AthlonXP 2500 OC

[dedembo]

Hey guys,

I am really new in OC. Actually i starting OC by buying AthlonXP 2500+ due to my interest to emulation. So i apologise if i am asking the silly questions here.
My system is;
AthlonXP 2500 with standart fan comes with the Boxed CPU
Kingston PC3200 512 Mb DDR Ram
Mobo ASUS Asus A7N8X
I have a Fan for cooling the Mobo

As far as i heard from people who are not expert of OC i set my multiplier at 11.5
VCore: 1.80 Volts
FSB 200
Memory frequency is BY SPD

I tested my CPU for 30 mins by doing RAR of 2 gig at the same time DivX movie and emulation
I checked the CPU usage from WinXP it says 100%
CPU heat is 50 C
Mobo is about 35-40 C

Normally system works stable but for example the other day when i was watching a MOV file on Quicktime PC crashed. Then i started thinking about stability because it is very stressful to run a PC like that. Lats time it crashed i lost my 1 Gig of download from the net.

So considering i am not good at OC what do you recommend? What am i doing wrong? What do i need to do or buy (extra cooling?) and what is the right temperature of AMD CPUs?

Thanks a lot in advance

 

[jonspd]

You need to use prime95 and run it for 24 hour's try not to get above 50c to make sure you system is stable also run about 6-12 hour's of 3dmark looping to make sure you system can handle heavy gaming. MBM5 is a great system monitor and if your planing to overclock pretty high you will need to get better cooling.

 

[Drec]

50*C is hot...hotter then id let my cpu run atleast..you should start by getting better cooling on that chip...a good heatsink and sum artic silver 5, make sure your case is well ventalated and get some extra case fans..you really shouldent just OC to the max..try bumping the FSB up 5 at a time then testing for stability..prime 95 is an excellent program to test the stability of your system...if you can run it for more then 24 hours with no errors then your good, and bump the fsb up a more and test again..you ram seems fine, the only thing thats holding you back is those temps. ill edit this post with some links you'll need once i find em. GL

heatsink & fan -- HERE

AS5 -- HERE

Prime 95 -- HERE

Also reading the stickys in the CPU section can help you out alot too.

oh almost forgot. WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!!

 

[dedembo]

thanks for the quick replies

I think i'll start with buying a new fan, is "Silent Volcano 9 CoolMod" good? or you recommend something else?
On my case i have one fan in the back blowing the hot air out and of course one fan in the PSU. I dont have a fan in the front to get the cool air in. And if i can find Prime95 i will dload and test my system. do you think i should OC my Ram manually?

 

[Drec]

the more fans the merrier, as for the RAM, you dont havta worry about overclocking the RAM it does it automatically to keep in sync with your processor, and since your ram is pc3200 its running @ 200mhz i belive so aslong as you keep it at 11.5x200 you wont have a problem. and what you want is a new heatsink and fan, let me find a more specific link on that..

 

[jonspd]

I would get a SLK(thermalright) type heatsink and a good adjustable fan some as5 to get started with. As for overclocking I think you should always overclock via bios manually instead of thru window's. You might want to try and add some fan's sucking in and blowing out I have 4 that suck in and 5 that blow out all 80mm fan's.

 

[Drec]

yes if your willing to spend 60 bucks id definatly go with this one http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-109-113&depa=1

if not this one is 40 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-109-112&depa=1

their not even in stock at newegg

Yes and a "blowhole" exausting air thro the top of your case does wonders...my cpu temps dropped 5*C when i added mine.

 

[jonspd]

http://www.svcompucycle.com/thslcl.html


or this for 34 bux and it's the bracket type much easier to install.

 

[dedembo]

Jonspd,

but i dont have that many holes to fit many fans on my case. how did u manage?

 

[jonspd]

80mm holesaw a drill and the nerve to drill hole where ever you think you might want them. You can also remove your side door and see if you temp's get better. I use a lanboy type case and have 2 80's in my door 2 80's in the front, 2 80's in the top and 3 80's in the rear if you include the pus one. the 2 in the door and 2 in the top I had to drill hole for. You can also try ducting a fan hole straight to you cpu some people do this and get good result's as well.

 

[dedembo]

Drec,

Thank you for ur help i checked the links u sent. myabe this is stupid question but
the heat sink Thermalright SLK-947U Copper Heatsink, can i use any fans with it?

 

[jonspd]

Any fan up to a 90mm you probably could somehow mod a 120 onto it but it might be difficult. I would just go with a good 80 or 90mm fan that allows for adjustment.

 

[dedembo]

Can we say that "as long as we cool down the CPU and Mobo well we can go really high frequency on them"? Is there a limitation the CPU that we must stop?
Interesting thing is my multiplier is 11.5 and FSB is 200 but when i check the system via Sandra it says 2.18 Ghz i can not get higher even if i change the multiplier to 12.5 i still have 2.18 Ghz so what i mean is if i cool it down well what point can i get?

 

[Drec]

see what CPUZ says your frequency is...CPUZ

 

[jonspd]

Sometime's not only do you need to cool the cpu but you need to give it enough juice up the voltage. If you dont have a good PSU then you may not be able to overclock very high @ all. The will alway's be a limit. Hardware, volt, temp, etc etc you just have to work your way around each when ever you hit that limit. If you have pleant of temp headroom rasie the voltage if you have pleanty of fsb room rasie the fsb. Ocing is all trial and error you will figure most of it out on your own then again you can read these forum's and figure alot of it out. I tried water cooling and didnt like it I have been usig air for about 2 yr's not overclocking and have had to make many hsf upgrades. There is volt mod's you can do to help you get higher like the vdd mod increases chipset voltage for you board or the vddim mod increases ram voltage for you ram.

 

[dedembo]

Cheers Drec i think it will be quite useful i'll try when i am home. One last question before i go for lunch,

the heatsinks you recommended, if i buy thermaltake volcano11 or something, they come with the heatsink as well shall buy the heatsinks you recommend and replace it with the thermaltake volcano XX heatsink?

thank you two so much for your help

 

[Drec]

i would just get this one http://www.svcompucycle.com/thslcl.html
that jonspd recommended then find a 80 or 90mm fan for it. simple as that.

 

[dedembo]

jonspd,

yes u r right actually bcoz when i OC my PC last month for the first time my CPU voltage was 1.80 Volts and my crap PSU damaged so i bought a new one but still not sure if it is good as well, it says 400W Everest P4 PSU. It seems OK at the moment but god know how it will react if i increase the Voltage to 1.85 (which is max i can go on my Mobo)
In the BIOS i know I can change the other Voltages (like ram) and the latency values of Ram but i donno if i need to change them so i just leave it at the moment as they are.
I think what i need is to buy a good cooling first then try and if have problems i will contact you

 

[jonspd]

NP


A 400watt sparkle or forton would be ok but as for a everest I dought it would be good for extreme overclocking. In most cases freezes, bsod's, reboot's on overclocked systems are due to bad rail's or a not so good PSU.

 

[Drec]

just remember the higher you put your vcore the hotter that things gonna get, i got mine at 1.75 12.5x195... idle temps about 38*C and 43 under full load.