Posts by Rachel Fox4

Jesse Kern4 said:Hey everyone, would someone mind walking me through the overclocking process? I'd love to experiment with it a bit. I'm running an Intel Core 2 duo E4500 2.20 GHz 800 on a Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3. What specific settings should I be looking to bump up? Thanks in advance!

I was actually thinking the same thing... 😁

http://forum.pcekspert.com/showthread.php?t=88200

Give this a read.

Edit: I missed the post from CD.

Everything makes sense. A quad-core setup naturally runs a bit hotter than a dual-core one.
Regardless, I wouldn't recommend it 😉

As far as I'm concerned, you can keep it running at 70 degrees if you want 😬 , but that's your call

don't push it any further🙂

it isn't really advisable to let it climb above 60°C if you plan on running it 24/7

What kind of temperatures are you seeing? Both at idle and under load?

Which cooler are you using?

wanderingraven4 said:Can anyone walk me through the process?🤷 ... I'm working with an old 945 chipset...😁 specifically a Gigabyte 945 p-S3

Take something from a lighter that produces a spark and just zap the BIOS or the Northbridge/Southbridge😉
just to be safe, maybe do it a few times👍

That should make things a bit easier😁
You might actually break through 4GHz🙂

Just asking out of curiosity, what kind of temperatures are you seeing?
Also, what possessed you to start overclocking during the summer heat? 😛
I mean, what were you even doing during the winter when it was dropping to -20°F at night?

wiredmarlin5 said:If you aren't satisfied with the motherboard, there's always the chance it might accidentally fail. At that point, you can just upgrade to a newer P35 or X38 chipset and everything will be fine. 🙂

@Gary Anderson38/">@@Gary Anderson38: he's basically saying you could kiss it and it would still look like it walked off on its own. 😉

Go ahead and read that overclocking guide on PC Gamer. And don't try to lie to me about having already gone through it 🙂

Harold Lopez31 said:🙂 If only the cooling were any better; the stock cooler is actually worse.

Really?

Just stick the computer in the fridge 🙂

Sam James7 said:Hey Jimmy, I have one more question. Which processor is actually better overall, the C2D E8400 or the quad q6600?

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

Finally, someone is actually posting about overclocking here. 🙂
🙂 It’s about time we got some info 😁 regarding

Just stick to the sequence and take your time; if you follow the steps, nothing should go wrong.
👍
Besides, there is a massive amount of utility software available these days specifically designed to prevent you from accidentally damaging or frying a component.

Exactly what I'm saying. It feels like such a waste to throw money away when you can get the exact same thing for a much better price. Honestly, I didn't even need to buy one because I already have 😁
at home.

Gary Anderson38 said:I understand.

I have another question regarding voltage. Is it permissible to exceed the maximum voltage limits specified by the processor manufacturer?

Is there a guarantee that a processor will definitely die if handled that way?

When you all approach overclocking, do you ever find yourselves discovering processors that can actually handle pushing past those factory-recommended limits?

Personally, if I were running a Core 2 Duo 24/7, I wouldn't push the voltage past 1.40V—provided, of course, that the cooling setup is solid.
For the Core 2 Quad, I’d suggest setting it at around 1.45V.

You should probably spend some time lurking on the extreme overclocking forums. Some of those enthusiasts tend to push their voltages quite high.
Most of those folks are just doing it for a quick stress test or some CPU-Z validation. Usually, those processors aren't actually stable at those speeds; everyone just wants to squeeze out the absolute maximum frequency possible for the benchmark. If they were aiming for actual stability, the clock speed would be noticeably lower.

Gary Anderson38 said:How can you tell if CPU or memory instability is being caused by power delivery issues?
Basically, what are the most common symptoms when this happens, and does it mean I need to bump up the voltage?

And how do you actually find that "sweet spot" for voltage? Is it just a guessing game until you hit it?

Sorry, my typing is a bit messy here 😁

High temperatures, insufficient current, macOS crashing, or seeing errors pop up during stability testing software...

You simply increase the voltage as long as the component remains unstable. If it isn't stable, you add more juice. It’s really that simple.

Gary Anderson38 said:So, if we overclock the processor by raising the FSB, everything speeds up at once, right? Like the memory, PCI slots, and hard drives?

What do you think the PCI lock is for? It's there to prevent that.

The CPU and RAM are linked via the FSB. If you bump up the FSB, you increase the speed of both the processor and the memory (unless they are locked separately).

Gary Anderson38 said:Reading up on overclocking, it seems recommended to lock the PCI bus at 100, tighten the memory timings in the BIOS, or instead of leaving them on auto, set them back to their defaults... ugh, I'm losing my train of thought.😁
But if that's the case, shouldn't you leave everything alone for a non-extreme CPU overclock? Not even the voltages? Or should I actually decrease the memory voltage?

First, you switch everything to manual and lock the PCI.
Don't touch the timings just yet.

It depends—if the processor becomes unstable at that frequency, you give it more voltage.

The same goes for memory; you raise the voltage if it gets unstable at that frequency.

Gary Anderson38 said:I was looking through this Abit Guru Utility I have, and among various options, it basically offers CPU overclocking with just two mouse clicks... while I was bumping the CPU speed from 2.4 to 2.6 (totally insignificant, the option is called "Turbo"😬), it automatically bumped the Vcore from 1.2500 to 1.3500 and lowered the DDR2V from 2.00 to 1.95... I assume that one is for the memory.

That's useful for squeezing out every last drop of performance during an extreme overclock. In my opinion, you don't really need it. Just use the BIOS.🙏

I was brainstorming ways to improve my mouse glide while I wait for my PTFE tape to arrive.
Since I'm using a hard plastic mousepad, there wasn't much risk in experimenting a bit.
My first attempt involved using a plastic cleaner spray, something similar to this.
Unfortunately, that just degreased the surface and actually made the glide worse 😢
.After that, I tried using some wood polish and stumbled upon a winning combination.
I applied a light coating to the pad

and then buffed it out with a soft cloth.
THE MOUSE IS FLYING!!! 😁

The surface is incredibly slick, yet it doesn't feel greasy at all.
To my surprise, my hands don't even smell like polish afterward 😍
.In my opinion, this is a much cheaper and more effective solution than using RAPTOR GLIDE sprays designed to enhance mouse glide.
It is definitely worth a try if you have the supplies on hand.

Ethan Garcia8 said:Well, one of them has already been running for three years.

I don't really have much time for gaming lately, so I doubt that's an issue. 🙂

Actually, it doesn't matter much to me whether I go with AMD or Intel. I've mostly used AMD up until now, but it's not a dealbreaker. Basically, I want to buy a processor and a motherboard for $300 that I can easily overclock to 3 GHz, provided it stays rock-solid stable without any extra expenses.

Motherboard: Gigabyte P31-DS3L

Processor: E2180

Feel free to grab that graphics card. Just keep in mind the motherboard doesn't have integrated graphics.
And you'll need a new power supply 😉 too.

Ethan Garcia8 said:Yes, I realize I am a bit out of the loop regarding current hardware trends. My power supply is an EVGA SuperNOVA, 350 Watts; I don't play games much anymore since I work as a programmer, so I have no need for a fancy-schmancy graphics card. The cheaper, the better.

Right now I have this one, which I am selling immediately 🙂, and I am looking to pick up something from this list

I would also consider a motherboard with integrated graphics.

How old is the power supply?
It might actually be a good idea to grab a new Fortron 350 W or maybe 400 W.

You can sell your old graphics card on eBay.

For a GPU, you should go with the Radeon X1650 DDR3.
You can get quite a lot for a low price; you could even run some games on lower settings.🙂

There are also newer motherboards available with decent integrated graphics.
ASUS A780GMA.
However, that is only compatible with AMD.

Ethan Garcia8 said:Dammit, there's no AGP slot. And looking at the other options, none of the slightly more expensive ones have AGP either. It looks like I'll have to pick up a new graphics card too. 😢

AGP slots are really only found on older motherboards.
Newer models don't use them.
If you're working with an older board, you're likely dealing with DDR memory, whereas newer systems use DDR2.
How much were you planning to spend on a graphics card?
Do you play games?
Also, what kind of power supply are you running?

The main thing is that it has 😁

It’s essentially the same as an 8400 and supports DirectX 10 🤣