Overclocking (Main Thread)

You'll definitely notice it while gaming—higher FPS and smoother performance. 😉
In everyday tasks, the difference isn't quite as obvious; it's not like macOS is suddenly going to boot up in a single second. 😁

By the way, how loud is your CPU cooler running?

Edward Peterson70 said:you'll feel it more in gaming, higher FPS... 😉
In everyday tasks, you won't notice much difference; it’s not like macOS is suddenly going to boot up in a single second 😁

How loud is your CPU cooler running?

I set it to 3GHz and went to check the temps:
it finally loaded up (after about 5 seconds), I was just about to check the temperature and then... BAM!
The whole system just rebooted...
So now I've dialed it back down to 2.93GHz.
I don't hear anything particularly loud from the processor, and my case only has two 80mm fans and one 120mm fan.

What was the temperature before the reset?

Kyle Sanchez4 said:What was the temperature right before the reset?

I'm not entirely sure. As soon as I hit the power button, it rebooted within three to five seconds. I suspect the temp was sitting somewhere around 50 degrees or even lower...

Strange..

Kyle Sanchez4 said:strange...

So, I’ve been dealing with an issue since before I overclocked my E4500 from 2.2GHz to 2.93GHz:
my PC just randomly restarts every once in a while.
Any idea what might be causing this?
It’s been happening ever since I switched back to Windows XP from Vista.
I'm not entirely sure where to look; I thought maybe it was Service Pack 3, but the crashes started even before I installed that.
I have no clue what the culprit is, though I doubt it's the power supply. I'm running a 400W FSP unit, which really should handle an HD 3870 without breaking a sweat...
What else could it be?

Any help would be appreciated...

Eric Myers73 said:Look, I've been running into an issue since before I overclocked my e4500 from 2.2GHz to 2.93GHz:
My computer just randomly restarts out of nowhere every once in a while.

😕 Could you provide a little more detail?

Edward Peterson70 said:😕 could you elaborate a bit more

What I mean is, say I'm playing Max Payne 2, and the system crashes right after I close the game—but it doesn't happen every single time.
It’s pretty random, so it isn't a constant issue.
Or, I'll just be browsing the web or typing something up, and then suddenly the whole thing restarts. It basically happens whenever it feels like it. Today, the only time it actually rebooted was while I was playing Max...😕

Windows is giving me a hard time too. Since yesterday, every single time I try to log in, I get this pop-up message saying: "you may be a victim of software counterfeiting" 🤷
I guess I'll have to perform a clean install of Windows, which is a real pain because I just finished perfectly configuring everything 😢

Edward Peterson70 said:Honestly, Windows is giving me hell too. Since yesterday, I get this message every single time I try to log in: "You may be a victim of software counterfeiting." 🤷
I’m going to have to reinstall everything, which is a pain because I just finished getting my current setup perfectly tuned and polished 😢

I don't know, I'm actually missing Windows Vista right now
It actually felt smoother and faster...
And here I was, thinking I'd be making my life easier by downgrading from Vista Ultimate back to Windows XP...
Plus, I've got another issue...
Every time I shut down the computer, it tells me a drive—either D: or E:—is still open, so I just have to sit there and wait...
I have to admit, Vista was better, even without having those top-tier graphics drivers installed...

Eric Myers73 said:I'm honestly not sure, I'm struggling with Windows Vista right now
it actually felt smoother and faster back then...
and here I was, thinking downgrading from Windows Vista Ultimate back to Windows XP would be a huge chore...
plus, I've got this other issue...
every single time I shut down my PC, it tells me drive D: or E: is still open, so I just have to sit there and wait...
I have to admit, Vista was better. Even without having those optimized graphics drivers installed...

Windows Vista is absolute garbage. The only decent things about it are the UI and those 3D Aero windows.

Jesse Alvarez32 said:Windows Vista is absolute garbage compared to other versions of Windows. The only redeeming qualities are the UI and those 3D window effects.

Come on, it isn't garbage. It actually has its advantages.
It’s more secure, supports DirectX 10, and handles various modern features...
The aesthetics aren't everything. Honestly, having used both Windows XP Pro and Vista Ultimate, I actually find Vista better. It ran quite smoothly for me without any major issues... aside from a few small programs failing to launch...

@core
Maybe try bumping up the CPU voltage just a hair? I’ve run into similar issues where my system would suddenly restart because of that.

@jimmy, you're probably looking at a full reinstall of Windows.
Once you get it back up and running, make sure you disable those automatic updates. If you see that "Windows Genuine Advantage" prompt pop up, whatever you do, don't install it.

Edit: Actually, forget about Windows Vista... there's no way that thing is going to run on my rig.

I have no intention of bumping up the CPU voltage just yet...
I'll try leaving things exactly as they are for a while. If the performance stays this way, then maybe I'll consider taking some action...

Jesse Alvarez32 said:Windows Vista is absolute garbage compared to other versions of Windows. Honestly, the only redeeming qualities are the aesthetics and those little 3D window effects.

😂😂 I can't imagine hearing anything more foolish than that, because Windows Vista is actually a perfectly solid operating system; you just have to be patient while they roll out the necessary patches. As @core pointed out, its security is superior to Windows XP, meaning there is a significantly lower probability of catching a virus—for instance, when I'm browsing through shady warez sites on XP, which are notoriously riddled with malware, I run into errors and nonsense immediately, whereas Vista handles it smoothly as if nothing happened, and personally, I use the exact same antivirus software.

Well, if you're looking to push past 2.9GHz without bumping up the voltage, I have to be honest... that’s going to be an uphill battle.

In my opinion, you'd be much better off dialing it back to somewhere around 2.6 or 2.7 GHz just to ensure you don't run into any unexpected restarts right in the middle of a gaming session.

(Personally, I’ve settled on 2.7 GHz for now; I simply don't want to push the hardware too hard by trying to hit 2.8+ GHz.)

Daniel Nguyen3 said:@jimmy you're going to have to reinstall Windows
once you disable the automatic updates, you'll see the "Windows Genuine Advantage" prompt—make sure you don't install that.

I was aware that it was related to the automatic updates, though I didn't quite grasp the specifics.
Is that the feature intended to flag unlicensed software?

Daniel Nguyen3 said:So, you're actually hoping to push past 2.9GHz without bumping up the voltage? Honestly... that's a tall order.

It might be smarter to dial it back to 2.6 or 2.7 GHz just to avoid a random reboot right in the middle of a game.

(I’ve settled on 2.7 GHz myself; I have no desire to stress the chip at 2.8+...)

The clock speed isn't really the issue here—was it running at 2.2 GHz when the restarts first started happening?

Edward Peterson70 said:I figured those were just coming from automatic updates, but I honestly had no clue what was actually happening there.
Is that part of that whole crackdown on unlicensed software?

Yep, exactly. 😉

Eric Myers73 said:I'm not sure, I'm actually struggling with Windows Vista right now
it honestly felt smoother and faster...
and here I was thinking downgrading from Windows Vista Ultimate back to Windows XP would be a whole project...
plus, I've got this other issue...
every single time I shut down my PC, it tells me a drive—either D: or E:—is still open, so I just have to wait...
I have to admit, Vista felt better. Even without having those optimized graphics drivers installed...

I guess I prefer it too; it ran faster, though I'd probably switch back just to play certain games...
What percentage is your CPU fan running at when you're at an average temperature?