Overclocking

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Well, after reading an article on it in a magazine, I decided to take my first foray into the world of Overclocking and, after my first BSoD for several years after going too high, it all seems to be working ok. I started out with:

2.13GHz Core 2 Duo (FSB of 272MHz)
2GB RAM (Listed as 333 but BIOS reported it as 340MHz based on a 4:5 Ratio from the FSB of 272MHz).
640MB GeForce 880GTS (Apparently 500MHz Core and 1600MHz on the memory)

After fiddling for a bit, I had to drop the RAM Ratio to 1:1, but I boosted the FSB to 370MHz and, at this frequency, both the RAM and the CPU hold up ok under NVidia's stress testing for 10 mins (I intend to stress test for a bit longer at some point soon), and plays WoW fine.

I also boosted the Graphics to: 513MHz Core and 792MHz Memory (This appears to list as halved, so would work out as 1584MHz). This is cautious as I could likely get a bit more from both the Core and the memory, but I've been unable to get the Benchmarking software to install, so I dont want to push it much until I can test what gains im getting from it.

So I'm now running with the equivalent of:

2.89GHz Core 2 Duo,
2GB RAM running at 370MHz.

Not bad for a first attempt eh?

Do any of you guys O/C and what are your thoughts on it?

 

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Be careful, i have never done it myself cos you can f*** your comp also be aware that you have just voided any warranty you had.

Good luck

 

I don't O/C. My computer seems to be plenty fast as it is, and I want to be able to extend the life of my components. Some people even *underclock* their components to prolong life, but I'm not that crazy... if a component is rated for a certain speed, that's what I run it at.

I don't have anything against overclocking, and I certainly see benefits for doing so. I just choose not to.

Fergal, do you notice a big difference when gaming? Or a little?

 

To be honest, the machine im on right now is pretty decent, so I havent noticed much in the way of difference from WoW (The only game i really play at the moment). However, I've yet to do extensive modification to my other halfs machine (which is older and more sluggish), as the Manufacturer saw fit to lock the BIOS, so i need to work around that first. The little testing I did on the Graphics seems to have raised the Framerate a little bit, which cant be all bad.

 

If you have great cooling OC'ing is not a problem, since it's the increase in temperature that damages the components - not the act of OC'ing itself. I very rarely OC my system, anyway. Although it's 2 years old it can still play the latest games that are not DX10 only.

 

Yeah, I can certainly see the benefit of overclocking an older machine that's already lived through its usefulness. After all, if you fry the proc, what have you lost? "It lived a long, productive, and happy life. Rest in peace."

 

You got a pretty good overclock. I know that those c2d cpu's overclock well because they have a very low voltage. Nowadays its the motherboard and ram that make you notice a difference.

Also usually unless you test the fps of the game you wont really notice a difference unless the game play prior to the overclock was sluggish.

 

I had quite a big tinker with my system recently Fergal. It's in this thread.

I'm now just running a 5% overclock on the CPU and about 10% on the new GFX card. My CPU temp is now idling at 38C and fully loaded it's only hitting high 40's. So my cooling case and the extra components I fitted have really come into their own.

Glad you managed a sucessful overclock, just keep an eye on those temps though. It's not just about if your system will run stably or not. It's about if it will run without damaging the components which others have alluded too.

I don't know if you did this, but take some temp readings when not overclocked (loaded and unloaded).

Then do the same again using the settings you are using now. If the temps are much higher, then I would do some checking on what is considered the safe temp for a C2D chip etc...