Overclocking (Main Thread)
Started by dustypilot23 · · 👁 258 views · 3.3K replies
#1642 ·
Edward Peterson70 said:You can't go wrong with Homer. It works every single time. 👍
It’s gotta be Homer!
Let me know when the kid with the ball shows up—I'm itching to overclock this processor.🤣🤣
#1643 ·
Andrew Fox74 said:homer it is!
Let me know when the kid with the basketball arrives; I’m looking to overclock the processor.🤣🤣
Understood, no problem at all.😬
#1644 ·
Edward Peterson70;12043680 said:That’s basically what happens when you try to read tea leaves
Here is my crystal ball
@slyheron13
Just let me take a quick peek into my crystal ball...
And after a little bit of intense gazing, I think I finally saw the truth!
Your AMD Athlon 64 x2 4800 at 2.5GHz can actually hit 2.835GHz without even touching the voltage settings.
But get this—if you bump the voltage up just one notch, you can reach 2.9GHz!!!
That said, I wouldn't push the voltage any further than that; the risk just isn't worth the reward.
(I feel like I'm losing my creative spark here; I really could have made this much more epic😁 ss
]
#1646 ·
Look, my advice is simple: don't even think about touching your overclocking settings unless you have a firm grasp on the fundamentals first.
You really need to be comfortable navigating your BIOS, knowing exactly which parameters to tweak and which ones to disable to maintain stability.
Asking questions like "how high can I push this processor?" is—forgive my bluntness—a bit naive and screams beginner.
There isn't a single magic number; it’s entirely dependent on the specific silicon you happen to have on your motherboard.
If you want to learn the ropes, head over to the Tom's Hardware forums; you'll find plenty of deep dives and step-by-step guides there to help you succeed.
Of course, your temperatures are going to climb, but if you've invested in a solid aftermarket cooler rather than just relying on the stock one, you shouldn't run into any major issues with heat.
You really need to be comfortable navigating your BIOS, knowing exactly which parameters to tweak and which ones to disable to maintain stability.
Asking questions like "how high can I push this processor?" is—forgive my bluntness—a bit naive and screams beginner.
There isn't a single magic number; it’s entirely dependent on the specific silicon you happen to have on your motherboard.
If you want to learn the ropes, head over to the Tom's Hardware forums; you'll find plenty of deep dives and step-by-step guides there to help you succeed.
Of course, your temperatures are going to climb, but if you've invested in a solid aftermarket cooler rather than just relying on the stock one, you shouldn't run into any major issues with heat.
#1647 ·
Look, if you’re just doing some light tweaking, the stock cooler will get the job done—but if you’re planning on taking any serious steps toward overclocking, you’ll definitely need to upgrade to a better heatsink.
#1648 ·
So, I put together a new toy and finally got it running the way I wanted, so now I'm
trying my hand at overclocking. 😉 My experience level is basically zero—total noob here. The only thing I've
actually done is spend some time digging through the literature on the forums, and here is what I've got...
I picked up the CPU on sale at Best Buy for about $35, and it seems decent. Even though it's running
Windows Vista Business 32-bit on integrated Radeon 1250 graphics (I allocated
256MB out of the 2GB RAM, and Vista treats it like an Experience Index of 3.7 (!!!!)), I decided to give it
a little extra juice. I bumped it from 2200 up to nearly 2900, which is over a 30%
increase, so that shouldn't be nothing. Anyway, what did I actually accomplish here? How much of this
is actually correct, logical, and acceptable? I'm asking the experts to weigh in, please...
Specs:
Athlon 64 single core LE-1600 64/64/1024 cache stepping F3 @2200 MHz, multiplier 11, 45W, stock cooler
Gigabyte MA69G-S3H, Award F4 BIOS
2x 1GB Kingmax PC2-5300 667 MHz
Frontier Opera case with a 400W proprietary power supply, dual rails 14/15A
NEC DVD IDE
2 x Seagate 250GB SATA2
Zaptv analog TV card + HW MPEG2 (3DClub)
Integrated Radeon 1250 with Catalyst 7.12
Zalman 80mm fan running at 7V next to the CPU
Windows Vista Business 32-bit
In the BIOS:
Cool&Quiet is disabled
HTT = 260
HTLink = 200
That's it. I didn't touch anything else.
Idle BIOS temperatures:
System: 43
CPU: 43
CPU Fan Speed: 2327 RPM
System Fan Speed: 1646 RPM
---------------------------------------------
CPU-Z:
It recognizes the processor, motherboard, and memory correctly, stating:
Core Speed: 2866.9
Multiplier: 11x
Bus Speed: 260.6
HTLink: 260.6
Memory: 2x 1GB Kingmax PC2-5300 (333 MHz)
Timings: 5.0-5-5-15-20-2T @ 1.8V
FSB/DRAM = CPU/7
It says the memory is running at 409.5 MHz with 5-5-5-15-21-2T timings
-----------------------------------------------------
CORE TEMP:
260.59 x 11 = 2866.53 MHz
The temperature reading is stuck at -49, so it clearly has no clue...
---------------------------------------------------
PCWIZARD 2008:
Everything is recognized properly, and after an hour of running Orthus, it reports:
Original: 2200, Overclocked: 2866.89
Chassis Fan: 1646
Proc Fan: 2586
Proc Temp: 43
Proc Temp (Diode): 13
MB Temp: 48
Power/Aux Temp: 51
The CPU fan changes speed once it hits 1700 RPM. The CPU temp and that diode value (whatever that is)
stay constant, while only the MB temp (from 40 at idle to 48 under load) and
the Power/Aux temp (from 36 at idle to 51 under load) actually move.
------------------------------------------------------
My questions are:
- What have I actually done here? Is this okay, or should I change something? (The system boots fine,
doesn't throw any errors, and survived an hour of Orthus before I got bored waiting for it to crash)
- Why does HTLink show 260 when I set it to 200? There isn't even a 260 option in the BIOS,
just 200, 400, 600 -> 1000. If I set it to 400, the whole thing crashes.😉
- How am I supposed to know the actual CPU temperature now? By feel? If these readings are mixed up
and the MB temp or Power temp is actually the CPU temp, then it's insane that a 45W chip
runs this warm on such a pathetic, cheap stock cooler!
- It's really easy to get confused because PCWizard is clearly swapping values; it shows 3.3V for water
and 1.8V for memory right next to each other, and they seem to switch places.
- Is that Kingmax 667 really running at 409.5 x 2, and is that safe for it?
- Should I mess with the memory timings or just leave them alone?
Anyway, if anyone has a spare moment and the patience to comment on this, I'd really appreciate it...
trying my hand at overclocking. 😉 My experience level is basically zero—total noob here. The only thing I've
actually done is spend some time digging through the literature on the forums, and here is what I've got...
I picked up the CPU on sale at Best Buy for about $35, and it seems decent. Even though it's running
Windows Vista Business 32-bit on integrated Radeon 1250 graphics (I allocated
256MB out of the 2GB RAM, and Vista treats it like an Experience Index of 3.7 (!!!!)), I decided to give it
a little extra juice. I bumped it from 2200 up to nearly 2900, which is over a 30%
increase, so that shouldn't be nothing. Anyway, what did I actually accomplish here? How much of this
is actually correct, logical, and acceptable? I'm asking the experts to weigh in, please...
Specs:
Athlon 64 single core LE-1600 64/64/1024 cache stepping F3 @2200 MHz, multiplier 11, 45W, stock cooler
Gigabyte MA69G-S3H, Award F4 BIOS
2x 1GB Kingmax PC2-5300 667 MHz
Frontier Opera case with a 400W proprietary power supply, dual rails 14/15A
NEC DVD IDE
2 x Seagate 250GB SATA2
Zaptv analog TV card + HW MPEG2 (3DClub)
Integrated Radeon 1250 with Catalyst 7.12
Zalman 80mm fan running at 7V next to the CPU
Windows Vista Business 32-bit
In the BIOS:
Cool&Quiet is disabled
HTT = 260
HTLink = 200
That's it. I didn't touch anything else.
Idle BIOS temperatures:
System: 43
CPU: 43
CPU Fan Speed: 2327 RPM
System Fan Speed: 1646 RPM
---------------------------------------------
CPU-Z:
It recognizes the processor, motherboard, and memory correctly, stating:
Core Speed: 2866.9
Multiplier: 11x
Bus Speed: 260.6
HTLink: 260.6
Memory: 2x 1GB Kingmax PC2-5300 (333 MHz)
Timings: 5.0-5-5-15-20-2T @ 1.8V
FSB/DRAM = CPU/7
It says the memory is running at 409.5 MHz with 5-5-5-15-21-2T timings
-----------------------------------------------------
CORE TEMP:
260.59 x 11 = 2866.53 MHz
The temperature reading is stuck at -49, so it clearly has no clue...
---------------------------------------------------
PCWIZARD 2008:
Everything is recognized properly, and after an hour of running Orthus, it reports:
Original: 2200, Overclocked: 2866.89
Chassis Fan: 1646
Proc Fan: 2586
Proc Temp: 43
Proc Temp (Diode): 13
MB Temp: 48
Power/Aux Temp: 51
The CPU fan changes speed once it hits 1700 RPM. The CPU temp and that diode value (whatever that is)
stay constant, while only the MB temp (from 40 at idle to 48 under load) and
the Power/Aux temp (from 36 at idle to 51 under load) actually move.
------------------------------------------------------
My questions are:
- What have I actually done here? Is this okay, or should I change something? (The system boots fine,
doesn't throw any errors, and survived an hour of Orthus before I got bored waiting for it to crash)
- Why does HTLink show 260 when I set it to 200? There isn't even a 260 option in the BIOS,
just 200, 400, 600 -> 1000. If I set it to 400, the whole thing crashes.😉
- How am I supposed to know the actual CPU temperature now? By feel? If these readings are mixed up
and the MB temp or Power temp is actually the CPU temp, then it's insane that a 45W chip
runs this warm on such a pathetic, cheap stock cooler!
- It's really easy to get confused because PCWizard is clearly swapping values; it shows 3.3V for water
and 1.8V for memory right next to each other, and they seem to switch places.
- Is that Kingmax 667 really running at 409.5 x 2, and is that safe for it?
- Should I mess with the memory timings or just leave them alone?
Anyway, if anyone has a spare moment and the patience to comment on this, I'd really appreciate it...
#1649 ·
Absolutely nobody?
Quick update:
I tried overclocking just the HTT, but if I push it to 280, the BIOS boots straight into safe mode and wipes all my settings. At 270, the BIOS accepts it, but Windows can't handle it and just keeps rebooting. Looks like 260 is my ceiling...
There are a few other settings in there, but I have no clue what they do, so I'm leaving them alone for now...
If I mess with the memory, superunknown mentioned on PCE that I could easily bump it to 4-4-4-12. Do I just change those specific values in the BIOS, or do I need to go through everything one by one (and at what levels)?
Since I can't figure out the actual CPU temp, I downloaded CPUID Hardware Monitor too. It’s showing me the exact same thing as PC Wizard—identical temps and bus speeds... The most annoying part is that the website says there's built-in support for LE Athlons, and it recognizes it fine, but then it shows Core #1 at -48 degrees and stays stuck right there...
On the bright side, if these voltage readings are actually accurate, this Shrotex Frontier power supply is hitting its rated voltages perfectly and staying rock solid... 12V is sitting at 12.03, though -12V is at -12.61 and 5V is down at -4.35...
Running Orthos right now. Been going for about half an hour and the temperatures (not even sure which component!) are 43 / 48 / 47 while the CPU fan is screaming at 2600 RPM...
Quick update:
I tried overclocking just the HTT, but if I push it to 280, the BIOS boots straight into safe mode and wipes all my settings. At 270, the BIOS accepts it, but Windows can't handle it and just keeps rebooting. Looks like 260 is my ceiling...
There are a few other settings in there, but I have no clue what they do, so I'm leaving them alone for now...
If I mess with the memory, superunknown mentioned on PCE that I could easily bump it to 4-4-4-12. Do I just change those specific values in the BIOS, or do I need to go through everything one by one (and at what levels)?
Since I can't figure out the actual CPU temp, I downloaded CPUID Hardware Monitor too. It’s showing me the exact same thing as PC Wizard—identical temps and bus speeds... The most annoying part is that the website says there's built-in support for LE Athlons, and it recognizes it fine, but then it shows Core #1 at -48 degrees and stays stuck right there...
On the bright side, if these voltage readings are actually accurate, this Shrotex Frontier power supply is hitting its rated voltages perfectly and staying rock solid... 12V is sitting at 12.03, though -12V is at -12.61 and 5V is down at -4.35...
Running Orthos right now. Been going for about half an hour and the temperatures (not even sure which component!) are 43 / 48 / 47 while the CPU fan is screaming at 2600 RPM...
#1650 ·
FINAL REPORT:
260 x 11 = 2866.50 and HT link at 781.8, memory sitting at CPU/7 = 409.7 with 5-5-5-15 2T... none of the temps even hit 50 and the stock vent stays at 2600 after running Orthus for several hours...
Idle temps are around 35-37 and the vent runs at 1200.
So, that's basically it... every other attempt just resulted in a reboot... obviously, I didn't touch the voltages and I don't plan to because I don't need to... I just wanted to see how far this could go...
Ultimately, once you actually figure out what's going on, a simple OC isn't that hard—you just have to know what you're doing, otherwise....
I tried setting my memory to 533, but then it just gets even slower with the same latencies, and if I bump it to 800, the motherboard won't allow it and kicks itself right back into safe mode... My attempts at manual latency tweaking are officially over... yeah, by pulling the battery from the board... my shaky knowledge of overclocking isn't enough to handle that massive page of endless parameters without messing something up... so I'm calling it quits on that.
BTW, I dug through this F4 BIOS pretty thoroughly and couldn't find anywhere else where I could adjust the memory divider except through the memory speed settings...
The lesson learned here is that I should have immediately fired up my second rig, a Dell OptiPlex with dual 4000+ CPUs and 4x1GB Kingmax 800, just for fun—lesson learned... though that board has way fewer OC options than the S3H.
I'm happy with this OC; it's over a 30% jump. For comparison, that Vista Experience Index (which I know is useless) gives me a 5.5 for the CPU and 5.5 for the memory, while the exact same Vista setup on that 4000+ at stock settings shows 4.8 for the CPU and 5.0 for the memory (!), and when I lightly OC it, it hits 5.0....
Interestingly, if it's using consistent criteria, it means 32-bit Vista doesn't really care much about dual-core processors and prefers higher core speeds instead....
My overall verdict on this S3H board with the F4 BIOS is that it's so well-built you can't mess with it even if you try... the second you tweak something it doesn't like, it immediately drops into safe mode... honestly, good job on that.
BTW, the processor costs $90...
260 x 11 = 2866.50 and HT link at 781.8, memory sitting at CPU/7 = 409.7 with 5-5-5-15 2T... none of the temps even hit 50 and the stock vent stays at 2600 after running Orthus for several hours...
Idle temps are around 35-37 and the vent runs at 1200.
So, that's basically it... every other attempt just resulted in a reboot... obviously, I didn't touch the voltages and I don't plan to because I don't need to... I just wanted to see how far this could go...
Ultimately, once you actually figure out what's going on, a simple OC isn't that hard—you just have to know what you're doing, otherwise....
I tried setting my memory to 533, but then it just gets even slower with the same latencies, and if I bump it to 800, the motherboard won't allow it and kicks itself right back into safe mode... My attempts at manual latency tweaking are officially over... yeah, by pulling the battery from the board... my shaky knowledge of overclocking isn't enough to handle that massive page of endless parameters without messing something up... so I'm calling it quits on that.
BTW, I dug through this F4 BIOS pretty thoroughly and couldn't find anywhere else where I could adjust the memory divider except through the memory speed settings...
The lesson learned here is that I should have immediately fired up my second rig, a Dell OptiPlex with dual 4000+ CPUs and 4x1GB Kingmax 800, just for fun—lesson learned... though that board has way fewer OC options than the S3H.
I'm happy with this OC; it's over a 30% jump. For comparison, that Vista Experience Index (which I know is useless) gives me a 5.5 for the CPU and 5.5 for the memory, while the exact same Vista setup on that 4000+ at stock settings shows 4.8 for the CPU and 5.0 for the memory (!), and when I lightly OC it, it hits 5.0....
Interestingly, if it's using consistent criteria, it means 32-bit Vista doesn't really care much about dual-core processors and prefers higher core speeds instead....
My overall verdict on this S3H board with the F4 BIOS is that it's so well-built you can't mess with it even if you try... the second you tweak something it doesn't like, it immediately drops into safe mode... honestly, good job on that.
BTW, the processor costs $90...
#1651 ·
darkowl72 said:Final report:
260 x 11 = 2866.50 and HT link 781.8; RAM is at CPU/7 = 409.7 with 5-5-5-15 2T... none of the temperatures even hit 50°C, and the stock fan stays at 2600 RPM after running Orthus for several hours...
Idle temperatures sit around 35-37°C, with the fan spinning at 1200 RPM.
So, that’s about it... all my other attempts just ended in a reboot. Of course, I haven't touched the voltages and don't plan to because there's no need... I simply wanted to see how far I could push it.
Ultimately, once you figure out what's actually going on, a simple overclock isn't a problem—you just have to know what you're doing.
I tried setting the memory to 533, but then it became even slower despite unchanged latencies; if I try to set it to 800, the motherboard refuses and forces itself back into safe mode... My tinkering with the latencies—trying to adjust them manually—ended abruptly... you know how it goes... by pulling the battery out of the board. My limited knowledge of overclocking wasn't quite enough for that entire page of various parameters, and I managed to mess something up... so I'm stepping away from that.
By the way, I dug through this F4 BIOS thoroughly, and I couldn't find anywhere else where MIH could adjust the memory divider except via the memory speed itself...
The lesson learned here is that I immediately went ahead today and fired up a second machine, a GA M68M-S2 with dual 4000+ processors and 4x1GB Kingmax 800, just for fun... so I guess I learned something. That said, this board has significantly fewer overclocking options than the S3H.
I am satisfied with this overclock; it's an improvement of over 30%. For comparison, the Vista Experience Index (which I know doesn't mean much) gives me a processor score of 5.5 and memory at 5.5, whereas the exact same Vista setup on the 4000+ at stock settings shows 4.8 for the processor and 5.0 for memory (!)—and when I lightly overclock that one, it hits 5.0 for the processor....
Interestingly, if it's operating under consistent criteria, it suggests that 32-bit Vista doesn't care much for dual-core processors and prefers higher core speeds instead.
Generally speaking, my verdict on the S3H board with the F4 BIOS is that it is so well-designed that you can't mess with it even if you want to... the moment you tweak something it doesn't like, it immediately enters safe mode. It's a job well done...
BTW, the processor costs $90...
Take a seat, 5 👍
#1656 ·
It doesn’t really matter what the CPU package temperature shows; what you actually need to keep an eye on is the core temperature.
The sensor located on the processor surface isn't the most accurate reading you can get—you want to look at the internal core sensors instead.
As long as your cores aren't climbing past 140 degrees Fahrenheit, you aren't in any real danger.
The sensor located on the processor surface isn't the most accurate reading you can get—you want to look at the internal core sensors instead.
As long as your cores aren't climbing past 140 degrees Fahrenheit, you aren't in any real danger.
#1657 ·
Does the stuff on the PCE forum cover basically everything, or is it just specifically for dual core setups?
#1658 ·
Daniel Nguyen3 said:it doesn't matter what the processor price is, what matters is the core temp
the sensor on the surface isn't accurate, only the one inside the core is
if the cores aren't going over 60 degrees, you aren't in any danger
So, if my CPU clock shows about 55°C, it won't go up? It'll just stay right there
#1659 ·
vividcobra25 said:So, if I overclock the CPU and it sits at around 55°C, it won't spike? It'll just stay right there?
As long as it stays under 60 degrees under full load, or if Orthos doesn't throw an error, you should be fine.
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