I am relatively new to the overclocking scene. I have always been a stickler for the stock levels given by my pc components. I feel there is need for a change. I currently have an ABIT NF7 motherboard an Athlon XP 2400+ (Not sure which type but runs a FSB of 133Mhz) and runs at 2Gig. I am looking to overclock but am unsure of how far I can take my processor. I have a pretty decent CPU fan. (Its not the stock one and is very large and the fan seems to go very fast 5000 rpm to be exact.) I have a a case fan and a case extractor fan. My current settings are my FSB at 133 times a multiplier of 15. My memory is 512MB of PC2700. All I am looking for is some advice on what settings to go up to?

That's not an easy question to answer. It really depends on how far you're willing to push the system and how much time ur willing to invest in it. You're got one of the fastest mobos out there. The first thing to do would be to find out the max fsb ur cpu will take. This can be done by lowering the multiplier to around 9x or so, then increase the fsb slowly until u can't even boot into windows. While doing this, you also must have released DDR timings. When you start getting instability, raise the voltages a little. The next step would be to find the max multiplier and frequency the cpu will run at. This involves finding the right combo of voltages, timings, fsb, and multiplier for your specific rig, as all systems are different. Don't forget to use the winbond monitor program to check ur system temps and voltage drops while doing all this. You really should have a good psu with a good 3.3 rail. I lucked with my NF7-S (rev 2.0) and have gotten all the way to 2.4 rock stable with my xp 1700 t-bred B. What bios are you running? And which version of mobo? Give full system specs, so that we may help u further.

I am not looking to max my system just want a bit of a boost within known working boundaries for my hardware. A happy medium shall we call it. My full system specs are as follows: Windows XP Pro AMD Athlon 2400 XP throughbred. ABIT NF7 V1.1 AWARD BIOS V6 512 DDR PC2700 Geforce TI4200 My motherboard looks like it caters for FSB 333 as does my Processor think i may be limited because of my memory though.

Alright, here's what i'd do to start. Start increasing the cpu fsb in nominal increments (big at first, then smaller steps when u get higher). Do this while running the ddr frequency asynch, increase cpu voltage to 1.85v, and keep multiplier at 9.5x. Keep increasing until the system doesn't post, or won't boot into windows. This way you can find the fsb limit of that cpu. Now do a similar thing with the multiplier. Lower your fsb and start increasing the multiplier to find the max multiplier and actual cpu frequency the cpu is willing to run. With those two parameters discovered, you can find a good range to work with in regard to stability and temps. It's important to keep checking ur temps while doing this. Download a proggy like prime95 to check for cpu load stability. The next thing to do is to test the memory. You can do this by downloading memtest86 to check for errors. Run the memory bus synch with the fsb and start increasing the fsb and keep the mem divider at 6/6 (or an equiv 1:1 ratio). Start with a Vdimm of 2.7v. Leave it on the recommended timings that the module is rated for. To check if your system is increasing in performance and you change the timings and frequencies, you can use Sandra or 3dmark to benchmark and record your scores at the different specs. This way you can see which parameter improves performance on your system. With your rig, I'd imagine you could run at around 185 fsb and 11.5x (185x11.5=2127.5). But as you suspected, the quality of ram is most likely what will hold u back. Which company is it and what modules are on it? Keep in mind that o/cing can be a time consuming and somewhat frustrating process. But in the end, there's nothing sweeter than buying an xp1700 for $60 and pushing its performance past an xp3200!!! :) Gluck

My RAM is TWINMOS by make not sure what modules it has but runs at 333Mhz. I changed my FSB to 185 with a multiplier of 11.5. My system booted fine. I also changed CPU voltage to 1.85 and the VDIMM to 2.7v. I ran PRIME95 for about an hour and the CPU temp seem to stay at around 58 degrees (Is this ok??) I was running the torture test. I ran 3dmark2001SE and scored 10900. I then changed the voltages back to normal and the FSB to 166 with a multiplier of 12. I ran 3DMARK2001SE again ( under exactly same conditions other than what i changed above) and scored 11355 so not really sure what to make of this??? Any ideas.??? Another question in your opinion would I be better off buying 1Ghz of faster RAM. (2x 512MB) or going for a new graphics card something like NVIDIA 5950 ultra???