Overclock the CPU/Memory? Not Possible?

[Guest]

I'm interested in OC'ing my CPU and memory. However at the moment I'm running a low profile VGA card. In several weeks i'm going Tri-SLI Nvidia 480's.

My question is, should I still try to overclock now? Will I have to make adjustments to my OC config after I install the real video cards? I didn't know if I screwed stuff up with voltage and stuff, thus making me start from scratch again.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Yes, you can OC now w/o having any effect .... to an extent. If you go all out and max your OC w Vcore to a few thousands of a volt, and to max CPU temps, when you add a bunch of power hungry GFX cards, this will not be w/o some effect. If you do a fairly moderate OC, say 3.6 - 3.8 GHz on a 920/930 no issue.....but if ya get into thr 4.2 to 4.4 area, ya might have to readjust to account for slight voltage variations and increased case temps.

OC'ing is always easier when you use an enthusiasts board capable of storing multiple OC profiles such as the Asus R2E. But what I would do is make a backup copy of what you have before starting to modify.

See this thread:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/250449-29-backup-bios

First off you are going to need a powerful and stable PSU.....you might like this new enthusiasts model.

http://www.thinkcomputers.org/ces-2010-antec/2/

The Intel standard for example allows for 5% voltage variations on the 3.3 / 5 / 12 volt rails.

http://www.formfactors.org/developer%5Cspecs%5CATX_ATX12V_PS_1_1.pdf (page 10)

That voltage is fed to all your PC's components. Now it gets a bit hard for your MoBo's power regulation circuits to maintain stable voltages for CPU , RAM, etc when / if your PSU's output is wavering all over the place.

Where I am going with this is that you can certainly OC your machine now .... but when you have three fermis yanking power outta your PSU, if you have tweaked your OC up to the very utmost limit, I expect the extra power draw may require some additional tweaking.