Official "Overclocking Help" Thread

[BTROG]

I've been overclocking my 9500GT and I successfully got it to a stable (core/memory) 800Mhz/1070Mhz at a temperature of about 40 degrees so I tried to push it a bit further but then I get lower frame rates. Is this because I'm using a 450W psu or is it something else?

[Tryxst3r]

I've been overclocking my 9500GT and I successfully got it to a stable (core/memory) 800Mhz/1070Mhz at a temperature of about 40 degrees so I tried to push it a bit further but then I get lower frame rates. Is this because I'm using a 450W psu or is it something else?

Generally this tends to happen, however other factors may be influencing the drop in performance. Remember, the higher you OC something, the more power/energy it needs to remain stable. If you cannot keep it stable, things tend to go wrong.

[Wesley]

I've been overclocking my 9500GT and I successfully got it to a stable (core/memory) 800Mhz/1070Mhz at a temperature of about 40 degrees so I tried to push it a bit further but then I get lower frame rates. Is this because I'm using a 450W psu or is it something else?

Its because you have pushed it too far and to save itself from burning out, it throttles clockspeeds down to a predetermined level by the BIOS to allow it to continue working.

[Tigman_1]

Hey guys,

I was thinking of over clocking my pc a little bit, but being inexperienced, I have come to you. I have this program "Fox One" that came with my pc.

Take A Look:


Anyway, I have to sections in the program, take a look:





Anyway, can someone explain what I should do and how it works please. Thanks alot.

[Tryxst3r]

Its because you have pushed it too far and to save itself from burning out, it throttles clockspeeds down to a predetermined level by the BIOS to allow it to continue working.

Or that...

[Tigman_1]

Hey guys,

I was thinking of over clocking my pc a little bit, but being inexperienced, I have come to you. I have this program "Fox One" that came with my pc.

Take A Look:


Anyway, I have to sections in the program, take a look:





Anyway, can someone explain what I should do and how it works please. Thanks alot.

Anyone going to help?

[Lysis]

The first panel seems to be a general monitor screen. It provides you with information on frequencies, temperature, voltages, etc. There is nothing you can really 'do' on this screen.
Now the second panel is where the overclocking starts. The first option there allows you to overclock your RAM frequency, currently it is running at 800Mhz, but from here you can make it run faster. However, I foresee a problem with overclocking your RAM in this manner. Increasing your RAMs operating frequency may require you to relax the default timings it runs at. Check the physical RAM sticks to see what timings they are rated to run at and then check your BIOS to see what timings they are actually running at (I have found that most boards default your RAM to much looser timings than they are rated to run at). If the timings are loose, you have a bit of headroom and you can overclock your RAM using the Fox One utility.

The second option on that screen allows you to overclock your PCIe channel. Afaik this will not overclock your graphics card, it will overclock the channel between the physical PCIe slot and the Southbridge. Ask somebody who is more experienced to explain the benefits of such overclocking.

The third panel you have posted is probably the one you are looking to fiddle with. This panel allows you to change your computer's FSB. By overclocking your computer's FSB you can overclock your CPU. Notice the top left circle in the application, it contains information about your CPU, it displays the current FSB speed, the CPU multiplier and the CPU frequency. As you can see your CPU is currently running at 1.6Ghz and your FSB is at 266Mhz and your CPU has a 6x multiplier. What this means is that your FSB frequency multiplied by 6 will give you your CPU frequency. So if you increase the FSB speed to 300Mhz, your CPU will be overclocked to 1.8Ghz.

That's it really. Please take into consideration that, although I know my way around a BIOS and I understand the very basic concepts of overclocking, I am by no measn an expert. If you wish, wait for somebody more experienced to validate or correct this post, before you take my advice. However, I do believe I have explained your application correctly.

[BTROG]

This might be an insane question but will I be able to overclock a E2160 1.8Ghz processor to 4.0Ghz using the Zalman CNPS7000C-Cu Led CPU Cooler and a 450W psu

[Machine]

This might be an insane question but will I be able to overclock a E2160 1.8Ghz processor to 4.0Ghz using the Zalman CNPS7000C-Cu Led CPU Cooler and a 450W psu

The short answer would be: No.

I'm sure it is possible but I think only with water cooling or more extreme cooling methods. 4ghz is not ideal for long term use AT ALL, perhaps only for a quick benchmark IF you can manage to get it there stable.

I would attempt something more modest like 2.8Ghz. If that works out to be stable, then perhaps push for 3.2Ghz.

[RaptoR]

Hey guys,

I was thinking of over clocking my pc a little bit, but being inexperienced, I have come to you. I have this program "Fox One" that came with my pc.

Anyway, can someone explain what I should do and how it works please. Thanks alot.

why dont you just use your BIOS? Depending on what motherboard you have there should be quite a few things you can do to overclock..FSB for example

[Wesley]

This might be an insane question but will I be able to overclock a E2160 1.8Ghz processor to 4.0Ghz using the Zalman CNPS7000C-Cu Led CPU Cooler and a 450W psu

No chance in hell will you reach 4Ghz on air cooling. Maybe with a P45 motherboard, but even then the highest speed you will attain will be 9 * 400 = 3.6Ghz (9 being the multiplier, 400 being the highest rated speed for a P45 chipset). There will be limiting factors, like an FSB wall which might only let your chip get to 333Mhz FSB, which would give you 2.97Ghz. Watercooling won't do much for you, it would only be useful in conjunction with a motherboard that can reach past speeds of 400Mhz FSB, and you can only imagine how much those must cost.

why dont you just use your BIOS? Depending on what motherboard you have there should be quite a few things you can do to overclock..FSB for example

Overclocking in Windows is better for beginners to get a hang of it and learn all the terms and nuances associated with it.

[RaptoR]

Ok so i recently got a new HSF. the Artic cooler 7 Pro mainly coz i wanted to overclock my cpu without it getting too toasty. I have a E7300 and an MSi P35 Diamond mobo. I know the E7300 can easily overclock to 4ghz on air. I managed to get mine to boot up @ 4ghz but after a shoort while i get a blue screen of death and it restarts my PC. Any idea why this is so?
THANX

[Chuluka]

I would like to get a bit more power out of my Mushkin GTX260 Core 216.

Its default clocks are:
Graphics clock: 576MHz
Memory: 999MHz
Processor: 1242MHz

What is a safe frequency to set the card at without changing voltages?

[McDangerous]

Ahoy guys

i guessed this was the best tread to put this post in, seeing as it has to do with 3dmark vantage..

I got this score:



Specs:

AMD Athlon64 X2 6000+ @ 3.01GHz
4GB DDR2-800, dual channel, @ 667MHz (mobo limited i think)
XFX HD4870 XXX edition 1GB @ 780 core and 1GHz memory
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB

is it a normal score? i see guys getting a lot more with 4870s.... is my processor limiting me a lot?

and if it is, how much will a new mobo and a PhenomII X3 720 BE help my score and game performance in general? i game at 1680x1050 btw, may be moving to 1920x1200 end of the year...

[Rizzla]

Looks about right, here's mine for reference:



Specs:

Mobo: Asus M4A78T-E
CPU: Phenom II X3 720 BE @ 3.2Ghz
GFX: XFX 4870 1GB
RAM: Corsair DDR3-1333 4GB XMS3 Kit

Benching is overrated anyway, just worry about how your games play :)

[McDangerous]

that's the problem though, how does FarCry 2 and Unreal tournament3 run on your system? on mine, in farcry, everything set to ultra high, 4xAA, 1680x1050 in the opening scene i get between 40 and 23 fps, which is rather low for me... i should be getting more i think. and i get vicious slow-downs when i go into the town (Pala), it drops to like 20fps and stays there... these slowdowns are regardless of the image quality settings i use or resolution. it's really starting to bug me.

same in UT3, whenever i get into a large area, the courtyard in the Shangri La level for instance, my frame rate drops from 60+ fps to 30ish, which isn't bad i know, but it makes aiming very hard....

those are the reasons i posted this up.

if you could tell me how these games play on your setup Rizzla, i'd know if the 720 whould be a worthwhile upgrade or not.

[Rizzla]

I don't have access to UT3, but during the opening scene of FC2 my fps doesn't go below 30. It varies from low 30's to high 40's, mainly staying around 40. At 1680x1050 using 8x AA and everything max.

Running the FC2 benchmark, everything on ultra DX10, I get a min of 23fps during the explosions and masses of fire but the rest is smooth. Get an average of 33 fps.

[Wesley]

Ok so i recently got a new HSF. the Artic cooler 7 Pro mainly coz i wanted to overclock my cpu without it getting too toasty. I have a E7300 and an MSi P35 Diamond mobo. I know the E7300 can easily overclock to 4ghz on air. I managed to get mine to boot up @ 4ghz but after a shoort while i get a blue screen of death and it restarts my PC. Any idea why this is so?
THANX

Your chip doesn't like this level of overclock because it isn't stable enough, so after a while it reboots. Back down to 3.9 or 3.8Ghz, download and run a program called Prime95, and stress-test your pc at its overclock for at least four hours. If it passes that mark, then its stable.

I would like to get a bit more power out of my Mushkin GTX260 Core 216.

Its default clocks are:
Graphics clock: 576MHz
Memory: 999MHz
Processor: 1242MHz

What is a safe frequency to set the card at without changing voltages?

You can safely add another 50 - 100mhz to the graphics clock, another 100 - 200mhz on the memory, and likely anywhere between 50 and 200mhz on the processor. Once you overclock, run a few games and see how stable it is. If you have Unreal Tournament 3, you can use their looped benchmark to stress-test your card.

Ahoy guys

i guessed this was the best tread to put this post in, seeing as it has to do with 3dmark vantage..

I got this score:
Specs:

AMD Athlon64 X2 6000+ @ 3.01GHz
4GB DDR2-800, dual channel, @ 667MHz (mobo limited i think)
XFX HD4870 XXX edition 1GB @ 780 core and 1GHz memory
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB

is it a normal score? i see guys getting a lot more with 4870s.... is my processor limiting me a lot?

and if it is, how much will a new mobo and a PhenomII X3 720 BE help my score and game performance in general? i game at 1680x1050 btw, may be moving to 1920x1200 end of the year...

Dude, we've been telling you this for weeks man, get yourself a new processor and motherboard. Something like the Phenom x3 chips and an AM2+ motherboard will give you a pretty big performance boost all-around.

[McDangerous]

Yeah, i just remembered you did wes.... Gosh darn forgetfulness...

I just ran that bench Rizzla, same settings, on the Small Ranch level, and i got a minimum of 11fps, an average of 28..... So i guess a new processor is in order!! The only **** part is, since i've still got my minute Packard Bell case, i'll have to buy a new case too, that'll fit the Xfire mobo i'm planning to buy... Oi, i guess that's my 21st moneys spent then! :)

[jasong]

An x3 720be costs R1450 and an Asus M4N78 PRO goes for R1280. That's R2700 - minus the 2ndhand cost of your current mobo/cpu setup, probably R1k. So your upgrade comes to R1700 or less :)