The Adventure Begins....new to OC'ing! Questions...

[Guttboy]

Good Morning folks!

I have just completed my first build and am starting down the journey of overclocking! I built this rig with this in mind because it will help me understand my computer more and it will provide a challenge for me.

I have downloaded a few files (Prime95, Orthos, CPU-Z, GPU-Z) and am beginning to gather data.

There are a ton of variables in the BIOS with my GA-EP45-UD3P and I am just learning the basics with it. I have not really undertaken something like this before and am reading alot. Please bear with my simple questions....I did not grow up learning about computers in-depth.

My first question is in regards to CPU-Z version 1.49.....

When I am running Orthos to put the computer under a load, the CPU changes from the slower speed to the 3.0GHz, as indicated below......

1. Does the CPU change speeds based upon loads?


2. The MOBO has a FSB of 1600MHz and in the BIOS I was informed to set it up as the CPU Host Freq to 333MHz and a clock speed of 9....thus giving me the 3.0GHz. Should I be setting this up as 400MHz and 7.5 as the clock speed to achieve 3.0GHz???

Thanks for the assistance....I am really looking forward to learning about OCing and entering into this new hobby!

Best wishes....

 

[Asylum]

That Would Be Speedstepping.. Lowering The Core At Idle.

 

[Guttboy]

That Would Be Speedstepping.. Lowering The Core At Idle.

Thanks Asylum,

I recall reading about disabling that when attempting to do overclocking. Is this recommended? In the BIOS, I do not remember seeing something with "SpeedStepping" so to speak.

 

[Asylum]

You can leave it on or off doesnt matter...it just underclocks at idle to save power!!

 

[LittleLizard]

when overclocking i always disable speedstep just for safety, second the target of overclocking is to get as much performance as posible, so left the multiplier at 9 and raise the fsb to 400 so u reach 3.6 ghz

 

[Guttboy]

You can leave it on or off doesnt matter...it just underclocks at idle to save power!!

Cool thank you!

Can you look at question 2 in my original post? Since my board is capable of running at 1600MHz....would I not want to set that up in the BIOS and then use the 7.5 multiplier? I have not set this up yet....going off a recommendation from someone on another site. I don't want to damage anything but would like to make full use of the system.

Regards,

 

[Guttboy]

when overclocking i always disable speedstep just for safety, second the target of overclocking is to get as much performance as posible, so left the multiplier at 9 and raise the fsb to 400 so u reach 3.6 ghz

Ok I see that but want to base the system off of 3.0GHz first and record my settings as a benchmark to jump off with. Is there any harm in doing such (400x7.5) to achieve the 3.0GHz?

 

[JC316]

Ok I see that but want to base the system off of 3.0GHz first and record my settings as a benchmark to jump off with. Is there any harm in doing such (400x7.5) to achieve the 3.0GHz?

No, just leave it the way it is and you are at the stock 3.0GHZ. The multiplier just reflects the FSB to give your CPU clock speed. So, since it's a 1333FSB chip, that means that the stock FSB is 333. 333x9 = 3.0GHZ

 

[Asylum]

its based at 3.0 now!! Thats your stock settings

 

[Guttboy]

No, just leave it the way it is and you are at the stock 3.0GHZ. The multiplier just reflects the FSB to give your CPU clock speed. So, since it's a 1333FSB chip, that means that the stock FSB is 333. 333x9 = 3.0GHZ

AHHHHHH!!!! That was it!!!!! The MOBO is capable of a 1600MHz FSB but the CPU is 1333MHz! That makes 100% sense to me now!

its based at 3.0 now!! Thats your stock settings

Originally the setup (all just out of the box at first startup) was 2.83 GHZ (333x8.5)....not sure why it started up like that....probably some safety thing!

 

[Asylum]

Download coretemp.. you will need that to check your temps!!

 

[Guttboy]

Download coretemp.. you will need that to check your temps!!

Will do! I downloaded a program called RealTemp 2.7 but it did not work for some reason. I will search around for CoreTemp.

 

[Guttboy]

OK!

I have both CoreTemp and RealTemp. RealTemp needed to be run as an administrator so its all working fine now!

Is there any other software I should be looking at? I already have (Orthos, Prime95, CoreTemp, RealTemp, CPU-z, GPU-z).....wondering if there is anything else a "New Overclocker" would need to start out!

I did have a program called memtest86 but cannot figure out how to get it onto a USB or CD to be able to run it. Suggestions?

 

[Asylum]

download memtest

 

[Guttboy]

download memtest

Thanks Asylum! The other memtest was to be run at startup. This one runs in windows. I read that it does not "Fully" test your RAM somewhere IRRC but this will serve me well initially! Appreciate the assist!

 

[Asylum]

Now your ready to start...Go into your bios and set all voltages to manual...then set your memory and FSB controll to unlinked...Now raise your FSB up about 40mhz and see if you can boot to windows. If it wont boot dont panic just reset bios.

 

[Guttboy]

Will start that after lunch Asylum...when it rains it pours. TV broke last night and now the family car's passenger window is not working...aka motor stripped so the window freefalls.....

Not much anyone can do about that huh? At least the computer is working well!!!!

 

[Asylum]

You ready yet?

 

[Guttboy]

Asylum....

I wish! I had to bring the family truckster to the shop for warranty work. I also had to install my second 1TB HDD and that took forever last night to format! Heading out to a doctors appt now but will be back later this afternoon....hopefully I can get it running later today at a higher speed!