Overclocking - How much further is safe?

[XSlingerX]

Hello, this is my rig:

AMD Athlon 64 3700, 2200 Mhz
Asrock 939 Dual SataII Mobo
1 GB PC2700 DDR RAM
Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB

I've been learning about overclocking so I decided to try it.

Currently, I have my cpu to 2640Mhz (11 * 240), and my VCore is set to 1.45 (My motherboard puts a cap at 1.45).
I have a stock cooler and don't plan on buying a new cooler.
Is it safe to overclock it further? What would be a safe limit? Or have I gone over a safe limit?

[Pent uP Rage]

Well first, I'd say to do SOMETHING about the cooler. Many people have used a stock cooler to great effect, but I just have a "thing" about uber-OCing on a stock cooler. There IS such a thing as a thermal limit, and it HAS been proven that a lower temperature WILL net higher clocks. (i.e. Phase Change, Peltier, and water cooling)
Bang for the buck wise, I'd just lap and polish that stock cooler to a 2000 grit. This may lower your temps by up to 10-12C. Not to mention the bragging rights of "doing it yourself".

But, as for YOUR system, there are a few variables, and questions.
-Are you running 1:1, or with a RAM divider(3:2 or 5:4)
-What ARE your cpu temps?
-Do you have any other adjustable voltages on your mobo?

But to go higher, you COULD try a lower freq. and try a higher multi.

If you think you have exhausted all your options then you MAY have hit your limit without dropping some cash. Just my opinion.

[fatsheep]

I've gotten up to 2800 Mhz (1.5V core) stably with my AMD 3000+ Venice so I'd say, with proper cooling you're fine. My memory didn't want to go that high so I had to turn it down eventually but it was good for nerdy bragging rights while I was there.

[XSlingerX]

-Are you running 1:1, or with a RAM divider(3:2 or 5:4)
-What ARE your cpu temps?
-Do you have any other adjustable voltages on your mobo?

But to go higher, you COULD try a lower freq. and try a higher multi.

The RAM divider options are named a little differently in my motherboard. The options are:

Auto
*can't remember this one.
DDR333
DDR400

I have it set on DDR333 which is 3:2 because I'm not sure how much my RAM could handle.

My CPU temps on start-up are low 40's and when I run Prime95 heat torture test I get up to 57.(celsius)

When I look at guides about other adjustable voltages, I do not see them in my BIOS. I think they may be named differently. I cannot find my Vdimm or the chipset voltage.

Currently my multiplier is at 11, and I believe thats as high as my CPU will go.

I'm sure I would see more stability if I could up my Vcore, but my motherboard put a cap on that. I read somewhere about a volt mod for it and all you have to do is solder two things together and it can get you a 1.55 Vcore. Would this be worth it?

As to why I don't want to purchase a cooler: Well, I am 16, don't have a job, and I'm broke

[Pent uP Rage]

To avoid potentially costly hardware mods, try ClockGen But ONLY for benches, not for everday use! You MIGHT be able to squeeze just a LITTLE more out of that thing!

As for your cooler situation, I can totally understand. That's why I suggested polishing the stock one. I got a 11C drop by polishing my stock gpu cooler. Better temps than the aftermarket coolers!

[David Deas]

Overclocking isn't worth the risk in your case. It's hardly worth the risk even in the case of a water cooled PC. Your performance gains will be hardly noticable if noticable at all.

[westy159]

Overclocking isn't worth the risk in your case. It's hardly worth the risk even in the case of a water cooled PC. Your performance gains will be hardly noticable if noticable at all.

I second that. You also need to put into consideration whether you can afford to have your system burn out on you. By overclocking you will void your warrenty and be left with no PC if something goes wrong.

[Pent uP Rage]

I love how people think that their PC is going to explode sponateously in a hail of fire and brimstone if they up their frequencies at all. OR that if a chip DOES go bad that they think the manufacturer will run the barrage of super expensive electro-migration tests to determine if it WAS even overclocked, then find out it might NOT have been, then have to replace it anyway.
And ANYONE that overclocks, likely KNOWS the risks.

On an AMD, an extra 400Mhz over stock is actually saying a LOT. Check the bench numbers.

Might I add that my current system has been overclocked from DAY ONE, without so much as a hiccup! By my count, it's around 3.5-4 YEARS now!
And this old POS can STILL hang with anyone's brand new $3000+ rig!

All words from the uneducated or the unenthused. SOME people actually LIKE to benchmark as a HOBBY! Some people LIKE to make due with what they have! Some people DON'T LIKE to spend an exorbitant amount of money to be able to run games on all high settings, IF they don't HAVE to.
Honestly, I'd rather buy an extra $150-$200 chip to replace rather than buy a $3000 PC to do what I want it to.

And you want to see actual game results of overclocking? Dig up my old HUGE battles pic thread! OR just glance down at my sig(30+K men) :wink: 200-300Mhz extra can be the difference between a 10K man battle or a 15K man battle in RTW! B/c RTW is ALL cpu based calculations and NOT graphics! And cpu temperatures can mean the difference between 2.1Ghz or 2.2Ghz.
But don't ever say it's not "worth" it because it's not to you.

Equate it to a car. Some people are fine driving a plain old Honda. Some people like to put nitrous and turbos under their hood. But don't say anything to the kid that puts in work on his $1000 homebuilt Honda that smokes you. That's HIS passtime. If you don't have anything constructive or positive to say, then...well...you know......


CLOCK ON, SLINGER!!!

[westy159]

I love how people think that their PC is going to explode sponateously in a hail of fire and brimstone if they up their frequencies at all. OR that if a chip DOES go bad that they think the manufacturer will run the barrage of super expensive electro-migration tests to determine if it WAS even overclocked, then find out it might NOT have been, then have to replace it anyway.
And ANYONE that overclocks, likely KNOWS the risks.

On an AMD, an extra 400Mhz over stock is actually saying a LOT. Check the bench numbers.

Might I add that my current system has been overclocked from DAY ONE, without so much as a hiccup! By my count, it's around 3.5-4 YEARS now!
And this old POS can STILL hang with anyone's brand new $3000+ rig!

All words from the uneducated or the unenthused. SOME people actually LIKE to benchmark as a HOBBY! Some people LIKE to make due with what they have! Some people DON'T LIKE to spend an exorbitant amount of money to be able to run games on all high settings, IF they don't HAVE to.
Honestly, I'd rather buy an extra $150-$200 chip to replace rather than buy a $3000 PC to do what I want it to.

And you want to see actual game results of overclocking? Dig up my old HUGE battles pic thread! OR just glance down at my sig(30+K men) :wink: 200-300Mhz extra can be the difference between a 10K man battle or a 15K man battle in RTW! B/c RTW is ALL cpu based calculations and NOT graphics! And cpu temperatures can mean the difference between 2.1Ghz or 2.2Ghz.
But don't ever say it's not "worth" it because it's not to you.

Equate it to a car. Some people are fine driving a plain old Honda. Some people like to put nitrous and turbos under their hood. But don't say anything to the kid that puts in work on his $1000 homebuilt Honda that smokes you. That's HIS passtime. If you don't have anything constructive or positive to say, then...well...you know......


CLOCK ON, SLINGER!!!

I just think it would be sensible to consider all possibilities.

[sunsmountain]

Depends on the price. I wouldn't overclock expensive (read $300+ components) parts, because you lose your warranty. If it breaks down you can't send it in for a free repair, usually a full replacement part. But $100 processors? Work em hard. Like the Pentium D 805...

As for how much exactly, look at the power draw required by the part. If there is a sudden jump of +0.2 V compared to a usual +0.02 V, i'd turn it back to the point where adding +0.02 V gave a reasonable gain in clock frequency. Getting an extra 10 MHz for a lot of extra power and heat is just not worth it, and your intuition is usually right about these things.

[Shaun]

Pent uP Rage, so true, i love how people instantly say that OCing will make your PC go up in a ball of flames instantely, and then say that it hardly makes a difference. OCing is a great thing, especially if you know what you are doing, it can seriously beef up your system, it can be the difference between upgrading now and in 6 months to a year.

Also, Alot of the time, the cheaper chip is the exact same as the more expensive and faster one, the only difference is that the more expensive and faster one has had a faster speed programmed into its BIOS. Do you really think that they make a brand new chip for every different Card/processor/whatever?

So people, dont diss OCing if you dont know anything about it please.

[XSlingerX]

CLOCK ON, SLINGER!!!

Hooah!

Thanks for your help Pent uP :original: , Ill try polishing my cpu's, and maybe gpu's, heatsink.
Do you know why polishing it reduces heat?
Do you know any good guides?
Am I really limited with my 1.45 VCore cap?

[Aristocrat]

1.45 vcore is a little low, AMD's can generally handle upto 1.7 (though that may be pushing it : ).
The thing about overclocks is they must be stable, if they aren't stable there is no point in having the overclock, also, those temps are a little high, but not dangerous.
I have a similiar overclock (2.6ghz on a AMD 3500...which is 2.2ghz at stock) and found it was really unstable after a time...but after a lot of fiddling round realised that Asus makes dodgy drivers for their motherboards and in my case it was an ethernet driver of all things (go figure).

In short, don't exceed 60 degrees Celsius as a general rule, and run Prime95 and Memtest for a a few hours to test stability.