MSI 880GM -E41

I don't know if anyone is familiar with this MB, but there is a Overclock FSB Switch. Allegedly, I am supposed to be able to toggle the switches to get 10%, 15%, and 20% increase in speed of CPU. Now my question is this, would anyone recommend using this switch or would it be better for me to go into the BIOS to overclock?

Someone else posted about this board a couple of weeks ago. I fail to see what advantage the toggle switch offers as you still have to go into bios to manipulate voltages and other frequencies unless you are willing to settle for a very minor overclock (or an unstable one).

That someone may have been me, my board is VERY similar, I've got the 880GM-E43.

I'm not sure why they put the switches there....from what I've gathered, Overclockers are a group of people who have every intention of developing a firm understanding of what they're doing. The need for auto-overclocking/easy-overclocking functions doesn't seem to have a place with this crowd.

Best case, 20% isn't nearly what you can theoretically accomplish through the bios, so if you're gounna dream, dream big. Give the BIOS a try.

What CPU are you using?

Athlon II x3 450 RANA 3.2. And yeah I really didn't have any intentions of trying to OC through the switch. I was really more curious then anything. This board is also supposed to have a core unlocker on it, and I tried that and it didn't go so well. Using that experience as a base I really didn't want to just start throwing some switches to see what would happen. I like the idea of the control that you have OCing through the bios

If you're feeling sneaky, you could return that cpu as DOA and get another X3 and see if you get better luck. It's a mixed bag with X3 chips because...there's a reason they disable that 4th core in the factory, some are bound to be more crippled than others, but I've also heard great success stories with X3 chips as well. At a minimum, you should be able to get some moderate overclocks out of the working cores you do have. I'd be curious to hear how that goes.

I didn't have my heart set on the 4th core really. This system that I have now was the first one that I have built myself, and I was trying to keep to the cheaper side of things for my first time just in case. I am planning to work with OCing some just to get the hang of it and what not, then maybe upgrade when the bulldozer comes out. My better half will get this computer when that happens. But depending on the pricing of bulldozer I may just go with Intel...... Not sure yet

VolumetricSteve said:

I'm not sure why they put the switches there....from what I've gathered, Overclockers are a group of people who have every intention of developing a firm understanding of what they're doing. The need for auto-overclocking/easy-overclocking functions doesn't seem to have a place with this crowd.

Click to expand...

I guess I resemble that remark. I think my board is similar and it has that switch as well. It also has some sort of auto-OC feature in the BIOS. I never even tried either functionality but instead worked straight from Dolk's guide. I easily achieved a 25% performance boost and settled for that. I was looking for OC settings that I could use as long as I use the board.

I suppose if I didn't have the help of folks here at OCF, those features would be a lot more useful.

And beyond that, stuff like that provides extra features that MSI can put in the sales brochures.

I have been reading alot around here, and am amazed at the wealth of info here! I haven't even begun to scratch the surface. This MSI board is one that I really got because it was open box at Newegg, and seemed like a good deal. I have used MSI before and have never had a problem with them, so I stuck with them. As far as OCing, I totally plan to do it all by hand rather then entrust something integrated into this board or bios that I do not how or the actions of it working. (If that makes any sense)