Overclocking my 2.4c, How should I go about it?

[deathBOB]

Hi there! I am getting an XP-90 for christmas which should hopefully get temps down low enough to OC. I am getting a new videocard soon after and I dont want my processor to be a bottleneck.

How do I go about overclocking? I understand the whole raising the FSB, ram divider stuff, but what increments should I use? What should I use to check stability? When should i increase voltage?

 

[batboy]

We need to know what motherboard and RAM you have.

From experience, I know 235 FSB is a no brainer for a 2.4C with default voltage, so that's a good starting point.

Only raise voltage if you you have stability problems. I usually overclock in increments of 5 FSB to find the limits of my system. Check temps and test for stability at each step.

Lots of programs can be used for testing stability, but a quick and easy thing to use is the PCmark2004 benchmarking program. If that will run and give you a score, you are pretty stable.

 

[deathBOB]

I have an Abit IC7-G with 4 256mb sticks of DDR3200. One set is Corsair (2-3-2-6) and the other is OCZ (2-3-3-6).

As i write this temps are 53C and when i use prime (prime is used for load test correct?) they go to 66C. I figure they have been that high for the last year and everything works great so I think I will make that my temp. limit.

 

[uclajd]

One thing to keep in mind about the 2.4c. When overclocked, there are several reports of this processor degrading over time. I swear it happened to me. I had a 3.4 stable (booted into windows at 3.6) 2.4c, which now isn't stable past 3.26. Others have reported this phenomenon.

 

[deathBOB]

Will keep that in mind... Does this mean I will need to periodically check if its stable?

 

[batboy]

Yes, Prime95 is one of the best stability checking programs.

Degrading over time is generally because of higher vcore, not just overclocking alone.

Ok, you have a good mobo. Admittedly, Abit reads a little higher than actual temps, but even so, 66 degrees is a little warm. You'll need to lower temps some more before attempting to overclock. Obviously, if you are getting an XP-90 soon, that will help a lot. But, don't forget case ventilation too. What do you have for case fans? Do you have rounded IDE cables? Making your wires tidy and organized so they won't block air flow can significantly help and it usually don't cost anything (except a few nylon wire ties).

 

[deathBOB]

Im going to screw case fans completely and make a duct from a rear fan hole directly to the heatsink fan. I have a Wavemaster and the intake airflow kinda sucks, im hoping this will bring it down drastically.

 

[batboy]

If you are ducting air in from the rear, be careful that you don't pull in warm air being exhausted from the power supply. You will still probably need another exhaust fan... perhaps a top blowhole? A better way to duct air in is from a side panel blowhole. Check out the cooling articles listed in my signature. The stuff about Prescotts won't apply, so skip the first couple of pages and check out the part about adding a side duct. Also look at what I did to mod my case.

 

[uclajd]

Will keep that in mind... Does this mean I will need to periodically check if its stable?

No, it means that you risk the gradual deterioration of the processor. Again, incidents of this are anecdotal, but I am convinced.

You just take the risk. If you start seeing instability where you once had stability, you'll know.

 

[deathBOB]

If you are ducting air in from the rear, be careful that you don't pull in warm air being exhausted from the power supply. You will still probably need another exhaust fan... perhaps a top blowhole? A better way to duct air in is from a side panel blowhole. Check out the cooling articles listed in my signature. The stuff about Prescotts won't apply, so skip the first couple of pages and check out the part about adding a side duct. Also look at what I did to mod my case.

Thats exactly what im gonna do, remove the rear fan and instal it in the top bracket that came with the case...

 

[deathBOB]

Woohoo, got my XP-90 and load temps are now 49 C!!!! without letting the paste settle! This thing rocks!

 

[deathBOB]

Ok, looks like im topping out at 3gigs... heres a screeny with the cpuz readings.
What can i do to get it higher? I have the 5:4 divider set as the ram started cutting out at 220. Am i just limited by the chip at this point in time? Temps are still nice with about 56-58 load depending whether I have the heater under my desk on.

 

[RAMMAN]

3gig is high enough for that cpu.try playing some demanding games now and enjoy the performance!!!

 

[deathBOB]

Oh, i am not complaining! I am quite happy Just wondering if there was anything i could do for a little bit more...

I am really surprised with this sink, best 45 bucks i have spent in a long time!