saftey of an overclock

[mrwizard]

I'm fairly new at this, I have heard some horor stories about over clocking and I have also heard people getting realy good results, so I would like an experianced opinion. I am currently running:

PIII 866
ASUS CUSL2-C
Ge Force 256
Golden Orb Fan w/ copper spacer (both have thermal paste applied)
Currently according to MBM 5 I'm running about 38 degrees C. (I'm thinking about adding a case fan to bring this down a little).

Based on this do you think that I would be fairly safe in overclocking this computer...

Thanks for the Help,
MrWizard

[batboy]

If you don't get too carried away with cranking up the core voltage and if you keep everything cool, there is very little risk. A few questions, is your CPU a slot one or a socket 370? Is the temp you quoted CPU temp or system temp? Is the temp you quoted idle temp or load temp?

If this CPU is a FC-PGA socket 370, then remove the copper shim, that will increase temps. Get a better CPU cooler. That Golden Orb is not going to work very well once you start overclocking and raising voltage. If the temps you quited are idle temps, you definitely need better cooling before you start overclocking. By all means, get another case fan or two. I like to keep my full load CPU temps at 40 degrees C. or lower when overclocking.

[[OC]_SR20DE]

With your current setup, yeah sure you can overclock at some degree without taking risks. You will be fine! but before you do,.. what RAM do you have? Specify your RAM rated speed also. PC100 or PC133 or PC150? and how many sticks of RAM.

Whatever you have.. if you are curious, go ahead and overclock right now. but just a little bit. bump the FSB by 136 to 138ish.. Dont worry it is very difficult to hurt anything at this point.

[engjohn]

Well you have the 866 that runs on the 133Mhz Front Side Bus, which makes it harder to overclock. Is that temp for the CPU or the case?
Having good case cooling really helps lower the cpu temp. the cpu heatsink can only be as cool as the air around it.

Give it a go and keep an eye on the temps of the cpu. Take it slow, increase the FSB to the next step and see what happens.


on a side note.
If I were you, I would loose the ORB and get a better Heatsink.

[[OC]_SR20DE]

engjohn (Apr 10, 2001 08:41 p.m.):


on a side note.
If I were you, I would loose the ORB and get a better Heatsink.


Thank you for mentioning. Unfortunately many Orb users get offended and get mad like little boys when we folks say anything bad about the Orb. That is why I didn't say anything about it. hehe

[William]

like batboy said, be very careful with that core voltage. You can quickly fry your cpu. Other than that it is pretty safe. A lot of the horror stories come from error or stupidity or equip failure, especially in water cooling(pump failure, leaks). Don't worry about it, take it slowly, and learn as much as you can about oc'ing. This forum is a great place to do so.

[ken257]

One of my machines is the same combo that you have, Asus CUSL2-S and a 866EB. For cooling I recomend something better then an orb. Alpha pal 6035, Globalwin FOP32 or something along those lines as you will not need the delta jet engine to cool it. Also the shim is not needed. I run a Hedgehog with a Ystech (i think about 25cfm) and it runs 75F idle and 82F Prime95 this is at a FSB of 155, 1.8v, 1007mhz. I added 2 80mm case fans one bottom front for intake and the other right behind the cpu for exaust. It will reach 160FSB if I pull out all PCI cards and just leave in video but that is not an option. If your cooling, ram ,and cards are up to the task you can get a nice gain safely.