TI4200 and 3D Mark score doubles and Overclock Questio

[Guest abent]

Old System specs:WinMeAthlon 1.1 T-Bird786 PC-133 Micron RAMGeForce 2 Ultra 64 MB3D Mark score: around 3600 pointsNew System Specs:WinMeP4 2.4512 DDR RAMGeForce 2 Ultra 64 MB3D Mark score: 5342 pointswith TI4200 128 MB (default clock settings)3D Mark score: 10763 points. Nice to finally see all the tests completed. Man, that "Nature" test is something else...and the water effects...STELLAR :( Doesn't appear to translate into much higher FPS in FS2002, as I suspected after what people have been saying about FS being CPU dependant. I get about 2 FPS more, but the upside is that I can move the sliders farther right and still pretty much keep a nice smooth 25-26 FPS (cockpit view) with Dreamfleet 734 at SFO Default scenery with 100% AI. Very, very smooth! :-)Now my question:I'd like to squeeze every last bit performance out of my machine.Should I overclock my CPU? Are the risks worth both the cost, ie a new fan, and worth the inherent risks? If they are, I will be seeking advice from all you computer gurus out there. :-beerchug Thankyou, AdamP.S. I would be happy to benchmark any scenario for anyone considering an upgrade if they are interested. Also, I could provide more system info too.

[Guest Stratus_Fractus]

Well, why o/c when it's running so nicely?

[Guest abent]

True! However, I'm now starting to consider more detailed scenery, and I suspect that my FPS will take a bit of a beating once I add on detailed airports and Mesh etc. I really know nothing about over-clocking, and just wondering if it is worth it.Adam

[Guest Stratus_Fractus]

Oh, I have no idea on how to o/c the cpu, but the video card would be the safest IMHO.

[Guest]

Unless you start bumping up the voltage you shouldn't have any problem with o'clocking your 2.4. I think the 2.4 was the first of the Northwood A's and they should be good for an extra 10% easy. I recently built a 2.53 for a friend and without any voltage changes he is running at ~2.7 and it is rock solid with XP. Depending on your board, you'll probably find stability issues with memory or cards before your P4 starts giving you fits. Note the temp of your processor before you start bumping the clock and then check it as you go to make sure you're not cooking the little green Intel men inside ;).With popular theory being that FS is CPU-bound, rather than graphics-bound then any improvement in the processor department should have a direct improvement on your bottom line. So I guess my opinion is that yes the risks (very small) are worth it. I would use every last bit of power for scenery, additional AI, etc, but that's what makes me happy.

[Guest]

OCing is king, go for it.I have the exact same system as youhttp://service.madonion.com/compare?2k1=4829131 If you need any help with OCing, go to http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/and start reading.Also, don't forget, it depends very much on what kind of MB you have to determine if you can overclock and how difficult it will be.And your memory needs to be able to keep up.

[Guest abent]

Thanks a lot guys! Very helpful info. I will look into the procedure now.Take care, Adam

[Guest]

And don't worry about a new fan/heatsink assy right away. Many of us are running a 500Mhz OC with the stock Intel HSI and the temps are fine (anything below 60C is OK).TripNorthwood 2.2a at 2.72Ghz Abit TH7II-R512MB Samsung 40ns PC800Gainward 64MB GF4 Ti4200 300/57040.72's DX8.1 WinXP ProInwin case / Enermax 431W PSU3DMark2001SE = 13223http://service.madonion.com/compare?2k1=4569591

[Chris_CYWG 0]

I bumped my 2.4b up to 2900mhz rock solid with an AVC Sunflower cooler, on an ASUS P4S533 mobo. I upped the voltage only slightly, and have had no problems at all with XP Pro.Chris

[Guest abent]

Well after a near death experience :( with my mobo this afternoon, I've been thinking about how to SAFELY go about overclocking. I swore after my system wouldn't boot, I would never think about fooling with any settings in the BIOS. Well, a few hours have passed and I think I want to look farther into this overclocking idea, especially in light of the responses above. If I could oc to say 2.7, that would be neat and likely give me a bit of a boost.Do any of you guys have an MSI 648 MAX motherboard?I tried changing the FSB speed from 133 to 134 Mhz, as is suggested, baby steps! It wouldn't boot and it wasn't until Trip Lane saved the day and told me to reset the CMOS. After that it worked great.I really would rather not experience the sheer horror of thinking I'd killed my system again.So, how about some advice gents?I've read my manual. I've gone to overclockers.com and found a post that said that the FSB is locked. Other posts indicate that it's not really a good board to oc. They say the FSB freq can be changed. Obviously not the way I did it!Any suggestions on a first, SAFE step?Thanks, Adam

[John_Tavendale 453]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the P4 2.4 CPU has a quad FSB speed of 400Mhz. So the FSB is really 100Mhz (24 x 100Mhz = 2.4Ghz) Setting it to 134Mhz would make it 24 x 134Mhz = 3.21Ghz with little wonder if wouldn't boot.What kind of Motherboard do you have?

[Guest abent]

Hi John,In the BIOS it says that the FSB is 133 Mhz. The options for changing FSB go up in 1 Mhz increments in the drop down menu. If it is quad speed as you suggest, how would I go about changing to a smaller value. My understanding is that the multiplier is locked at 18.This is all new to me and I've posted requesting assistance.Thanks, Adam

[Guest abent]

Hey Cyborg, What kind of motherboard do you have? Is it an MSI 648MAX? If not are you familiar with this board? Having problems oc'ing.Thanks, Adam

[Guest]

There are two "flavors" of the 2.4 John. One is the older Northwood 2.4a which does, indeed, have a quad-pumped 100Mhz FSB. The other is the newer 2.4b which has the quad-pumped 133Mhz FSB. Adam has the newer one. Nothing like two versions of the same thing :-).Trip

[Guest]

Adam - Your FSB is, indeed, 133. And the multiplier is locked at 18. That's how the CPU speed is determined, i.e., 133x18 = 2394Mhz (or 2.4Ghz). Since the multiplier is locked and can't be changed, the only way to increase the CPU speed is to increase the FSB. I'm looking at the info on the MSI board to see what I can find. It seemsthat it's not the easiest board to OC, but I don't have a reason (yet) why it would lock at 134Mhz. I'll let you know if I can find anything helpful. In the meantime, keep reading...Trip