I hate my slow computer... its not a gaming machine that's for sure.

I don't have a lot of money, so I built it myself, and at the time it had nice specs' but now its a bit outdated.

I don't want to build a new one yet, so I was thinking that maybe I should overclock it?

But I don't know how...


Here is what I have now:

AMD Athalon XP 1800+
1.53GHz
256MB RAM

NVIDIA Geforce2 MX 100/200


Everything runs ok, but sometimes games, or programs work slow. So does anybody know how I can overclock this thing?

Thanks...

Wouldn't cost you much $ to get that running good. I have a worse processor, yet I can play most new games and apps like photoshop and such run amazing.

Another 256 stick of RAM would help and a new vid card also. I bet if you added both of those, your games would run amazing and I'm sure the extra 256 would help the programs.

Thanks :)

Would you belive me if I said that I could have had a 1GB of RAM?
Its a long story, but I missed out :(


Anyway, I'm saving to get a new computer.
So I won't spend anymore on this one...

Do you know how can I overclock it?
And what is overclocking really?

I would go to this site: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/

They have quite a bit of information, beyond that do a search on google.

What type of Mobo do you have..?

Thanks :)

err... what's a mobo?




So there is no one in WHT that overclocked his computer? :(

Mobo is a Motherboard.

I haven't done any overclocking myself, but I am sure there are those who have at WHT. Give it some time, your post has only been up for a few hours. Somtimes it takes a little time before you get an answer to something like this.

I know, I was just asking... :)
My mother board... I don't remember, I bought it over a year ago :D

I've overclocked before :)

If you cant afford to replace anything you may burn out, then dont do it.

Thats my opinion :D

I'm sure there is a safe way to overclock without messing up your computer... :(

Overclocking Athlon CPU's on Nforce 2 motherboards ain't that risky. They've all got CPU overheating protection built in and you can just change the muliplier settings in the BIOS, so no soldering etc. is needed. Also all Athlon XP's from the 2400+ series and later come unlocked from the factory.

P.S. You'll have to unlock that XP 1800+. Don't take it too lighty, I fried my previous XP1800+ while trying to unlock it myself. I recommend you get one of these new unlocking gizmo's (weren't around when I did it) for it or let a professional do it.

I've got the same processor as you and have mine running at 2200+ (1.8GHz).

I'm not going to give you full details on what to do, but there is tons of information out there on overclocking. Search Google :)

Here's a decent article:

http://www.techspot.com/articles/athlonxp_overclocking/index.shtml

http://www.overclockers.com is also a good website.

Don't expect not to have to spend any money. You will probably need a few case fans, as well as a better heatsink and fan (especially if you are using the one that came with your chip), and a good thermal compound like Arctic Silver.

And as someone else recommnded, you could definitely go for some more RAM and a better video card.

And no, there is not a safe way to overclock. By overclocking, you are VOIDING any warranty that you have on your chip. There is a possibililty that you could fry your CPU, or your whole system, and have nothing, if you don't know what you are doing. I personally have never seen it happen but it is possible.

You can do a moderate overclock by bumping the FSB (front side bus) & multiplier settings settings in your BIOS depending on what board you have. Sometimes there are physical pins on the motherboard to set....it depends on your motherboard.
However, if you are going to do any serious overclocking, you need to address your cooling. You need to move the air in your case with some case fans (they're not very expensive)and you will probably need to upgrade your heatsink and CPU fan. Go the the forums and do some research. It's a great way to learn more about your computer. Good Luck.
AMD Motherboard Forums (http://amdmb.com)
FastLane Hardware Forums (http://fastlanehw.com)

Every CPU comes with a ability to run at higher clock speed than the factory default setting for safety reasons. Overclocking is simply pushing the CPU to run closer it REAL limit.

To overclock AMD CPU you will need to unlock it first. It's done by connecting the bridges on the back of your chip. You don't need to solder cause the gaps are really small. You can use high lead pencil with sharp tip to connect the bridges though. Which one to connect, search around and you'll see. Remember to connect them in PAIRs.

And cooling is a big issue in overclocking...

ML

You don't need to unlock a AMD CPU. Atleast not with nForce2 motherboards.

http://www.hardforum.com

Originally posted by nmluan
To overclock AMD CPU you will need to unlock it first. It's done by connecting the bridges on the back of your chip. You don't need to solder cause the gaps are really small. You can use high lead pencil with sharp tip to connect the bridges though. Which one to connect, search around and you'll see. Remember to connect them in PAIRs.ML

It does not work that way with the Athlon XP, only with the Thunderbird. The pencil trick does not work anymore. The one article I posted explains it.

http://www.techspot.com/articles/athlonxp_overclocking/index.shtml

Yep, the pencil doesn't work on XP's, it doesn't have enough conductive capacity. You'll need to use small wires on the pins at the back (haven't done that myself), use conductive glue (this I have tried. It cost me a brand new chip because there was a cross connection somewhere :( ) or you can buy special little devices now you can just click on (this is the safest option).

The nforce chipset has nothing to do with the ability to overclock, as I said before, on new Athlon chips (2400+ and later) they just stopped locking them during production.

Thanks so much guys! :)

Well, I'm going to do a a moderate overclock because I don't want to buy new fans or RAM or a graphics card. I'm getting a new computer... this one I'm going to give to my little brother, but because its a bit outdated now and because I still have to use it for a few months I want to bump it up a bit.

I'm not going to unlock it, I'm just going to mess with the BIOS and the links you guys gave are great :)

I'll let you know how it turned out... thanks again :)