[Mooseknuckle]

Hey guys would somebody be kind enough to lay out step by step what i need to do for a successful OC? I would appreciate every little detail as i just completed my first build and do not want to ruin anything. For example, which programs to install to monitor the temps, performance increases, a program to push my cpu to the limit and how to, and any other programs i should first install?
im guessing this is the first step....

from there i enter the bios and tweak away but...
exactly what do i need to be tweaking here? multiplier? any setting with voltage and ram? i need specifics as i am not familiar AT ALL with this.

what is the highest temp i would want to go?

what speeds should i be reaching easily with this OC as well?

Also what are good increments to go up by? and how should each increment be tested properly?

im probably missing some questions also, but please bare with me if you will...

any input?

thanks.


here are my specs:
36073 HD 500G|WD 7K 16M SATA2 WD5000AAKS 1 74.99
N82E16827136151 DVD BURN LG|GH20LS15 20X LS SATA RT 1 29.99
N82E16835100007 CPU THERMPASTE|ARCTIC SILVER5 3.5G% 1 5.99
N82E16817139004 PSU CORSAIR|CMPSU-550VX 550W RT 1 89.99
N82E16819115052 CPU INTEL|C2D E7200 2.53G 775 45N R 1 119.99
N82E16826104178 MOUSE LOGITECH|MX 518 USB RETAIL 1 39.99
N82E16899261001 TOOL ROSEWILL|RTK-001 RTL 1 3.99 N82E16820134641 MEM 2Gx2|KST KVR800D2N6K2/4G R 1 72.99
N82E16813128337 MB GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L P35 RT 1 84.99
N82E16823126013 KB LOGITECH|967738-0403 DELUX 250 % 1 6.99
N82E16835186134 CPUCOOLER|ARCTIC P4|ACFZ7-PRO R

[serverguy]

One crash course in OC coming up. Bare with me a few minutes.

[Mooseknuckle]

ha ok indeed i will....as long as you bare with me as well...which may be unfair because you will be doing more baring....

[serverguy]

So, head into the BIOS. (Pressing Del as it boots)

First things first, lets set the RAM divider.

I hope you have read some OC'ing tutorials, but I will quickly explain some things.

The FSB is how your entire system communicates with your CPU. The faster your FSB can run, the faster your entire system can run.

FSB (in MHz) x Multiplier=Speed in MHz.

CPU manufacturers have found ways to increase the effective speed of the FSB of a CPU by sending more instructions in each clock cycle. So instead of sending one instruction every one clock cycle, Intel send's 4 instructions per clock cycle. So, when you look at your fsb and see its speed of 1066mhz, it isn't really running at that speed. Intel's CPUs are "quad pumped". This means that the fsb on your core2 is really running at 266mhz. What you see is the effective speed when taking into account the quad-pumped measure
I mention this because when you're o.c'ing you're dealing with the actual fsb not the effective.

The multiplier part of the speed equation is purely a number that, when multiplied by the FSB speed, will give you the total speed of the processor. For instance, if you have a CPU that has a 266MHz FSB (actual FSB speed) and has a multiplier of 8, then the equation becomes:

(FSB) 266MHz x (Multiplier) 8 = 2133MHZ for the cpu, or 2.13GHZ

(I borrowed some of these bits from Alexs overclocking guide for speed)

Anyway, we need to set the RAM Divider to make the RAM run at the same effective speed as the CPU so as we don't end up overclocking the RAM.

On your board, I think it is called System Memory Multiplier or similar and is under Motherboard Intellgient Tweaker. You need to change it so as the RAM is running at 533Mhz or close to it.
I think this requires a setting of 2.0.

Once that is done, then we can increase the FSB. I think you have to set CPU Host Clock Control to Enabled (if I remember correctly) to allow you to change the FSB. Once you can change the FSB, change it up by 10.

Before you quite the BIOS, change the PCI Express Frequency to 100 instead of Auto. It might just in an unwanted manner otherwise.

You now need to find Intel Speed Step and Disable it. Its a power saving program from Intel that lowers your multiplier automatically and hinders overclocking. I can't remember where it hides so you'll have to find it in the BIOS.

Once thats done, save and exit the BIOS.

Reboot and log into Windows normally. Nothing should appear different.

Download (you'll have to google them - edit: I've done it for you) Intel Burn Test, CPU-Z and Real Temp.

Open all three programs (you may have to extract them first.)

First off, look at CPU-Z. Marvel at your work, your CPU should now be overclocked. Look under Effective CPU speed or similar at the bottom of the Windows. Its in Mhz not Ghz.

Now, you need to check for stability. First make sure Real Temp is runnign so you can check temperatures. They shouldn't be more than 40 degrees at idle.

Then go to Intel Burn Test, turn on error reporting, get it to run 10 tests and let it use all the RAM.

Hoefully it will complete with no errors and the temperatures should not get too high.

Once that is fine, you can continue to overclock. Keep raising the FSB a bit at a time, then check for stability.

Eventually you will get to a point where it will not be stable, and you can choose to stop overclocking there and go back to the last stable settings or raise the VCore a notch. I'll let you work out how to do that - you need to get the hand of the BIOS first though. Just have a poke around and see what you find.

Ask any questions you have and someone will explain in more detail.

This is of course a very quick and dirty guide, but should get you started. Theres a lot more to learn, and I'd like to point you towards Alex's guide on this forums as well as this guide on Hexus:

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...beginners.html

Good luck!

[Mooseknuckle]

Originally Posted by serverguy

On your board, I think it is called System Memory Multiplier or similar and is under Motherboard Intellgient Tweaker. You need to change it so as the RAM is running at 533Mhz or close to it.
I think this requires a setting of 2.0.

Is doing this ok? my RAM runs at 400mhz and i thought that i read somewhere that you should not set it too much higher than the running speed?

[serverguy]

Originally Posted by Mooseknuckle

Is doing this ok? my RAM runs at 400mhz and i thought that i read somewhere that you should not set it too much higher than the running speed?

No, you're RAM runs at 800Mhz. Its DDR2, so Double Data Rate.

[Mooseknuckle]

OK.. then wouldnt dropping its rate to 533 be a decline in performance?

[serverguy]

Yes and no.

The reason I said to do this is because as you increase the Front Side Bus to overclock the processor, you also raise the speed the RAM runs at, which is twice the Front Side Bus.

So, by underclocking (so to speak) the RAM as much as possible, you know that you are not pushing the RAM beyond its limits.

Once you have a stable overclock, you can of course change the RAM divider to raise the speed of the RAM back up, by raising the divider again.

[Mooseknuckle]

ok...also in my BIOS it seems there a lot of things i could tweak...for example:

Robust graphics booster?
Performance enhance? default is turbo (highest setting is extreme)
CPU clock ratio (multiplier)-default was set to 8 max is 9 so i bumped it up?
PCI Express frequency(which you mentioned to set to 100) the highest setting is 150 would this be smart or stay with 100?

im sure i will have more questions as well..

thanks

[serverguy]

Robust graphics booster?

That only applies to the onboard graphics, so if you have a separate graphics card, then it will do nothing but add more heat.

Performance enhance? default is turbo (highest setting is extreme)

This is a bit of a funny one, no ones totally sure what it does. Most people say it is best set to Standard and left at that.

CPU clock ratio (multiplier)-default was set to 8 max is 9 so i bumped it up?

Yep, thats the right thing to do, but you should be able to bump it up a bit more to 9.5x

You may also want to find the option to disable Intel Speed Step or C1e or similar if you haven't already done so.

PCI Express frequency(which you mentioned to set to 100) the highest setting is 150 would this be smart or stay with 100?

Nope, you definitely don't want to do that. PCIE works at 100, and any different you will get crashes.

im sure i will have more questions as well..

Never a problem.