Beginning OC

[WC Annihilus]

Well, been trying out OCing my 3500+. So far I've gotten it up 2.45 on stock cooling (plus a like 400 mm fan (desk fan), blasted loud but drops temp by 2-5 degrees ) and the crappy PSU that came with the case (I WILL replace that sometime, maybe this weekend) and the method described in Frag's (if you don't like Frag want me to call you FragTek, just say so) guide. I started it out at autoed 1.5 vcore which now seems like a bad idea considering I was able to bring it down to 1.408-1.424 . Goes up to 41-42 C when doing the Prime95 torture test and idles at 34 C. I'll probably be able to pop it up higher (and I still need to do memory torturing) but I just don't have the time atm considering I'm a student (meaning parental limitations).

I suppose you would suggest a new heatsink and fan? Which ones (note I am a student in high school and have no income whatsoever so give me something that has decent bang for the buck)?

Also, for the PSU I'm thinking about going with an Antec SmartPower 2.0 500 W (like $75 or something). Is this a good choice? Would you suggest something else (again, with the same restriction stuff as above)?

Finally, Frag's guide says to lock the agp/pci. How the heck do I do this?!?!?! I can't find anything in the BIOS that mentions this (ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe mobo if you're to lazy to look at my sig).

O, and mention whatever else you think would be useful to me .

PS I'm taking the PRE-ACT tomorrow (blasted parents for making me ) and the PSAT on Saturday so wish me luck !

 

[bloodthirst]

your on stock cooling replace it with a XP-90c immediatly

 

[FarFarAway]

Hi Mate

Right well instead of the Antec SmartPower maybe get an Enermax Noisetaker or a Tagan if you can stretch to it

As for cooling: and XP-90/90c/120 from Thermalright would be a good choice

PCI lock on a PCI-E board should be able to be set in the main overclocking screen of the BIOS. Nvidia cards are set to 100

And good luck in your exams

 

[WC Annihilus]

O, and I would say that I'm willing to pay up to $200 (USD) for both of the items, including tax (I'm in California so 7.25-8.25% tax something like that). Also, it would kind of be preferrable for the items to come from http://shop3.outpost.com/category/Outpost/Electronic+Components/Computer+Components because it probably means it is at the store (probably more options at the store than on the site) and I want instancy (probably not a word, I'm just saying I want it sooner)! Also, could you look at the water cooling kits that are on there? If I get a cheaper PSU ($70-100) I could probably eek in a watercooling system (just maybe, is midtower good enough? (my case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156135 )) as long as it'll make an actual difference compared to a good hsf (tell me the diffs between stock and new hsf and diff between WC and new hsf plz!) and of course that the kit is of decent make and power so that it doesn't break and pour water (or whatever it is) all over my parts and fry my computer. (If I do go WC, I'll need to know everything about it, installation, do I need to take out current fans, power, etc)

Edit addition: O, and my friend keeps insisting that I will kill the life of my cpu by an amazing amount. He says that the average life of an OCed CPU is about a year . Is this true?

Thanks again

 

[FarFarAway]

Hello mate.

Well the TT silent Boost (only that and Vantec on site) are OK....but not great.

A decent Thermalright XP-120/90 would be far superior coupled with a good fan. I think that your best off getting one of them rather than water cooling. Try www.jab-tech.com as they'll ship them anywhere. Also when ordering ask for them to ship it so that you don't incur tax (I think you have import tax don't you?).

Having said all that, the Hyper 48 I think is ok:

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4524987?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

The NeoPower is decent:

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4364205?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

and the Enermax is ok:

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4466346?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

But once again it might be worth dropping in on www.jab-tech.com and ordering from them: excellent delivery times and very good vfm and product range

 

[JN]

Im afraid it doesnt look like that site has much in the way of decent heatskins. This is probably one of the better i could find:

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4524987?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Keep away from pre-made water cooling kits - they are crap. Instead save up around $300 and put one together yourself - otherwise you are just wasting money.

Don't skimp on the PSU, spend every penny you have available on one. It is the heart of any good computer system, and the difference between having a fried computer in 6 monhts time, or a computer that will last you a lifetime. Also in general the higher end PSU's will provide a more stable voltage to your CPU allowing it to overclock higher.

Overclocking will shorten the life of your CPU, but not to 1 year! By the time your CPU fails you would have upgraded your machine 2-3 times by then (we are talking 5+ years).

 

[FarFarAway]

lol me and Jim recommend the same thing (out of very ltd selection )

 

[JN]

lol me and Jim recommend the same thing (out of very ltd selection )

"Overclocking minds think alike"

 

[PV5150]

Hi mate

If you wanna OC then you've gotta have a stable platform for overclocking; that is, a power supply with rock solid voltages and plenty of amps, and a motherboard that provides stable voltage for attached components. I personally wouldn't skimp on a cheap PSU, but that's just my personal preference.

As far a watercooling kits go I would stay away from them, they do the job....but only just. Typically they use smaller tubing sizes (1/2 inch is good), and as a result they don't pass the coolant as effectively. Further, they usually use a cheaper pump, which will restrict the flow of coolant again and they tend not to last as long. You only get what you pay for (I know you're a student, and therefore on a budget), but with a little knowledge and some common sense you can get yourself a reasonable little system without breaking the bank.

http://www.sysxtreme.com/showthread.php?t=185

As far as stock and aftermarket heatsinks go, usually stock is good for a slight overclockas long as the temps are kept at a reasonable temperature. Aftermarket heatsinks usually do better at CPU cooling because of their optomised fin structure and/or inclusion of fluid as a heat transfer method. An example is my stock Northwood HS used to keep my overclocked P4 at around 50 deg C, whereas my thermalright XP-90C keeps it at 40 deg Cunder 100% load, even less at idle (My Northwood is a 2.8C @ 3.4Ghz).

I wouldn't listen to what your mates have to say about overclocking drastically reducing the life of your CPU/GPU, as this is dependant on effective cooling and common sense. Naturally your CPU would die early if you were running it a few degrees shy of its thermal thresh-hold and sticking too much juice (power) into it. But with effective cooling, its life time reduction will be negligible. Just for a bit of useless information for you; when they make CPU's they don't just say 'oh we're gonna make a run of 3500+'s', they make a run of CPU's and then test them to see what they run stable at and then badge them accordingly. That's why you get some good overclocking CPU's and some shockers.

Hope this helps

 

[|3ourne]

you will gain absolutely nothing from watercooling an A64 unless ur pumping more than 1.6 V through it. Which I dont recommend but thats your call.

For air cooling , the best combo that I have ever come across is :

1) http://sidewindercomputers.com/thxp.html

2) http://sidewindercomputers.com/pa92mesp.html

For PSU :

1) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103458

2) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104934

3) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817101516

Any of those three PSU will be suffice for you. You CAN get the Thermaltake BigTyphoon but you will have to lap its base to get good results with it. Lapped that HSF is better than Thermalright XP90C , but stock from factory , Thermalright is better.

 

[WC Annihilus]

Wll, managed to get it up to 2.50 ghz tonight and I think that's the highest I'm going to push it on stock cooling (should be able to get higher once i get new hsf and PSU when my dad lets me, cause he doesn't think I need those right now). Idles about 33-34 C and is at 44-45 C loaded. I don't want to push it higher, because when I do, Prime95 fails at 5.25 vcore and load is at 47-48 C and I don't want to push it too much. If you think I could push it further, plz say so. Here's a pic of all the stuff: http://www.rjkgaming.com/playerfiles/index.php?previewimage=settings.jpg&uid=2011 ignore the errors on Prime95 because they are from when I was trying to push up to 2.55. I'll post benchmarks tomorrow .

PS Got the stupid PACT (PLAN) done but I still have the PSAT on Saturday.

(Also decided to go with xp-90c with panaflo fan for hsf when my dad lets me get it, still unsure bout PSU)