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  • Overclocking Risks.

    I've never tried to overclock anything but I'm sure I'll try in the future.So I was wondering about the risks of this process.Does it shorten the life of U'r hardware or is enough cooling able to minimize that risk?Getting 560Mhz out of a PII@450Mhz can't be free,can it?

    ------------------
    -=Jimmy=-

    Oh yeah BTW what is the best cooling U can get for a CPU or graphics card.Don't give me any "liquid nitrogen cooling jacket" ideas.Something possible.

    [This message has been edited by Jimmy (edited 09-18-1999).]
    -=Jimmy=-

  • #2
    Get the right motherboard, and the right processor, and it can be free... My system ran PIII-450@600Mhz (with Pc133 HSDRAM of course) without any extra cooling effort. I added the extra fan just to drop a degree or 2.

    Guyv

    ------------------
    ABit BE6, PIII-450 OC'd 600Mhz. 128MB PC133HSDRAM, 2.0V, 39C, Matrox Millenium G400 MAX, Adaptec 2940UW, Seagate Cheetah 9.1GB, Quantum 4.5GB, Kenwood 52X TrueX, Mitsumi 3XDVD, Sony SDT-5010 4MM DAT, Toshiba 32X SCSI CD, Memorex 6x2x4x CDRW, Iomega 100MB Zip ATAPI, 1.44MB 3.5" Floppy, 3Com/USR 56K Voice Faxmodem Pro, HP DeskJet 895CXi, Pioneer VSX-3700S Dolby Surround Receiver, Design Accoustics 3-way fronts, Pioneer Surrounds, Logitech Marble FX

    Gaming Rig.

    - Gigabyte GA-7N400-Pro
    - AMD Athlon 3200+ XP
    - 1.5GB Dual Channel DDR 433Mhz SDRAM
    - 6.1 Digital Audio
    - Gigabit Lan (Linksys 1032)
    - 4 x 120GB SATA Drives, RAID 0+1 (Striped/Mirrored)
    - Sony DRU-500A DVD/+/-/R/RW
    - Creative 8x DVD-ROM
    - LS120 IDE Floppy
    - Zip 100 IDE
    - PNY Ultra 5900 (256MB)
    - NEC FE950
    - DTT2500 Cambridge Soundworks

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    • #3
      But, as always, there are risks. Electromigration, which is the displacement of metal traces inside small integrated circuits due to high frequency and heat, is more apparent when overclocking, which lessens the life of your processor. But overclocking your processor lengthens it's "usable" (which means the applications it can satisfactorily run) life at the same time. And there is the occasional story of someone burning a processor up, corrupted hard drives, damaged motherboards/video cards/modems/soundcards. But, I think it is worth the extra risk.

      Rags



      ------------------
      FedEx Sucks!

      Comment


      • #4
        Just make sure you have RAM that can handle the higher bus speeds, and there isn't much risk.
        There is a cost, but I doubt you'll mind. Here's why:
        Overclocking your CPU can shorten its lifespan by as much as 1/3. However, given that the average lifespan of a PII/III is about 10 years, that gives you 6 or 7 years of overclocked processor. If you're still using that CPU (OC'ed or not) in 6 years, we'll talk.

        -Wombat

        Good luck.

        Oh, and I have a K6-2, ask the other guys around here about there favorite fans for intel CPU's.


        ------------------
        K6-2/350@400, 503+ rev 1.2a, 128MB PC100 RAM, Millenium G200, RH6.0 w/ 2.2.12, Win98, and too many classes
        Gigabyte P35-DS3L with a Q6600, 2GB Kingston HyperX (after *3* bad pairs of Crucial Ballistix 1066), Galaxy 8800GT 512MB, SB X-Fi, some drives, and a Dell 2005fpw. Running WinXP.

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        • #5
          I had the same K6-2 350 as Wombat and it ran fine at 400. You just have to increase the core voltage one to three tenth of a volt and use an oversized heatsink/fan. (Same with PII's and III's.) Considering that I can get a new CPU for just $45, it was a small risk. I just got a new K6-3 450 and I could probably overclock it, but at $165 its a bit more of a risk. Its not as much of a financial risk as an $800 Athlon 650, but still, I think I'll wait until I have a program that needs the speed before I overclock it.

          If your CPU is a year old, why not try. It won't cost you that much even if it has a meltdown, which I doubt it will do. Just go slow and take it up one speed grade at a time. If you get crashes, try another tenth of a volt and try again. I wouldn't go more than four tenth over the specified core voltage unless you want to try the liquid nitrogen route.

          RAB

          P.S. Intel chips overclock better than my AMD, but I'll still use AMD just to make sure Intel has some competition.
          AMD K6III-450; Epox EP-MVP3G5; G400DH32; Maxtor 10gig UDMA66; 128meg PC100; Aureal SQ2500 sound; PCI Modem Blaster; Linksys 10/100 NIC; Mag 800V 19"; AL ACS54 4 speaker sound; Logitech wireless mouse; Logitech Wingman Extreme (great for lefties)

          Comment


          • #6
            I am running a celeron 333 @ 500mz.
            This (or even better a C366 now) is budget overcklocking at it's finest. The jump from 66mz to 100mz bus is free as far as pc100 memory goes. So no need for special memory, you may already even have it.
            The motherboard I'm using is an ABit BH6 which cost less than $100. All setup is softmenu so no jumpers.
            I spent $2 on RadioShack heatsink goop and $8 on a dual celeron fan at a local PC shop.
            At $75 a pop you could burn up 3 processors before you had to start worrying about your investment.
            And to be honest, while I have seen video cards destroyed by overclocking, I have never heard of a specific example of a damaged CPU. If they overheat they tend to just stop working (and thus producing heat) until they have cooled back down.
            Go for it!
            chuck

            PS Some processors (mine included) need a slight voltage boost (about 10%) to run 50% out of spec!
            ------------------
            ABit BH6 w/ Celery 333@500, 128mb gh@cas2, 10gb IBM@7200, SB Live Value@????, noname CDRom@40x, Mitsumi CDRW@2x2x8, Zoom@56k, Princeton EO75@1024x768x32x85hz, Matrox G400 MAX!!!!




            [This message has been edited by cjolley (edited 09-19-1999).]
            Chuck
            秋音的爸爸

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            • #7
              Why is core voltage increasing needed when OC the CPU and what motherboards allow the user to change the voltage manually via jumpers or bios?

              ------------------
              -=Jimmy=-
              -=Jimmy=-

              Comment


              • #8
                Jimmy,
                The core voltage increase is needed because a CPU draws more current as it runs faster. As the current goes up, the voltage goes down. So even though you have your core voltage set at say 2.2 volts at normal speed, to go up a speed draws more current and the actual voltage to the CPU drops to around 2.0 volts despite what the jumper setting is. At 2.0 volts, the CPU just won't work - it needs 2.2 volts to keep the transistors turned on. (This is a bit simplified, but it is basically correct.) By increasing the jumper setting to say 2.5 volts, this insures that the CPU voltage stays up over 2.2 volts and the CPU will keep working as the speed increases and the CPU draws more current.

                The flip side is that more current equals more heat. Too much heat and the CPU stops working too. So put a larger heat sink on and make sure the cables inside your case don't block airflow from the CPU to the power supply fan.

                Sorry for the long explanation, but I hope that answers your question about core voltage.

                RAB
                AMD K6III-450; Epox EP-MVP3G5; G400DH32; Maxtor 10gig UDMA66; 128meg PC100; Aureal SQ2500 sound; PCI Modem Blaster; Linksys 10/100 NIC; Mag 800V 19"; AL ACS54 4 speaker sound; Logitech wireless mouse; Logitech Wingman Extreme (great for lefties)

                Comment


                • #9
                  Burri- Most likely it would help.
                  I run my mem @ cas2 but the speed up is not much. However, if you speed up your bus you also speed up the cache on your cpu. This will almost certainly more than make up for the drop from cas2 to cas3.
                  chuck


                  ------------------
                  ABit BH6 w/ Celery 333@500, 128mb gh@cas2, 10gb IBM@7200, SB Live Value@????, noname CDRom@40x, Mitsumi CDRW@2x2x8, Zoom@56k, Princeton EO75@1024x768x32x85hz, Matrox G400 MAX!!!!


                  Chuck
                  秋音的爸爸

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    CAS2 v. CAS3 is only something like a 3% performance difference. No big loss.
                    Gigabyte P35-DS3L with a Q6600, 2GB Kingston HyperX (after *3* bad pairs of Crucial Ballistix 1066), Galaxy 8800GT 512MB, SB X-Fi, some drives, and a Dell 2005fpw. Running WinXP.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      ive been overclocking for a few years and the only thing ive ever smoked was a cl savage 4 card (2 of them they are crud cards for overclocking.) overclocking will shorten hardware life by 2 or 3 years depending on enviormental conditions. ive have been runing an amd k6 200 at 233 from when they first came out no problems/ crashes ect...

                      300a at 450 2.3 volts and
                      p2 350 at 464 2.2 volts
                      amd k6-2 350 that will run at 400 but only if i up the voltage and that system is on the 3rd floor with no air conditioning so im leaveing it alone. (untill i get fed up and install central air)

                      most pc100 memory will handle a fsb speed of 124 at cas 3 (even generic)

                      ------------------
                      I think I need help. I'm not sure what do you think, do I need help?

                      [This message has been edited by merchant2112 (edited 09-21-1999).]
                      msi 6167 mobo k7 500 wk41 now at 650. 256 meg ram ,addtronics case w 250watt sp power supply, matrox g400, maxtor diammax 2500+ 10gig hd,10x aopen slot dvd, 3com 10/100 nic, sb live xgamer sound card, efecent networks dsl modem, dlink 701i dsl router/firewall, lots of controlers (joystick throttle rudder raceing wheel), 19in ctx monitor, logitech mouseman wheel usb, and klipsch promedia v2-400 speakers. win98 oem and win2k pro dual boot.

                      noel
                      it's times like this that make me think of my fathers last words....

                      Don't son that gun is loaded.

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                      • #12
                        Tell me this, if I had a machine with say 100 bus and mem at CAS 2, and I wanted to oc the bus but it would require me to drop to CAS 3, would it be worth it?

                        _
                        B

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