First time OC'ing-questions

[akxpckwb]

Hey guys
This is my first time overclocking and I have some questions.

My current rig:
G31m es2l
2x2GB DDR2 800mhz (stock)
Sapphire HD 4670 (stock)
Celeron E3400 (200x13)
FSB:RAM 1:2

Now Im planning on overclocking the Celeron to, at least, 3.0ghz (maybe some more once I get better cooling).
According to CPU-Z my DRAM Frequency is 400. Shouldn't it be 800?
Also its timings are 6-6-6-18. Is this good or should I loosen/tighten it?
Would I gain anything from overclocking my graphics card?
If I run IntelBurn Test it the tjmax(100º) is easily reached however it doesent get past it. This means I need better cooling right?

Thanks for all the help

 

[alwaysblur]

Memory: Nah 800MHz is the effective frequency, however actual clock rate is divided by 2, so dont worry about it. Timings are pretty good I think, you could try reducing some and using memtest to see if its stable.

Might be able to overclock your GPU but probably not by much on a stock cooler, unless you dont mind a lot of noise.

Intel burn test (IBT) is quite hard on the CPU. What it means is that you need a new cooler to overclock, but its fine otherwise as normal usage never gets that high. You could try a mild overclock and try Prime95 for a less stressful test and see where load temps go. preferably keep it under 80C or 70C if you're more cautious with prime95

 

[akxpckwb]

alwaysblur

Thanks for answers however I believe I didnt express myself correctly.

When I got this new CPU I messed around a bit with the usual overclock stuff just to try it however i had my DRAM frequency at 460mhz with no problems at all. This led me to think that I am currently ''crippling'' my computer because it can aparently run faster.Is this correct?

About the GPU I thought about overclocking it because I thought its stock speed wouldnt be fast enough to handle what my soon-to-be 3.0ghz Celeron could handle.Am I wrong?

Also while messing around I had a 3:5 fsb:ram ratio. Would this be better than my current one?

 

[jsc]

OK. From the part number, you obviously have a Gigabyte motherboard. In general, G'byte motherboards are simple to overclock. I don't know how far you can push an E3400, but I would guess around 3.2 up to 3.5 GHz if you are lucky.

The G31/G41 chipset is an economy, entry level chipset. Unless you get really lucky, you will not be able to push the FSB freq past about 360 MHz. I have a G'byte G41 board. FSB freq of 352 MHz works. 353 MHz doesn't. On the other hand, with a CPU with a 200 MHz FSB freq, that will not be a factor. The limiting factor will be the CPU core speed.

Comment on memory: for DDR2, CPU-Z uses the memory frequency. Your computer BIOS uses the memory clock which for DDR2 RAM, is twice the FSB freq.

This should be your first stop.
Core2 Overclocking Guide (generic guide based on an Asus board)
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/259899-11-core-overclocking-guide

Next stop should be Shadow's Gigabyte motherboard OC guide:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-245679_11_0.html
It's for an EP35-DS3L but all the Gigabyte Core2 BIOS's are similar. The G31 will have fewer settings.

Go through the guides. Then take your core voltage off Auto and set your memory voltage to factory recommended values. Change the System Memory Multiplier from AUTO to 2.00. Then when you increase the FSB, the memory clock will rise in exact proportion with it. At an FSB of 266 MHz (3.45 GHz), your memory clock should be at 533 MHz.

Don't bother trying to maximize FSB freq at the expense of the internal multiplier. Run the chip's internal multiplier at max.

Also, don't try to OC the memory. What little performance gain that you might get will not be worth any loss of stability.

The best FSB:RAM ratio is 1:1. We talk about that here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/251715-29-ratio-myth

If you feel you must mess with memory settings, try tightening the timings. That will give you a theoretical increase in memory i/o. You will not see any real world performance increase though.

Intel's max recommendations for a Wolfdale CPU is a max of 1.45 volts on the core and a 70 C load temp (well, 71.point something).
----------
Overclocking since 1978 - Z80 (TRS-80) from 1.77 MHz to 2.01 MHz

 

[akxpckwb]

jsc

I did read those guides and some others around the internet before even buying my current rig(its only 1 week old) but I still have some doubts. This may be due to the fact that I'm not a native english speaker or simply because I didn't understand it.

I did read somewhere that my motherboard doesen't allow a 1:1 ratio. Is this true?

Maybe my misinterpretation of RAM frequency/clock is confusing me
If I understood correctly this time then, in theory, if I had a 5,2GHZ processor in my current computer this would mean that:

a)assuming a x13 multiplier I would be running the fsb at 400?
b)my RAM clock would be 800 which means it would be running at full capacity?
c)CPU-Z would show the memory frequency to be 1600?

No I will NOT try this. I know it would fry my computer and,probably, my room too

Once again thanks for the answers