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help a noob overclock an athlon 64 X2 4200+

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Hi guys,

I found this page: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2452&p=3

And i rly wanna do that to try and help a bottleneck.

This is an extract from that page:

For an early x2 Athlon64 processor the overclocking performance on air is impressive. The next speed step of 2.4GHz (4600+) was easily reached, and we moved on past the next logical step of 2.6GHz to 2.7GHz. This is faster than any of the currently available Dual-Core Athlons. We should mention that 240x11 (2.64GHz) was an extremely easy and stable reach.

So my goal is to get to that 240x11 (2.64GHz).

I've been looking at OC guides and I really can't figure them out, can anyone tell me how can I OC my chip to that speed?

Any help would be really appreciated!
 
Need a LOT more information than just the CPU model. :)

CPU cooler
motherboard (make sure you have the latest BIOS)
RAM - how many sticks & what size - w/stock timings and voltage (timings and voltage can be found in CPU-Z under the SPD tab)
PSU model and rating
Integrated video or video card

Also, download and install these programs for system information/monitoring and testing:
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/
http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/
http://www.ocbase.com/perestroika_en/index.php



BTW - That article is OC'ing an s939 system, not AM2, though they are very similar. ;)


Edit:
Are you going to OC what you've got or change CPUs ...?
 
Last edited:
my bro and i both have x2-4400s mine the low watt model his not but the both hit 2.9 easily,,,his is on water mine isnt surprisingly we both have bout the same temps and the same clock but once again all the hardware in theese 2 boxes all are high end equipment...
 
:) sorry, i am a noob after all :)

I'm looking to solve a bottleneck issue - so if the OC doesn't work I'll have to replace the CPU; i'm running a powercolor 1GB 4890.

I have an MSI K9N Neo v2 - its an nForce 520 chipset.

PSU is a Vantec Ion2+ 520W.

2 1xGB DDR2-800 RAM sticks.
:
Timings on RAM: Frequency: 200 266 400
The 3 rows below that say: 3 4 5
tRAS: 9 12 18
tRC: 12 16 23

Voltage: 1.8 1.8 1.8

It's just got stock cooling on it, don't want to push it past anything that needs extra cooling if possible.

tnx a lot for ur help quietice!
 
For starters you need to check some max speeds on different components. Pull out your motherboard manual and find the BIOS section if you need help finding this stuff.

component (default setting) setting
reference clock (200 MHz) 210 MHz
CPU multiplier (11X) 6X
vCore (CPU voltage) 1.35v
RAM (400 MHz = DDR2-800) 200 MHz = DDR2-400
vDIMM (RAM voltage) 1.8v
RAM timings (5-5-5-18-23) 5-5-5-18-23
HT Link (5X = 1000 MHz) 3X = 600 MHz

Make sure CoolNQuiet and Speedfan are turned off.

Run OCCT or Prime95 (P95) for 5 min and check temps with CoreTemp. If P95 passes and temps are under 50°C then increase the clock by 10 MHz.
Repeat until P95 fails or the temps get too high.
If P95 fails then come down 5 MHz on the clock and try again.
Record the highest clock speed that passed P95.

That's the first test - let me know what you get ... :)
 
great quietice! tnx for ur continued help!

You mentioned I should update my BIOS before I start doing this.

I have the most recent BIOS archive for my motherboard, was just wondering if you could tell me how to use this update? I'm scared of messing something up :)

The archive contains an .exe file, a .290 file, and a .txt file.

Thanks a lot again :)

edit: can't find a way to do this without a floppy drive - which i dont have! what r my other options?

edit again: think i found a windows application that does this for me :) +1 for MSI! Will let u know how this goes, as well as the test
mentioned above.

edit #3: just ran the stress test b4 bios update and any oc attempts, and these were my temps:

core #0: Low 34 High 47
core #1: Low 35 High 51

Is that quite bad? prime95 gave no errors
 
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Floppy drives are cheap. You should get one and unhook it and store it when you aren't using it. I have had issues with windows/web based bios update utilities. You might check MSI's web site (forums) to see if you can use a pen drive (flash memory) to update your bios, it's possible with some boards.

What are your room temps with those temps with your stock run? Are you using the TIM (thermal pad) that came with the stock heatsink/fan? Using something like arctic silver and some aftermarket cooling will definitely help with temps. What kind of airflow does your case have?

This is the thread I read when I started wanting to OC my 939.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=391768

Have Fun!
 
tnx jim!

room temps here are about 20'C i guess! dont rly want to get any aftermarket cooling as this rly isnt a major oc project, i just want to try and solve a bottleneck! :)

if this doesnt work i'll have to upgrade :(
 
Those temps aren't the best so you'll have to keep a close eye on the temps but you should be able to get something extra out of it. :) Did you maunally set the numbers I gave you before you started testing?

I don't know anything about MSI updating so I'm glad you got it figured out.


Let me know what you get for the max clock speed ...
 
20C (68F) is nice. However, the speed they recommend in the review, on air, is not on stock air with the stock TIM. If you will use the stock cooler (there are some good inexpensive HSFs), you should really think about some good thermal paste material.

What kind of "bottleneck" are you experiencing?
 
think it may be the end of the road.

went into my bios and the clock speed doesnt have an option for going higher than 200!!
 
yeah what can one do hey! looks like an upgrade was in the stars :)

I'm looking at getting one of the Athlon X2 240 or 250 chips, I'm on a really tite budget so cant go much more expensive than that.

You think this would solve my bottleneck issue with the 4890?

Tnx very much QuietIce for all ur help, i know we kinda got stuck halfway, but i really learnt a lot :)
 
I'm pretty sure your CPU will bottleneck your card, particularly if you're not going to oc it. However, from what I've been reading, it will only be really noticeable in 'intense' games like Far Cry 2/Crysis, and the like. If you're going to be playing UT3, STALKER etc you'll be fine.

All I know is my 3000+ single core @ 2.25ghz bottlenecks my gtx216 in crysis something shocking. But in STALKER its not really noticeable :santa:
 
sorry careface, r u saying my old chip (4200+) will bottleneck?

or the chip i am looking to get (athlon x2 245)?

if an AM3 chip bottlenecks too then i dont know wat to do :(
 
Even with a big OC, your bottleneck is your CPU , your video card is ready to output the frames but the CPU will hold you down trying to do other tasks and makes things slow.. gl
 
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