newbie thinking about overclocking

[TdB]

im thinking about overclocking my p3 800e by increasing my frontside bus a bit, for example 832mhz (8*104).

I (naturally) don´t wont to destroy anything, so how can i check if im going to far? will instability be the first hint, should just increment the bus by 1, and load windows, until my computer starts to crash?

btw i have a bx motherboard, where I can increment the frontside bus by 1 upto 150, i think, (i don´t want to go that far)
and 256 pc100 ram
I don´t want to buy extra coolers/fans and i dont want to open my case.

any help/input would be appreciated.

[Patrick]

Get your hands dirty...

I don´t want to buy extra coolers/fans and I dont want to open my case.

Ummmm.... sounds to me like you're not seriously an overclocker kinda person!

[Greebe]

Instabilities would be a strong indicator, but your memory (PC100) and or (whatever?) motherboard you are using will be most likely the the major limitation... additionally OCing without improving the cooling solution is very important.

If your not willing to open your case then to be honest OCing isn't in your best interest.

[TdB]

TdB

well, im not that serious, but if i can get a few mhz for "free", (and i mean FREE), then i would try it, i just wan´t to know if there is any danger, and what i should be aware about.

i tried to to overclock it to 824(103*8), and it seems stable enough, so my question is: do i have anything to worry about if it seems stable?
and whould i get a kinda warning before any harm is done?

and is cpu the only thing i could destroy by accident.

i will soon upgrade my mobo, cpu, ram and case, but i will keep all my other hardware.
will it shorten the lifespan of my other hardware if i overclock my fsb?

i wont try to push my computer to its limits, and i would be happy with a small overclock.

my main reason is curiosity, not speed.

what will come first? instability or physical harm to the hardware?

btw i have "some" theoretical knowledge of computer-architecture (i know how it works on the hardware level), but i have no real-life experience with overclocking or hardware design.

[Greebe]

All of what you are asking is a very detailed and indepth process... not a simple answer. So I'd advise you take the time to search this subject in this forum... it's been discussed from A to Z.

All of my systems are OC'd... from upping the FSB and or the multiplier to changing the cache latency.

[orangejulius]

<a href="http://staff.washington.edu/gray/silentpc.html" title="Building a Silent PC: My Quest for Quiet">Underclocking</a> rules.

[TdB]

TdB

will heat/damage be a problem, if all i do is changing the fsb(a little bit each time,until it becomes unstable and then abit down to stability) and not changing the voltage?

i have been reading a bit and i understand higher voltage is what gives most of the heat problems, while faster speed just makes a system unstable, is that right?

i mean the hardware has to stabelize before the next clock-pulse, or else there will be random results, and i guess most hardware has some safety-margin. could a too high clock result in a short circuit and destroy something?

while a higher voltage pumps more electricity/energy into the system and thereby making it hotter, and damaging the hardware by "melting" it ?

[Wombat]

If you're upping the FSB, heat shouldn't be a primary concern, unless your system was already borderline.

Upping the FSB ups the frequency, and there is a linear relationship between frequency and power, and therefore heat.

Cooling a processor lets it run faster. Loosely speaking, colder gates run faster.

[cbman]

I say up it until it don't work no more and then bring it back a little bit.

Nothing to be afraid of.

Anyways the Pentium III will shut itself off (resulting in a hard lock) if it gets to hot.

Just don't start your FSB upping with a jump to 133Mhz.

Overclock it like its going out of style because in this day and age... it is.

[ALBPM]

The P3-800 isn't a real good overclocking processor. The 100MHz P3-800 probably won't handle the 133MHz front side Bus without a lot of extra cooling.

You would be very safe at uping the FSB to 104MHz at the default core voltage. You may be able to increase the FSB to around 110MHz without extra cooling or increasing the core voltage above 1.7 volts.

Paul

[TdB]

TdB

yup, i tried 832mh(104*8) and it ran stable.

sadly, i don´t think i have the it in me, everytime i turn on my computer i can´t help it, but worry a little bit it takes the fun away.

i don´t know why i feel that way, maybe because i spend ALOT of time saving up money, to buy my computer, (it is my first very own computer).

or pehaps because i try very hard to keep it running stable, i am bit proud of how stable it runs.

or perhaps im just a chicken

i guess overclocking isn´t for me, at least not this computer, perhaps i could overclock an old 486 or another computer that doesn´t mean anything to me.

well, thank you for all your help, this forum is really really great

[Greebe]

Real joy and pride comes when you've taken that shiny new cpu and pushed it up upto it's limits and still remains stable after years of use!

I can tell you that for a fact by doing it for 17+ years now

Push that puppy! (Albpm is correct tho, those don't OC that well so don't look for anything phenominal) If your worried about stability we can help you test that too!

[The PIT]

Oh slap a big heatsink on the puppy and you should be able to push it to a gig with a slight voltage adjustment.

[TdB]

TdB

right now, my main focus is to save up money for a p4 "northwood", so i won´t throw any money in my current computer, unless i can use it in a p4 later.

and, no i don´t think i will overclock my computer, a p3800e isn´t overclocking freindly, so it will probably be very hard to overclock it so much that it will be worth it, unless i invest some money in serous cooling.

[cbman]

Come on Come on.... push it to its stock HS limit...

You will never know until you try

Just do it until you hit the limit and then you can put it to what you feel comfortable with.

That heart skipping a beat thing is all good... I know people who pay top dollar just to experiance the same thing and you can have that same experiance for free just by twiddling with the bios.

If you really don't want to OC your chip, but you do like experiancing that kinda rush, you can pay me a minimal fee and I will push you out the back of a truck doing 35MPH onto loose gravel.