Overclocking (Main Thread)

Scott Morris8 said:Alright, check it out.....

I just picked up:

Intel Pentium 4 (333 MHz)
an Epox board with an nForce 2 chipset
512 MB of DDR SuperRAM Kingmax (400 MHz)

What’s the best way to tweak my BIOS to squeeze every last drop of power out of this thing? I don't know anything about soldering and I definitely don't have the tools for it, so I need to do this strictly through the BIOS settings... oh, and the cooler came with the processor, so I'm just running the stock box cooler.

thanks

Man, just go back and find the old thread where everything is laid out perfectly. There's zero point in typing this out ten times when the process is exactly the same every single time.🙂

FJBG
Mr.Ex.President😁

Scott Morris8 said:so, uh... here's the deal...

I picked up:

Intel Pentium 4 (333 MHz)
an epox 8rda3i board with nForce 2
512 MB of DDR pc3200 (400 MHz) Kingmax superram

I'm wondering what the best way to tweak my BIOS settings would be to squeeze out as much performance as possible, though I really don't want to mess with any soldering since I have no idea how to do that and don't even have the tools, so just sticking to the BIOS stuff... oh, and the cooler came with the processor, so I'm just using the stock box one.

thanks

I actually have that motherboard, though not that specific CPU... anyway, I guess you should try bumping up the Intel little by little until you hit maybe 2x200=400, and for the memory, I'd probably set it to something like 2.5 3 3 11

you might need to bump the voltage a bit too, but I wouldn't suggest going more than 0.2V over the base—so maybe somewhere around 1.7~1.75 at most

dustypilot23 said:You might find yourself needing to bump up the voltage just a hair to stabilize things, though I wouldn't dream of pushing it much past an extra 0.2V—so we’re looking at roughly 1.7 to 1.75 maximum.

I suppose I should ask, just out of pure curiosity, why we shouldn't push it any further than that?

Watching you guys go back and forth about all these terms—most of which I barely even grasp. So...
I've got an Intel Pentium III setup running on an Intel 845 chipset.
I can bump the frequency up to, I don't know, 1550 MHz, and it holds steady. But once I try to push it to an Intel Pentium 4, everything just falls apart. It’s totally unstable; I can't get anything done. What's actually the best way to overclock this thing?

THANKS👋

electriceagle40 said:I mean, I could ask... why wouldn't you go even higher?

Because there's a real chance you'll just fry the processor, plus every chip is going to run hot at those voltage levels.
Overclocking just brings instability and kills the lifespan of the CPU.

amberorca192 said:The thing is, there’s just a much higher risk of actually frying your processor, and honestly, pretty much any CPU is going to run hot at those voltage levels.
Overclocking basically just adds instability and might end up cutting the lifespan of your chip short.

Just to add my two cents here..
I guess you really need solid cooling, constant monitoring, and maybe a bit more technical know-how than just some amateur overclocking 😉

It seems like most people asking questions here are pretty green, so I think being cautious is totally fair..

Temperatures can spike really fast even with just a tiny bump in voltage (though I suppose that varies from one core to the next), and I really wouldn't want anyone coming back to me later asking, "Why didn't you warn me about this?" 😉

I mean, why can't you just drop the memory timings down to 2.5-3-3-8?

Raymond Rodriguez40 said:I mean, why can't you just drop the memory timings down to 2.5-3-3-8?

..well, yeah, you totally can..
you could probably even go lower than that 😁

though I guess Kova basically calculated that 2.5 3 3 -> 8 is the sweet spot 👍 so I'm kind of with him there 😉

when it comes to messing with RAM, there isn't really much of a risk, I suppose.. because I honestly don't know anyone who's actually fried their memory 😳 ..worst case scenario is it just doesn't boot, and that's about it.. 🤔

dustypilot23 said:I’ve got that motherboard, though not that specific CPU. Generally, try bumping up the Intel frequency step by step—maybe aim for 2x200=400—and set your memory timings to roughly 2.5 3 3 11.

You might need to bump the voltage slightly too, but I wouldn't recommend pushing it more than 0.2V higher—so keep it around 1.7~1.75.

Honestly, for an overclock this minor, you probably won't even need to touch the voltage or the RAM. At least, I didn't have to... I run mine at 200x11 with 2.5-3-3-7 memory at 1.650V. With my PQI sticks, I can actually hit 210, but only if I loosen things up to 2.5-4-4-8. I don't feel like shelling out cash for new RAM just for a little extra speed, so I haven't pushed past that point. (Hans, remember those debates we used to have? 😁 😁 )

So why are you still running that DDR2700 memory?
Well, if you're actually hitting those speeds with a 2.5... damn, props to you.
Or am I totally off base!?

It’s not even an "argument" anymore... just a constructive conversation.. 😁

You see how it ends... you're screwed if there's no Intel
Those NF2 boards are all fine... more or less, maybe 10% of them
Here's my old, cheap rig—it’s still holding up surprisingly well, even compared to a beast like the DFI-2500M-DDR500

There is one little rule of thumb I think you all probably already have tucked away in your minds—the lower the latency, the lower the clock speed you can typically push before things get shaky. 😉

Think of it like this: if your processor has plenty of headroom to crank up the frequency, but your memory just can't handle those super aggressive, tight timings without hitting a wall, my advice is to simply dial everything back to the default settings—or even go a bit slower on those timings to find some stability.

In my experience, when you're weighing your options, the performance jump you get from obsessing over tiny latency tweaks is really quite negligible compared to the massive boost you get from just pushing the raw frequency higher.

amberorca192 said:The real issue here is that you’re significantly increasing the risk of actually frying your processor, not to mention that almost any chip is going to run much hotter when you start cranking up the voltage.
Overvolting just introduces instability and inevitably cuts down on the overall lifespan of the CPU.

I certainly see where they're coming from with that logic, but I have to say that bumping up the voltage is often exactly what provides the stability needed for an overclocked chip to actually hold steady...

For instance, my Intel Pentium 4 hits a pretty decent peak at 2200MHz while running at 1.85V; sure, it might manage at lower voltages too, but this specific setting keeps everything running flawlessly without a single hiccup. It could probably push all the way to 2400MHz, though I personally feel like hitting that 2V mark is pushing things a bit too far into the danger zone.🙂

It's definitely true, though, that if you're planning on upping the voltage, you really ought to invest in some beefier cooling to handle the extra heat...

...my desktop Pentium 4...running at 1.6V, clocked at 2200 MHz...
it's one of those old green ones...from the early batches 😁
can hit 2.4 on 1.8V—won't push it any further than that since the heat starts getting out of hand...
runs fine...seems pretty stable through all the tests

What kind of scores are you guys getting in PCmark? I picked up the 2004 version, but I'm running into an issue where it throws an error during the fourth test, forcing me to kill the entire application...

Tyler Lee57 said:What kind of scores are you guys getting in PCmark? I just picked up PCmark 2004 but it's acting crazy. Every time I try to run the full suite, it hits an error right around the fourth test and crashes the whole damn program...

Here's what I'm pulling:
Total 1336
CPU 1396,0
Memory 770,0
Graphics 622,0
HDD 2847,0

My rig is:
Intel Pentium 4 1.1GHz
256 SD RAM
ASUS motherboard, VIA VT8363
ATi Radeon 9200SE

BTW, did you actually register PCmark?🤔

FJBG
Mr.Ex.President😁

I am.
Wait, what exactly are we looking at here? For instance, I have plenty of CPU benchmarks ready...

Tyler Lee57 said:Yeah, I am.
Wait, what exactly are we looking at here? Like, for the CPU, I’ve got plenty of different tests to run...

Just hit "Select" and then click "Select all." You should see about 45 tests in there. 👍 Once 2004 finishes everything up, you'll get the results in points, just like my scores above.

PCmark
Mr. Ex President😁

Raymond Rodriguez40 said:Wait, are you actually running on DDR2700 memory?
If you're hitting those kinds of numbers with just 2.5... man, keep pushing it! That's seriously impressive.
Or am I totally off base here!?

Nah, I've got DDR400. Moving it up to 420 isn't really breaking any records.😢

Cele303 said:Well, I am currently running at DDR400, so bumping things up to 420 doesn't really feel like much of a victory to me, 😢

I wonder if you might have missed the nuance in my previous message? It would probably be most beneficial to just loosen up all those memory settings first, and then you can go ahead and give that frequency a nice little boost. 😉