Overclocking Guide?

[Vejita-sama]

Hi, my current system has problems so I'm going to start over with a new one:

Abit NF7-S
AMD XP 3000+ Barton (400FSB)

I've never been a 'believer' in overclocking but ever review I read about this MB/setup says that OC by 10-20% presents no real problems and is rock stable/steady.

However, I'm new to the whole OC process. So can anyone point me towards a good guide on the subject. Looking around online I see people just change the freq and multiplier, while others change the voltage and timing. I know (sort of) about the first but have no idea how changing the latter two affect things, or the potential risks.

Thanks in advance

[Vejita-sama]

Well 2.5rs latter I'm really starting to get confused Never having OC befored I thought I would just buy the best CPU I could for the money I have, then OC it as much as possible.

But reading stuff at http://www.overclockers.com (where I just joined their forum) it seems that all of the AMD Bartons use the same core, and a 2500+ at 11x200 performs the same as a 3200+.

So even thou the 3200+ stock is 11x200 @ 1.65V, running a 2500+ at 11x200 and say 1.75V seems to produce the same performance? If so I could save a bit of money (if this process is safe).

Sorry for the double post. I get the feeling that by the time I get all the info together I'll have answered my own post/question (isn't that always the way )

[Solarjetman]

Well, I like you am not a believer in overclocking. I would rather keep my computer within specs. However, I may be able to give you a little info on the subject.

A processor's speed is the multiple of the FSB and the multiplier. But remember that your processor does not run at 3GHz, it is the equivalent of a 3GHz Pentium, so don't set the multiplier according to the "plus rating", but instead the actual clock speed. I would suggest you not mess with the FSB if possible as that will affect other components besides the CPU.

As for voltage level, people up the voltage in order to "push" the CPU into switching its gates faster. This causes extra heat and should only be done if you have problems without doing it.

Not sure what you mean by changing the frequency though.

And if it matters to you, just keep in mind the instant you do any of this, it voids the warrantee on many pieces of hardware in your computer. Not necessarily just the MB and CPU.

[Solarjetman]

So even thou the 3200+ stock is 11x200 @ 1.65V, running a 2500+ at 11x200 and say 1.75V seems to produce the same performance? If so I could save a bit of money (if this process is safe).

Well, there is really no such thing as a truly safe overclock. It is true that the procesors use the same core, however that does NOT mean that ALL 2500+ will run that way.

[Vejita-sama]

Yeah, I've been going through the overclockers.com forum and reading their faqs (very few guides actually).

The bottomline seems to be that the AMD Barton 2500+ (stock 11x166) can be overclocked to 11x200 (esp on the Abit NF7-S) no problem, bringing you up to 3200+ speed. So I think I'm going to go with that option. Cooling wise I'm getting mixed reports for what necessary.

Some of these guys are using water cooling, and others a nice fan/hs (SLK-800) and 2 case fans and everything is fine. I've got a Cool Master aero7+, 420W PSU, and 2 case fans. I'm going to just go with that and see what happens.

It's a cost thing, I can get the above in for ~$400. Everything new is projected to be ~$900.

[Jester700]

I got a 2500+ and mobo to upgrade my 1800+. My thinking was, for $165 shipped, I'll at least get 2500+ level, and I'd see what else I could get. It ran at 3200+ level (actually 11x200=2200MHz) - with standard cooling. But it wasn't entirely stable. A 2 hr. video render would sometimes crash out to windows. It does have cheap memory (though it IS PC3200 and I'm running at slow timings), so I'm not sure where the instability was. So, I slowed the bus down to 190MHz, for a chip speed of 2100. It's basically still at about 3000+ level, and is now rock stable - many 2 hr. renders & DVD re-encodes later, and no problems.

[Vejita-sama]

Yeah Jester if you haven't already looked at overclockers.com it's pretty much like this site. I've seen at least 20+ people running the Abit NF7-S w/ Barton 2500+ at 11x200. I had already decided to get that MB, so I'm going with this setup.

I'm going to get some nice memory to go with it thou. My AMD 2600 266FSB Palmino(sp) is just not working on my ECS K7VZA (in theory this is the highest CPU supported by this MB, but you have to install two bios upgrades to run it).

Thanks for the input guys.

[RabidDog]

ALso you cant change the multiplier, unless you unlock the chip, which requires physical mods to the chip itself. By the time youve paid for all the extra cooling etc why noy just buy a better processor and get gteed performance??

[Jester700]

ALso you cant change the multiplier, unless you unlock the chip, which requires physical mods to the chip itself. By the time youve paid for all the extra cooling etc why noy just buy a better processor and get gteed performance??

The newer AMDs are unlocked with most modern mobos, so this isn't an issue. Definitely all the Bartons are, and I think T-bred Bs are, too (2400+ and up).

[RabidDog]

Ive got a xp 2600 , so your saying I can just up the multi?? This is great if true!! :P

[rallynavvie]

For those of you who don't want to void the warranty or otherwise tamper with your Athlon XP, another way of controlling the multiplier:
http://www.upgradeware.com/english/product/xptmc/xptmc.htm