djRoME Gets His Overclock On

OK, so I've never tried to overclock... I don't really know much about it, either, so I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on the subject of overclocking. This article is going to explain exactly what my combination is, and the results I have gotten on my first attempt at a real overclock:

Equipment:


• AMD 64 3200+ Venice Socket 939
  
• MSI K8N Neo-2 Platinum Motherboard (AGP)
  
• Corsair XMS XL Super Low Latency PC3200 (2-2-2-5 1T Timings)
  
• BFG GeForce 6800GT OC AGP
  
• 2x Maxtor DiamondMax 200GB SATA-150 RAID-0
  

That's my rig right now that I've been running @ stock speeds (and quite happy with it's performance), but I've been hearing some great reviews on the overclockability of this AMD 64 3200+ Venice chip.

On a whim, I decided to try increasing the FSB speed with MSI's overclocking software, and got it up to 220FSB @ 2-2-2-5 1T timings. That did quite well, and the system ran very stable, which is unbelieveable considering the incredibly aggressive memory timings that those are. 10% faster with the harshest timings possible!

I decided then and there that I was going to see just how high I could go.

DONT TRY THIS AT HOME UNLESS YOU KNOW HOW TO RESET YOUR BIOS; DO NOT EMAIL ME IF YOU SCREW THINGS UP FOR YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T HEED THIS WARNING.

I read a review of the RAM online, and it said that you could get it up to 250mhz @ 2.5-3-3-7 2T timing, so I rebooted the comp and set those timings in the bios, but saved the FSB adjustments for the software program so save rebooting millions of times.

After I got in, I successfully got the computer to 250mhz FSB @ 2.5-3-3-7 2T, but there was a hint of instability to it, so I ended up keeping the same timings, but scaling back the clock to 245mhz FSB. Later I decided to squeak the timings in to 2.5-3-3-7 1T, which gained about 20% more memory bandwidth, and I smiled.

I had to raise the voltage on virtually everything in the BIOS to get her rock solid. So far, I've had her benchmarking the SiSoft Sandra Lite Burn in and there hasn't been a single hiccup.


Memory bandwidth is off the chart


Arithmetic Benchmark reflects performance similar to an FX-53.


Reinforced by the multimedia benchmark which is also very close to the FX-53.

The temperature of this CPU hasn't raised much, either. At stock speeds the CPU had been idling at 28c and under full load it would reach about 43c. Overclocked, she idles at 33c and Full Load will take her up to 47c, still well within the limits of the chip, and still cooler than any Intel chip at stock speeds.

3DMark03 was run, and pwned by this system as well...



IF YOU WANT TO DO THIS YOURSELF,

I'd suggest reading a few tutorials. Try to find the tutorials that use your specific equipment in the tutorial, and gives you timings as well as FSB settings, and temperature ballparks. Voltage listings help also, else you'll have to find them by trial and error.

You can't overclock with crap equipment, as you can see my RAM costs more than the CPU itself does. This stuff is worth every penny, and is the reason I can overclock this machine. DO NOT OVERCLOCK WITH DISCOUNT EQUIPMENT.

Also, have a live time temperature monitoring program like MBM5 installed and functioning so you can make sure that there are no heat issues. I have overclocked this rig with stock cooling, so I must keep an eagle eye on the temps to make sure that my calculations are correct. It does, however, appear to have only raised the overall temperature of the chip by 5 degrees.

Software Overclocking is a great way to change FSB speeds on the fly without having to reboot. One thing that lots of people hate about overclocking is the trial and error and the many many many restarts. Don't get me wrong, you'll still have to restart the computer, but at least you can get most of the trial and error out of the way beforehand.

BOTTOM LINE:

Corsair has just made a lifetime customer out of me. Don't get me wrong, there are many other good brands out there, but this rig reached 220mhz FSB @ 2-2-2-5 1T! AMAZING.

This CPU is clocked @ 2.0ghz stock, but mine is currently running at 2.4ghz, and sporting benches that hang with the FX-53. That chip went for about 6 times the cost of my chip, so let's just say that I'm a happy camper.