Overclocking advice wanted

[sdjenkyn]

Im running an Amd(windsor)64x5200+ on a gigabyte 550sli n-force board with OCZ ddr-800 (4gigs). Cooling is air w/zalman cpu copper pipe fan. Core temp 18c. fsb is 200 w/ a 13x multiplier. Max voltage in bios is 1.55 w/ normal 1.3. My board has built in overclocking tools which is nice and came with easy tune software which Im not happy with. My basic bench in 3dmark6 is 9000+. I've marked in close to 12000 after I got my chip up 230fsb stable. I've seen gains of 900+ on amd chips on other sites (Lee) and want to push mine further but am afraid I may be hitting a ceiling either do to available voltage adjustments or something else. My cpu only jumps 5-10c under load overclocked so cooling isnt an issue yet. My question then is what should I be looking at , do I have a bottle neck somewhere , is there a better program for ocing this rig ? Any advice is appreciated and if you can lets keep technical jargon simple or throw in definitions ie, (ht means what?).

[Incinerate_IV]

Have you tried increasing the voltage?

Most AMD processors max out at around 3ghz, so you might have reached your max in terms of clock speed. You can, however, still increase your FSB and dropping the multiplier to get some extra boost.

[sdjenkyn]

Got core up to 1.5 comfortably voltage that is. Seen that internal clock is max 3ghz so does that mean external would be too? Also can you explain the reason for dropping the multiplier , sounds interesting. Thx

[Erik]

Core temp 18c.

How is this possible?
Normal room temperature is about 20 C
What temperature is your room?

Also can you explain the reason for dropping the multiplier , sounds interesting. Thx

I think he means you can try to improve memory performance by increasing the FSB.

ie:
230 X 13 = 2.99GHz.
239 X 12.5 = 2.99GHz. (same core clock, better memory interface, thus slightly better system).

btw, I think this is a good read for you:

Mid-Priced AMD: Athlon 64 X2 For AM2

Current Athlon 64 X2 models use AMD's Windsor core, but most have been "speed binned" appropriately so that the cheapest X2 3800+ is often less capable. For a few dollars more, AMD's Athlon 64 X2 4200+ has earned a reputation as a respectable overclocker and is thus our choice. Once again, a 1.50 V limit will help to ensure adequate CPU life.

Mid-Priced AMD: Athlon 64 X2 For AM2

2.75 GHz should be attainable at a 250 MHz HyperTransport clock using AMD's retail-boxed cooler, but the unlucky few buyers who exceed a core temperature of 55C may require a larger heatsink and fan.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/01/...t_2/page2.html

[sdjenkyn]

Temp was on my cpu 18-20 cel. My whole case is a giant air tunnel. Case temp is around 30 cel. Thx for the multiplier explanation as was watching ram freq skyrocket. Might explain BSOD. thx for the link I'll check that out ,too.

[Erik]

Temp was on my cpu 18-20 cel. My whole case is a giant air tunnel. Case temp is around 30 cel.

I think you got the temperatures in reverse:
18-20 C for the case. (ie: room temperature)
30 C for the CPU. (ie: 10-12 degrees above ambient).
Those are good but still realistic figures.

There is simply no way your cpu can be colder than your case unless you use a TEC or vacuum cooler, or some other exotic colder-than-ambient cooling system.

[King Edward I]

not true, even when i used a tuniq tower and had it OCed my case was 33C but the CPU CORES were only about 20C (CPu itself was @ around 30)