First post-Newbie requires help with Duron 800mhz

[Bart]

Firstly, as the is my first post, and I have quite a few questions, forgive me if I go on a bit. I've been reading these forums for quite a while now, and have seen some excellent, friendly advice given. I hope my problem, too, can be solved.
Having recently aquired a ASUS A7V133 motherboard and Duron 800mhz CPU, it wasn't long before I decided it might be fun (and rewarding) to overclock. I've read the beginners guide of this site, and sucessfully (or so I thought) unlocked the L1 bridges.
I experimented with quite a few FSB, multiplier and voltage combinations, but only a few seemed stable. I am using only the OEM fan and no additional cooling, so I understand my O/c ing will be limited somewhat.
Anyway; to get to the point- with increases of 100mhz or thereabouts, should I notice significant improvements in 3DMark 2001 scores? I'm getting only 30 or 40 more points. Also, my current fan heatsink had a 'thermal pad' underneath which seems to have.. melted. All over my CPU. Is this a major concern? I'm now getting idle temperatures of 49 degrees- far too high, I believe. Now my computer seems to boot only every second time, too. Could the CPU be damaged? Would thermal grease help, and if so, application tips would be greatly appreciated. System specs are as follows:-

Duron 800
ASUS A7V133
20 gb Seagate H/D 7200rpm ata100
Inno3D Ge-forces 2 MX 32mb
S/Blaster Live D.E. 5.1
512 mb PC133 ram. (Once card Hyundai, one unknown)

Thankyou for your patience, and once again, any advice on the rambling above would be most welcome!

[SleepyKat]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.
The thermal tape is designed to melt around the chip. If you pulled the HSF(heatsink fan) off to see the melted tape, that not good. The tape is a one shot thing and just replacing the HSF back on the chip like that would cause heat problems(been there, done that :) ) The temperature will be your limiting factor. As for the bench mark, you may notice some improvements but I do not know how you configured you settings (Multiplier x FSB) or your hardware. Since it is a 800 D, I'm guessing initial setting is 8x100. If unlocked and without adjusting the Vc, you may want to try 8.5x100. Moving the FSB will cause some error depending on the PSU(power supply unit) and cooling. Check you temperature . If you like O/C, you would need to update your HSF and use AS-2. There are several articles in O/C that tells you how the do this.
Enjoy!
P.S. if you boo boo and the system does not post, turn off you computer, reset you CMOS (jumper on the motherboard or pull the battery) should clear and default it back

[WillysNut]

Bart...Welcome to the Forums!! Sound's like you have a few basic, fixable problems. The failure to boot is probably because of heat in the processor core that is not being properly handled by your current heatsink and pad. First...I would not OC your chip until you..at least..get some thermal grease...preferably Arctic Silver 2 and a better heat sink. You can purchase both at places like coolerguys.com or 2cooltek.

To get your chip stable again at stock speeds, you should be able to carefully clean off the TIM (thermal interface material) which is the thermal pad you mentioned. Carefully clean the processor core w/ rubbing alcohol and do the same with the base of your current heatsink. You might need an exacto knife or razor blade to remove the pad (from the heatsink only..not the processor :)). You can also get fairly good grade thermal paste at RadioShack if you live in the US.

You really should consider some upgraded cooling if you are at the point where you want to overclock. Good case ventilation and a good heat sink/fan combination are two crucial required steps to successful overclocking. Good luck.

[M@€$†®Ö™]

Welcome to the Forums ! I will try and answer a few of the questions you have and share my knowledge that i have learned from here.

Ok let me see if I can knock out some of these questions in rapid succession.

1. The thermal pad I would get rid of it. Immediately at worst goto the nearest radio shack and get some heat sink compound. Others in this thread can offer better advice like Arctic Silver Heat Sink Compound which is considered the best by most.

2. Cooling ! When you overclock your system COOLING IS KEY ! I would invest in better cooling all the way around . Case fans are very important to keeping your system cool. A better Heat Sink and Fan are also advisable.

You mention your temp of 49c that is at idle which in my book is totally way too high.

I would back off that overclock till you get your cooling in better shape to make sure your system and CPU stay in good shape.


What I did when I first started to overclock my duron was leave the voltage stock and push the mulitplier up till you started having problems and back it off a bit till you are in a stable situation. WIth not the best cooling as you well know. Your full potential of your overclocking ability will be limited.

With 3Dmark scores are basically based on your Graphics Card Capabilities and they have essentially off loaded all the burden that the CPU use to have to the Video. So overclocking should not have a big affect your scores.

I would take your Heat Sink and Fan off and gently clean your CPU with some Isopropyl Alcohol and a lint free cloth making sure to get the surrounding areas as well.clean.

Here is a link I was shown by another member of this forum a few months ago on how to properly apply heat sink compound.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

Also this link gets you to the arcticsilver website so you can find out more about the best heat sink compound on the market most would agree on.

And lastly that temp of 49c is a bit on the high side. I personally advise most anyone to try and stay under 50c or so as you can get lock ups and freezes above this. And that is dealing with full load in specific. You are not in a critical range in my opinion but you are close to the upper limit I consider safe. And since you say you get that temp at idle take the above advice :)

Well good luck and I will try and help more if you need it :)

If you can post all of your components that you have in your system mine is a rough guide on info to go by in parallel to help you get yours looking good.

Maestro

[Bart]

Helpful and practical advice within 1 hour! This forum is certainly a godsend for those new to overclocking such as myself. It's comforting to know you people are here! I'll grab some Arctic Silver II a.s.a.p. and see how it goes. Thanks again, all!