Help, I'm new to overclocking!

[Android21A]

I was playing SWG (which for some reason runs slowly on my computer), so I decided to look into overclocking. I downloaded ATiTool but I'm afraid to really test it.

Here are my specs:
(Standard) Dell Dimension 8300 with XP Pro
2.6 Ghz Processor
ATi X800 Pro 256 mb card
2.5 Gb DDR PC2700 RAM (2 1gb sticks, 2 256mb sticks)

ATITool says my default core/memory is at 492.75/452.25

I ran Test Max Core last night and my computer crashed at about 558 I believe.

I don't know what a lot of the lingo means, so I was wondering if someone could give me some advice on how to make my game run more efficiently without damaging my system. Thanks!

 

[Jimmy 2004]

Well, ATITool does most of it for you, so you don't really need to understand. The max core and max mem won't damage your PC (the risk is very small), and if it crashed at 558MHz (check the log to make sure) I would recommend setting it to about 540MHz, maybe try a little higher - but if you do, run an artifact scan for at least one hour. Same goes for your video memory, set the core to default first, find the max and then if it crashes of finds and artifact set it to 15MHz below that speed and do an artifact scan.

Should give you a fair boost in performance. Best way to learn is to try - google any words you don't understand, and post back any more questions here. Sorry, if my post is a little confusing, I'm tired!

 

[i_am_mustang_man]

swg? what's that? star wars generals? (is that a game, i'm just guessing on the name)

anyways, elaborate by what you mean by slow

download fraps, and let us know what you're getting

i am assuming that your 2.6ghz processor is a pentium4 (because i am assuming it, let us know tho)

also, 2x1gb + 2x512mb = 3gb

if your max core was at 558, put it 550 (or 553 or so, but 3mhz won't matter much at all), and do the max mem test. don't let it crash tho. if you visibly see artifacts, stop it. artifacts are things that don't look normal, like weird colors, lines, vectors, or dots or whatever. don't let it crash. better be safe on artifact IDing than sorry

 

[Android21A]

Thank you for the quick responses!

Sorry, I'm dumb. Yes it's 2.5g RAM, but it was 2x256mb, not 512. Dur.

And yes it's a Pentium 4.

I'm trying to run Star Wars Galaxies, an MMO game which requires intense texturing, shading, shadows, and anti-aliasing that is rendered in real time with changing weather. I would like to run the game with all the bells and whistles, but if I turn on shadows and antialiasing, the game slows to about 5 fps. The game has a set fps cap at 30. (Why, I don't know.) With standard settings, I can only really pick one or the other.

Anyway, I will run some tests tonight and post back here.