Wolfdale Overclocking

[krizpy]

Well... Its time for me to do another computer upgrade in anticipation of working all summer and not being in class. Im currently running a E2160 Dual Core Allendale 1.8ghz on stock cooling, but ive got this puppy overclocked to 3.2ghz and it runs just fine at about 40c normal and 60c load. Not a bad bang for the buck considering it sells for about $70.

What im looking at doing is buying a E8400 Wolfdale 3ghz, and running it with some watercooling.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16835108105

Ive heard these processers do amazing for overclocking thanks to the 45nm design, but im wondering if anyone has any experience with these? Whether i should shoot for 4ghz over, or 8... (Im not worried about the voltage reducing my CPU life, ill upgrade in a year regardless ) And some projected volatages? Thanks!

 

[Lafinass]

Your other components play a big roll in how far you're going to be able to push it. You seem to be somewhat familiar with overclocking, so I won't lecture on how FSB and the like work. But if you're looking to seriously OC your processor, you'll likely have to loosen the timing on your RAM.

The best OC, in my opinion, isn't aimed at getting your processor to the highest speed. It can blaze like a racehorse and if the rest of your rig is running like a pony, then all you get is a pony. My goal when overclocking a system running DDR2 RAM (as I assume yours does?) is to get the FSB as high as possible while keeping the FSB/RAM at a 1:1 ratio. This is a long and slow processes. You'll hit many walls and each time you do, you'll have to find a way over it. You'll want to start by drastically loosening the timing on the RAM and lowering the CPU multiplier as low as it goes. You want to work with the FSB speed first without having to worry about the CPU or RAM stopping you up. Increment your FSB 5-10Mhz (with the RAM synced) at a time and run a stress test at each of these increments (assuming it posts). If it becomes unstable or won't post, try increasing the NB voltage a notch or two. At some point you will reach a wall that you can't go over, either your board can't handle the speed or you don't feel comfortable increasing the NB voltage any further. Once you've hit that wall, bring the FSB down a notch. That's your golden spot. Now slowly tighten the timing on the RAM till it won't post. Increase the voltage to the RAM and you should be able to tighten it a bit farther. At that point, all you have to do is increase the multiplier on the CPU till you get a speed you're happy with and is stable, you will likely have to increase the CPU's voltage at this point too.

So your goal should be the fastest FSB your system can handle while maintaining a 1:1 ratio with the RAM and relatively tight timing.

Mind you, all of this hinges on your ability to keep the NB, RAM, and CPU cool enough. Also, do some serious research on the voltage limits of the various components.

(Just in case I assumed too much of your knowledge of how this works... the FSB listed is generally the CPU's functional FSB, which is actually 4 times the actual FSB. The RAM's listed speed is twice the actual FSB. So when I talk about a 1:1, I'm talking actual speed not functional. If the FSB is at 400 in a 1:1 the CPU's functional FSB is 1600 and the RAM's functional speed is 800. The CPU's speed is Multiplier * FSB, which in our scenario on the E8400 would be 9 * 400 or 3600.)

Edit: I give this advice freely and without liability should you fry your system.

 

[jdcskillet]

In addition to the excellent information Lafinass gave, you will also have to remember that just because you overclock to a certain ghz, it won't necessarily speed up the system. Like he said, the biggest limitation in computing is in HDD, RAM, FSB, Cache, and registry speeds (from slowest to fastest, HDD or Tap is obviously the slowest). In fact, at current rates it takes 2 - 6 clock cycles for cache, where RAM is somewhere in the 100 cycle if not more range. Therefore, even if you are operating at a higher clock cycle, unless you have the CPU packed with info it will not make a lick of difference on how fast you make the CPU. Main focus should always be on feeding as much information to your processor as possible.

 

[Ryael]

you guys have posted a lot of great information. I've been looking in to learning more about over clocking. Is there a good website that I can read up on this stuff some more?

 

[Lafinass]

There are lots of guides and the like, but they all by necessity are usually vague in specifics. Overclocking is different on every system. Your best bet is to look for your motherboard's support forums, usually you can find people talking about overclocking your specific board. If you're lucky and use popular components, they might be even more specific to your situation than usual.

 

[krizpy]

Im looking forward to putting up all my specs and talking about this! But im stuck in class for awhile yet... Thanks to everyone for the awesome replys!