Wanting to try overclocking

[Eelskraps]

Hiya all... I have a spare AMD Athlon 3000 barton that I wanted to use to experiment overclocking on.

Does anyone have a good beginner's guide to OC?

thanks

[saphalline]

There are several websites that have "overclocker" in their URL somewhere, so those would be good places to start! :p The big Overclockers.com comes to mind, as well as the infamous HardOCP. They both do a bunch of wacky hardware experiments and serious overclocking. I don't have the time myself to devote a lot of attention to either one, but I've heard nothing but good things about those two. They should get you started, since we're not really suppose to talk about OC'ing 'round here. Shhh! :p

[FastLearner]

Really, saph, why not? I did not know that we shouldn't talk about that.

[saphalline]

Well, ixl and Paleo Pete don't like giving out dangerous info like that. Responsible overclocking requires quite a bit of knowledge, not to mention the risk involved. It's not an issue for us to sit here and tell people where to go and what to change in their BIOS settings to get a nicely OC'ed CPU, the issue comes into play when things go BOOM.

I myself have done or participated in numerous OC'ing projects, everything from a Pentium MMX to a few AthlonXP's to my current P4. But then again, I know how to do it and I know that any OC'ing attempt may fry the CPU, and I'm prepared for that. It's like the old gambling rule - don't make the bet if you can't afford to lose!!

Many people who initially ask this question are just casually curious, thinking that maybe there's a quick & easy way to get a faster CPU without paying money! :rolleyes: Most of them soon realize that with all the work and risk involved, it's easier just to pay the money! For those who wish to continue, we direct them to where they can get one-on-one specific answers to their questions. Or at least really good tutorials. :p That's why I mentioned those sites, and the fact that the bosses want to keep OC'ing out of our responsibility here on the PCG Forums. ;)

[Steve]

Here are some of my favorites:

http://www.overclockers.com/

http://www.ocforums.com/

http://www.helpoverclocking.com/english/index.htm

http://www.overclockersclub.com/

Keep in mind that overclocking is more a function of the motherboard than it is of the cpu, although almost all parts of the computer are affected.

And we can talk about overclocking here. The description of this forum says "Discussion of...responsible overclocking..."

:)

[saphalline]

The latest chipsets have the ability to completely lock down the other bus speeds. Of most importance is the effect on the AGP/PCI bus when the FSB increases. My mobo, Abit IS7, has a true clock-lock on the AGP/PCI bus (66MHz/33MHz) no matter what I set the FSB to. It's very nice! :D My P4 is a Northwood B, 2.26GHz version, 533 FSB, 1.5 Vcore, all that good stuff. I have it OC'ed at various levels, depending on how hot it is in here. ;) Right now, I'm at 580 FSB, so that's a good 2.47GHz. Pretty good OC, but I've been higher...

[Deagle]

For the AMD camp, use mobos that have Nvidia Nforce chipsets as they can lock down AGP/PCI bus like Sap said. The motherboard play a crucial role but the CPU is also important. Just remember that as with any OCing, your mileage will vary. :D
Can't wait to get my hands on those 90nm winny... :p

[saphalline]

Can't wait to get my hands on those 90nm winny...Haha, me too! Gonna go for a 3000+ Winchester myself, and see how far it will go! :D Hey, a 3000+ is more than enough for me, especially considering what I have now, and being able to run the CPU speed apart from the RAM speed will come in quite handy until I can also upgrade my RAM. But alas! those SLI mobo's are expensive!!

[Whyzman]

Saph, just wanted to express kudos to you for your excellent, clear, and concise, explanation of the risks involved with OCing!

[Eelskraps]

Thanks Guys!

That helped alot and yes I am aware that I could damage this system and that is the risk that I take, I wont blame someone else =)