Hellow All,
I would like it if some of you took some time and shared your experiences about overclocking your nvidia cards with me.
I have read a lot about it decreasing life and causing permanent damage, but I would like to know some real cases of overclocking actually ruining a card.
Has anyone burnt up his card by overclocking it?
I recently bought a refurbished AOpen 6600GT for 108USD and overclocked the chip from 501Mhz to 540Mhz and the memory from 900Mhz to 1200Mhz.
I have no no problems at all till date, but I would like to know if this will reduce the life of my card?
Will it atleast last 2 years at these clock settings.
Please share your thoughts.
Thanks,
Sarosh.

Yes, overclocking will shorten and ruin the card if overclocked to much.It will probly lasts about 2yrs. but if you don't have adequite cooling it will lasts about 6 months to 1 year.

Hp Pavillion a1010n
Asus P4GV-LA Motherboard
Intel Celeron 2.93 GHz
160 Gb Hard Drive
512 pc3200 Mb of Ram
64 Mb G-force 66666666666666GT
Windows Xp Home Edition

What you need to understand is what I tried to explain in your other thread...your video is already too powerful for your system. It's being held back by your 1.7GHz CPU. If anything, you should be overclocking your CPU to try to get it more in line with your video card, then you'll see better results in your benchtests & your gaming.

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

Hey thanks,
Thats exactly what I wanted to knwo about.
Does it even make sense overclocking over 500Mhz core speed and 1200Mhz memory speed when I am having a 4x M/B with 266Mhz DDR 512MB ram and pentium 4 1.7GHz.

In any case, I talked to my hardware guy and he has told me that he cannot get me a faster processor for my M/B because they are already too outdated.
I guess I am stuck with this processor.
Thanks,
Sarosh.

Be wary of anything advice you get from bigbwoi2000...a quick scan of these forums will give you a general idea of his "expertise".

Back off on the video card, the gains aren't worth the risk. Concentrate on getting the most out of your CPU. What motherboard do you have? I'm guessing you have a 400FSB P4? It's not the old socket 423 version, is it? Have you tried overclocking?

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

My M/b is ASUS p4v533-mx and it supports 533FSB but my processor is only 1.7GHz 400FSB, and I spoke to my hardware chap and he says he will be unable to upgrade this processor for me, because it is already outdated.
He suggest that I go in for a dual core system that will be afordable in about a year, I guess.
Please tell me more about the risks involved in overclocking.
If I rasied the clock over 540Mhz I would get colored artifacts on the screen, but with my current settings everything is fine and the temprature hardly passes over 70 degrees, and drops to 50 within 10 seconds even if I just pause the game.
I think Aopen have implemented a very good cooling system.
Sarosh.

Well, I'm guessing that you "hardware chap" is jsut trying to sell you something. that board of your (according to ASUS's website) will supoprt up to a 3.06 processor. That's an 80% increase over your 1.7! Probably more so if it has a bigger cache. Couldn't find a 3.06 on Newegg, but they have the 2.8 for $189.

Michael J

I was able to OC my P4 2.0ghz/400fsb (Northwood core) up to 2.60ghz/530fsb with a slight Vcore increase. I have good cooling, and I'm running it on an Asus P4S533 board, very similar to yours.

You may have a chance at a good OC with your Asus if you study how to do it properly, and you go into this CAREFULLY. Read as many threads on OCing as you can first. I can't say that enough. Especially regarding voltage increases. BEWARE! If you have a P4 with Northwood core, which you may, they are known to suffer from "sudden northewood death syndrome" after Vcore increases. Only play around if you a certin that you know what your doing, and are ready to buy another processor tomarrow.
I'm ready for a whole new rig, so it's an exceptable risk for me.

bigbwoi2000 Post reported, grow up dude, don't be rude...

As everyone said overclocking is a risky game, Only do it if you can afford to and it doesn't seem like right now you can. In your other post (try not to post the same thing twice) you said you can run games like SA at max (I can only run max with 2x AA) so for now just try and get past the 2 FPS you want the card will last you abit longer and when money permits upgrade simple as that.

Windows Xp Pro x64
AMD Sempron 3000+ 1.8ghz
1 Gig Ram pc2700
Nforce 4 Motherboard
Radeon X700 256mb
Realtek Ac 97 Onboard Audio
Thermaltake 430W Power Supply

I'm with Michael J...the max CPU for that board is the 3.06GHz/533FSB. Your "hardware chap" is giving you bad information. But you could have easily checked it yourself by going to the ASUS website

http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=212&l1=3&l2=12&l3=53

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

Hi all,
Thanks to all.
I showed my hardware chap and told him that my board can support atleast 2.8GHz P4 processor, but he says that these processors are not available to him. He will not be able to acquire a peice for me. I think if he wants, he can, but he does not want to take the headace of finding me the processor.
I live in Goa, India, where the choice of hardware is not as much as in USA.
But as you guys said, I am really having a good gaming experience on my current system too, and having 8x AA and 16x AF increases the graphics quality dramatically but does not decrease the playability at all.

What I want to know from you guys is if any of you have burnt up vedio cards by overclocking them.
Currently, my core is running at 540Mhz and memory is running at 1200MHz and I have had not a single issue till date, and all this on a 300W power supply which is atleast 2 years old.

I dont think I will be upgrading my processor, my hardware chap says that dual core processors will become affordable very soon and I should go in for that, but then I may not be able to use my card on that system.
I dont think I have the guts or the knowledge to overclock my cup, so I wont do that.

But I have an interesting question for you guys: Since my cpu is only 1.7GHz with 400MHz FSB and my ram is 266MHZ ddr ram, does this mean that my graphis card is never really loaded?
My m/b is only agp 4x, so does this mean that my graphics card is never really pushed to its limit?
If this is the case, then that is good news because overclockign will not stress my card that much.
Thanks to all again, and hearinig from you really helps.
BTW, if anyone is planning to dump their older P4 processors, give me a word, if i dont find a new processor, I may go in for a second hand one.
Thanks again,
Sarosh.

Hellow Guys,
I hope this topic does not change into one about processors instead of gaming, but this is some final advice I need from you guys.
I have checked my M/B manual to find out if I can upgrade my processsor.
This is what is mentioned in my M/B manual:

SPECIFICATIONS SUMMARY:
CPU: Socket 478 for Intel Pentium 4/Northwood/Willamette CPUs with speeds up to 2.8+GHz

MOTHERBOARD COMPONENTS:
CPU Socket: A 478-pin surface mount, Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket for the Intel Pentium 4 processor, with 533/400MHz system bus that allows 4.3GB/s, and 3.2GB/s data transfer rates respectively.

CENTRAL PROCESSING UINT OVERVIEW
The motherboard comes with a surface mount 478-pin Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket. the socket is designed for the Intel Pentium 4 Processor in the 478-pin package with 512KB L2 cache. The processor supports 533/400Mhz fSb.

I have reproduced above all the information I could find about processors in my M/B manual.
Please tell me if this kind of processor is indeed out of manufacture, or is my hardware dude lying to me?
What do you guys think, is upgrading from 400FSB to 533FSB worth it, also my MB supprts only 512KB of l2 cache.
I think my hardware guy gave me the right suggestion to wait for dual core processors to become cheaper.
What do you guys think?
Please tell me if it is even possible to acquire a brand new processor of this model, or can I get some good quality second hand ones from somewhere?
Thanks,
Sarosh.

Let me try to address your questions...

1. Overclocking is risky. If you're sensible about it, you can get a decent boost in performance & it won't cost you a penny. But if you "over-overclock", you can damage your hardware. I did this myself with a Ti4200, but I suspect the card was defective because I really didn't push it that far. Apparently that was the case because it was replaced for free by the manufacturer (ASUS)...I'm sure they have ways of detecting overclock damage.

2. There is an important relationship between the CPU & video card that should be kept in mind when upgrading. For instance, there's no point in getting a 6800Ultra if your CPU is a 1.0GHz Celeron. Will it work? Of course, but the video performance will be severely hampered by the weak CPU. Your setup isn't as bad as my example, but your 6600GT is being held back by your CPU, not to mention your RAM & a board that doesn't support 8X AGP or dual channel mode. Personally, I think overclocking your video card is pointless.

I provided a direct link to your board specs in a previous response...all you need to do is copy/paste into your browser & you'll find everything you need to know about your board. If you wanna check what CPUs you can run, try here:

http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

Look for the "CPU Support" area on the left & enter your model number. As you were told, the max CPU supported by your board is the P4 3.06GHz/533FSB CPU. I have no idea how difficult it is to find CPUs in India.

Dual core CPUs are not good for gaming...there are other reasons for "needing" a dual core CPU, but there's no point in getting one right now if your intention is using it for gaming. You should take the time to read this article titled, "Dual Core And The Future of Gaming"

http://www.tgdaily.com/2005/07/08/dual_core_and_the_future_of_gaming/page5.html

You might wanna consider finding a new "hardware chap" too...

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

Your motherboar5d supoprts a 3.06 processor. Check the ASUS website. The manual is not a good place to get up-to-date information. For example, if a 2.8 processor is the fastest available at the time your MB was manufactured, of course, that is the fastest that the manual would state!

As I stated before I could not find a 3.06 processor on Newegg.com, but they did have the 2.8 avialable. That doesn't meant that the 3.06 are not available, I only check vendors I trust.

Also, several people have posted here that overclocking your video card will produce no real benefits becuase your processor can't keep up witht hat video card. If you want to increase your performance I would suggest OCing your processor (but be conservative). Or, if you have the maney, go ahead and upgrade the proc.

Michael J

Thanks dudes,
This info. is very useful. I am glad you think the same, because I too was beginning to think that overclocking my GPU was going to be pointless because of my slow Processor and Ram. I am glad that you agree with me there.

As for upgrading my processor, I would love to, but it seems that I cant upgrade it from here in Goa, India.

Dont misunderstand my hardware chap, he is a nice and honest chap and I have had great deals from him for about 8 years now. I dont doubt his advice one bit and I trust him totally.
What he told me that it was not possible for him to find this type of processors. He was saying something that everything now is "prescott" and that my type of processors are not even been manufactured any more. Do any of you know if this is correct? He didnt advice me to upgrade my computer, infact, he is like my friend and his advice to me mostly is for me to "save my money and dont upgrade". He didnt even want me to upgrade my fx5200, he said "that card is pretty decent' and I guess he may be right because I played doom3, hl2, far cry etc on that card.

One of you said that you could locate a P4 2.8GHz processor of my type on a website, but that does indicate if this processor is widely available around the world. Do anyone of you know where I can get a used or secondhand processor of my type?

I have last couple of questions for you guys:
If I upgrade to a PCI-E system will I be able to run my agp card on that m/b? Do we get pcie m/b with additional agp8x slots for older agp cards?

Finally, even if my card is overclocked, do you guys really think it is been stressed at all, since my processor and ram is quite slow?

I dont know where I can find help about overclocking my processor here, I will read more about it on the web and only if I feel comfortable about it will I go ahead.
Any of you overclockers coming to india anytime soon?

Thanks,
Sarosh.

"even if my card is overclocked, do you guys really think it is been stressed at all, since my processor and ram is quite slow?"

You seem to be missing the point. Overclocked is overclocked, regardless of whether your CPU is holding you back from realizing the full benefit of it or not. Your card is running out of spec & at a higher temp that it was designed for...that may or may not cause premature failure. But since your CPU isn't allowing you to reap the full benefits of the overclock anyway, I suggest you back it off to the default settings & concentrate on overclocking your CPU instead.

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP2

Thanks dude,
Thats the answer I was looking for.
I respect your opinion, but I was wondering if you actually know this for sure, or are you just guessing? Can we perform some mathmatical calculations of my cpu speed and my gpu speed to determine that overclocking is actually not benifiting me one bit? Since I am running all games at 16xAF and 8xAA wont the increased clock speed help with carring out these calculations, regardless of the cpu speed?

In any case, what exactly is the gddr3 memory speed of 1.2GHz? Does it determine the rate of data transfer from the memory to the gpu or the rate of data transfer from the memory to the agp interface?
Thanks for your opinion, I agree with you on that.
Sarosh.