How much do i need to overclock

Bu11et_Proof

This is prob a noob question but here it goes, i have a p 4 3.2c and ocz el ddr pc4000
Ram, so the question is how much do i need to overclock to get 1:1. will stock cooling do the job, this is my first overclock

Sir Random

You would need to reach 250fsb (4Ghz) to run your ram at it's rated speed (500Mhz). There's no way you'll get near that with stock cooling (or any air cooling).
Realistically, you should be aiming for ~235fsb (3.76Ghz) with the new P4 stock heatsink (copper plug).

PC3500/PC3700 ram would give better performance since it can run with tighter timings. You can even run PC3200 1:1 at 235fsb if it's top quality.

Good PC3500 (BH5) runs with timings at 2,2,2,5 but PC4000 can only do 3,4,4,8 (or 2.5,4,4,8 for the OCZ "Gold")

Bu11et_Proof

well i wasn't looking at doing that much overclocking, i was told by some here that PC4000 would be the best option, i think i have be misinformed, i just want to overclock it a bit what is the best PC ram to get in your opinion

Sir Random

PC3500 is rated for 217fsb (3.47Ghz) which is a nice o/c for a 3.2 with stock cooler. 219fsb (3.5Ghz) should be no problem to any branded PC3500 ram.

BigEejit

How much did that lev2 PC3500 Mushkin ram set you back Sir Random? ... pricey kit, but worth it for overclocking (I got lev2 PC3200 last year and I can get 224Mhz out of it at 2-2-3-6 ... but I have to up the voltage on my IC7-G to do it and I dont like doing that too much

Sir Random

The Mushkin cost me €219 from shop4memory. I have it at 2.85v (mobo max) but I'm hoping to get 2,2,2,5 at 3.0v when I do the volt mod .

unkel

Originally posted by Sir Random
There's no way you'll get near that with stock cooling (or any air cooling).

WTF? Of course you can! The 2.4c @3.3 on stock cooling is a well known example. That is 265FSB. With a decent mobo and PC4000 memory, and decent air cooling (thermaltake, zalman) you'd be unlucky NOT to make 250FSB. I'm running a 3.0c @3.75 (250FSB) right now on Zalman aircooling. Can't get it to do more for me, but I consider myself unlucky

Of the overclocking results I've seen for my mobo, just over half got stuck at 240-250 (me), the rest did 280-300. This is a cheap mobo btw (€110).

Bu11et_Proof, don't make any hasty decisions buying, before you've had some more advice

Col_Loki

Of the overclocking results I've seen for my mobo, just over half got stuck at 240-250 (me),

Yea you want as little as possible holding you back . With Pc4000 Ram your CPU isint going to be restricted by it until you hit the 250mhz ish mark. Tighter timing is always better but when your hitting 240 - 250FSB your kidding yourself if you think your going to have tight timings.

Winbond Bh5 Ram is possibly the best Ram on the market , no question and it will hit decent FSB with tight timings BUT its expensive and messing with timings/voltages on the Ram isint a thing that a person looking for an easy overclock is going to need.

If he gets a decent air cooler like the Zalman 7000 / thermalright SLK/ALX then hes going to hit pretty high CPU speeds running Ram 1:1 with no problems only the CPU to deal with (up to 240-250mhz FSB).

Sir Random

Originally posted by unkel
WTF? Of course you can! The 2.4c @3.3 on stock cooling is a well known example. That is 265FSB. With a decent mobo and PC4000 memory, and decent air cooling (thermaltake, zalman) you'd be unlucky NOT to make 250FSB. I'm running a 3.0c @3.75 (250FSB) right now on Zalman aircooling. Can't get it to do more for me, but I consider myself unlucky

Of the overclocking results I've seen for my mobo, just over half got stuck at 240-250 (me), the rest did 280-300. This is a cheap mobo btw (€110).

Bu11et_Proof, don't make any hasty decisions buying, before you've had some more advice

unkel,
You can't compare a 2.4 with a 3.2 like that. As for your 3.0 at 250fsb, if that's prime stable then you're doing very well. What mobo & ram?

Basically, the 2.4c and the 3.2c are the same chip. The only difference is that the 2.4 has a 12x multiplier and the 3.2 has a 16x multiplier. They both run at 200Mhz fsb. The higher the multiplier, the lower the possible fsb.

Any 2.4c should hit over 250 fsb easy, because they have such a low multiplier.

Show me a 3.2c at 250fsb on air (4Ghz) that'll justify PC4000

It looks like Bu11et_Proof already made a hasty decision based on advice like yours.

Here's Anandtechs advice on PC4000 ram:

"Keep in mind that your CPU must be capable of running at a raw 250FSB or 1000FSB to run your memory at DDR500. The higher-speed Pentium 4 CPUs — the 2.8C, 3.0C, or 3.2C — cannot usually reach this bus speed and you will likely be running your memory at less than DDR500 speed. Many 2.4C and 2.6C CPUs that we have tested can run at DDR500."
http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.html?i=1849&p=16

Here's the HotHardware review of overclocking a 3.2c:

"With standard air cooling, we were able to hit a 230MHz FSB at 3.68GHz, with full stability. We needed to bump the core voltage to 1.65V to achieve this."
http://www.hothardware.com/hh_files/CCAM/p4_32ghz(2).shtml

Bu11et_Proof

well i've gone ahead and got the EL DDR pc3500 OCZ @ €285, thanks for everybodys input i will be back when i have everything set up and ready to overclock

thanks again

Bu11et_Proof