...and how do i go about doing it without destroying it?

Specs:

PSU: 350w
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (2.0ghz)
MOBO: Asus A7v8x
RAM: 1gb
GFX: GF 5700LE 256mb RAM

Currently running FSB at 333mhz

Don't know much about overclocking, i am a bit of an OC n00b so any advice / tips etc would be much appreciated :)

You have a crappy board for overclocking. From what I recall, there's no way to lock the PCI/AGP bus at their default speeds, so you're limited on what you can do. Do you have DDR400 RAM? If you have DDR333 RAM, that will hold you back as well.

The key to best performance with a socket A system is maintaining the FSB:DRAM ratio at 1:1. That means if your CPU frequency is 166MHz (333MHz FSB), the RAM frequency should also be 166MHz (DDR333). If you increase the CPU freq to 175MHz, the RAM should also be set to 175MHz...and so on. If you have no way to lock the AGP at 66MHz, the max safe CPU freq will be 187.5MHz.

Here's some shots of your BIOS screens. The CPU freq setting also lists the PCI frequency...for example, 166/33. Default speed for the PCI bus is 33MHz, safe max is considered to be 37.5MHz, so choose a frequency that has a /xx of 38 or less.
http://www.ocworkbench.com/2002/asu...

"And that's the fishing line, because Sharkboy said so!"

Thanks, one question though, after setting the cpu freq and pci bus, is it safe to adjust the CPU multiplier? if so what is the safest limit and if i did what else would i need to adjust?

"it safe to adjust the CPU multiplier?"

The multiplier is most likely locked & cannot be changed.

Are you sure your CPU is running at 333MHz FSB (166MHz)?? As far as I know, there is no AXP 2400+ that runs at 166MHz. There are 3 different versions & they ALL run at 15 x 133MHz (266MHz FSB).

Try running CPUZ to check your current settings:

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

"And that's the fishing line, because Sharkboy said so!"

oops my bad, the memory frequency is set to 333mhz, but it is adjustable (266/333/400).

I am also sure you can adjust the multiplier when you set the CPU speed to 'manual' .

Just checked that image you linked me (as i am at work currently) and from that (2nd image) i see that you can.

If the CPU is running at 266MHz FSB, the RAM should be running at 266MHz. By running the two out of sync, you're losing performance.

And just because your BIOS shows a CPU multiplier adjustment, it doesn't mean that it will work. However if your CPU is unlocked, you should lower the multi to say, 12x, then you can raise the FSB to 333MHz & raise the RAM speed back up to 333MHz to match. Your CPU would still be running at 2.0GHz, but you'd have the benefit of the faster FSB speed & FSB is where the performance is. These settings will all run the CPU at 2.0GHz:

20 x 100MHz (200MHz FSB) - slowest
15 x 133MHz (266MHz FSB)
12 x 166MHz (333MHz FSB)
10 x 200MHz (400MHz FSB) - fastest

My guess is the multiplier is locked, if you attempt to change it, one of 3 things will happen:

1. it will change
2. it won't change
3. the system will become unbootable. If that happens, you'll have to use the ClearCMOS button to reset the BIOS settings, then you'll have to start completely from scratch.

"And that's the fishing line, because Sharkboy said so!"