Alright, I need to learn how to OC

[TheCrimsonStar]

Okay so I have my new rig up and running. Runs everything perfectly. The ONLY complaint I have about this computer is when I'm playing BC2 and I try to use FRAPS, I drop from ~75 fps to ~40 fps. Sometimes get spikes to downwards of 20 fps when recording. Maybe OCing the CPU a bit would make the fps drop a little less? I'm recording at max settings and 1440 x 900 res. If anyone could give me OC'ing tips, it would be a big help. My motherboard came with AMD overdrive, and also has a knob on the motherboard for overclocking the FSB (how cool is that??). My only concern for overclocking the CPU is I have the stock fan and heatsink, so idk how much I could OC safely. It idles at about 41-42C and on load playing BC2 AND recording at the same time, doesn't go higher than 53C

and as for the GPU, I heard it can OC VERY easily, and it stays cool and the fan never gets loud. I don't think it's gone above 70C when playing BC2.

 

[dlb]

With stock CPU coolers, OCing is not a real good idea. However, you can OC the video card quite easily. You didn't mention which card you have, but MSI's AfterBurner and eVGA's Precision are two very easy to use OC tools for NVidia video cards (I haven't tried 'em with AMD/ATI cards- they may or may not work). For ATI, you can use RivaTuner or ATI Tray Tools. All of 'em are free and easy to use, and a bit Googling will return a bunch of how-to guides (and videos on YouTube) to get you straightened out if you're confused. When OCing the video card, you'll probably want to lock the fan speed at 75% or 80% to keep it cool. You can create OC profiles so the OC and fan speed increase only kick in when you engage the profile (usually via a hot-key). For OCing the CPU, while I'm no expert, I've found it best to use the motherboard BIOS instead of a Windows-based tool like OverDrive. I haven't used OverDrive personally, but I have tried one or two other CPU OC tools and didn't really care for them. However, like I said, unless you go with a very small CPU OC, I strongly recommend investing in a better CPU cooler. The CoolerMaster Hyper212+ and ThermalTake Contac29 are excellent coolers in the US$35 range. They have a great price-to-performance ratio (esp the CM Hyper212+).
Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

 

[Optix]

DLB said absolutely everything that I could have said with one exception - MSI Afterburner works great with ATI cards.

The Hyper 212+ is a budget overclocker's wet dream but be mindful that the heatpipes make direct contact with the CPU so the base is not perfectly flat. This means that your thermal interface material (TIM) will not spread out like it normally would with standard flat based heatsinks.

My first installation was terrible because I relied on the tried and true method of pressure from the mounting of the heatsink spreading the TIM out over the CPU. Big mistake. My second installation went much better because I filled up the spaces in the base of the heatsink, THEN added a blob of TIM to the CPU.

To give you an idea of just how good this cooler is, at full load it is only 4 degrees hotter than my Vantage A.L.C. You cannot beat it for the price and it should be able to handle just about anything you throw at it.

 

[TheCrimsonStar]

I'll probably overclock the graphics card for the time being, I have a Gigabyte Radeon 6870. I'll get a better cooler once some money comes in for Christmas

 

[Psi*]

Have task manager running to see if the CPU is maxing out ... ever. Open it to full screen so you get a good long history. I have figured out the time scale it runs at.

Also running 1 of the thermal monitors adds another level of info. I use Speedfan, but there is another one often commented about as being better in some ways. I never got around to remembering to track that one down.

Although I do not have your video card, OC-ing it is usually pretty easy & was mostly automatic for mine.

OC-ing the CPU is safe until you start messing with voltages. HEY! You need a signature now so we can tell what the heck you have! Also, I would hold off OC-ing the CPU until you know everything is stable at stock ... another day or 2. Just sayin' ... of course I couldn't resist.

Soooo, I guess you had fun over the weekend getting everything together.

 

[DarkStarr]

Nice GPU, I think I will be getting a 6750 at some point, all depends. And that Hyper 212+ cooler is easy to find, unlike my Prolimatech Megahalems Rev. B XD I cant find another anywhere locally or online for the price I got mine, I cant even find another one local lol. I have a feeling my ram is holding me back, I cant run it at kit settings so I haven't really got it 100% dialed in yet so sometimes the desktop gadgets crash.... that's the only problem >.<

 

[TheCrimsonStar]

Have task manager running to see if the CPU is maxing out ... ever. Open it to full screen so you get a good long history. I have figured out the time scale it runs at.

The only time I have ever had it max out is when I'm running Bad Company 2 at max settings while recording with FRAPS at 1440 x 900. Even then it has never gone above 55C

HEY! You need a signature now so we can tell what the heck you have! Also, I would hold off OC-ing the CPU until you know everything is stable at stock ... another day or 2. Just sayin' ... of course I couldn't resist.

Soooo, I guess you had fun over the weekend getting everything together.

That better? and yes I had a HELL of a lot of fun putting it all together. I can barely get my hand around the 6870 to pick it up because it's so freaking huge! Oh and the box is beautiful, I think I'll keep it

 

[DarkStarr]

Not bad temps but not great either, the stock cooler is ok but I know my C2 can only take 62c before its past AMD specs. Not that its a problem now but I don't even think it can get to 50c now no matter how long I run anything. Even with my 5750 pushing out heat it still stays icy. oh and the 3.84 is stable at 1.45v but I think I can drop it more but I don't have the time to adjust it.

 

[TheCrimsonStar]

well someone in my programming class has the same exact processor I have, but he's got a HAF case, with the Hyper 212+ CPU cooler. he says his processor idles at 24C

 

[Psi*]

Not having AMD anymore, I cannot comment about OC or temps. Although nice big HSFs are almost always better. But be careful

The only time I have ever had it max out is when I'm running Bad Company 2 at max settings while recording with FRAPS at 1440 x 900. Even then it has never gone above 55C

I don't think you will benefit from OC-ing the CPU ... given that. You are not CPU bound in other words. If you were, then OC-ing the CPU would be helpful. Assuming that this is with the GPU now OC-ed? If not, it would be interesting if the there is a change in CPU utilization.



That better? and yes I had a HELL of a lot of fun putting it all together. I can barely get my hand around the 6870 to pick it up because it's so freaking huge! Oh and the box is beautiful, I think I'll keep it

 

[TheCrimsonStar]

Actually I don't agree with you on not being CPU bound...FRAPS is processor-intensive, so a faster processor can handle better fps when recording right? If I drop the resolution to 1280 x 720, I get around 70-80 fps when recording as opposed to 40-50 at 1440 x 900.

 

[Tharic-Nar]

Could try PlawClaw, Rob reviewed that a while ago as an alternative to FRAPS, it had better performance, just had a couple issues. Might be fixed and working now.

 

[TheCrimsonStar]

I tried one of the older versions, but it worked horrid for me. The newest version of FRAPS works just fine, but I don't want to pay $30 for PlayClaw just to find out it doesn't work right for me...lol.

*EDIT*

WOAH!! Just noticed this! They have a link on PlayClaw's website to Rob's review of the program!

At the bottom of "What's new in PlayClaw 2.0?"

 

[Tharic-Nar]

You should be able to run the trial for free, then at least you can tell if it'll work properly, it should just leave a watermark like FRAPS does. I haven't used it myself, don't have the processing grunt to play games on this system, let alone record.

 

[TheCrimsonStar]

You should be able to run the trial for free, then at least you can tell if it'll work properly, it should just leave a watermark like FRAPS does. I haven't used it myself, don't have the processing grunt to play games on this system, let alone record.

Well I just tried it. I have a quad-core, so I told it to use 2 cores, and BC2 is VERY cpu-intensive. I told playclaw to record at 60 fps. I must admit, the lag was ever so slightly less than FRAPS, but the output video was worse in terms of FPS. When you watch a video, if FRAPS is open, it will show the framerate of the video. The output video (low compression) for PlayClaw was 30-35 fps MAX. Output for FRAPS...50-60 fps. I'm sticking with FRAPS

 

[Psi*]

Actually I don't agree with you on not being CPU bound...FRAPS is processor-intensive, so a faster processor can handle better fps when recording right? If I drop the resolution to 1280 x 720, I get around 70-80 fps when recording as opposed to 40-50 at 1440 x 900.

By definition, CPU bound says that the CPU is pegged. If it is not, then it is not. It can be very challenging to figure out what the neck of the funnel is tho.

It would be nice to see CPU utilization go up as the GPU gets OC-ed. I think this would indicate that the GPU is the limit. As it can handle more (by being OC-ed), then more demand is put on the CPU until (as the GPU thru put is upped) the CPU becomes the limiting factor.

The limit could be some system thing tho such as bus speed or whatever & not just the CPU or GPU ... but I doubt.

So as you OC the GPU you need to check FPS to make sure that an improvement is happening someplace. And note the CPU utilization as the GPU goes up with your worst case.

Just my thinking as how I would proceed ... I don't game a lot & FPS has not been a high priority for what I do. In other words, your mileage may vary.

 

[TheCrimsonStar]

alrighty...just used MSI Afterburner and overclocked my 6870 from stock (core: 900mhz, mem: 1050mhz) up to core: 945mhz, mem: 1240mhz. did not miss a beat. the temp of the card didn't even go up 1C!

alright, scratch that. Opened up BC2 and went into a sever and the entire computer froze. lol. back to stock for now

 

[DarkStarr]

lol it isn't hard to OC just bump it up little by little and run a game each time, and do each clock one at a time, I personally would do it while running furmark and if it survives 5 min its good

 

[TheCrimsonStar]

lol it isn't hard to OC just bump it up little by little and run a game each time, and do each clock one at a time, I personally would do it while running furmark and if it survives 5 min its good

I might try that, it'll shut freeze up and I restart if it doesn't work, right? I have AfterBurner set to reset the clocks to stock when the computer restarts until I find a stable clock.

 

[GFreeman]

I might try that, it'll shut freeze up and I restart if it doesn't work, right? I have AfterBurner set to reset the clocks to stock when the computer restarts until I find a stable clock.

It's best to try small increments when you are overclocking. That froze you got is probably due to the high memory clock you have that card set at. You could give 940/1100 a go try some games for testing. If your system is freezing again then try lowering the core clock some more to 935 - 930ish.. For videocard overclocking I usually try a couple of 3dmark benches, play a little with my settings and keep an eye on the temps. Then testing with a demanding videogame is a good way to see if your overclock is table. Here you got some extra info for playing around

These are links to the specific program's site, and not a direct download link. Download at your own risk!

CPU Overclocking utilities

ClockGen - A cpu overclocking tool designed for various motherboards.
Systool - A system overclocking tool.
Cpucalc - Handy overclocking calculator tool.

Graphics Card Overclocking Utilities

PowerStrip - Very powerful tweaking/overclocking program designed for the hardcore user. Supports a variety of chipsets. ATI and nVidia cards supported
Rivatuner - Powerful graphics card tweaking/overclocking utility. ATI and nVidia cards supported.
ATI tool - Overclocking ATI and nVidia videocards.

Graphics card BIOS flashing

nVidia BIOS editor
ATI bios editor
nVidia flash tool
ATI flash tool

Stability Testing

Memtest86 - Memory testing for errors.
Folding Home - program that simulates protein folding, and stresses CPU.
OCCT - Stresses cpu, memory and graphics card.
GoSP2004/Dual core prime - A stress test for dual core processors.

Miscellaneous

Wcpuid - Small program that displays information about your processor.
Cpu-z - Program that displays information about your RAM, CPU, and motherboard chipset.
CBID - Central Brain Identifier - Program that displays information about any AMD processor. Also gives an approximate performance rating.
GPUZ - Program to read specs of your videocard.
Memset - Configure your memory timings (Intel and AMD).
A64info - Configure AMD64 memory timings.

Monitoring temps and volts

Hwmonitor
Speedfan