Anyone OverClock?

[iGuest 3]

Is anyone here into overclocking their computers? It's pretty cool stuff. I have a p2.4c that I overclocked to 3.1ghz and it runs great. There's a noticible difference in speed. I get about 25idle/40load temps on stock intel cooling, which isn't bad at all. I'm gonna get one of those Zalman heatsinks one of these days and try to push my P4 a little more. I'd also like to overclock my 9800pro and see what it can do. Has anyone else tried overclocking?

[warbird1405241485 0]

I don't overclock my computer. I have a 3.6 ghz and all my games and other stuff works great so I don't need it. I know it maybe sounds great that your computer is running much faster, but I wouldn't recommend it. I tried it on a old 100mhz and I overclocked it to somewhere around a 166mhz, but after 2 years it started to running much slower and now it's to slow to use so I had to put a new processor in it (It's now a 166 without overclocking).I know it sounds great. But please people, don't do it if you don't know what you're doing and you want to use your computer for more then just a few years.-=Jeroen=-

[wutske 0]

Yep, PC is oc'ed . My Barton2500+ is at 2354Mhz @ 1.8V. Idle is 35°c and full load is about 54°c (SLK947u cooler w/ 92mm fan). Radeon9600Pro running at 474/324 (I know, it's a sucky overclocker, most would be able to do at least 500Mhz ).I also tried OC'ing a PIII733, wich went realy well, 150FSB was all stable, 160Mhz (127Mhz RAM) was too much for the PC100RAM. Too bad the PCI wasn't locked, so the 40/37Mhz killed the curent linux installed on the hdd .Also tried a K6-II 400Mhz, it's didn't like OC'ing, 450Mhz needed +0.6V (yes, they can handle that, the mobo gives from 2.2v to 3.5v or something arount that value).

[vizskywalker 0]

I'm running a boosted Celeron running at 715Mhz (760 is unstable and the speed mulitplier is locked and I haven't had a chance to solder a jumper to unlock it) instead of around 633, it's not a huge gain, but it helps.~Viz

[gamerchick39 0]

I have often thought about overclocking my computer and graphics card.. but im a little scared.. its fear out of not being properly informed about what overclocking entails, but ive been trying to gain more knowledge.right now im running on a 2.66ghz pentium 4 processor and a 128mb Nvidia Geforce 6800 card... if i can improve speeds without hurting anything or having to buy anything, i would be happy... so any help or advice is greatly appreciated

[vizskywalker 0]

I'm no expert on overclocking, as I just did it, and, like you, I used to be scared of it. As far as overclocking processors go, all it entails is telling the motherboard, bios, and or processor through jumpers and settings to allow the processor to run at faster speeds. These speeds are already built into the chip, but during testing at factory, it was decided that this chip, motherboard, etc. should not run at those speeds for maximum stability, many can handle higher speeds safely, though.~Viz

[jipman 0]

Does anyone remember the old times? When you overclocked computers by setting the jumpers on the mobo different... That was so cool. Looks cooler than doing it through software in my opinion.

[ThoaiOnline 0]

WOW, I overclocked my computer from 2.8 -> 3.1Ghz But after a week, many of my friends tell me that it's not a good idea to do so. The CPU can stop working anytime. So, I turned it back to normal stage.

[Roogie 0]

yes i am. I got my AMD Sempron from 1.5 to 1.945 But my motherboard won't go any higher. It's kin of cheap...

[gamerchick39 0]

I'm no expert on overclocking, as I just did it, and, like you, I used to be scared of it. As far as overclocking processors go, all it entails is telling the motherboard, bios, and or processor through jumpers and settings to allow the processor to run at faster speeds. These speeds are already built into the chip, but during testing at factory, it was decided that this chip, motherboard, etc. should not run at those speeds for maximum stability, many can handle higher speeds safely, though.
~Viz

I wouldnt mind getting some extra juice outta my stuff but i dont wanna hurt it haha.. reading NguyenVanThoai's post is what i dont wanna happen cuz i dont have the funds to fix it if something major happens.. but i still wanna try it haha..

is there a site or tutorial to overclocking the processor and graphic card.. i wanna research this some more

[vizskywalker 0]

I think the best site is overclockers.com The most important thing for overclocking is to make sure you have plenty of cooling power. Before my overcock, my system was only running at around 37 degress C, and my BIOS won't even give me a temperature warning until 50 degrees C, so I knew I was safe to overclock without adtional fans. Check what temperature your CPU is currently running at, and how high it can go before frying, and evaluate whether or not you need another fan. If all posible fans are already filled, then if you need extra cooling, get a watercooling system. As far as how to actually overclock, if the motherboard has jumpers, use them, and if the bios allows you to change the settings, use that. If you an do both, choose one, but don't mix and match. Then, increment the speed at the lowest increments posible until the system doesn't boot consistantly, then cycle it down one. Happy OCing ~Viz

[wutske 0]

You CPU can die anytime, overclocked or not. Overclocking just shortens the lifespan of a cpu (who's going to keep his cpu about 10 years ?). As longs as you do not up the voltage, you're pretty safe.As for me, I have my BIOS set that it shuts down even before I get a beep . 3 options are enabled to prevent any overheating (had it one when I had forgotten to turn a fan back on).It's realy fun, I have 2 compies wich still require jumper overclocking, it's fun, but sometimes a pain in the *bottom* (ow, I hate computer cases).

[kam1405241509 0]

Intel/AMD bin processors at specific frequencies based on the quality of that run. However based on demand/supply, they can often end up sending out higher-frequency-binned chips at lower clocks ... and that's when we end up being lucky. The P4C variants are one such famous batch. It often occurs when the manufacturer goes to a new smaller process (eg from 110 to 90nm), and at that point the CPUs are running at a lower TDP (temp).At the recent IDF, intel actually stated that even their business motherboards will soon have a mild overclocking option. Everyone's doing it these days .. it's not dangerous if you don't go over the top & if you take the precautions mentioned in other posts about temp monitoring & auto shutdowns etc!I've got several setups. My older ones are air-cooled, and I've gone off these since the current/future HSFs look like freaking giants .. and I don't like the idea of wasting that much space just on cooling a tiny chip. Water cooling is much more efficient, and my current setup is this. It's not dangerous, again, if you plan things out. I use non-conducting deionised water, with some added coolant, so if there is a leak, I don't get fried chips . My pump is a submersible one, so filling it up is kind of a pain, but once everything's setup, it's great ... just hope I don't have to change PCI's in a while (my graphics cards are also liquid cooled .. so it's a real pain to change). The advantages are that it's a much smaller setup (I just have one main fan cooling the liquid, another cooling my drives though this might move to liquid cooling eventually, and a few at the rear of the case incl the PSU). My current set up is more quiet than my older air-cooled PC even though this one has 2 CPUs .. the 1 CPU PC actually gives me a headache .. well not quite but it's very annoying once you're used to whisper quiet. One of my older setups was a VapoChill ... but that's even more of a pain (for a lot of gain!). The biggest downer is that once greased, it's nigh on impossible to degrease the CPU .. so you can't easily sell it on unless that person wants to subzero cool it aswell!!Finally, there are several off-the-shelf water-cooling kits out there, like CoolerMaster's AquaGate. I was initially interested in this, since it'd in theory be very reliable coming from a company like CM, until I found out that the pumps were actually within the CPU waterblocks. Not only does this add bulk that I was trying to get away from, it also meant stupid numbers of pumps in the system if you wanted to cool your GPUs too etc. It would be nice to have an "all in one" solution that fitted in a drivebay, and maybe some of you might be interested enough to give it a go. For me, I prefer separated simply because it means I have full control of the design, and that it can be very minimalistic!Post-finally!! Also note that there are TWO different sizes of hoses, if you are going to go down this route, and your waterblocks etc ideally should be compatible (otherwise the flow is less efficient etc, obviously).I can go into more detail of my specific parts, if anyone's interested in watercooling. And I've got a whole load of guides on it too. I remember THG (Toms Hardware Guide) had several intro videos on this that was useful, plus several guides on parts too.Personally, I can't see why you wouldn't overclock a chip .. so long as you test out where it is stable (do a 24 hour test running q3ademo etc). And, within a few years, it'd basically not be your main PC, so you can then start using it at the "normal" rate .. so it'd last a few more years as your fileserver etc . So what's the big deal?! I've overclocked 3 PC's, and none have ever died on me. The only PC to have ever shown any problems is my ancient (13 year old) 486's floppy drive & ethernet controller (which is still being used as a dumb terminal )!!Kam.

[the empty calorie 0]

Well, I really see no reason to overclock...as as for using the computer in 10 years??? I have plenty of computers i still use that are ten years old, and I'm bloody stoked that they still run! With the speeds of processors these days, I see no real reason to overclock, of course, if you wish to, go right ahead. I OC'ed my AMD AXP 2200+ from 1.8 to just under 2.0 GHz, and I saw little to no improvement that actually made a difference. Yes, the numbers changed, but nothing really performed better. It was fast enough to begin with.

[kam1405241509 0]

Well, I really see no reason to overclock...as as for using the computer in 10 years??? I have plenty of computers i still use that are ten years old, and I'm bloody stoked that they still run! With the speeds of processors these days, I see no real reason to overclock, of course, if you wish to, go right ahead. I OC'ed my AMD AXP 2200+ from 1.8 to just under 2.0 GHz, and I saw little to no improvement that actually made a difference. Yes, the numbers changed, but nothing really performed better. It was fast enough to begin with.

1064323055[/snapback]

He he, my BBC Micro Model B & Amiga A500 still run ... but I don't really use them any more (may be once a year .. for nostalgia's sake) so I don't think they count! What do you use yours for, BTW? I'm guessing typical uses are for a HW firewall, fileserver .. or do you have anything different (home automation tasks etc may be)?

 

I do totally agree, though. There's absolutely no point in buying a fast CPU expecting it to overclock well .. I've never seen that happen (unless you use phase changing & are very very lucky!). The key is to buy the SLOWEST/cheapest processor at the LATEST manufacturing process .. and then hope for the best.

 

I should've been a bit clearer in stating that my current PC is a 2-way that's watercooled and isn't overclocked (it's multiplier locked by AMD .. but it's fast enough since I bought it knowing about the lock!). I still prefer to watercool for the quiet, reduced size HSFs. Water is a better thermal conductor than air .. air is actually an insulator! BTW, early Crays were liquid cooled (they were submerged in 3M Fluorinert) .. but there's no way I could ever afford that liquid! It can be fairly reliable (with safe guards .. even a "left alone" remote server.

 

Nowadays, CPUs are pretty cheap, though. I would only overclock if I was using the machine for gaming (the only app I can think of that really benefits from single-threaded high-clock rates .. all other high-end apps are either media related for which I'd just use MPEG codes within a GPU, or SMP apps) and if I was specifically aiming to do so (by buying a relatively-slow, rev-E 90nm AMD chip, for example) .. where I knew I'd want to go above spec. AthlonFX's are aimed at this market, but they are so expensive and they don't overclock as well as some of the more famous chips (Celeron 300's were the first popular ones, P4C was my most recent try).