Overclock AMD Anthlon X2 4200+

Xomphos

Baseband Member
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Hi,

I recently built my own "budget box" computer for around $400. Components in it include:
-AMD Anthlon X2 4200+ = 2.2 GHz
-MSI ATX Motherboard
-2GB (1GBx2) A-Data 667MHz DDR2 Dual-Channel RAM
-Old 80GB Segate 7,200 IDE HDD, 30GB Western Digital 5,400 RPM IDE HDD
-Nvidia GeForce 7200 GS Video card
-Windows XP
A little background on how good this machine is: It can run Crysis with everything on low at 800x600 resolution at an average of 10-12 fps. That seems low, and it is, but it is still very playable to the point where I was able to beat the demo. I have a very limited budget when it comes to computer building, but am very knowledgeable and into it, so I was looking into over clocking my CPU. Speedfan reports its temperature as 7C-8C, or 45F. How much could I over clock it WITHOUT shortening the lifespan of the CPU? I found this article on how to over clock it yesterday. While I could easily follow that, it looks like they used a different fan cooler then the one I have. The one I have is the heatsink/fan combo that came stock with the processor. How much (if any) can I safely over clock it in it's current state? Also, any tips on overclocking my RAM if I choose to do it with the CPU? And also, would this give any noticeable performance boosts in gaming? Say, Crysis for example-would I get a frame-rate boost? I do realize though that if I want to play it better, I have to upgrade video cards (I just bought the 7200 because I needed one and it was cheap), so I plan to get a new video card next year with Crysis prehaps.

So, any tips/help on over clocking specificially to my processor?

Thanks!
 
just raise the FSB until you reach instatablity. just DONT raise the vcore and you wont run into temp problems. also that ram should run at ddr2 800
 
Vcore is the voltage. It's in your bios and looks something like 1.347 and says voltage. Raising the vcore allows for a higher overclock, but a raise in temp. Unless you have a non-stock cooler, don't raise it.
 
Don't raise vcore, it makes the proc run hot. Just up the fsb by 5 mhz and load into the OS to make sure it works good. Don't OC the ram... it looks like it may break. Check up on the warranty if it covers OCing.
 
Do companys actually warranty overclocking because I have not run into one it does, there stance from my understanding was to avoid it at all cost. Since if you can overclock a slower cpu , why buy there faster ones?
 
I just got 2GB of OCZ and i'm pretty sure the lifetime warranty covers overclocking problems.

About the CPU... the more you overclock it, the more it will be stressed. If you take a 6400+ stock 3.6GHz (not sure about that) and take a 3600 and overclock it to 3.6GHz, you will need a gigantic heatsink for the 3600 so that it doesn't melt before your eyes. There isn't a possible way to OC a 3600 that far without raising vCore. If you compare to 3800 that's one thing, but then why not buy the 3800 and overclock it to compare with a 4200+?
 
They are really similar in design but use different multipliers, which basically means raising the frequency usually requires increased voltage and FSB, which increases temps. It is good to invest in an aftermarket cooler if you want to OC. There are good ones out there for as cheap as $25. If he raises the FSB, it will OC the RAM as well, unless he has a good divider or changes it to run as DDR2 667.
 
I'm using the brisbane 4000+ AM2 socket x2.. with the gigabyte GA-MA69VM mobo.. I over clocked it from 2.10ghz (stock) to 2.60ghz on stock cooling.. I'm getting 35 -38C on idle and about 47-48 C under load (playing crysis and such).

All I did to oc it was bump up the multipliers and FSB at the same time and kept bring it up one notch on both at every succesful test run until it became unstable, then I brought it down one notch.. I didn't touch the Vcore, and its probably best you don't.

BTW if you just get a better video card you'll run crysis perfectly.. I run 2gb ram PC2-5300 DDR2 667 kingston, the Brisbane x2 am2 4000+ , sapphire's x1950 pro 256mb, 80gb SATA 1.5gb's, and with all this I run crysis at max resolution my monitor supports which is 1360x765*32... (im connected in HD with HDMI cable 720p on a 26") and on all High settings (dont have access to very high since im on demo) and I get around 25-33fps at all times..

So you will get the most boost out of a new video card.. but I did notice a 3 to 4 fps gain when Oc'ing
 
You guys make it sound like raising voltage will sends his temperatures through the roof. It can, but you don't always need to raise it a whole lot to reach stability.

Vcore isn't the only thing that will hinder you from overclocking. These include northbridge Vcore, RAM Vdimm, southbridge Vcore (small increase if any), and FSB. If you run into stability issues, raise them in small increments and keep an eye on load temperatures. 60*C is usually the generally accepted maximum. Quads are the exception.

RAM timings are another thing to pay attention to. DDRII takes a small performance hit. You are better off with high timings and high RAM speed than low timings with low RAM speed. DDRII usually runs at 4-4-4-12, 5-5-5-15 or within that area.
 
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