Overclocking K6-2 450

[hiredgoonz]

Just wondering if anybody else has any experience with this...I'm running a K6-2 450 at 500 (5 X 100, with core voltage set to 2.5)

It seems stable so far, and I've been trying to run it into the ground http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

It has the usual heatsink/fan on the chip and since the fsb is spec., I don't expect any problems from that...

Anyway, just interested in other results, this was my first overclocking experiment...

[Vic 970]

I had a load of problems for several months, & most people gave my pc up for scrap. However with the help of this forum I managed to solve the problem & save the pc.

Turned out to be a 'tired' processor (which are no longer available) & the cure was to 'UNDERCLOCK' it slightly. This has made only a little difference in the speed of the pc & only noticable in larger programs.

I have also read a bit about the subject & I would never consider overclocking, You are likely to produce problems for yourself for little (if any) benefit.

That's my opinion for what it's worth!

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Regards..,
Vic.

[hiredgoonz]

I received the computer (except for hd/cdrom/monitor) for free, so I'm not overly worried about burning it out...

[Paleo Pete]

Well, hope it doesn't give you problems, but watch the CPU temp. closesly for a while and make sure it's not overheating. Since it looks like you didn't change the system bus speed, it should work ok.

My only so-called "experience" with overclocking was when I swapped the 200MMX in this machine for a 233MMX. First time I powered up it showed 250MHz, I shut down quick and checked the jumper settings again. Don't know how well it would have run, it never even finished booting...

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So many idiots, and only six bullets...
Note: Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

[Randy_tx]

I've overclocked every type of chip you can think of and the only cpu's that I've had enduring sucess with are Intel chips(the Celeron 300 was the most overclocking friendly chip I've ever seen for example[500mhz stable]). The AMD K6-2 family of chips runs pretty hot ANYway, so I've never left them overclocked for long, even though they ran stable. Since you are only picking up 50 mhz by your AMD adventure, unless you have some heat problems, you should be OK. Did you bump up the voltage(seems like that chip is supposed to run at 2.2 volts? If so, you could have heat problems ...If I can't achieve an overclock unless I increase voltage, I dont do it(except with the Celeron 300). Now that we have 800 mhz + cpu chips available for under $110, I dont even CONSIDER overclocking any more.

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Will XP save Me ?



[This message has been edited by Randy_tx (edited 04-16-2001).]

[Randy_tx]

Shoot......If you aren't worried about burning it out....... GO FOR 550-600 MHZ and be somebody http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Leave the voltage @ 2.5 though.

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Will XP save Me ?

[hiredgoonz]

Yeah, the voltage is SUPPOSED to be 2.2, but it wasn't stable at 500 unless I bumped it up and that was the next available step in voltage...

I tried to get it to 550 (even went up to 2.8V, that was a little nerve racking) but it would crash immediately after loading windows...

I got it to 523 at 2.5V, but to do so, I had to bump the bus to 95mhz which actually lowered the performance in spite of the cpu speed gain...

The mobo doesn't have a whole lot of options (top fsb is 100, multiplier 5.5) and I've already tried the voltage as high as I'm going to risk...I don't WANT to burn the chip out, but I wanted to "see what it would do" and since I don't have a lot invested in it, and can replace the cpu for very little money, I figured it was better than frying my Athlon and I can't really overclock my laptops, so...

We have a (so far) stable K6-2 450 running at 500 with conventional cooling and a moderate voltage increase, I'm just curious if this is about what I should expect to get out of the chip...thanks for the replies...

[hiredgoonz]

Yeah, the voltage is SUPPOSED to be 2.2, but it wasn't stable at 500 unless I bumped it up and that was the next available step in voltage...

I tried to get it to 550 (even went up to 2.8V, that was a little nerve racking) but it would crash immediately after loading windows...

I got it to 523 at 2.5V, but to do so, I had to bump the bus to 95mhz which actually lowered the performance in spite of the cpu speed gain...

The mobo doesn't have a whole lot of options (top fsb is 100, multiplier 5.5) and I've already tried the voltage as high as I'm going to risk...I don't WANT to burn the chip out, but I wanted to "see what it would do" and since I don't have a lot invested in it, and can replace the cpu for very little money, I figured it was better than frying my Athlon and I can't really overclock my laptops, so...

We have a (so far) stable K6-2 450 running at 500 with conventional cooling and a moderate voltage increase, I'm just curious if this is about what I should expect to get out of the chip...thanks for the replies...

[Randy_tx]

From all of my forays into Overclocking I learned that NOT ALL CHIPS ARE CREATED EQUAL http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif. Some chips have a LOT more leeway than others of exactly the same cpu speed...no doubt it depends on the mfg. site and whether the chip is at the low or high side of the "series" it represents. For me AMD's & Cyrix were always harder to overclock than Intel's, but nowdays I dont do it at all......Generally, the cost to cool the chip is greater than buying the faster chip (esp with Athalon).

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Will XP save Me ?

[Randy_tx]

Regarding the FSB speed........WAY TOO MUCH HAS BEEN MADE of faster FSB speeds. You can get nearly IDENTICAL performance results from a 66 mhz FSB or a 100 mhz FSB on an Intel trying to achieve the same total MHZ !
As in 66 FSB X 4.5 or 100 FSB X 3 to achieve 300 mhz . You might be actually running a bit faster using the 95 FSB @ 5.5 multiplier http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif. The only way to know for sure is to run a performance test at each setting.
But, as I recall, the K6-2 doesnt like to run below 100 mhz ....so that might be a limiting factor ...
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Will XP save Me ?

[This message has been edited by Randy_tx (edited 04-16-2001).]

[hiredgoonz]

I ran some benchmarks and got better cpu results from 523 than I did from 500 (obviously), but the memory benchmarks were lower...and there was a noticeable performance loss in cpu intensive applications, like graphics/video stuff (not that I'll be using the K6-2 for that, but performance is performance) plus the system wasn't completely stable at 523 while at 500 it runs fine...

I probably could have gone a little higher on the voltage and done 523, but for the risk and possible performance drop, I'm gonna stick w/500...you're right though, fsb can be deceiving...compare a K6-2 to a Celeron, for example...or a P4 to an Athlon (or even a P3 for god's sake)...true comparisons can only be made within the same "family" or design of chip and the effect of the fsb depends heavily on the application in question...

[Bad Omen]

Be careful! The AMD processors are not protected against overvoltage, so it will crash & burn forever. Raise the bus ratio. When you raise the FSB, you practically overclock both the PCI and AGP bus, so if the sistem crash, it may me as well because of the video adapter, or any other PCI card instaled (FSB=100+10, this means PCI bus=33+10, AGP bus=66+10).

[hiredgoonz]

Yeah, knew that...the fsb on this board maxes out at 100 so overclocking it that way is not even an option...

I have it running at 500 (5.0 X 100) with standard hs+fan (although I did cut a hole in the side of the case where the cpu is so it would pull cool air directly onto the chip) with the voltage at 2.5 (.3V over spec of 2.2V)

So far it's stable, and from what I can tell, adding 50 mhz to a K6-2 450 w/standard cooling is pretty good...

Installing WindowsXp Pro Beta 2 on it right now as a matter of fact...so if I can make it through an OS install, I'll be happy...