A n00b overclocker's genereal questions.

Hi guys. I just picked up some really nice hardware and I've been trying to get it to run well-OCed, but with poor results.

I tried taking my 2500+ to 3200+ by setting the FSB to 400MHz (acompanied by my Corsair XMS PC3200 ram) and it'd boot just fine, but Prime95 would give me errors and warnings after only about 45mins. So now I've got it running at 3000+ (200x10.5) pretty stably (4.5hours of Prime95, so far. Gonna run it overnight tonight).

Anyway, I was wondering what I could do to get my CPU to OC better. I don't want to ruin anything, so i haven't messed with the voltage since I don't know how that all works.

Could you guys give me some pointers on OCing?


Also, as a side note... does anyone know why MBM5 is displaying my voltages as being very different from my setttings? With my voltage set at the stock 1.65, MBM tells me anywhere from 1.70 to 1.72. And my +-5.00 and +-12.00 are also off by considerable margins. I have an Antec True430 PS which has never given me any problems like that in the past (it was in my old 1700+ system until today). Any suggestions would be nice.


Thanx guys. I hope to start a good relationship with overlcocking and OCers.com

Raise the CPU voltage and you should get more stability. The increased voltage will give you increased heat. Don't worry to much about it damaging the chip unless you are getting above maybe 1.9v. But there are probably others out there who are more adventurous than me and will tell you otherwise

As for the MBM voltage readings take those with a grain of salt, have you checked out your PSU with a multimeter to see how accurately your board is reporting them? Some people I know whith the A7N8X have told me that it doesn't read temperatures very accurately.

Welcome to the forum.

You have all the good hardware to overclock.

One thing missing from your info are the heat sink and fan, which are the most important thing for CPU overclocking, next to the CPU. What are they?

The A7N8X overvolts vcore by .07v on average. you should be ok to raise it a little more though... up to about 1.75v in the bios... provided you have good cooling. but try to keep it low.

You should raise your multiplyer to 11 or 11.5 and drop your FSb just a couple of notches, then see if its stable at just short of 2200 or 2300 mhz.

keep your temps below 52C at load if you can...

My cpu cooler

I'm running a Coolermaster HHC-001 with Arctic Silver Ceramique thermal paste. I don't know the exact fan, but it's the one that comes stock with the HHC-001. How can I find out which fan that is?

Also, is there a way to find out my CPU model without removing my heatsink and visually checking the sticker?

I've also got a side-panel 80mm intake fan and a Vantec Stealth 80mm plugged in right above my CPU on the back of the chassis, in addition to the Sunon fan on the front of my case that's cooling my HDs and intaking cold air for the case.

What's a good voltage setting to try to get my cpu running stably at 3200+? I think the max my bios allows is 1.85V.

Also, at least acording to MBM, my cpu runs at a max of 51C after running Prime95 for a few hours at a 3000+ OC. How much hotter would it get if I OCed to 3200+? And is 51C unreasonable already? I've seen a lot of reviews where peple say they get well under 50C under load.

Wow, reading over this post makes me sound like really needy heh.

I had no problems OC'ing to 3200+ with stock voltage, but I have heard of people having problems. I've also heard of people screwing up by taking the voltage to 1.85. I'd try out 1.75 and see if that works.

Thanx for the help guys!

I ran Prime95 all night with a 3200+ OC and 1.75 Vcore and it's rock stable at 47C!

But, I'm kinda concerned, because acording to MBM, the Vcore is fluctuating from 1.78 to 1.82. Is that normal?

It's normal for my rig.

Just looking up the thermal resistance of the Cooler Master HHC-001, w/ delta fan, it is about 0.34 C/W.

Without going into detailed calculation, I would say it loses about 200 MHz to the SLK-800U, with the same voltage. I estimate at 1.75 V Vcore, using the SLK-800U/900U/947U with enough CFM air flow, one would get around 2250 - 2300 MHz for a Barton 2500+ overclocked.


For details,

Comparing some HSF's on CPU overclock frequency on air (page 6)

Comparing different HSF's and impact of ambient temperature on max CPU frequency (HSF 0.3 C/W) (page 6)

Comparing different HSF's and impact of ambient temperature on max CPU frequency (HSF 0.36 C/W) (page 7)

People place too much emphasis on heat sometimes. It's important for the chip's lifespan and stability, but it is not always a limiting factor in overclocking.

I've got an SK7 and 1800+ OC'd to 2.375Ghz with room to spare. On hot days my CPU temp geos as high as 58C load and stability is never compromised because of it.

I read my temps via a thermal probe on the cpu die. My board is an 8rda.

well since prime95 runs stable for 45minutes, it certainly sounds like something is getting too hot. What is the temps?