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Are You Overclocking ??


Astrotoy7

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Im interested to hear if anyone is currently overclocking their system and why ! Is it for gaming performance or other processes/apps ?? Have you noticed any problems as a result of overclocking??

 

Also, what are some good overclocking apps/utilities you would recommend?

 

mtfbwya

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The SysOpt forums should be able to help you with that Astro, Clicky

 

I recently joined and they helped me out with my CPU problem, and there's links to everything you need to know about overclocking!

 

This Guide is a great starting point, helped me a lot...Give the rest of the site a wee look and I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out...

 

I'm not overclocking my system because my heatsink isn't good enough, besides I'm happy with the way it's running now :)

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When I used to have my water cooling system installed I had my FX-55 overclocked to around 3.4-3.5 GHz almost always. But since I got sick of maintaining the system and switched to air cooling I've slowed it down to 2.6 GHz (stock speed). I also used to have my 7800 GTX 512s overclocked quite a bit, although I can't seem to remember the exact numbers. Now I've just got my RAM overclocked a little to CAS 2 @ DDR-433 speeds and a few GPU tweaks.

 

I use RivaTuner for my GPUs and did the rest by tweaking my BIOS settings (01|> 5|<001).

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i'm currently running a slightly overclocked system. the CPU (an Athlon 3200 Barton) is overclocked from 2.2GHz to 2.7GHz via the main BIOS. i do have quite a bit more headroom there as i can push things even higher if i up the voltage a bit more. system stability is still fine (i have more problems with Windows than i do with my overclocked CPU).

 

i also run my GeForce 7800GS overclocked. with a quick registry mod, i'm using a fairly basic overclocking tool found within the ForceWare drivers. it allows for automatic overclocking based on GPU temp. however, it won't underclock the system, either. you can also set it up for profiles, depending on how sensitive some games are to overclocking *cough*Oblivion*cough*.

 

and i overclock my system for both gaming and application reasons. faster clocks = less time compiling that code i wrote for class. :D

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i'm currently running a slightly overclocked system. the CPU (an Athlon 3200 Barton) is overclocked from 2.2GHz to 2.7GHz via the main BIOS. i do have quite a bit more headroom there as i can push things even higher if i up the voltage a bit more. system stability is still fine (i have more problems with Windows than i do with my overclocked CPU).

 

i also run my GeForce 7800GS overclocked. with a quick registry mod, i'm using a fairly basic overclocking tool found within the ForceWare drivers. it allows for automatic overclocking based on GPU temp. however, it won't underclock the system, either. you can also set it up for profiles, depending on how sensitive some games are to overclocking *cough*Oblivion*cough*.

 

and i overclock my system for both gaming and application reasons. faster clocks = less time compiling that code i wrote for class. :D

Ah, stingerhs, you discovered coolbits! Heh, it even works on my GeForce 420MX (that thing can use all the help it can get!). I've got it overclocked by about 25%. As far as your Barton goes, .5GHZ is pretty good. I wonder how high you could push it if you upped the vcore?

 

Alas, I can do nothing with my Dell 8200 and its locked BIOS ATM :mad: Does anyone know about a software based overclocking utility or any other way around the BIOS?

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^^^^

actually, i did up the voltage to see how high i could go before system stability was compromised or the temp got too high. believe it or not, it was the temp that kept me from going any higher than 3.2 GHz. that processor was running at about 85C at idle (temp gauged from the mobo BIOS). the temp got that high even with the fan speed maxed for the CPU cooler (an 80mm Thermaltake unit rated at 58cfm). :eyeraise:

 

i toned it down to 3GHz before i booted Windows, though. it gave me a nice speed boost, but the CPU temp was still running a bit too hot (about 76C under load). thus, i bumped the voltage back down to stock and kept it running at 2.7GHz.

 

the downside to the whole overclocking business is that fan on the CPU cooler is downright noisy. :fist:

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^^^

I have the exact same card and have it overclocked from (GPU/memory) 250MHZ/332MHZ to 313MHZ/419MHZ for most games. It can go even higher for KotOR. Really makes a difference. Google the word "coolbits".

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I'm not Overclocking my new system, but I had my old P4 2.533GHz at a stable overclock of 2.8, Its not much, but its something. I think though If I didn't have generic RAM in that system I could have reached 2.9-3.0GHz

 

I want to Overclock my new AMD 64 X2 2.0GHz, But I'm holding off until I can upgrade my psu.

 

Alas, I can do nothing with my Dell 8200 and its locked BIOS ATM :mad: Does anyone know about a software based overclocking utility or any other way around the BIOS?

 

The CMOS is locked? as in passworded? if thats the case just find out what the mobo is then look up the cmos jumper reset on the manufacturers website.

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actually, the problem is that i had the fan running at max rpm. if i turn down the rpm with the fan controller, the noise level drops considerably. :)

 

Well, just gave that piece of info out on personal experience. The second time i replaced the fan in my old comp, there were no ball bearings left, just a big mush of iron filings. Which is impressive, seeing as it should have just ground the plastic fan away...

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The CMOS is locked? as in passworded? if thats the case just find out what the mobo is then look up the cmos jumper reset on the manufacturers website.

Nope. As in proprietary BIOS on a proprietary M/B with no overclocking options whatsoever. Dell, as well as other manufacturers did this to save themselves the headache of having to argue with customers whose machines are still under warranty but burned up from overclocking. Can't say that I blame them, but it sucks. No other BIOS works with the Dell M/B, and I haven't found a M/B that fits the case because it's not a standard form factor. The only real option I have is to build a new system, because I sure as HELL am not going to buy another Dell! :swear: That is, unless I find an out-of-this-world deal on one. Then I could live without the overclocking.

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EmpDev:

 

First you have to do the CoolBits registry hack. I have no idea how high you can O/C a 7800 GPU, but CoolBits allows you test the settings each time you change the frequencies of the GPU and memory. As with all O/Cing, it's just a case of trial and error, and different settings work with different games. Just pump it up little by little until you see artifacts in the game you're wanting to play. There are other factors like how cool your case is and the fact that every card and GPU are different as well.

 

I can O/C my MX420 :xp: by close to 30% when playing KotOR, and around 25% on other games, but that's unusually high, I think. I guess it's because its GPU has so damn few circuits in it when compared to a real one. :p I don't know what others do, but I always thought that it makes sense to keep the percentage that you O/C the GPU and the memory the same. For example: My GPU's and memory's default frequencies are 250MHZ/332MHZ, and I want to try to O/C the the GPU by 50MHZ, which is 20%. I would then O/C the memory by 20% as well, which works out to 67MHZ, since CoolBits won't let you O/C in increments less that 1MHZ, and I always round up. Like I said: I don't know if anyone else does it that way. It just always made sense to me.

 

Hope this helps! :thumbsup:

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I'm a coward. My 7800 has not been overclocked in the slightest. :p

 

While I'm here, does anyone know how much I could with a minimal risk? :)

i can overclock my 7800GS from 400/1250 to 460/1360 without messing with the voltage (which can sometimes require a bit of wire and some solder). that and the GPU temp doesn't get any higher than 85 under a heavy load. now, i don't know what your cooling unit is on your card, though, so my results could be very different from yours.

 

also keep in mind that whomever manufactured your card can make a difference as well. i definately regard my BFG card to be quite superior in quality when compared to similar cards from other manufacturers. others companies might cut corners in places that could prove to be adverse for overclocking purposes. other brands that i trust: XFX, Antec, and Nvidia (of course).

 

just keep that in mind. ;)

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Hey Stingerhs:

 

I'm curious about your 7800GS. I've read that by using RivaTuner people have been unlocking the locked pipelines on their cheaper AGP 6800 series boards so that they have 16 (like the GT or Ultra) instead of 12, and I was wondering if the same could be done with a 7800GS series board like yours. If it could, you could go from 16 pipelines to the full 24!

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Hey Stingerhs:

 

I'm curious about your 7800GS. I've read that by using RivaTuner people have been unlocking the locked pipelines on their cheaper AGP 6800 series boards so that they have 16 (like the GT or Ultra) instead of 12, and I was wondering if the same could be done with a 7800GS series board like yours. If it could, you could go from 16 pipelines to the full 24!

You can. I did it with my 7800 GTX 512s.

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actually, Nvidia purposely made a minor design change with the 7800GS: the extra 8 pipes that the standard G70 GPU has over the G70 in the 7800GS have been physically removed from the chip. in others words, it is impossible to unlock more pipes since those pipes simply do not exist. :(

 

the good news is that you can use Rivatuner to run the fan speed at 100% during heavy workloads, and then you can seriously overclock the heck out of the thing which can sometimes produce results that are just as good. :)

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That's too bad, Stingerhs. :(

 

I know that with the PCIe versions of the 6800 they simply cut the extra pipelines with a laser. Maybe that's what they did in this case as well. You still have THE FASTEST card available for AGP, though. And I agree that BFG puts forth a quality product. Their cards are built like tanks :tank1: and they come with a lifetime warranty. I'm currently looking at their PSU's for when I finally build my new system. They also have a lifetime warranty. :)

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