The OverClocking Guide #1

[Jupac]

Intro

What is Overclocking
Overclocking when done right will Increases your PC's performance by large amount. It can take a $150 chip and give it the same speed as a $300+ chip. Also many pre-made computer such as Dell,HP,GateWay and many other do not let you overclock.


Some Rules
Don't overclock unless you accept that you may damage your equipment.

Always take small steps when increasing voltages, bus speeds and multipliers.

Never change BIOS settings if you're unsure of the results or what function they perform.

Never assume that you'll get the same speeds as someone else, there can be many reasons why you won't.

Remember just because it boots and runs for a while doesn't mean your system is safe or completely stable.

Rules by Corry S



*to be continued*

[PeOfEo]

One should note the difference between a bus oc and a cpu ratio oc. If you oc with the front side bus (which is the only way to oc an intel) you are going to run higher freqs through the whole box. Generally it is not the proc that gives out, it is the chipset or something in a pci slot.

A cpu ratio is one option for an amd processor, but the problem with cpu ratio is that I have heard it tends to make things a little hotter then a front side bus oc.

In either case the voltage should be changed according to how many mhz the clock speed increases.

Ocing is a lot of trial and error, expect to see the BSOD often until you find a sweet spot. I suggest ocing with a motherboard moniter if you can to get the voltage and bus correct and test them in game before committing to bios... it makes things go a little bit faster.

[Jick]

Ooo... I'd like to see this developed. This might become a good candidate for a sticky if it develops more. Right now it's still a bit primitive though. I know it would be useful for me anyway. I have never overclocked before but from what I hear it would be worth trying.

Good work guys. ;) Let's hope this gets some good input so we might be able to compile a sticky out of it. I'm sure many people would find this information very useful. :)

[theuedimaster]

Yea, when overclocking Intel PeofEo is right, everything will go up, including agp cards and such. So before you overclock, you want to go to the bios and i forget what, it is some sort of disble on the agp card.

[theuedimaster]

How bout we all make our own "guides" and then compile them into one sticky :)

[Jupac]

yea just post in here then we can type up a big one then delete this thread :D

[Jick]

Whatever is easier for everybody. I would just like to see it compiled into one resource eventually. :)

[PeOfEo]

for a bus oc you want to do several things: 1st is up the proc voltage, second is, if you can, maybe pop the agp and pci clocks up a notch, and third is change the system performance setting from normal to fast depending on how much you oc.

[Jupac]

cooling is very important when overclocking. You maay need to get more fans or a new heatsink. If you have the money you should go with liquid cooling. you should never go with what temp the mobo tells you, i highly recomend geting a exteral temp sensor

[PeOfEo]

Originally posted by lakers01
cooling is very important when overclocking. You maay need to get more fans or a new heatsink. If you have the money you should go with liquid cooling. you should never go with what temp the mobo tells you, i highly recomend geting a exteral temp sensor You can if you were to test the mobo temp with a sensor, but you would need a sensor in the first place to do that. With my latest bios update the mobo temp is about on target.

How to use your own temp moniter - By Peo.
1st get a temp moniter, some cases have one built in, like mine, but sometimes you need to buy a pannel for it.
2nd take one of the sensors from the cas or pannel (usually a peice of copper at the end of a wire of deinate length which because copper conducts heat, the heat is read, then boosted according to the wire length at the end) and put some thermal paste on it
3rd Get out some duct tape (duct tape can melt, but if it is melting in your pc then your proc must be fried too because ductape melts at close to 200f if my memory serves me correctly)
4th attach the copper to the bottom of the heat sink with the duct tape (off to the side of the proc, make sure it at no point comes between the processor and the heat sink, this gap will only hurt your cooling and could be dangerous), this is accurate because of the conduction of the thermal paste that is conncting the top of the processor to the bottom of your (ideally copper) heat sink.

That is how you get your own reading. If you want to play it safe add 5 degrees to this temperature and estimate that as the real value.

[Jupac]

Cooling Cont.
Dusting is also very imporant you should open up your case about every 2 months and get the dust out to keep the good air flow.

[PeOfEo]

Originally posted by lakers01
Cooling Cont.
Dusting is also very imporant you should open up your case about every 2 months and get the dust out to keep the good air flow. Or just go to the local comp store and buy fan filters and put them on on every intake fan or place where a lot of air enters. Clean them regularly. I need to get some myself. But I need to rething my airflow if I do. I might put the intake fans on the back and put change the two on the front to output because that would make it easier to get at.

You need to have more output fans then intake fans. It is a good rule of thumb to have every side output except for one blowing in. That way your case is more of a wind tunnel. Te reason you need more output is because if you have too many intake fans then you are just pushing the air that is already in the case back onto your hardware to make room for cooler air, which will then just swirrle around and not take much heat off of the hardware. So goal #1 is get hot air out, cold air will flow in as it needs to if you do not use an intake fan (provided there is a place for it to).

[Jupac]

Well I think we covered every thing

Any questions :D