Noob alert yes there are questions even after lots of reading :P

[goobaweazle]

Iv'e just recieved a mostly free bundle of equipment minus a case.

(I purchased an Antec Nine Hundred )

The mobo = Micro board, Asus an8-vm.
Processor = Athlon 4000+ 90nm san-diego core processor.
Gpu = Radeon X1950 crossfire 512ddr4.
Memory = 2x1gb pc3200 ddr2 (dualed)
Power = Antec 700w.
OS = Xp pro (Sp3).

With a little bit of fiddling i managed to crank the proc upto 2.6 Mhz by just increasing the FSB to 217 and it is stable for upto 1-2 hours on 100% load with the core temp not exceding 53 Celsius (33 at idle). However the 2 things that have bothered me to this point are couple of blue screens and with what i assumed was one of the best air cooling cases available, and the gpu runs at 76-82 C.( clean as a whistle by the way after a dyson hovering).

The blue screens im putting down too just that bit too much over the factory stock 2.4Mhz, allthough the ht link is 1085 and the mobo doesnt seem to let me adjust the multiplyer to lower that below the 1000 i was aiming for.

Now The questions for you guys -

1. Is 53 C under load acceptable for the Core temp.?
2. Is 76-82 acceptable for long term 3d gaming, the in house temp gauge on the gpu puts it off the yellow heading orange (so i'm assuming not optimal) Is there a guideline here ie cooler = better or do these cards need to reach a certain temperature to run at their best?
3. Is 1000 on the ht link the holy grail or can you accept more with stability?
4. I've got an fx57 winging its way too me as i type (i hope ) Any body got any experiance with the best way to OC this chip safely? From what i have read too date just a simple multiplyer from 13-14 and a very samll 202 increase seems the way forward?
5. Should i be aiming to replace the mobo and if so what was the best 939 one in peoples opinions.

Thanks in advance guys, all advise and or finger wagging appreciated. hehe

I'm reasonably in the know after lots of forum searching but, the question of temperature norms still seems to be eluding my noob Oc'ing powers

 

[lameness]

1. Im not absolutely certain about that particular core, but 53c should be fine.

2. Again i cant be totally certain but im pretty sure those temps are OK

3. Depends on your MB i think....it can be exceeded by good boards but not by too much

4.nope

5. I wouldn't bother replacing any one component; the only thing i would replace is the entire computer...
There is no point in a new MB as it wont garantee a higher OC...
The best thing to upgrade would be your gpu....but i wouldnt do that without upgrading your cpu.....and i wouldn't do that without upgrading your mb from socket 939......and your ram is slow and would want upgrading....so my advice would be to upgrade everything or nothing.

 

[evongugg]

5) It's not worth getting another socket 939 motherboard. 939 is a dead end. Your CPU could be upgraded to X2. Your GPU could be upgraded and carried over to a new motherboard. Your power supply can be carried over to the next build. Most components are dead end. You couldn't carry them over to a new build.

 

[jsc]

I'm not that familiar with AMD CPU's. But mid 50's C underload is not bad. GPU's, both nVidia and ATI, do tend to run much hotter.

In general, from what I have seen here, AMD CPU's are lucky to get a 20% OC. With Intel CPU's, a 30% - 50% OC on air is not unusual with the C2D and C2Q parts.

 

[jitpublisher]

The problem's you are having is most likely 1 of 2 things, or maybe even a combination of both.
Your memory won't overclock very well, lower the multiplier.
The HT link can in fact be very touchy on some boards, try lowering the multiplier on it.
Beyond that, without some really good cooling, on a very stable board, an Athlon 4000+ is not going to overclock a great amount. You *should* be able to hit 2.8, unless you just got unlucky and got a processor that simply won't do it.
By the way, at the temps you are showing you may not have good enough CPU cooling to go much further. While it's not too hot yet, it's to the point that if you go further, it will be too hot.

 

[goobaweazle]

Thanks for the replys guy.

Firstly i wanted to use this equipment which was like i say free, to have my first real go at overclocking without the concern of spending lots of money to have me make it go zizzle, pop bang.

I know 939 is offically dead, but after a fair bit of reading if your just gaming and not really spending large amounts of time multitasking x2 processors single core fx chips are still not too shabby, so i decided to invest a hundred pounds or so and see where i could get too with this old timer build, with a view to Oc'ing.

I've adjusted some fan speeds mostly the "big boy" (athlons words not mine..lol) directly over the cpu. This has brought the temp down under 100% load too 47-48.

I'm awaiting the fx57 chip via the mail tommorrow, will see what i can achieve with that.

The question that still remains foremost in my mind that didnt seem to be answered do these gpu's/cpu's have a temperature below which they would give the best performance, ie water cooled might lower it into the 60's and 30's and in fact would this actually be detrimental to optimal conditions?

 

[B-Unit]

GPUs run hot, so those temps arnt too bad, more case fans might bring those down a bit. I wouldnt want them any higher, but where they are shouldnt cause harm. If you start approaching 90, get worried.

Id bet real money that the HT is why your getting crashes. Are you certain your motherboard doesnt allow for it to be turned down? The setting wont be in the same place as your FSB settings. It will likely be under 'Advanced Chipset Features' The setting is called 'HT Link Multi' on mine, but your verbage may vary. Take your multiplyer down to 4x and you might even be able to OC a bit more, tho you are gettin close to your thermal celing. You want to stay below 60C, but as a safety I wouldnt advise taking it over about 56-58C.

 

[purplerat]

I'd just run your CPU at stock speeds to see if that works. Really you're probably not gaining much with that OC. Your system is not completely ancient but it's far enough behind that a small OC really isn't going to make much of a difference.

 

[B-Unit]

Sorry, didnt really answer your question.

Well, the cooler the better, the only thing you really need to worry about is maximum temperatures. As you get closer to said max, you will begin to see system errors, artifacts if its the GPU getting hot, things like that.

 

[goobaweazle]

Well recieved and installed teh FX57 chip, easily managed to obtain 3 mhz with just 215 fsb and no other adjustments. Unfortunately the mobo doesnt allow multiplyer adjustment..this board really is a non starter for any serious attempts at overclocking.

On the plus side core temp is now 38 C under load for 2 hrs. strangely, the Cpu temp is a couple of degrees higher mind. My guess is the articfreeze Cpu HS and fan is slightly undersized for the FX57 chip (2mm edges on chip face from the HS, and the sensor is most likely receiving a little more heat from these exposed edges.

3d gaming seems to be fine, my benchmark of 80 average fps with everything maxed in Company of hero's was pleasing for what is basically an outdated sytem.

Again thanks for the reply's and happy overclocking