New to overclocking

[todd5854]

Hello, here's my system

MSI K9N SLI Platinum V1.2
AMD Athlon X64 AM2+ 5600+ 2.8ghz
OCZ 2GB (1GB X2) Dual Channel Memory rated for 5-5-5-15 (NO idea what those mean =/ )


Do any of you think this is a good system to overclock? I googled "5600+ Overclock" and apparently some guy got his up to 3.36ghz, link posted below. He's asking about clocking to 4ghz, which I already know is not, under any circumstance, going to happen in my aging system.

http://forums.slizone.com/lofiversion/index.php?t6288.html

So how well do you think I can overclock this while maintaining system stability? Also, I'm new to overclocking, so I haven't messed with it much. (Afraid to destroy the chip that has to last me a few more months)

Thanks~

 

[arges86]

you should be able to OC it a decent amount (10% or so)
Toms hardware has a good guides on overclocking.
Just go slow, and keep temperatures in mind.
i use speedfan (u can google it to download it for free) to monitor temperatures.
The thermal rating of your ship is 70 degrees C, but you shouldn't exceed 50.
I also like using a program called Orthos (also free), and prime95 (free too) to test the memory and cpu to see if they are still stable

 

[todd5854]

Prime95 is great. Right now the system is and has been on a 2.9ghz overclock. If I set the FSB any higher than 210, the system doesn't start up and I have to reset the bios. Right now it's at 207 and completely stable. Would you recommend nVidia's nTune for overclocking? It will overclock anything on my board, except I can't change voltages.

What is the maximum voltage for my processor? I couldn't seem to find it. Thanks

 

[drdeathx]

you should be able to OC it a decent amount (10% or so)
Toms hardware has a good guides on overclocking.
Just go slow, and keep temperatures in mind.
i use speedfan (u can google it to download it for free) to monitor temperatures.
The thermal rating of your ship is 70 degrees C, but you shouldn't exceed 50.
I also like using a program called Orthos (also free), and prime95 (free too) to test the memory and cpu to see if they are still stable

Over 50 degrees is acceptaple. High 50's will definitley cut down on life but if you run high 50's full load, you will be much lower normal use and idle.

 

[todd5854]

Yeah, that's what I'm shooting for. But actually I'm going core i7 around August, so this horrific AMD machine only needs to last me until August.