Worth it?

[maj]

With a P4 2.6C, AS3 thermal grease, Vantec HSF and 220/600 sand paper in hand I'm pretty much ready to both overclock my CPU and manage the resulting temperature increase.

However, with 512MB PC3200 RAM and a 9600 PRO vid card I was wondering if the added 200-600 MHz O/Cing can bring will be worth the toil. Do the extra hertz make any significant difference in games such as BF1942 or Max Payne 2? I wouldn't mind trying an overclock in the future when the more power-demanding games are released. But for now, will a 2.6C running at what Intel intended suffice (when running at max/near-max graphics) or does the added boost really make a noticeable difference worth toggling for?

I'm pretty sure lapping would void any warrant on any electronic components, but what about applying thermal grease to Intel's P4 chips? Does it void the warranty?

Thanks in advance.

cheers

 

[HardWareBoss]

No AS will not void warranty.

 

[maj]

Doesn't frying the CPU by overclocking void the warranty? Or is it voided if you TELL them you were overclocking?

 

[Vapor]

You have to tell them...or if there are visible signs of OCing they will not let you RMA it.

Damn Rambus.

 

[scottchen]

Vantec heatsink, you mean the aeroflow?

-Intel PIV 2.6C @ 3.276G -Asus P4P800 -OCZ Copper 2x256 4000EL memory @ 252mhz 2.5-3-4-6 -XFX 5900 128meg 450/900 -SB audigy -120G Maxtor Diamond Plus9 S-ATA150 hdd -450 Enermax PSU

 

[maj]

Yah, the aeroflow. Not much of a HSF, I hear, but I don't plan on pushing the limit. With some lapping and AS3 I'm hoping I can keep things below 50 and still get a hundred or two extra MHz our the 2.6C.

cheers

 

[scottchen]

It's pretty nice, you could try syncronized overclocking, by changing memory timings to 3-4-4-8, what kind of memory is it? If it's Samsung then you might get 220 out of it. Then you'll have 220x13=2860mhz, and i'm sure your temp will be very low.

-Intel PIV 2.6C @ 3.276G -Asus P4P800 -OCZ Copper 2x256 4000EL memory @ 252mhz 2.5-3-4-6 -XFX 5900 128meg 450/900 -SB audigy -120G Maxtor Diamond Plus9 S-ATA150 hdd -450 Enermax PSU

 

[maj]

Corsair XMS3200CL (Dual 256MB). I may try overclocking it to 233.

I probably won't have to toggle the Vcore with ~2.9 GHz ...

 

[scottchen]

You won't get there, if you get to 220, you're lucky.

-Intel PIV 2.6C @ 3.276G -Asus P4P800 -OCZ Copper 2x256 4000EL memory @ 252mhz 2.5-3-4-6 -XFX 5900 128meg 450/900 -SB audigy -120G Maxtor Diamond Plus9 S-ATA150 hdd -450 Enermax PSU

 

[maj]

So I would have better luck with Samsung RAM?... What model?

 

[scottchen]

No, I'm just saying, Corsair probably uses Samsung anyways. Corsair is the best brand, well maybe mushkin is a little better, but Corsair is really nice at overclocking, their 3200 modules are almost guranteed to hit 216(DDR433), if you increase the vdimm to 2.8, and timings to 3-4-4-8, i'm sure you could get 220 out of it or maybe even more.

-Intel PIV 2.6C @ 3.276G -Asus P4P800 -OCZ Copper 2x256 4000EL memory @ 252mhz 2.5-3-4-6 -XFX 5900 128meg 450/900 -SB audigy -120G Maxtor Diamond Plus9 S-ATA150 hdd -450 Enermax PSU