Overclock

[JunK]

So i finally got a bit of disposable income and decided to do a little upgrade i wanted to do for a couple months now. got a cheap am2+ motherboard (Asus M2N68-AM SE2 m-ATX) and an AMD Phenom II X2 550 3.1 ghz processor with a Cool Master Elite 341 m-ATX Case and loaded it up with 120mm fans.
Now i decided to overclock my CPU and GPU a bit. I got my CPU up to 3.5 ghz within 2 seconds, stable (tho only ran stress for around an hour). I could probably do a handful better but i don't think i need to, so no need to risk a shorter life span or something for a bit faster.
Whats your opinion, should i try to cap it? The cpu is still running at basically the same temps as it was at 3.1 ghz, 36-38 cel idle, 43-46 load.

Also for the GPU, i have a BFG Geforce 8600 GT OC (TI edition) base at 565 core, 1242 shader and 700 memory running at 80% fan speed and 44 cel idle, not sure on load. Just curious exactly what i should do and look for with overclocking the GPU. I want to max it out without getting too crazy of temps. Im using rivatuner, but for some reason i cannot make it so when the temp rises, it automatically adjusts the fan to a higher speed. So should i just keep my fan speed high, or boost it up when im about to game then go back to normal afterwards or what....not sure what would be best. any suggestions on the GPU overclock?

EDIT: So im back down to the default 3.1 ghz because i cannot run CSS when its overclocked, like at all. When i try to connect to servers it won't, and when it does it just seems very slow and stuff...whatever, don't need it anyway, but still looking for tips on overclocking the GPU

 

[reflex99]

that processor winz, i got the same OC on stock cooling

mine seems to work on css

 

[xenophek]

Hmm. You got it to 3.5, but it runs the same temp? Have you stressed it for a longer period of time? You may need to add more vcore voltage. Voltage will give you higher temps, but will make the clock more stable.

As for the shortened lifespan, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Yes, it'll shorten the life, but by the time it dies you'll be ready to scrap it anyway. Stock processors usually live about 7 yrs. An overclocked one might live 5 yrs or so, depending on how far you push it. Again, even if you're on a tight budget, odds are you'll be upgrading before it dies anyway.

-Xen

P.S. If you have the OC edition, that means it was overclocked at the factory. I'm no video card expert, but something tells me you won't be getting much more out of it, or the factory would've done it already.

 

[JunK]

well for the video card, i actually got the core to 701, shader 1540 and memory 826. added quite the boost in performance too, not too big of a temp boost, capped at uhh 66-68 cel with 100% fan speed however i can add another case fan (which im going to put in tonight).

as for the cpu overclock im pretty sure my setback is my ram, but thats ok i'll just keep it at 3.1 ghz for now and i'll try to boost it up later when i upgrade the ram and see what happens.
the reason why i think this is because when i overclock i will sometimes get the initialize fail blah blah message which regards memory. this is the only evidence i have of this...and its the only other thing i can possibly think to be creating my problem, but i already have another thread for it.

so ya i slowly upped my core on my video card until it was becoming unstable, then backed it off a handful just to make sure (afterall i don't NEED to overclock it) then the same with the memory. ran 3dmark06 a few times without a hitch and i'll do some serious gaming to test out the card to make sure its completely stable. good boost tho

 

[JunK]

just to give you a taste of what this update did for me, i went from running CSS windowed 1024x768 running everything on super low (with a modded casey's config running) with a constant 50-70 fps to running 1680x1050 fullscreen everything on high 16xCSAA running a constant 50-75 fps. i don't dip below 60 fps unless somebody is shooting a para through smoke, or when you get flashed it drops to 48-50 fps.
very very happy

without the overclocked cpu