Hey. I was wondering if anybody could help me with a query. My CPU is an AMD Athlon XP 1700+ with a Thoroughbred Core. Its default speed is 1.47 GHz and its internal clock maximum is 3Ghz. With my heatsink and fan combo(Thermalright SLK 947 with 92mm Panaflo), I have managed to safely overclock it to 2ghz with the default Vcore (1.47). The temperature is 37C idle and 41C with a load. I really just want some advice on how much further I could safely overclock it without changing the Vcore, or if I did have to change the Vcore, how much further could I overclock it? Also I have the Abit Motherboard temperature monitor but does anyone know of any other free, reliable monitors?

Thanks.

Well, your default Vcore should either be 1.5v or 1.6v depending on whether you have an "A" or a "B"...it appears you have a Tbred A. If your 1.47v reading is correct, you're actually undervolted...lol. You would think voltage should be an accurate reading, it's not like temp which can vary due to sensor placement, but voltage readings aren't always correct either.

Anyhow, your temps are great...why not take the vcore up 0.10v & see if how much more overclocking room that gives you?

OK, cheers. But what if the Vcore reading is correct? Should I up the Vcore to 1.57 or should I up it to 1.6 because my Vcore reading might be wrong. If I do increase it to about 1.57 then how much further do you reckon I can safely overclock it? I'm mainly doing all of this because I have read several articles regarding the required hardware to get the best out of the upcoming big games (Half Life 2, Doom 3 etc) and each of them has said that to run these games as they're meant to be played, you're going to need A P4 2.8Ghz or an Athlon 2800+. Seeing as I am currently getting exactly the same performance as the 2600+, I just want to eek out that little bit extra!!

Well, I assume your vcore is supposed to be 1.5v...when you say it's 1.47v, are you looking at the actual BIOS setting, the reported vcore in the monitoring section of the BIOS, or the reported vcore through a software program? Is your vcore setting in the BIOS set to AUTO or is it manually set to 1.5v? As for overclocking, what's your current multiplier x FSB setup to get you to 2ghz? That's a pretty hefty overclock for a Tbred A...do mean 2000mhz, or equal to a 2000+ (which would be 1667mhz)? Have a look at this article, it seems these guys are really cranking up the vcore!

http://www.pinoypc.net/articles/viewarticle.php?article=16&page=1

I haven't seen the requirements for Half-Life 2, but I know DOOM 3's requirements aren't anywhere near what you say...I don't know where you got that info from.

"From what John Carmack has said the minimum specification for running DOOM 3 will be a:

1000Mhz Athlon/Pentium CPU.
256MB of RAM
GeForce 1 / Radeon 7xxx level of graphics card.

'Full impact' based on some estimates (not official):

1400Mhz Athlon / 1800Mhz Pentium 4 or higher speed CPU.
256MB of RAM + again quite dependant on how memory hungry your OS is.
GeForce 3 (original or Ti 500).

http://www.doom3portal.com/info/systemreq.php

I normally look at it through a software program (the abit mobo monitoring utility)and it says 1.47 but when I look at it through the BIOS it says 1.48 most of the time but it frequently flickers (every 4 or 5 seconds) to 1.50 for a few seconds. I definately have it at 2000mhz because the fsbxmultiplier are: 133x15. A friend told me that I needed to increase the fsb and not the multiplier but when I tried this It just hung and I had to reset the CMOS jumper. I had a look at a website which lists all the clock speeds that people have managed to get using my CPU and it showed that the average overclocked speed for my CPU was something like 2.15ghz. My Vcore is just set to normal, I have never touched it at all. I read the system specs from some magazines and what they were trying to say was to run these games with all the advanced options turned on at a decent resolution with no slowdown (40fps or higher) and maybe some AA or AF you needed the following:

2800+ or 2.8 P4
512mb ram
7200rpm HDD
9600pro or 5600 ultra

Anyway I'm not bothered about that, just the oc problem.

Cheers for your help by the way.

They can't spec the hardware requirements too high, or they'll be losing out on 1000's of gamers who aren't willing to, or can't afford to upgrade to a high spec system...& that mean's lower profits!

I wouldn't say that you're getting "exactly the same performance as the 2600+" because the 2600+ runs at 166mhz/333DDR FSB & you're only running at 133mhz/266DDR.

What mobo do you have & what's your RAM speed (PC2100, PC2700, etc)? How high can you raise the FSB? If you have the option, your memory can handle it, & your PCI/AGP speeds don't go outta whack, try your settings at 9.0 x 166mhz/333DDR. That will put your speed at 1500mhz (roughly a 1700+), but it will determine if your system can handle the higher FSB. If all is well, start bumping up the multiplier & see how high you can go. Even if you can't hit 2600+, the higher FSB should improve performance, even if your CPU speed isn't quite as high.

Hey, I tried those settings but didn't get anywhere. My motherboard (Abit NF7 S V2) is just too touchy and i get a BSOD before it even loads Windows. I tried oc'ing my RAM (DDR PC 2700) about 6 months ago and the same thing happened. When I check the Vcore, is it like the temperature in the way that I should run my pc for 1/2 an hour or so and then reboot into the BIOS to check it? From the websites you showed me and other websites I have seen, I am a bit worried because in order for people to get 2000mhz on my cpu, they have needed to increase the Vcore to 1.75 at least. If my reading is correct and it really is 1.48 then surely I have massive potential to overclock it even more?