thought all AMD64 were simply Mhz based so it did not matter whether I had 2400 Mhz from 240X10 or 9 X270 I should get roughly the same scores but I don?t).

Your overclock of 2200 is really conservative but a nice one nevertheless (and it?s free). I use the 3.3% over as you did and it's fine almost all the way up to 2400 but I need to raise my memory voltage to 2.65-2.70. I lock my AGP to 67 Mhz (that way it simply does not go up any higher no matter what you oc to). make sure that both my SATA drives are on SATA 3 and 4 as those are locked in speed ( 1 and 2 are not) and I don?t touch the AGP voltage. I also set my RAM manually to the specs and don?t use Auto at all but insist on 1T as that makes a nice diff.

I've used 5% over no problem in the past for even higher speed and never had a crash when I tried to go higher but I always get squeamish and then go back to 3.3% over and back to 2400 MHz. For me the 2400 makes me feel like I saved $400 by not having bought a way more expensive X2 and I am happy with my results. I actually tried ocing my 6800GT AGP and noticed a nice increase in performance from that in conjunction with the CPU. Heat is everything though so keep an eye on those temps but yours seem very good.

My temperatures depend... at idle it stays comfy at around 30c and even stays at 28-29 at times but I've seen it go to just over 36 or so under full stress playing for hours and at times depending on the temps in my room it goes over 40. It helps though that my family room with my comp in it is so cool (read: cold) to start with and I have lots of fans in my case. I am using the stock cooler with AT5 paste.