# Advice on OCing an Athlon 64 x2 5600+



## InfernalSolo (Nov 8, 2006)

First of all, let me list all the stock speeds and settings of my hardware.

I have a:

ASUS Crosshair Mobo.

PSU: BFG 1000W (+3.3v/28A +5v/28A +12v/20A +12v/20A +12v/20A +12v/20A -12v/0.8A +5vSB/6.5A)

FSB: 200Mhz.

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 @ 2.8Ghz (14x multiplier) with a vcore of 1.39v

HT Link: 1000Mhz (5x multiplier)

RAM: G.Skill 2GB (2 sticks of 1GB) DDR2 800 (running at 800mhz) running at 1.95 volts (rated at 1.8-2.0).

The CPU has a thermal electric cooler on it that keeps it below 26C even at heavy load at stock speeds.

I came up with an OC that I thought would work out really well (note that every change I make here is in the BIOS settings, not with any OCing program such as nTune). Here are the settings that I tried:

FSB: 250Mhz

CPU: 13x multiplier

HT Link: 4x multiplier

Ram: 667Mhz


for a final speed of:


CPU: 3.25Ghz

HT Link: 1000Mhz

RAM: 834Mhz


As you can see, the CPU got about a 16% increase. The RAM barely got OC'd at all, and the HT Link didn't change at all. However, windows got a BSOD on the windows loading screen. It didn't even boot. I set speeds back to stock again, and windows booted normally (with a sigh of relief). I don't think that OC was too radical. Any suggestions on how to make it work? Is the vcore on the CPU fine as it is?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

try bumping your cpu voltage to 1.45


make sure you run orthos for atleast two hours to get a stability guarantee

what are your ram settings


use cpu-z to verify >>>> then paste a screenshot of all your cpu- z tabs


http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php


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## InfernalSolo (Nov 8, 2006)

The ram settings should be included in my CPU-Z screenshots. Please note that all the settings you see in these screenshots are of stock settings as I have been getting the BSOD when I try to OC.

As for the CPU voltage, is 1.45 safe? It seems a bit high, but then again, I have not had much experience with over-voltaging.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

your ram is "value" ram which is not going to offer you much in the overclocking world surely you will never see a 15% OC :4-thatsba


overclocking ram will be capable of more voltage than 1.8 volts (more like 2.1 -2.2)

and timings of 4-4-4-12


you could sell your existing sticks off on ebay and get some corsair XMS DDR2-800 PC2-6400 CAS4 memory then you will be ready to spice things up a bit


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## InfernalSolo (Nov 8, 2006)

I agree that my ram is not the best out there, and I am planning on purchasing new ram. I was planning on purchasing this ram here.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145194

Is that ram more like it? It has much tighter timings than what I have now. Should I get it? If so, will that get rid of my BSODs?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

YEAH thats better and I would *expect* that memory to clear up your BSOD's once you pump up the voltage to 2.1 volts


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## InfernalSolo (Nov 8, 2006)

Thanks so much for all your help linderman! It will be a little while (a week or two) before I order that new ram. I'll also buy some of that nice ArticSilver paste to beef up my CPU cooling even more (been running with stock paste). Once I do that, I'll try the OC again (possibly playing with my vcore a bit, but I want to avoid that if at all possible). If I run into any more problems, I will let you know.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

you can PM me and give me a nudge sleep >>>>if I miss your future adventures 

I wake up around the third kick :laugh::wave:


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## InfernalSolo (Nov 8, 2006)

Haha will do:grin:.


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## mattlock (Dec 28, 2005)

To hit 3.2 stable you'll definately need a Vcore increase, likely to 1.5v maybe even 1.55v. Most 5600s can do 3ghz on stock voltage, but anything more needs a Vcore bump. I don't recommend going anymore than .15v over the stock Vcore. Be sure to keep an eye on your temps.

Good luck with your OC.

BTW, you're in good hands with Linderman.


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