A few questions on overclocking my E8400 and 4870

[lanken123]

It's been a month I built my PC and I think it's time to try overclocking. Now before I start asking questions I'll post my specs first.

E8400 stock
Asus P5Q Pro
2x2GB Ram DDR2 1000mhz
HIS 4870 Stock
Cooling wise: Xigmatek 120mm Heatsink w/ MX-2 thermal paste


I appreciated if someone could link me to a simple guide or even give me a quick run down in this thread. I'd first like to OC my CPU and OC my gpu later since it seems fairly simple(CCC menu).

also, what would be a safe OC speed? I hear people have gotten up to 4ghz on air but that seems a bit unsafe. Is there some sort of safety system incase the cpu gets too hot and everything auto shuts down?

Thanks a \head, I'll be back in 10-15 minute.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by lanken123

It's been a month I built my PC and I think it's time to try overclocking. Now before I start asking questions I'll post my specs first.

E8400 stock
Asus P5Q Pro
2x2GB Ram DDR2 1000mhz
HIS 4870 Stock
Cooling wise: Xigmatek 120mm Heatsink w/ MX-2 thermal paste


I appreciated if someone could link me to a simple guide or even give me a quick run down in this thread. I'd first like to OC my CPU and OC my gpu later since it seems fairly simple(CCC menu).

also, what would be a safe OC speed? I hear people have gotten up to 4ghz on air but that seems a bit unsafe. Is there some sort of safety system incase the cpu gets too hot and everything auto shuts down?

Thanks a \head, I'll be back in 10-15 minute.

You have a Xigmatek you can easily aim for 4.0+ if your chip can do it of course.

[geokilla]

Here's a rundown of what I did:

Change FSB to RAM to 1:1
Manually insert voltages, keeping them at stock levels
Raise FSB
Raise Vcore when CPU doesn't pass OCCT
Might have to change other voltages as well
Make sure your temps are below 55C to 60C

For GPU, just use ATI Tray Tools or RivaTuner. Way better than the CCC.

Note that 4Ghz should be pretty easy on your E8400.

[lanken123]

Originally Posted by geokilla

Here's a rundown of what I did:

Change FSB to RAM to 1:1
Manually insert voltages, keeping them at stock levels
Raise FSB
Raise Vcore when CPU doesn't pass OCCT
Might have to change other voltages as well
Make sure your temps are below 55C to 60C

For GPU, just use ATI Tray Tools or RivaTuner. Way better than the CCC.

Note that 4Ghz should be pretty easy on your E8400.

I see, so you did that in that order? what is voltages? and raise FSB to what? OCCT? I know I can just google them but I'd like someone who has experence in ocing to tell me exactly what it is and what to raise it to.

[lanken123]

btw, what would be a good fanspeed and temp for my 4870 if I where to oc it to CCC's limit?

[SugarJ]

Try 30%. Anything more drove me nuts with the fan noise. Mine ran about 65 deg. under load with that fan setting.

[lanken123]

Yeah 30% seems to be the best level since anything else gets a little loud. so even if I oc it to CCC limit I should be fine at 30%?

[SugarJ]

Mine was ok. Your mileage may vary. Use GPU-Z to monitor your temps.

[Dadi_oh]

Originally Posted by lanken123

It's been a month I built my PC and I think it's time to try overclocking. Now before I start asking questions I'll post my specs first.

E8400 stock
Asus P5Q Pro
2x2GB Ram DDR2 1000mhz
HIS 4870 Stock
Cooling wise: Xigmatek 120mm Heatsink w/ MX-2 thermal paste


I appreciated if someone could link me to a simple guide or even give me a quick run down in this thread. I'd first like to OC my CPU and OC my gpu later since it seems fairly simple(CCC menu).

also, what would be a safe OC speed? I hear people have gotten up to 4ghz on air but that seems a bit unsafe. Is there some sort of safety system incase the cpu gets too hot and everything auto shuts down?

Thanks a \head, I'll be back in 10-15 minute.

Is your E8400 a C0 or E0 stepping? The E0 overclocks much better than the C0 version (I have a C0 E8400 and E8200) and they both struggle to hit 3.9GHz at reasonable voltages. However, I hear the E0 hits >4GHz without breaking a sweat.

BTW to find out what stepping you have just open CPUZ and it is listed under "revision".

As far as "safe" voltages go you will get about as many opinions as there are people replying Personally I don't like to break 1.4V on my E8xxx chips.

Also, if you want best performance and your motherboard can do it you are better off with a lower multiplier and higher FSB. i.e. 400X9 < 450X8. I run 450X8 on my E8400 @ 1.35V with my memory at 1:1 for a mild OC on my 800MHz memory.

Overclocking is all about patience. See how far you can go on stock voltages, testing stability with Prime95, Orthos, or OCCT (your choice). Watch your temps and try to keep the cores <60C (should not be a problem with your Xiggy). Once you hit a wall bump the CPU voltage and Northbridge voltages a bit at a time until you find the sweet spot. It takes time but if you are patient you will be happy with the result.

Good Luck and keep us posted on your results.

[lanken123]

Originally Posted by SugarJ

Mine was ok. Your mileage may vary. Use GPU-Z to monitor your temps.

i see, thanks.