# Overclocking Processor



## thaFunkster (Jul 19, 2009)

Hello,

I just got a new computer, specs at end.

I am just considering overclocking the processor, I have done this with videocards in the past successfully, and it was easy. I understand OCing the cpu is not so easy though, and I want to do it with no risk, that is not push it too much. From what I have seen with others, I can probably expect to get the cpu running up to about 3.6G up from 3.

Only thing is, I dont actually know how to do it, I understand its all done through the BIOS. Can anyone help me out Pls? Thanks.
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Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3Ghz
2G DDR2 RAM @ 800
Coolermaster 460W PSU
Gigabyte G31M-ES2L Motherboard
Radeon 4850 512MB


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

There's a thread at the top of the forum called if you are new to overclocking read here. It tells you how to overclock.

I have an e8400 and they are good at overclocking I have mine at 3.91 at the moment but have had it higher.

You will have to get a better PSU or atleast a higher wattage one.


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## mattlock (Dec 28, 2005)

3.6 should be attainable with aout a Vcore increase, but you'll need to set the voltage control to manual or the board will automatically over volt the CPU. My E8400 is doing 3.6 @ 1.22v. 

After reading Linderman's sticky to get familiar with overclocking, all you need to do to get 3.6 is change you your CPU host frequency to 400mhz, SPD to 2.2, and set the vaoltage control to manual. With those setting you would running at 3.6ghz on a 1:1 ratio so your memory will running at its stock speed of 800mhz.

I would also recommend a better quality power supply 550w or better. The only Coolmaster unit worth owning is the Real Power Pro Series.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

mattlock said:


> 3.6 should be attainable with aout a Vcore increase, but you'll need to set the voltage control to manual or the board will automatically over volt the CPU. My E8400 is doing 3.6 @ 1.22v.
> 
> After reading Linderman's sticky to get familiar with overclocking, all you need to do to get 3.6 is change you your CPU host frequency to 400mhz, SPD to 2.2, and set the vaoltage control to manual. With those setting you would running at 3.6ghz on a 1:1 ratio so your memory will running at its stock speed of 800mhz.
> 
> I would also recommend a better quality power supply 550w or better. The only Coolmaster unit worth owning is the Real Power Pro Series.


Thats quite a high Vcore setting, when I was running at 4GHz I have my vcore at 1.218 I am now at 3.91 and vcore is 1.18  raising the vcore isn't always necessary.


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## mattlock (Dec 28, 2005)

greenbrucelee said:


> Thats quite a high Vcore setting, when I was running at 4GHz I have my vcore at 1.218 I am now at 3.91 and vcore is 1.18  raising the vcore isn't always necessary.


As you know, no two processors are the same. 

My default VID is somewhere between 1.22v and 1.23v (I've had it OCed so long I don't recall the exact Vcore.) I was able to under volt to 1.18v at 3.6ghz for a little while but started experiencing some system stability issues.

My 1st OC on this CPU was running daily @ 4ghz on 1.28v. After a couple of months, I had to increase the Vcore to 1.32v due system stability issues. My current voltage is actually @ 1.225v (1.216v with Vdroop). 1.22v is by no means a high Vcore for an E8xxx, considering the fact that by Intel specs the VID could be as high a 1.36v (I've personally seen the default as high as 1.28v on E8400s and never anything lower than 1.20v) :wink:


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

mattlock said:


> As you know, no two processors are the same.
> 
> My default VID is somewhere between 1.22v and 1.23v (I've had it OCed so long I don't recall the exact Vcore.) I was able to under volt to 1.18v at 3.6ghz for a little while but started experiencing some system stability issues.
> 
> My 1st OC on this CPU was running daily @ 4ghz on 1.28v. After a couple of months, I had to increase the Vcore to 1.32v due system stability issues. My current voltage is actually @ 1.225v (1.216v with Vdroop). 1.22v is by no means a high Vcore for an E8xxx, considering the fact that by Intel specs the VID could be as high a 1.36v (I've personally seen the default as high as 1.28v on E8400s and never anything lower than 1.20v) :wink:


I have it set not to go higher thean 1.2 but generally get 1.18 when runnng at full load on something like crysis. I had a few BSODS when running at 4GHz that was when I had the vcore at 1.218. Maybe I should have had it set it higher.


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## thaFunkster (Jul 19, 2009)

Hmm, well thanks for replies guys, I have to admit its a bit like goobelligook to me right now, yeah I know what voltage is, but as to what It should be on a cpu, and how to change it I am lost. Will go read the sticky and come back. Ta.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

just get us your ram stick model numbers (cpu-z for that info)

how many case fans and where are they ........which direction does each fan move air

which cpu cooler are you using ? the stock intel cooler that came with the cpu ?

after that we can give you a bios snapshot to look at and copy


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## thaFunkster (Jul 19, 2009)

OK:

* RAM*

Wierd, CPUz says:

Slot #1: Kingston PC2 (400mhz)
LAtency: JEDEC1: 4.0 JEDEC2: 5.0 JEDEC3:6.0
Slot#2: Corsair PC-2 (400mhz)
JEDEC1: 4.0 JEDEC2: 5.0 _NO JEDEC3 LISTED?_

Memory is running in dual channel.

* CASE FANS*

THere is one case fan attached to the PSU, which is mounted at the top rear of the case (when standing). THe fan sucks upwards, and pushes the air backwards.

There is a vent for a fan at the middle of the rear of the case, but no fan attached.

There is also the usual vent that sits over the CPU Cooler.

BTW, PSU is CoolerMaster RS-460-PCAR-A3.

* Cooler *

Stock Intel Cooler.

I really want to OC, and I want to do it safely, but I do not have the cash to buy a new PSU or Cooler, so I am hoping you guys can guide me through it safely anyway?

Thanks


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

Overclocking with a stock cooler can lead to bad things because the stock cooler is supposed to work at a cpu on stock speeds. You would end up over revving and burning the cpu cooler out if you overclocked a lot.

You can buy decent coolers for £40 not sure about coolermaster but I have heard they are quite good PSUs although only get what you pay for.


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## thaFunkster (Jul 19, 2009)

Ok, just an update. My idle temps are about 55c for both cores. 

Maybe I will consider an aftermarket cooler, that Newegg link for one in the Other E8400 thread seems like a good bet going by the user reviews, might consider that.

Still want to start getting set up in the meantime though.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

The only CoolerMaster PSUs recommended are the Real Power Pro line--the rest range from mediocre to junk, though none of them sink to the same depths as, say, Rosewill. I don't know about yours in particular, but you need to keep in mind the factor of noise. You see, as your CPU/RAM/NB cycle they create large picosecond demand on your +12V rail for power. A high quality PSU will deliver this power right when it's needed, but a cheap one might have a slow response time and deliver it as much as a picosecond late. This translates into electrical noise on the CPU/RAM's bus, and if that noise is too great then it can cause random errors, crashes, and instability. This gets more significant the faster the component is clocked, because it's cycling a lot more quickly, and the more noise will effect your CPU and RAM. So you not only want a PSU that has sufficient wattage to run your components, but you also want one with stable voltages, good response time, and good efficiency, and these things usually go hand in hand, so a PSU with 80+% efficiency is usually a must for anyone who wants a stable, powerful computer.

PC Power & Cooling and SeaSonic make some of the best power supplies out there, but they're pricey. Corsair is usually recognized as having some of the best PSUs for the money. Silverstone is quite good as well. If you're on a tighter budget, brands like OCZ, CoolerMaster Real Power Pro, Thermaltake Toughpower, and some of the others are acceptable, though you want to scrutinize their technical specs and try to look for single rail models.


For CPU heatsinks Zalman is generally considered the best brand. However I'm using a Thermaltake V1 and am quite satisfied, with an E2200 2.2GHz [email protected] I'm seeing idle temps of 25C, gaming load 45C, Prime95 load of 52C. [email protected] it's idle 26C, gaming load 48C, and Prime95 load 58C. The one thing you want to look out for is if you have enough room in your case. Most of these heatsinks are several inches tall with big copper blades and fins, and most won't fit into micro/mini tower cases like most store-bought PCs come in. You want a nice, roomy mid or full tower case with a nice front/side-to-back/top airflow.

On a stock cooler you might manage an overclock of up to .3 or .4GHz, which will yield a moderate performance boost, but don't expect miracles, and you have to watch your temperatures like a hawk until you're sure it's stable and below 65C under full load. To get started read the overclocking guide at the top of this sub forum.


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## thaFunkster (Jul 19, 2009)

Hmm, more food for thought. I was really hoping to maybe just replace the cooler with say this one: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm.

Repalcing a PSU starts to get genuinely expensive.

Ok, if I was going to, how would something like this do? Thats about as expensive as I would consider. (in AU$).


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I use a Tuniq Tower as my cooler, they are pretty good my idle temps are 37 whilst running prime 95 for 7 hour the highest temp I got was 53


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

The Freezer 7 Pro should work fine. Not the best one out there, but good for the price range. One other thing, you'll want to buy a small tube of Arctic Silver 5, a thermal interface material. See, when you take the CPU out of the motherboard you need to clean off the other thermal paste/pad, by gently removing it from the top surface with a lint free rag (coffee filters work) and *90+%* isopropyl alcohol. It must be 90+% pure or you risk leaving water or gunk on the CPU. Then when you're installing the CPU, after it's been placed in the mobo but before applying the heatsink, add a tiny dab of the Arctic Silver 5 paste, following the instructions that come with it. Then install the heatsink. This *is* necessary. A small tube of AS5 (good for three to five CPU installs) costs about US$8, don't know what that is in AU$. I'll be honest, the heatsink does come with its own thermal paste, but the AS5 will give you, on average, temps of 2-5C lower, which I think is worth the $8. Unless your budget is literally at its end I'd highly recommend it.


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## thaFunkster (Jul 19, 2009)

Hmm, ok. Jee, I didnt realise that I also had to take the CPU out, damn. Ok, I will see how I go and post and update once cooler is installed, although I am starting to wonder whether the whole thing is too much trouble, I am a bit worried about stuffing something up during all this messing around with hardware. 

I have never actually physically seen a CPU before, as all systems I have used have always had them pre-installed. 

I once added a Zalman cooler and thermal paste to my old Radeon X800, and something went wrong and it died, so that kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

CPUs aren't that complicated. You remove the heatsink, undo the little locking lever, lift up the metal cap thing, and carefully lift it out, handling it by the edges. Do the opposite to put it back in. It isn't so hard. For what a CPU looks like:
http://www.pc-outfitters.com/catalog/images/core2_duo.jpg
http://www.bmbtech.com.au/shop/shop/images/Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz.jpg
Do not touch the side with all the copper contacts. It's the side that goes down and interfaces with the motherboard and you don't want oil from your fingers blocking the current. Otherwise, as long as you don't drop it and don't get it wet you don't need to worry about screwing it up. It's not so difficult, trust me. I built a computer from parts at age 17, and though I did make a screw up it was due to insufficient research, and we're providing you with all the information you need.

1.) Turn off and unplug computer. Open case.
2.) Unscrew stock heatsink and remove
3.) Undo locking lever
4.) Lift up cap
5.) Lift out CPU by corners
6.) Place on dry, hard surface
7.) Apply 90+% isopropyl alcohol to conical coffee filters (available at Walgreens for about $5 each)
8.) Gently scrub off old thermal pad from processor. This may take several applications of filter+alky, I find that with two or three uses per filter (moving to unsoiled areas) it takes about three filters to adequately clean the surface.
9.) When surface is clean and smudge free, set aside to let alky evaporate
10.) Take new heatsink out of packaging
11.) Remove plastic protective thing from contact surface at bottom
12.) Gently clean once with alky and filters and let it evaporate off
13.) Put CPU back in mobo socket, check mobo manual for correct orientation. Close cap and lock lever.
14.) Apply "line" of Arctic Silver 5 about the thickness of a grain of rice, as in this picture:
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/10937/1182913919.jpg
15.) Install heatsink according to provided instructions (do NOT add any more paste), orient fan to point towards back of case (air flow direction is usually the side the wire is on)
16.) Plug in fan control wire to motherboard, read manual
17.) Close up case and hook it up
18.) Enjoy your new CPU fan.


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## thaFunkster (Jul 19, 2009)

Thanks for the info, should come in very handy.

BTW, just had a order all set up on Newegg, for a Corsair 650W, Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, and thermal paste, $139USD, bargain! All ready to pay and now I find they dont ship to Australia!

Damn, this will cost me heaps more to get locally, but I will just have to have a look.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

You will find somewhere that will ship to you, I usually use overclockers.co.uk not sure if they ship to Aus though.

Building a pc isn't difficult and its quite enjoyable as said above removing the cpu and doing what you need to do isn't hard.

when you order the atric silver 5 you can also order arti clean which is made by the artic silver company this arti clean is 90% isopropyl alcohol it also comes with a preparing agent too. so you clean off the thermal paste from the cpu and heatsing with the arti clean then use the preparing agent which is supposed to make the cpu and heatsink ready for optimal heat transfer.

You may find that when you come to install the cooler that you will have to take out the motherboard. you simply get a screw driver and unscrew the board from the standoffs in the case.

One final tip, always make sure you are grounded. A sure fire way of detsroying chips and computer equipment is that static electricity jumps from your body onto the electrical components thus frying them (this can happen even if the computer is switched off but the case is still open.

buy a grounding wriststrap, the wristrap when attached to your wrist and metal part of the computers case makes you the same polarity as the equipment and therfore all the electrical charges in the system and you are the same so you can't damage them. They cost about £10


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Though a wrist strap can be handy, you can also get the same effect by always having a part of your body in contact with the metal of the case while handling components.

Tools needed to build a computer

Essential:
Phillips head screwdriver
Relevant manuals
Flat, cool, well-lighted work surface/space

Suggested:
Flathead screwdriver
90+% isopropyl alcohol (for cleaning CPU before application of heatsink)
Coffee filters (see above)
Scissors (for removing packaging)
The internet

Useful:
Antistatic wrist strap
Pliers (in case of stuck wires)
duct tape (cable management)
Extra screws, standoffs, wires, cables, gender switchers
Compressed air can

Occasionally useful:
Volt/am/multimeter
electrical tape
Rubber hammer (I've used one before to bend a case that was slightly out of shape)
Level, either hydraulic or laser (used to find out case was slightly out of shape...)
Extra monitor, power supply, graphics card


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## thaFunkster (Jul 19, 2009)

Ok, thanks again. I managed to get the same Cooler, 550W Corsair PSU and the thermal paste for $200AU, which works out about $160US I think, so still good buy.

Now I just have to wait for it to arrive, and then look into where I can get the alchohol and coffee filters (I dont think they are that common over here, we mostly drink expresso coffee)...

Will update on progress. Wish me luck.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Good luck. :4-cheers:

To answer your question in the other thread, the Corsair 550w will work, and you can even overclock some on it, but don't push it too hard. Don't overclock your graphics card (much, hehe), and keep an eye on your voltages as well as your temps while overclocking your CPU. Corsair makes good power supplies so it's unlikely you'll see trouble unless your load starts pushing up to 450w+. It isn't that the PSU can't handle that much draw, and handle it well, but as PSU load increases so does electrical noise on your +12V rail and thus on the CPU's bus. The faster clocked your CPU is, the more likely it is to be affected by this noise, so keep that in mind.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

I dont expect you will have any troubles pusing your dual core with the 4850

I agree with above though, overclock the cpu but dont overclock both cpu AND video card .... but you should be plenty happy with the results of the hitting 3.6ghz/3.8ghz its a very nice boost while gaming


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## thaFunkster (Jul 19, 2009)

Sweet! 

and can I just say thanks so much for your advice and help so far everyone, much appreciated.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

No problem, glad to help mate. :grin:


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