noob question about ram....
ok, i'm new to this forum, and have done a fair bit of browsing on the subject of overclocking, but figured 'if there is a community here already, why not join it??'
i've just finished my first pc build, and have been introduced to the world of overclocking, but i don't really have a lot of experience, so i have a bunch of questions.
the first is concerned with ram - i have just bought a Abit NF7-S V2.0 mobo, and intend to add an athlon xp 2500+ , but i was wondering about the memory.
the board will take pc3200, but will that be sufficient if i intend to overclock?
if not why not? (i gotta start somewhere!)
i've just finished my first pc build, and have been introduced to the world of overclocking, but i don't really have a lot of experience, so i have a bunch of questions.
the first is concerned with ram - i have just bought a Abit NF7-S V2.0 mobo, and intend to add an athlon xp 2500+ , but i was wondering about the memory.
the board will take pc3200, but will that be sufficient if i intend to overclock?
if not why not? (i gotta start somewhere!)
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Comments
Ignorant statement.
Overclocking falls within vaguely-defined limits; that is to say, each piece of hardware has some identifiable elements to it (Silkscreened codes on the DIMMs, CPUIDs on the Athlons, empirical evidence with motherboards...) that tell experienced overclockers what speeds it will safely obtain. Combining it with other components and certain cooling will give us a general idea of what this hardware can do.
For example..
Name-brand performance PC3200 (Corsair XMS, Kingston HyperX, Crucial Ballistix, etc.), an NF7-S, and a Barton Athlon XP (2500, 2800, 3200) typically combine with the following performance settings for a <i>very</i> safe overclock:
200 x 11 = 2.2GHz.
The CPU won't need a voltage increase, and the memory will be running at its proper speed. In fact, what you've done is merely made the 2500 run at a 3200 which it probably could have been marketed at straight from the factory.
If you want to get more aggressive, you can probably go to 220 x 10 or 220x10.5; the CPU will need a small voltage increase, as will the memory (Probably to 2.8v). If the computer is stable, you can push it a bit more, but it's unlikely.
It's instinct.
Very rarely does overclocking actually destroy hardware if you're very careful about what you're doing, and systematic in doing it.
Unfortunately the Barton I picked up refuses to run faster without a small kick in the voltage department, but its nothing it can't handle.
One thing I can advise is be aware of the timings and latency of the ram you are looking at, I almost bought a matched pair that had looser timings than the 512MBs I have now.
Pilotwings119 - did you have a bad experience you would like to share? I know the risks, that is why i am trying to get as much info as possible!
Pretend this guy didnt post. Ive only had 1 problem with overclocking and it was a psu blew up (powermax crap).
pilotwings - no offense taken, dude!
corsair value select, giel value, kingmax?
seem to be some good prices, but i guess performance is down. is the extra cost of quality brands worth the extra cost?
Hello there,
I purchased Kingston Value RAM once, it sucked. If you purchase this, it will generate a lot of heat because they lack the heat spreaders that the more expensive sticks have. I bought Corsair XMS memory (1gb) for 240.00 dollars US and they have been awesome. I ended up having to buy the Value RAM, and the Corsair XMS later because the value RAM was horrible. If you intend on OCing you defenitly will want to spend the extra money to help keep heat down. Especially since OCing will cause more heat than usual and heat is your enemy.
In short, look at the good stuff, but remember, price doesn't mean good all the time.
The RAM I have can be found here http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-500&depa=1
Good luck,
Alex
If you can at all afford to get it, go with a TCCD chip based ram such as the OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev2 or the Patriot XBLK series (just 2 examples of ddr using the Samsung TCCD chips) or you can go with the OCZ PC3200 Gold VX (or it's equivelant from other manufacturers). The Gold VX takes high voltages to run really tight timings but the TCCD based stuff will run tight timings with vdimm in the 2.7-2.9v range.
if the mobo can take up to pc3200, will it still be able to use faster, eg pc3500 and upwards?
if so, what are the bnefits of using faster ram?
If you overclock the FSB the ram will be better able to keep up with the higher speed.
http://anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2392&p=16 Read this entire review. It will give you a good idea of the effect of memory speed and timings.
The long and the short of it is how much do you want to spend? There is some real pricey memory out there. Or you could get the OCZ Premier 3200 and be assured fo getting a bit of overclock out of it at reasonable timings. All for a nice price.
In the meantime there is plenty that you can do. The first thing is to figure out how high your memory will run. Set the cpu multiplier lower than stock and begin bumping up your memory settings. You can tighten the timings, you can raise the speed. You may need to raise the voltage also. Do things a little bit at a time. Run SuperPi as a test. You will see how fast it is and see if it is stable.
Once you find the memory ceiling you can go to work on the cpu.
Just be patient. This could take many evenings to work out. Dozens of re-boots and a few cmos restets does not make this quick work. But it can make for a quick computer.
Get a mobile Barton
You have a great board for this, the bios is VERY easy to manipulate
TCCD chips are a must, you can get it done with anything, but do TCCD if you can afford it, it will give you the best results/flexability.
Make sure you have a solid PSU preferably of the 450-480 Watt range from a reputable supplier (Antec, Thermaltake, ect.)
Consider cooling, good airflow (minimizing cables) and two fans in per one fan out
Most importantly, move the FSB/Multiplier/voltage in small incriments, this will save you from frying your board or other parts. That board's BIOS makes this very easy.
Happy OC'ing!!!
i have done a bit of research on the 2400 xp-m, and it seems to be a good option.
one question: some of the forums i have read said that a mobile processor will read as an 'unknown cpu', even after a bios update.
Does anyone know if this is the case? does it even matter!??
while i am waiting on money, i will keep with the questions:
i understand the benefits of faster ram, and that having ram capable of running at a higher FSB than the mobo specifies is ok.
but the mobo says 400mhz FSB support - what is the relevance (if any) of this? does this restrict me from raising the FSB over 200?
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