How overclockable is this system?

[kerryking]

Hi, I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas of the kind of speed I can get from this sytem?

Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 SKT AM2 nForce 570-SLI PCI-E, DDR2, SATA2 Raid GB LAN, 8ch Audio, USB2, FireWire ATX

AMD CPU AM2 Athlon 64 Dual Core 4200 Retail Box inc Fan, Socket AM2 940 PIN, Energy Efficient (3yr Manufacturers Warranty)

Geil Ultra DDR2 2.0GB PC6400 Dual Channel memory kit (2 x 1GB) 800MHz (4-4-4-12) +Aluminium heat spreader

ThermalTake Soprano VB1000BNS Black c/w 2x case fans +USB2 + NO PSU

250GB Seagate Barracuda SATA II 300 7200rpm 16MB cache Hard Disk Drive oem (Manufacturer's 5yr Warranty)

ThermalTake TR2 470W Black Silent +ATX 12V 2.0 PSU, 20pin +4pin SATA ready


XFX GeForce 7600GT 256MB Fatal1ty DDR2, PCI-E, Dual DVI, HDTV Out, Retail

 

[White_Pawn]

Every PC will over clock differently. You'd just have to see.

One important thing to find out though, would be what stepping your CPU is. If it is F3, you're looking at 3ghz. If it is F2, it is alot less.

 

[funnyperson1]

Sounds like a solid system, the limiting factor will be your cpu. I believe thats an F2 chip meaning it will probably max out around 2.8ghz.

 

[kerryking]

I was thinking of getting the 4800 version of that processor instead as its not that much more. http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(14002)AMD-CPU-AM2-Athlon-64-Dual-Core-4800-Retail.aspx

How would I find out the stepping of the Cpu's?

I googled it but couldnt find a list or anyting of them

thanks

 

[funnyperson1]

You can tell by the AMD part number, if its an F3 revision core (the best AMD overclockers) it will have a CZBOX at the end of the part number.

The 4800+ you linked is a Brisbane core chip, you can tell because the AMD part number ends with DDBOX, and the manufacturing process is 65nm. This chip will overclock better than the F2 revision chips, but not as well as the F3 chips (which are hard to find nowadays if you're looking at the low speed chips (3800+).

You could actually get the 4000+ Brisbane from that site and save yourself some money (it will clock just as high as the 4800+).

 

[kerryking]

Hi, thanks for your reply

Is this the one you mean:

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=13998

Just to make sure lol.

Do you think i need to get a new Cooling fan or anything for it if im gonna overclock it to the maximum it'll go?

 

[funnyperson1]

Yup, according to the part number thats the Brisbane, but their description is wrong on that site.

You could probably get to like 2.8Ghz with the stock cooler, if you really want to get close to maxing out the chip, you might want something like this:
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(11432)Arctic-Cooling-Freezer-64-Pro-AMD-64-upto.aspx

 

[kerryking]

Hi, thanks for your reply, they seem to have sold out pretty much everywhere, managed to find one on ebay though and its pretty cheap.