Basic Overclocking question on an Athlon 64 3200+

[rainz]

Hi,

I never really O/C since a while ... it was a 386 DX 33mhz the last time ! So just to be sure i'm not doing everything wrong.

I just wanted to boost a little my Athlon 64 3200+ so i cranked up the System bus 200mhz to 210mhz and the CPU voltage is set to AUTO .. ( So i'm at 2101~2105mhz ) ~3300+ i guess.

I tested first at 205mhz and everything was perfect. So tested to 210mhz and everything seems to be perfect too and i have around the same temp. at the idle ( 40 C right now ) and around the same temp with the cpu at full load ( ~47-49 C ). So that's it ? i dont have nothing else to do ? like the cpu clock multiplier .. btw i dont think i have this option on my mobo or bios .. I tested many benchmarks and everything seems to be perfect again ..

But my memory ( 2 X 512mb 400mhz Kingston ( valueram ) ) isnt the best overclocker i think .. so if i let my memory limited a 400mhz right now .. i'm penalized a lot or not ? I might let the memory set to AUTO but i'm affraid if my RAM will try to be at the same speed of the System Bus .. I'm sure my RAM cant handle it.

And for the cooling i have the case for ( excellent air flow ) with 4 X 80mm Antec Fans + Zalman CNPS 7000-CU Heatsink ( Full Copper ).

And my current O/C can corrupt the CPU ? or even windows xp files ?

And i've heard the VIA K8T800 chipsets isnt the best O/C ... and can i reach 2200 safely or ?

Thx for any infos

RainZ

 

[rainz]

I'm ... now i'm at 220mhz Bus .. = 2200mhz .. and tested aquamark once + 2 X 3dmark03 and everything is stable. i'll play something a while to still test.

But my memory is still at 400mhz

RainZ

 

[rainz]

Ish .. at 2200 tested with the benchmarks and played like 90 mins in Warcraft 3 FT .. everything was perfect .. but in Far Cry ... LOT of artifacts .. artifacts from the cpu ?! or it's something else .. ram .. no idea ... really horrible .. i tool a screenie .. but i dont have a good place to host it.

Now it's down to 210mhz. Any idea ?

RainZ

 

[rainz]

And normally at this spot my fps is at ~45-50 FPS

RainZ

 

[AAlcHemY]

Did you increase the ram voltage? JDEC standard is 2.9V, so even 3.0/3.1V is usable for 24/7.

 

[rainz]

Did you increase the ram voltage? JDEC standard is 2.9V, so even 3.0/3.1V is usable for 24/7.

No the RAM voltage is set to auto or .. not sure maybe something fix .. btw didnt touched it .. You think it's the RAM the problem ? And btw i have no idea when i have to increase any voltage and what's a good increasement and ... Can it be too high ?

RainZ

 

[rainz]

Just checked in my Bios .. my Voltage setting for the RAM..

AUTO
2.6V
2.7V
2.8V

That's it .

RainZ

 

[AAlcHemY]

It could be the ram, not sure. Ramvoltage is perfectly safe on 2.8V. Check the psu voltages when you're in the bios btw.
But do you only get artifacts, or also hardlocks?

 

[rainz]

It could be the ram, not sure. Ramvoltage is perfectly safe on 2.8V. Check the psu voltages when you're in the bios btw.
But do you only get artifacts, or also hardlocks?

well only artifacts and seems to be ONLY in Far Cry ... just tested again .. arfifacts again in FC ... closed the game ... touched nothing still the same setting .. and tried to run 3dmark2001 + 3dmark03 + aquamark .. everything is perfect ( w/o rebooting ) .. and tried to test FC again ... paf same arfitifact ... WTF ?!

You have any idea ? i'll try with 2.8V then ..

RainZ

 

[rainz]

It could be the ram, not sure. Ramvoltage is perfectly safe on 2.8V. Check the psu voltages when you're in the bios btw.
But do you only get artifacts, or also hardlocks?

hmmm well so far my problem seems to be fixed with 2.8V ... i tested over 40 mins in FC right now .. and the 2 previous times the game bugged like after 5-10 mins .. and everything was perfect this time.

I'll keep testing.

RainZ

 

[rainz]

Looks a lil better so far .. Still pray

 

[rainz]

AAlchemy i think my problem is fixed ! i'll still test btw ! Thx for your advices !

RainZ

 

[AAlcHemY]

No problem.

 

[rainz]

It seems to be fully stable at 2200mhz but my Temp can reach 49-51 C at full load. Is it ok ?

Thx

RainZ

 

[AAlcHemY]

Its still ok, nothing to worry about. If its reaching 55°C+, then I suggest you look for a better cooler, or lower the overclock.

 

[rainz]

Its still ok, nothing to worry about. If its reaching 55°C+, then I suggest you look for a better cooler, or lower the overclock.

Nah 51 C it's really the TOP so far .. and tested it hard ! and the summer i have air conditionning too. And i can hardly get a better cooling solution ( air ) .. My Zalman is supposed to be the best for the noise level / cooling solution.

http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/product/view.asp?idx=79&code=005009

And you overclock yourself AAlchemy ? and what's your comp?

RainZ

 

[AAlcHemY]

My Zalman is supposed to be the best for the noise level / cooling solution.

Indeed, silent and good. But there are better, at the cost of (mutch) more noise then. ( slk948U, Alpha Pal8150, .. )

And you overclock yourself AAlchemy ? and what's your comp?

Well, if you look in my sig, I'm reviewer/newsposter of born2oc.be ( Born to overclock ). So I can say that I know something about it.
Specs can be found here, 6th post. As you can see, nothing special really. Maybe I'll update in a few months.

 

[rainz]

My Zalman is supposed to be the best for the noise level / cooling solution.

Indeed, silent and good. But there are better, at the cost of (mutch) more noise then. ( slk948U, Alpha Pal8150, .. )

And you overclock yourself AAlchemy ? and what's your comp?

Well, if you look in my sig, I'm reviewer/newsposter of born2oc.be ( Born to overclock ). So I can say that I know something about it.
Specs can be found here, 6th post. As you can see, nothing special really. Maybe I'll update in a few months.

Well 2 things are special for me ..

1 - Watercooling .. Not everyones got it

2 - 4 X 120GB ??? what the hell are you doing with 480GB ??! i have already 240 GB and it's a LOT ..

RainZ

 

[AAlcHemY]

Well 2 things are special for me ..

1 - Watercooling .. Not everyones got it

2 - 4 X 120GB ??? what the hell are you doing with 480GB ??! i have already 240 GB and it's a LOT ..

RainZ

Watercooling isn't that special for me, almost 2.5 years now, without a single problem.
And for the 480GB, 2 disks are full with mp3's. Then another one with my os/games/tools. The last one is empty now.

 

[rainz]

My Zalman is supposed to be the best for the noise level / cooling solution.

Indeed, silent and good. But there are better, at the cost of (mutch) more noise then. ( slk948U, Alpha Pal8150, .. )

And you overclock yourself AAlchemy ? and what's your comp?

Well, if you look in my sig, I'm reviewer/newsposter of born2oc.be ( Born to overclock ). So I can say that I know something about it.
Specs can be found here, 6th post. As you can see, nothing special really. Maybe I'll update in a few months.

http://www.hardware.fr/articles/479/page18.html

it's in french but just look at the pics ( but it's reviewed on an INTEL i need the same thing with Athlon 64 dunno if it's possible ) with stock speed ans OC'd ..

on it me it's the Zalman CNPS 7000 CU Maxi ( not Al Cu ) and check out the conclusion.

http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?h...cles/479/page20.html&prev=/language_tools

Since i'm not an EXTREME overclocker .. now i'm at 2200 ( ~ 3400+ ) and it's enough for me till i upgrade again .. just got a lil more from my CPU.

And with my stable 49-51 C max at full load .. It seems to be decent and it's really silent ..

RainZ