altec said:
So, if i have a Volcano 9 cooling wise, what kind of overclock can i get without drastically changing the voltage... And is it safer to change the multiplier, or the frequency? i still do not totally understand the difference, i need a little guidence...im still new to this. Thanks
As you'll eventually read around the forums you'll notice that
a lot of things determine just how far you can overclock your chip from stock. But, to give you an estimate as to how far your chip *may* overclock, I would need to know what stepping & date code is on your CPU. This information is found on the die itself, where it contacts the heatsink.
It's totally safe to change both the multiplier & FSB frequency. Both FSB freq. and multiplier determine the CPU's frequency (FSB * Multiplier = CPU Frequency).
Your CPU has a maximum frequency outside stock it will reach, and the point of overclocking is reaching this maximum frequency. Reaching it will be a matter of trial an error actually.
Like I said in the above post, Vcore voltage & core temperature primarily play into an overclock.
A good place for you to start is by downloading a benchmark utility like SiSoft Sandra from
AOAFile.com.
With your system completely stock, run the CPU, Multimedia, & memory test. Take note of the results and of your CPU temperature (this can be found in the 'mainboard info' section).
Now start overclocking your system. Start out subtle first, nothing big. For instance lower your multiplier to say 10.5, and try a FSB of 166 MHz. This will yeild a CPU freq. of 1743- not much out of spec there for the 2200+. The only thing that will be really out of spec is the RAM if your running anything lower than PC2700 (providing your running a 1:1 ratio). So, to do a 166 MHz FSB, your RAM should be able to run that high (PC 2700 is rated for 166 MHz). If it can't, then your system will hang on the boot up. Nothing bad will happen. JUST BE SURE YOU KNOW WHERE THE JUMPER IS ON YOUR MOTHERBOARD TO RESET THE CMOS, so you'll be able to reboot your system back @ stock settings.
The higher you run your memory and FSB, the better your memory related benchmark scores will be. The higher you run your CPU, the higher CPU related benchmark scores will be.
I haven't even begun to scratch the surface, because that would fill pages- but for now get your feet wet through trial and error with these settings. Then you can move on to tweaking other settings like DRAM timings for instance.
If you have other specific questions don't hesitate to post them...we're all here to help.
-PC
altec said:
I am also already having some slight instability issues, and everything in my machine is still stock. i am running a Soyo Dragon KT400 Mobo, Athlon XP 2200, Radeon 9700 Pro, 80 GB WD800JB, and an Audigy2 Sound Card...are there any conflicts in this setup? i get frequent lockups when i do anything that requires a good ammount of graphics acceleration, and sometimes a random reboot. I need some help.
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