Newbie help

[jebo_4jc]

Just keep it at 33.33mhz.
The PCI bus needs to stay at a fixed speed for the pc to remain stable, in general. It doesn't really have anything to do with the FSB.

[kill4killin]

Sometimes, if the PCI and PCI-E buses are set to an auto, the frequencies can fluctuate which is why the different settings are there. If by chance you happen to be running at auto and notice on a problem in windows that it's reporting something other than 33.33mhz you can go into the BIOS and adjust the bus speed to be at the appropriate speed. Sometimes, if the frequencies of the PCI and PCI-E buses are not set to 33.33mhz and 100mhz respectively, then this can cause instability in the processor if there are components connected to the PCI and/or PCI-E slots. Sometimes, and this only usually goes for extreme overclocking situations or those where the motherboard is suspect of reporting false frequencies on the buses, then adjusting the frequencies of the PCI-E bus between 100mhz and 110mhz can help, but from what I have heard, this is rarely the case.

[jcrnd2000]

Thanks a bunch. Well, off for the weekend and will give this a bash...wish me luck. Will let let ya'll know how i fare:blushing:

[dekard]

Feel free to post back any questions you may have.

[jcrnd2000]

Yippie:drool: I managed to overclock my machine up to 3.1ghz. Its been running stably for the whole weekend. There is a pic of my BIOS (don't laugh at the terrible picture) of my settings. If i go beyond those and set the FSB to 1600 and memory to 800, it does not go past POST and I have to reset my BIOS. Does that mean that is the highest it can go to I was thinking that I could go higher but then stability would cause me to reduce the settings...

Can I decrease the memory timings to a lower value than 4-4-4-12. If so, what numbers can i use? What are these timings?

My graphics card is another story. Tried overclocking it but didn't get far. My initial core/memory settings were at 500/700. I used ati tools and got up to 600/800, but it crashes after an hour or so. It doesn't seem to be that much of a difference (or is it?). I just might leave it at factory defaults. What would you recommend i use to test settings?

[dekard]

Thats a great overclock, congratulations! 3.1 ghz gives you a ton of performance. On the video card, moving up 100 mhz on the gpu and ram will make a difference in performance. You may need to dial back the overclock just a bit, perhaps instead of 100 mhz overclock try 90. Something thats stable for an hour and then crashes suggests to me that its a heat issue. Can you log the temps with ATITool or nTune while you are playing? I'm curious just how hot the card get just before it crashes. If it is heat then that can be fixed.

One of the best ways to measure video card performance is with 3dMark06, a terrific benchmark. We're running a contest right now to see who can improve their 3dMark06 score the most via an overclock. I suggest you take a look at the rules and enter, you'd do pretty well with that overclock and you'd also know how much of a difference overclocking your card made.

[jebo_4jc]

4-4-4-12 is good. No need to lower those in my opinion.

The timings could also be called "delays". There's a pretty good explanation on the wiki

[jcrnd2000]

Thats a great overclock, congratulations! 3.1 ghz gives you a ton of performance. On the video card, moving up 100 mhz on the gpu and ram will make a difference in performance. You may need to dial back the overclock just a bit, perhaps instead of 100 mhz overclock try 90. Something thats stable for an hour and then crashes suggests to me that its a heat issue. Can you log the temps with ATITool or nTune while you are playing? I'm curious just how hot the card get just before it crashes. If it is heat then that can be fixed.

One of the best ways to measure video card performance is with 3dMark06, a terrific benchmark. We're running a contest right now to see who can improve their 3dMark06 score the most via an overclock. I suggest you take a look at the rules and enter, you'd do pretty well with that overclock and you'd also know how much of a difference overclocking your card made.

I had a look my ATI Tool log and it seems that overheating is my problem. I attached the log file if you want to have a look. Even at stock speed, it runs pretty high. It seems the fan isn't doing that much of a good job. Does that mean i have to get a VGA cooler.

[dekard]

I just reviewed your log, it looks like you are idling at 47- 48c and gaming at 80c - 83c. If it was me I'd be looking at lowering those temps. Exactly which video card do you have? A great guide to selecting your new Video card cooling was written a while back, it needs updating but I'm sure you'll still find it quite useful.

[jebo_4jc]

Have you tried opening the side of your case while gaming to see if the temps change?
You might need better case cooling more than video card cooling