OCing my processor

[Citrus]

I need some help overclocking my AMD 3800+

My friend's dad told me to look in the BIOS, and told me that there should be 2 numbers next to the processor, one standard and one overclocked. I looked in the BIOS under processor info and I couldn't find it. Am I looking in the wrong place or is there another simple solution?

Thanks.

 

[The Brick]

Overclocking is not simple, just google for some guides to help you on your way.

 

[Naph]

Overclocking is not simple, just google for some guides to help you on your way.

Not to mention extremely dangerous.

 

[lePobz]

Complexity depends entirely on the CPU and Mobo combination. RAM is also a factor in overall system speed at overclocked speeds. If you've got a cheap motherboard, a standard CPU HSF and nothing-special-RAM then just don't bother. Even if you could overclock, it wouldn't be a meaningful or noticable amount, and depending on the RAM, your overall system speed could actually be slower.

Some motherboards make overclocking easy, just a case of playing with the FSB or multiplier to increase speed. A lot of motherboards have these locked, sometimes the CPUs won't run at anything they weren't designed for, and need manually unlocking by wiring pins. If you're increasing your FSB, it's never a good idea to push it beyond the maximum speed of your RAM. Never overclock a CPU when you're only using a standard (stock) heatsink and fan.

I'd say as a general rule, If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it. You'll just fry your PCs guts.

 

[Citrus]

Ok then. He said if I didn't OC my processor then it'd be worth clearing some space on my HD for the RAM to work to its full potential and then optimize my system.

 

[MRG]

Ok then. He said if I didn't OC my processor then it'd be worth clearing some space on my HD for the RAM to work to its full potential and then optimize my system.

The more you fill up your hard drive with data, the overall slower it'll perform. Of course we are talking like nano-seconds here, but still. No 2 Hard Drives are the same either. Overall a SATA 1 or 2 HDD is much better than the fastest ATA-133 IDE drive & then high performance Raptor or other 10k RPM or 15k RPM drives are better still. RAM & HD's are 2 totally different components in a PC. Any idea the type of RAM thats in your PC & the amount? Having 2 GB will give you much better performance, than will having 1 GB and overclocking your CPU, and like everyone here is saying, if you don't know what you are doing when it comes to overclocking, best to leave it alone all together.

-MRG

 

[lePobz]

I think he's on about the page file ... As long as you have more than a few GB free on your system drive and you defragment it once in a while, theres no issues at all.

 

[StardogChampion]

I've been reading about overclocking recently. It was pretty easy to overclock my Core 2 Duo using the stock fan from the BIOS. I didn't even have to mess with the voltage. As long as it's under 45'ish degrees or so at idle, and under 60/65'ish degrees under load then you should be safe. Make sure your ram's good enough for overclocking (read reviews of it on price comparison sites to see if people say if they've overclocked it).

Use Prime95 to test your CPU out under stress, then use something like SpeedFan to get the temperatures. SpeedFan can also draw a graph so you can run a game then alt-tab out and read it.

CPU-Z's a nice system information tool.

 

[TCfromBN]

Not to mention extremely dangerous.

Nah, it's not extremely dangerous. It's extremely simple with the right motherboard.


Just do what they've told you to do. Google for an overclocking guide and include your processor and motherboard in the search.

 

[Asus]

http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/13815/1