Overclocking...I'm so green on this issue.....

HawgsHead

But I want to learn.Where's the best place to start?I run an Falcon Northwest FragBox Pro{5 months old} & an Alienware Area-51.{6 months old}The FragBox has an 2.8 Ghz P-4{800FSB} and the Area-51 has an 3.2GhZ P-4EE,Raptors{RAID 0}.Both have ATI X800 Pro's in them. What else do you need to know?As I said,I'm VERY green on this,so dont laugh please.Everyone has to start somewhere.I have been to other forum's and the folks there treated me like the"Red Headed Stepchild"}....Thanks & God Bless....Hawg

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Rig specs to the left in the boxes....X-Box 360 w/Hitachi 42" HDTV....If Darwins theory of evolution is true then why are monkeys still monkeys?It takes much more faith to believe in Darwin's theory over the Genesis account of creation.

Drakon

uhmmm, exactly what components do u want to overclock or learn to overclock? u didn't specify.

HawgsHead

Sorry about that.I just kinda want to learn the basics to start with.Hey,are you the guy with the P-4EE thats OCed to 3.9GhZ?....GEEZ......I wanna OC my video card.I an doing that now with the Omega drivers.And also the P-4's.I dont wanna get"out there".Just lets say 200MHz or so to start.Whatever you think is best.....Thanks .....Hawg

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Rig specs to the left in the boxes....X-Box 360 w/Hitachi 42" HDTV....If Darwins theory of evolution is true then why are monkeys still monkeys?It takes much more faith to believe in Darwin's theory over the Genesis account of creation.

Drakon

Nope, i am not the guy with the P-4EE oc'ed to 3.9Ghz. As for oc'ing ur vid card, it's pretty simple using software that allows to oc ur vid card like Radlinker (Omega's) or ATiTool (Omega's or Catalyst's) and other's out there. Oc'ing is pretty simple when using software. All u do is select the desired speed by moving the slider up for the core and/or memory and click Set or Set Clock depending on what software u use. It's that simple. From then on, ur card would run at those speeds instead of stock speeds.
First u would want a base speed to start ur testing for artifacts, stability, etc. From what i've read in the forums, many have different methods of obtaining these speeds. Some start at stock speeds and gradually increase the core and memory and test while they do this. Others try to find the maximum speeds for the core and memory and either increase or decrease either one when they begin to see artifacts. They do this until they no longer spot any artifacts.
ATiTool can allow u to see what the max core and memory for ur card is. Simply select Find Max Core or Find Max Memory and let it run. Don't forget to write down the results. After u can check to see what is the new max memory speed using the max core speed found. Simply select the max core speed by moving the slider to that speed, then click Set, then click Find Max Memory. Write down the result. After, click on Default to reset the card to it's defualt speeds and then u can set the memory at the max speed that was found and try to see what the new max core speed is. I have tried this method and it didn't quite work out for me, so what i did instead is i used the max core and memory speed the tool found and decreased those by 10% each and used those new values as my base for testing. If i spotted artifacts then i decreased either the core or memory, depending on which one causes the artifacts to appear. I have a 9800 pro and found a stable max speed of 460/780 (390 x 2) (core/memory respectively) from the stock speeds of 380/680.
Oc'ing is pretty simple, but it is very time consuming, cuz u need to test and retest ur card to see if all is well. To check for artifacts many use 3d mark 03 or aquamark 3 and look at the tests very closely to see if there r any "visible" artifacts, which can be in the form of tiny flashing white dots or little triangles or missing textures. Also u can use ur own games as a test for "visible" artifacts and stability. After u haven't found any artifacts, u can game for a few hrs and see if everything is fine ie. the game doesn't crash, lockup, no artifacts or other anomalies found. There is also this proggie called rthdribl that u can use to check for artifacts. it's a very good, but i don't have a link for it. Also Atitool has a artifact checker, so u can use that also.

Be warned though, oc'ing any computer component voids ur manufacturers warranty and is not advised so do so AT YOUR OWN RISK. Also with oc'ing there r some factors u have to take in consideration. Oc'ing increases ur cards speeds and so in turn causes it to produce more heat. U need to make sure that ur cooling solution is effective at keeping the card adequately cool and not casuing it to become too hot to the touch. Also it is believed that oc'ing shortens the life span of ur component. I am not sure about this, so only time will tell. There r some other factors that u should take in consideration, but i don't remember them at the moment.... Anyways, i hope this helped somewhat. I would advise u to read up some more about oc'ing ur vid card and get some feedback from the other forum users before doing so. Good luck...

PS. If anyone else reads this, please feel free to correct or add anything to this.

Logla

If you want to start OCing your cpu then its easy peasy as you have P4s. All you need to do is up the front side bus (FSB) in the bios.

Do this a little at a time and run things like prime95 to see if your machine runs stable. If its stable for 8 hours with no errors, you have a rock solid overclock and you can start upping it again.

When you do hit problems, its time to start increasing voltages. Different types of instability usually mean different things. Reboots and crashes to desktop usually mean the voltage to the RAM isn't high enough, freezes or Blue screening often means the cpu's core voltage is not high enough.

Only increase voltages a tiny bit at a time to be on the safe side and with P4s its generally a good rule never to go past 1.7v although they usually have a sweet spot somewhere between 1.6 & 1.65 in my experience.

On a 200Mhz overclock though, you probably wont need to increase the volts much if at all.

Have a look through the internet for overclocking forums and read up on other peoples experiences - their mistakes can save you from making your own.

Try http://www.ocforums.com/ and http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/

HawgsHead

1st thing.Artifacts= greek to me!Remember,I'm GREEN!!!!I do understand alot of what you have written here.Question.Useing RadLinker.I see"core" and "memory".Please explain these two settings.And thanks for all the info...I think I may have a forum with some adults fineally.

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Rig specs to the left in the boxes....X-Box 360 w/Hitachi 42" HDTV....If Darwins theory of evolution is true then why are monkeys still monkeys?It takes much more faith to believe in Darwin's theory over the Genesis account of creation.

HawgsHead

Thanks...how do I "up" the FSB?

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Rig specs to the left in the boxes....X-Box 360 w/Hitachi 42" HDTV....If Darwins theory of evolution is true then why are monkeys still monkeys?It takes much more faith to believe in Darwin's theory over the Genesis account of creation.

Logla

artifacts = small white dots (about 1pixel) flashing on and off on your screen.

To up the FSB depends on your motherboard. In the BIOS, you will (or should have) a setting which determines that speed and it will be set to 200Mhz on your P4 systems. A P4 uses a quad pumped bus - 200Mhz x 4 = 800Mhz.

I cant tell you exactly how to do it as it varies from board to board but once you find that section in the bios you should be able to figure out how to adjust it.

Drakon

Sorry, not really how much detail i can go into, but i'll try. Artifacts r little screen anomalies or errors that appear in a image when the frequency for either the gpu or memory is set too high. Basically they r missing polygons.
Here r some pics of artifacts:
Look at the bottom of that pic, the ground doesn't look correct as the textures seems to be corrupted. This is one form of artifacts.

As for using ATiTool, those sliders under Core and Memory control the frequencies for the gpu and memory for the card. Clicking the + increases the frequency and - decreases it. Also u can click the slider and move it up and down if u desire. The little box above them displays the frequency which the slider is currently at. Hope this helps some more.

No_Style

Do you have the manual for your motherboard? Even though it's Alienware or Falcon, they should come with their motherboard's manual, if not you can go download it at the motherboard manufacturer's website. A good place to start is to become familiar with your motherboard. I suggest reading the manual. I learned a lot by just knowing the basics of my own motherboard. After you finish reading it, you'll have a better understanding of what your motherboard is capable of and you'll know where to "up the FSB".

After that, you need to know your PC. Specification wise. List all your parts including their name and the latest BIOS revisions, drivers etc.. You can check out some of the stickies on this overclocking section for some links and important information about overclocking and the some basic utilities you should be using along side your overclocking.

We're not there to help you physically, so you have to do a lot of reading on your own. We can help you if you have questions, but there are quite a few number of variables which we cannot all cover for you.

P.S - We don't laugh a people who want to learn. We laugh at the ones who hinder learning

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pr0digal jenius

Terminology You Should Know:

Artifacts - misplaced/shifted pixels caused by overclockign too much
Multiplier - The number the FSB is multiplied by to achieve the processor Speed
FSB - Front Side Bus, or speed the processor links to the RAM


Things you need to consider:

heat is the enemy!!!!
go slow...don't make any big adjustments...make tiny adjustments and slowly climb up to your desired speed
don't push it, simple mistakes can mean a large financial disaster

Stuff To Try:

ATi Tool is the tool of choice aroudn here for finding safe overclocks on Radeon cards, although most people use RadLinker to set the final speed.
Get all the latest drivers, be they Catalyst, Omega, or your motherboard chipset drivers
backup all your stuff you can't lose before tryign anything
If flashing a BIOS, ALWAYS ALWAYS AWAYS make a backup copy...but if you're new...don't touch any flashing utilities

Final Words:

Many fo us overclock simply for the hell of it as we find it fun to drain every drop out of our machines, however, we also know it's risky. If you aren't having any trouble with your machine, and liek how it's runnign now and can't afford to get a new one.....leave it alone (just ask cartman )

And welcome to Driver Heaven!!!!


PS - my left hand is shredded pretty good from building with aluminum..so pardon my typing

HawgsHead

Good Lord.I have died and gone tp PC heaven.I cant believe it.Nice people!!!...Thanks all!!!!!..Hawg

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Rig specs to the left in the boxes....X-Box 360 w/Hitachi 42" HDTV....If Darwins theory of evolution is true then why are monkeys still monkeys?It takes much more faith to believe in Darwin's theory over the Genesis account of creation.

Drakon

well glad we all could help. asking questions is a big part of learning and helping others is also rewarding. So good luck in ur research...

HawgsHead

Non related question...When I log into this forum,an english gal says"What would you like for me to say.Type anything you want.....?????????I told her to tell me that she loves me,but she wouldnt..

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Rig specs to the left in the boxes....X-Box 360 w/Hitachi 42" HDTV....If Darwins theory of evolution is true then why are monkeys still monkeys?It takes much more faith to believe in Darwin's theory over the Genesis account of creation.

HawgsHead

IC-VG61"Ice Cube"MoBo...{.The FragBox is a small form factor system}...Is it overclockable?I went into the BIOS and I saw nothing{Like I really know what I'm looking for}about the FSB?????...Again,thanks for youre help!.....hawg

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Rig specs to the left in the boxes....X-Box 360 w/Hitachi 42" HDTV....If Darwins theory of evolution is true then why are monkeys still monkeys?It takes much more faith to believe in Darwin's theory over the Genesis account of creation.

No_Style

Hmm.. Do you know the name of the motherboard? Or is it a typical Intel mobo? If so.. then you can't OC with that mobo.

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pr0digal jenius

its an FIC mobo..so it should be somewhat overclockable...look for 'advanced chipset features' or sumthing to that effect

No_Style

I thought they would have chosen ABit of ASUS. Hmm..

This FragBox is a a Shuttle.. I don't recommend overclocking those. Small confined spaces.. You can get away with light overclocking, but don't expect too much since heat is a much more deadlier enemy with a small FragBox

Picture

Sexy though

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HawgsHead

several weeks ago concerning adding the X800 Pro to the FragBox.They were in "testing mode" with it then.The only question left to be answered was the "heat factor" on the computer with the new video card......Hmmmmm,,I think I will leave this animal alone and live to fight another day......Now,about my Area-51??????????....If I get to worrying the crap outta yawl just let me know.I dont wanna "wear out my welcome" as we say in the south.....Again,thank you for all youre help thus far...If there's anything I could help yawl with,let me know.I did spend 17 years running car dealerships.If you need TRUE dealer cost on any new car,plus find out what the "dealer cash"is on a car or truck.Let me know."Dealer cash" works like this.You see an ad on TV saying a dealer is selling a car for $45.00 bux over invoice.HEY,thats a great deal!!!What you dont know is the factory may be spiffing the dealer as much as $3000.00 to sell the car.Let's say you have a $40,000.00 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited.It may have $3000.00 in dealer cash where a Neon may have only $500.00.Anyway,I will be glad to help......Hawg

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Rig specs to the left in the boxes....X-Box 360 w/Hitachi 42" HDTV....If Darwins theory of evolution is true then why are monkeys still monkeys?It takes much more faith to believe in Darwin's theory over the Genesis account of creation.

No_Style

That rig is more suited in terms of overclocking. If it's an ASUS Mobo, then the manual should be very helpful since it describes all the settings and their functions.

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HawgsHead

I just hope it doesnt read like greek.

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Rig specs to the left in the boxes....X-Box 360 w/Hitachi 42" HDTV....If Darwins theory of evolution is true then why are monkeys still monkeys?It takes much more faith to believe in Darwin's theory over the Genesis account of creation.

No_Style

If you don't understand some terminology.. Just look it up @ dictionary.com or Rojak Pot's BIOS Optimization Guide

Or post a list here.

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HawgsHead

Has a little HP machine with a 1.1 GhZ Celeron Proc. we bought her.I understand Celeron's are VERY overclockable...Correct????

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Rig specs to the left in the boxes....X-Box 360 w/Hitachi 42" HDTV....If Darwins theory of evolution is true then why are monkeys still monkeys?It takes much more faith to believe in Darwin's theory over the Genesis account of creation.

pr0digal jenius

they are, but you still won't get much good out fo therm as they are fairly crappy processors to begin with. your bets bet is to wait until your daughter physically can't run stuff she needs/wants to run and then just build her a new rig(or buy one...but building is far mroe challenging, cheaper, and rewarding)