Buying RAM and "overclocking" questions

[mrjack]

I have a little set of questions concerning buying the right type of RAM and "overclocking" my processor and GFX card.

1. I have 256Mb DDR SDRAM PC2700 (333MHz). Can I have two 256Mb DDR DIMM modules so that I would have 768Mb DDR RAM? I have 3 slots on the mobo. I just wanted to know if there will be any compatibility issues?

2. I have a AMD Athlon XP 1800+ that should be running at 1.5GHz. But it only runs at 1.15GHz. I was going to set it to say 1.3-1.5Ghz, can I do this in the BIOS? And how? Should I take any extra measures, say extra cooling for the processor? Or should the fan for the processor handle it? The processor is normally about 50-54 degrees Celsius with the fan spinning at about 3300rpm. The max it can go to should be 7500rpm.

3. How can I overclock my GFX card? It's a crappy GeForce 4 MX440 plugged into a AGP4X slot. Should I get an extra fan to cool it off?

 

[TheChef]

1. Yes

2. I think you can set it in the BIOS. About that temperature, ever think about getting a new fan? 50-54C is pretty hot for no OCing and the processor running at a lower speed than normal... is that temp at boot, full load, idle...?

3. I think Coolbits is the overclocking utility with nVidia cards. Download that and you'll be able to tweak a lot of stuff.

 

[apj101]

1. I have 256Mb DDR SDRAM PC2700 (333MHz). Can I have two 256Mb DDR DIMM modules so that I would have 768Mb DDR RAM? I have 3 slots on the mobo. I just wanted to know if there will be any compatibility issues?

if you add 2 more then you'll have 3 sticks which will give you 768.

2. I have a AMD Athlon XP 1800+ that should be running at 1.5GHz. But it only runs at 1.15GHz. I was going to set it to say 1.3-1.5Ghz, can I do this in the BIOS? And how?

Probably your fsb is set wrong, maybe set at 100mhz when it should be at 133mhz. By the age of this board there is a chance that the clock speed maybe jumper based rather thn set in the bios (but i doubt it)

Should I take any extra measures, say extra cooling for the processor?

no. Stock cooling will be fine since at the moment you are underclocking

The processor is normally about 50-54 degrees Celsius with the fan spinning at about 3300rpm. The max it can go to should be 7500rpm.

that is hot. Look in bios for a way it increase fan speed. Check that the fan is plugged straight into the mobo, clean the fan? Clean every thing!
Remove hsf and replace, using artic silver 5 thermal paste

3. How can I overclock my GFX card? It's a crappy GeForce 4 MX440 plugged into a AGP4X slot. Should I get an extra fan to cool it off?

dont bother your not going to see much difference

 

[mrjack]

I haven't really thought about getting a new fan for the processor but when you think of it, the fan isn't spinning even at half of the speed it can. And I'm getting probably 2 fans to cool down and enhance the ventilation in the case. That should help a bit. And I'm not completely sure if I'm going to set the processor to 1.3-1.5GHz. It depends on if adding RAM will help solve the slight performance issues I have then I won't overclock the proc. atleast not too much, maybe to 1.2-1.25GHz tops. Just have to wait and see. Thanks by the way for "clarifying" the stuff for me.

The fan speed increases automatically to a needed level. There is a thermal diod on the mobo but I'll check out the BIOS.

 

[mrjack]

About the temperature of the processor being 50-54 degrees. The processors fan is the only fan in the computer except for the PSU's fan. So the ventilation sucks in the case. But shouldn't the stock fan be able to handle the temperature when the processor is set to run at 1.5GHz?

 

[apj101]

But shouldn't the stock fan be able to handle the temperature when the processor is set to run at 1.5GHz?

yes, hence

that is hot. Look in bios for a way it increase fan speed. Check that the fan is plugged straight into the mobo, clean the fan? Clean every thing!
Remove hsf and replace, using artic silver 5 thermal paste

 

[apj101]

mrjack I moved your last question to video cards section

 

[Palatzo]

2. I have a AMD Athlon XP 1800+ that should be running at 1.5GHz. But it only runs at 1.15GHz. I was going to set it to say 1.3-1.5Ghz, can I do this in the BIOS? And how? Should I take any extra measures, say extra cooling for the processor? Or should the fan for the processor handle it? The processor is normally about 50-54 degrees Celsius with the fan spinning at about 3300rpm. The max it can go to should be 7500rpm.

You wouldn't be overclocking your CPU. Your fsb is currently set wrong. With a multiplier of 11.5, a fsb of 133(stock fsb) will get you 1.533Ghz (stock speed). You currently have the fsb set to 100, which is most likely the default in the bios. You are underclocking your cpu.
Stock cooling should work fine when you bring your cpu back up to stock speeds. Your temps are hot, though. Check for some sort of fan speed settings in the bios. You could also get a program like speedfan which allows you to bring your fan speed up to 100%, the approx. 7500rpm its rated for. that would help with your heat issue.
Also try rebedding the cpu. Make sure you use a small amount of thermal grease, but not too little. You want to coat the core about as thick as a sheet of paper. You could also try using Actric Silver grease instead. I'm guessing you are using the thermal pad that was already on the bottom of your hsf.
Clean out fans with compressed air. As dust builds up on the fan blades it will degrade performance dramatically.
If none of those work, get yourself some case fans and think about getting third party cooling.

 

[mrjack]

I'm gonna clean the proc. fan today and later on (today or tomorrow) I'm gonna get some case fans. But since I only have maybe one place where I can connect a fan, how would I go about to get another fan connected? Any external way (other kind of powersupply)? I'll have to check out the mobo when I clean the proc. fan today. Somehow the processor temperature is now around 30-40 while just running Firefox and VLC.

 

[apj101]

i'm confident that there will be other connectors available on the board for extra dans. They may say something like aux1, or chas1. If not then you can always connect a fan to a space 4 pin molex from direct from your psu

 

[Praetor]

1. Yes

And what compatibility issues did you have in mind?

2. I have a AMD Athlon XP 1800+ that should be running at 1.5GHz. But it only runs at 1.15GHz. I was going to set it to say 1.3-1.5Ghz, can I do this in the BIOS? And how? Should I take any extra measures, say extra cooling for the processor? Or should the fan for the processor handle it? The processor is normally about 50-54 degrees Celsius with the fan spinning at about 3300rpm. The max it can go to should be 7500rpm.

The AthlonXP 1800+ is set as 133x11.5 so check to make sure you're chip is configured as such

3. How can I overclock my GFX card? It's a crappy GeForce 4 MX440 plugged into a AGP4X slot. Should I get an extra fan to cool it off?

You probably wont be able to OC the MX440 to the point that it needs cooling