How to OC my MoBo to optimize my memory

[BredByAliens]

im an unemployed engineer with too much time on my hands and i know NOTHING about OC'g any components. i would like to learn. I just downloaded AMD Overdrive. here is my system:

Case: Old Alienware micro-ATX
CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 940 BE
Memory: 2x2GB Corsair Dominator DDR2 8500/1066MHz w/ dominator triple fan
MoBo: Asus M4A78-EM(micro-ATX) with latest Bios 1006
Built in video card: Radeon HD 3200
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCIe
OS: MS Vista 64bit Ultimate
Power: 480W

the power supply i had put in at a local computer shop as im in the middle of nowhere Utah, its a pice of crap Logisys. However it says its ATX format so im just gonna buy another ATX sized power supply. i spotted OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply for 79.99, free shipping and another $20 rebate. so im gonna buy it.

I bought the Antec 300 case, ZALMAN CNPS9900LED 120mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler, 4x2GB OCZ DDR2 PC2-9600/ 1200MHz / Blade Series / Low Voltage and Arctic Silver CMQ-22G high-density, ceramic-based thermal compound. im gonna have to wait and upgrade my MoBo to Asus M4A79 DELUXE, about $175 now, when it gets down to $100 - $125 and since it has no VGA support im gonna have to buy a video card at the same time and i think im gonna go with the Sapphire Radeon Vapor-X HD4890 2GB, about $240 now, if the price comes down to $150 - $175. hopefully that will give me everything i need to get the most out of my system.

Im not trying to build the fastest machine ever, i just wanna learn about OC'g and some tips and expectations without resorting to extreme measures. i'm looking to get my CPU to 3.5MHz - 3.8MHz.

However, until i get all my new components i just wanna OC my mobo so i can get 1200MHz from my memory. i talked with Asus and they said i can OC my current memory to 1200MHz or use my new memory to get the full 1200MHz. however they couldnt tell me how. They told me it would be recognized as 800MHz . i dont know if i should use AMD Overdrive or BIOS or wait for the OC programs in the M4A79 Deluxe.

ive read that 8GB is a waste but i do a lot of multitasking and am soon to be using AutoCad 2009-2010 with some 3D modeling and upgrade to Windows 7 64bit Ultimate.

i will greatly appreciate any help that anyone can give me.

- Bred By Aliens

 

[BredByAliens]

Theres no such thing as overclocking your motherboard. You can overclock your cpu, which in turn (if you allow it) will automatically overclock your memory via fsb.


DDR2-1066 is just DDR2-800 thats capable of running 1066 by overclocking your cpu. Why on Earth would you want to run it at 1200mhz? Makes no sense.

You need to do some reading at the top of the overclocking forum and learn.

TY. i was just trying to do what the tech support told me at ASUS. im getting 1200MHz ram and i was told that the system will only recognize it as 800MHz, i still need to know how to make it run at 1200MHz. TY

- Bred By Aliens

 

[rob_cunningham]

However, until i get all my new components i just wanna OC my mobo so i can get 1200MHz from my memory. i talked with Asus and they said i can OC my current memory to 1200MHz or use my new memory to get the full 1200MHz. however they couldnt tell me how. They told me it would be recognized as 800MHz . i dont know if i should use AMD Overdrive or BIOS or wait for the OC programs in the M4A79 Deluxe.

ive read that 8GB is a waste but i do a lot of multitasking and am soon to be using AutoCad 2009-2010 with some 3D modeling and upgrade to Windows 7 64bit Ultimate.

Hi,

looks like your board will only support one dimm per channel running speeds of 1066 or higher so going for another 2x2gb of DDR2 1200 would be a waste of money on your current mobo....

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=0KyowHKUFAQqH2DO

To get your new ram to run at 1200 without overclocking your cpu try going into the bios, set your ram to unlinked and manually input the speed (1200) and then manually set the voltage and timings according to your ram's spd. I have an SLI memory option which does the same for me but i still set the voltage to make it stable otherwise it will run at a default 1.8v.

Hope i've helped a little.

Ps. for a decent overclock use bios rather than programme in your OS and initially run your ram at 800 or set it to default until your CPU oc is stable and then try setting your ram again.

 

[jsrudd]

Overclocking is simply telling setting the motherboard to run certain components at higher than default speeds. This is normally done in the BIOS, but more recently there are programs that allow for an "on the fly" overclock. Though your RAM says that it will run at 1200 mhz that will be an overclock. The manufacturer is merely advertising that its product is tested to be able to be run at these higher settings. You will see very little performance increase from overclocking your RAM so it might not be worth it. Any overclocking that you do now will have to be repeated when you get a new motherboard so you might want to wait.