I'm new to this and have been reading the forum.
Just looking for clarification on one point.
Athlon 3000+ has 166 FSB and multiplier of 13.
With my Athlon XP 2400+, can I just change the FSB to 166 and multiplier to 13, and basically have an Athlon 3000+ (minus the 512 L2 cache)

"can I just change the FSB to 166 and multiplier to 13, and basically have an Athlon 3000+ (minus the 512 L2 cache)"

exactly correct

Sure, that's what is called OVERCLOCKING. Whether it will boot or run stable at that speed is another question. BTW, you technically void the warranty if you do this and could cause damage to your CPU and/or motherboard.

he makes a point mike. Best to know what you're doing first, and take it in small steps.

i have an easy tune overclock 4 program that came with my gigabyte mobo. never used it.. i'm afraid too :P

I thought easytune had a novice mode. Check it out. 3 bumps is a given with any tbred. That's what mike is doing above (2400 -> 2700)

Just looking for clarification on one point.
Athlon 3000+ has 166 FSB and multiplier of 13.
With my Athlon XP 2400+, can I just change the FSB to 166 and multiplier to 13, and basically have an Athlon 3000+ (minus the 512 L2 cache)

I thought the above setup would be a safe starting point. I have an EPOX 8RDA board which supports a 166/333 FSB, the memory is DDR333 and I use a Volcano 7 FHS

i need to get my heating issue resolved 1st.
i did get myself a pre-modded case, so i didn't mess anything up, and it look professional. from xpcgear.com its rather nice, holding 7 case fans for 60 bucks... even comes with a 350w power supply. not bad, and saves me from cutting my case up.

i had this cool idea for the duct. aside from having it over the cpu, pulling in cool air, it wouldn't be a half bad idea having that 6 inch fan i bought blowing air into the duct.

well, 1st i should say tho, that all your advice has been very helpful johnoh. aside from the case, if that dosen't work i'll then probably rip the smart fan off of the cheap heatsink, and get one of those nice copper heatsinks you refered me too.

you know, that the cooling unit i have::
http://www.xpcgear.com/a1617subzero4g.html

has a cold plate with a sensor inside the coldplate, with a wire that runs to the pci card. the fan also has a wire to the pci card. -- if i remove the fan from the heatsink, i'm wondering if it will still run like it should and/or in quiet mode. the temp sensor in the cold plate mesaures temps and runs the fan accordingly... so i guess it will still run without that cold plate.

the last thing is the duct. the new case actually has intake on the side case pointing at the cpu, and an exhaust on the top, blowing out, along with the three intake on the front, and 2 exhaust on the back.

comments appreciated

Mike almost surely you will be safe jumping straight to 13x166. In tbred terms that's only a jump to a 2650+ since its 66mhz per 100 points and its only 166mhz you're jumping. Amd calls a 12x166 tbred a 2700+ though (not a 2650+) because they claim cpu credit for the 133>166 fsb bump, which is really stretching it. Point is you are not making much of an increase.

I wanted to second amourek's comment because of the last 10 people who fried their cpu or mobo overclocking, I bet all 10 did it by starting right out with a big jump. Good habits make oc'ing safe and one key one is to only make small jumps

stonefeather go ahead and try a bunch of things. The fan into the duct is worth a try.

If you're sitting in a room on a hot day with fans in 7 different windows you're best off taking several of them out of the windows and putting them right up next to you. imo case fans are overrated in that way - more airflow to the sinks are what's needed. You might try unscrewing one or more of them and blowing it at your cpu sink. Not the one on the side wall though - keep that one. Sit one on the vid card for instance and blow it at a 45 degree angle toward the cpu. Maybe put another one somewhere else. The air temp in cases is close enough to the air temp outside of cases that the key need is not air coming in and going out of the case, but the stirring up of the air inside of the case.

Nice, thanks johnoh.

since i started reading here in just a little over a week, you've given me many great ideas. I would have never thought to use bonding glue, or setting a fan on the video card facing the cpu.

there is even a nice tool that allows you to mount a bracket inside your case, and mount 80mm fans to them to blow over your cpu or other parts needing attention.

i'll be sure to try all my stuff, and take a picture and show you what i ended up doing :)