"Safe" top speeds on a AMD 3000

[Alf]

I know this is a age old question that i have asked many times before but....
I was wondering, since i got a PC3200 400Mhz 512mb ram, how far do yall think i can overclock a AMD 3000+ 2.167Ghz until it starts to become too unstable or "dangerous"?
I've overclocked it already but i want to see what speeds you guys and gals think i can hit, then i'll compare. i just want to know.

Gigabyte K7 Trition motherboard
512Mb DDR400 PC3200 (kingston, all i could find)
AMD Athlon "Barton" 3000+
420 watt PSU
GeForce 5900Xt

 

[ChristopherP]

it depends on your SPECIFIC chip... like each one is unique.

Some will max out at 2.2GHz (no matter what cooling you have...) some maybe 3.0GHz

the PC3200 will need to be good to enable a good overclock.

My guess is 2.347GHz

 

[floppybootstomp]

Too many variables.

Just max it til it chokes, reset Cmos, then take it to a little less.

Could also mess with memory settings and see how high you can go.

As Chris said, all chips - or batches of chips - are unique. So, can't really give an answer.

Influential components are the chip, memory, motherboard and to a certain degree - the PSU.

 

[Alf]

Well, so far i've managed to hit 2.4Gh. That was my goal when i first started too.

 

[ChristopherP]

thats not bad.

AMD's aren't as good overclockers as Intels...

Compare benchmarks with the 2 settings, make sure it's prime stable too.

 

[Alf]

I think ill set it to 2.3Ghz, its seems much more stable. and i dont want to add more power to my CPU, until i can get more fans or something to keep it cool. (*sniff* " Does it smell like burning plastic?")
and if i were to keep it at 2.4 would that mean my processor is as fast as a 3400+?

 

[Alf]

If i were to have 1024mb of DDR 400 PC 3200 would i be able to overclock better?

 

[ChristopherP]

no, but if you added faster ram and took away the slower you may be able to get faster.

Also if you slacken the timings on the memory, you may be able to push that further i.e. change CAS2.5 to CAS3 maybe?

Dual channeling also decreases the amount you can overclock, by a marginal (teeny) amount, or so i hear.

Make sure you lock your AGP/PCI bus to 33/66, if you haven't done that already.

You might be able to push the VCORE voltage up by one notch (and make sure its ONLY the one notch) for added stability. Watch your temperatures, set BIOS to shut your computer down at 63 degrees after warning you at 60. Also you want shut down on CPUFANFAIL That way you are sure your computer won't have cooling issues

My guess is that the overclocked PC will be FASTER than a 3400+ BECAUSE the RAM is working at faster speeds than a 3400+ at stock speeds, what with the hyped up front side bus and all...

That is, of course, providing it is Torture test stable in Prime95. If it can hack that without crashing and overheating, you have yourself a faster PC

Chris