How to start Overclocking my rig.

[Evo85]

Now that I am 100% sure everything in my new rig is stable, I would like to start OC'ing it some. Many say 3.0 on stock HSF is quite possible. Also heard that my memory has alot of room for OC'ing. Some are running it @1066 specs.

Know that I havent attempted to OC anything since Athlon XP days. And I know alot has changed since then. So I am asking for help on where to start.

My rig:

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Socket AM2 Brisbane 2.8g ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103235 )
MoBo: ASUS M3A-H/HDMI AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131289 )
Memory: G Skill DDR2 800 PC 6400 1gX2 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231087 )

Everything else is in my system specs. And if you need more info ask and I will get it to you ASAP!

 

[erocker]

I don't think the stock hsf is going to get you anywhere, buy a good budget cpu cooler such as the AC64 Pro. When you do oc, relax your RAM timings to 5 5-5-15 to achieve a higher OC.

 

[Evo85]

Yeah i figured I would upgrade my HSF, just to be on the safe side.

But in the mean time Is there any good guides out there? Specific to the Athlon 64 X2?

 

[erocker]

Yeah i figured I would upgrade my HSF, just to be on the safe side.

But in the mean time Is there any good guides out there? Specific to the Athlon 64 X2?

Sure! Right here:http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=22547 It's all a matter of raising the HTT and finding the right divider for you memory, which you can do here: http://www.odfg.de/MSC/Memory Speed Calculator.html

Then, you'll reach a limit to where you will need to add voltage. It's best to do some reasearch into your motherboard and find out what all the stock voltages should be. Do the same for you memory, and make sure the timings are correct. Well, read through the guide and if you have any more questions, just ask.

 

[Evo85]

Many thanks E-rocker...

Speaking of memory timings, mine has me a little confused. According to the manufacturer specs, it should run at 4-4-4-12. But when I run CPUID I see several different readings (see attached pics).

Which ones are correct??

 

[sneekypeet]

Many thanks E-rocker...

Speaking of memory timings, mine has me a little confused. According to the manufacturer specs, it should run at 4-4-4-12. But when I run CPUID I see several different readings (see attached pics).

Which ones are correct??

The image on the left is your current settings in the Memory tab of CPU-z. If the ram is made to run at different timings , you will need to go into the BIOS and sett the respective timings to 4-4-4-12.

The image on the right is the suggested timings at those speeds.

For OCing purposes it may be better to start with 5-5-5-15 and see how far the memory overclocks too. Setting the timings to 4-4-4-12 may hinder its ability to OC.

 

[hat]

What he said. You should be running at 4-4-4-12 2v. A lot of times, the motherboard auto-detects wrong.

As for overclocking with the stock heatsink, it's perfectly fine as long as you don't increace the voltage any. However, of course this changes when you install a better cooler. See if you can get to 3GHz on stock voltage.

 

[Evo85]

Well, I played around with Oc'ing this. Unfortunately best I get get was 2.96 and remain stable. 3.0 would hard lock every time. Needs more volts I am sure but that will wait till my new cooler comes in.