# looking to overclock newly built pc. help anyone?



## AbnormalCreatio (Jan 21, 2009)

mostly id like to overclock my cpu to whatever my comp can take without getting much hotter, and same with graphics until i get better cooling on it.

im looking to get a bigger heatsink soon, if overclocking gets too much hotter. id like to overclock my graphics
card soon, but i was wondering if there is a way i can replace the heatsink and fan on that first. 

ram overclocking would be nice, thinking i should get heat spreaders or a nice fan for them soon too.

cpuid: 0x40f33
apicid:0
revision: jh-f3
processor: amd athlon 64 X2 6400+ (windsor)
frequency: 3200 mhz (200.00x16.0)
platform: socket am2
vid: 1.4500v


cpu not under load:
core 0- 34C (0%)
core 1- 24C (0%)

under load (crysis as high as i could get it, downloading 3dmark06, firefox, steam, aim open, installing microsoft updates also)
core 0- 41C (56%)
core 1- 32C (59%)

HARDWARE:
motherboard: asus a3n78-vm
cpu- amd athlon X2 64 bit 6400 3.2 ghz
ram- forgot which brand. its ddr2 pc6400 800 mhz. two 1 gig sticks, got it at frys for 20 bucks.
powersupply- cooler master 500 watt
graphics- pny 9800gt 1024mb gddr3
harddrive- seagate 7200 rpm 200 gb
case- thermaltake wingrs 201
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4197080&CatId=1509


cpu heatsink is one that came on a acer computer i had. its got a 80mm fan i believe, its a pretty big heatsink for stock... a bit wider than most and the fan runs great. got arctic silver under that too.....

case has a 120 mm fan in back as exhaust, and another in the front bottom as an intake. blows cold air straight over harddrive and towards graphics. 

im running windows xp professional 64 bit btw.






did i supply decent information on my comp? if you need more specs let me know. any suggestions on where to start and what to do to get the performance up there?



-steve


----------



## stressfreesoul (Mar 17, 2008)

You're not going to get much before that PSU spits its dummy out. Read this thread for more info on PSU's.
Also, your motherboard doesn't seem to be very high end either.
I'd wait on trying an OC until you at least have a better cooling setup (heat-sinks).


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

I hate to rain on your parade .........................but ;


you will need a better power supply (corsair 650-tx or 750-tx)

you need to check your ram sticks to verify if your sticks can handle being bumped up to 2.1 volts instead of the default 1.8volts ?

AMD cpu's dont have much headroom ............. you could with good air flow and a decent after market cpu cooler achieve 10% overclock rather easy ......... to get 15% you would need watercooling ........... 

sorry


----------



## Hardwarenerd (Sep 24, 2008)

Easiest way, use the AMD overdrive. I used it when i first replaced Mobos, it is a great way for alot of people to get at least a feel for overclocking... i actually have the same proc (although in 2 weeks it will be better) and i can stably overclock to 4.1 ghz, but i do have watercooling and it took me almost a week to tweak enough stuff to find it out. But the AMD overdrive has a really cool feature called Autotune, and it will slowly overclock your FSB, mem, and PCIE lanes until it finds it is not stable, then it will step it back. It will probably give you a 5-9% overclock on stock air and voltage. It is a cool tool for AMD users and takes alot of the work out of having to figure out multipliers, voltages, etc. Give the autotune a try and let me know how it turns out


----------



## AbnormalCreatio (Jan 21, 2009)

btw, typo, my motherboard is the asus m3n78-vm

i used the bios overclocking features, used the profiles and set cpu overclock to test mode and put everything else to +50mv for now. i opened my window and my room is nice and cold, my cpu didnt go over 42 degrees celcius while playing crysis on high haha

but my fps seemed to go up a wee bit while running 3dmark06. didnt get to see my test result because i wasnt connected online. hoping to see if my 10630 score got any higher next run...


----------



## Hardwarenerd (Sep 24, 2008)

bios overclock is one thing, but try the AMD overdrive, it is very useful, and you can see the results immediately, there is even a small benchmark in the amd overdrive


----------



## AbnormalCreatio (Jan 21, 2009)

sounds pretty handy. where can i get a hold of this software?


----------



## Hardwarenerd (Sep 24, 2008)

since you have AMD proc and AMD friendly Mobo, you should be able to google it, or it may come with your Motherboard, or at AMD.com


----------



## catthing (Feb 1, 2009)

hi, i have an amd 6400+ processor and am running vista 64.
i read here about amd overdrive and downloaded and installed it,but when i run it, it tells me it cannot detect a amd processor?
as i put the cpu in myself im a little confused, could anyone help..


----------



## Hardwarenerd (Sep 24, 2008)

have you updated your bios?? do you know what version you have?


----------



## catthing (Feb 1, 2009)

right, i did update my bios as vista did not recognize my processor size.
after this it did recognize it, but i dont know how to check what bios i have now.
my cpu is AMD athlon 64 x2 6400+ (windsor) revision jh-f3, my mother board is a abit kn9s.


----------



## catthing (Feb 1, 2009)

right, just found bios details with c puz(nice program)
phoenix technologies LTD.....version 6.00pg 11/19/2007.


----------



## Hardwarenerd (Sep 24, 2008)

go to the AMD website and look for bios update v 0602 and flash your bios with that, it may help, if you have questions about flashing bios, it is quite simple.


----------

