[thewz]

CPU: PIII 501mhz
3d Card: Nvidia geforce3 Ti 200
Memory: 512 megs pc133

Alright I'm no overclocking expert, but I would like to learn how to overclock cpu frequencies. So 1 week ago I started doing some research at a bunch of overclocking sites and I learned about cpu multipliers, fsb rates, dividers and so on. I've finally decided to put my minimal knowledge on the subject to the test. So I rebooted my computer and went into Bios.

I decided to start off with what I thought would be the most basic part of overclocking: CPU multipliers. I found that my CPU was set at 5x100, so I nudged it up to 5.5x100. I rebooted my computer but after running si Sandra 2002, I found out that I was still running at 501 mhz. I went back into bios, and it still claimed that my computer was running at 5.5x100, yet I was still running at only 501 mhz. Is my cpu locked at 5x100 mhz or something? And if it is, is there any way to unlock it?

After my failed attempt at fiddling with the multipliers, I decided to try messing around with the fsb. Since my fsb was 100mhz, I assumed that my divider was set at 1/3, and since I couldn't see any way to change the divider in Bios, I decided not to overclock it too fast. So I nudged it up to 103 mhz. This time it worked well, and I was able to successfully "beef up" my computer to 515 mhz

Baby steps. So I nudge up my fsb to 112 mhz. I restart my computer and it says i'm running at 560mhz. It's about to load up windows and *Poof* Windows can not load up. So I go back to Bios and check every menu option if there is a way for me to change the dividers. Nothing. So I set my fsb back to 103 mhz, reboot my computer and check some overclocking sites. Apparently to change my divider, I have to change the DIP switches on my motherboard. What's a DIP switch, where can I find it (is it on the actual motherboard itself?) and what should I set it to?

For those of you who were too lazy to read through the entire post, my questions were:

1. Is my cpu locked at 5x100 mhz or something? And if it is, is there any way to unlock it?

2. What's a DIP switch, where can I find it (is it on the actual motherboard itself?) and what should I set it to if I want to run my fsb at 112 mhz?

Ty in advance - The Thewz
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-Thewz
Thewz is here? Oh shit...

[FingerDemon]

Thewz,

I'm no expert on this, but I can answer one of your questions easily enough. A Dip switch is a tiny switch for changing settings. Sometimes they are labeled with an on/off side or a 0 and 1 side. You use the tip of a pencil or something small to flip them from one direction to the other. They are usually in banks of several of them and setting them in different ways allows different combinations and permutations of settings. The other similar hardware feature are "jumpers". These are little bits of metal that stick out in pairs and you have a little piece of rubber or plastic that covers two of them at a time. By positioning the cover you can change the settings of a piece of hardware just like Dip switches do. I guess the benefit of them is that they can't break as easily as a tiny switch. But generally it is either Dip switches or jumpers, but I have never heard of both on one piece of hardware for the same settings.

You usually have to have some motherboard (or other hardware) documentation to even have a clue how to change these settings in the way you want. For example, I had to read the docs on my hard drive to change the jumpers to make it a secondary hard drive.

If you haven't already checked it out, Tom's Hardware is a great website for this stuff. JD is very knowledgeable about this stuff and he pointed me to that site a while back.

Good luck,

<TVB>FingerDemon

[thewz]

Ty FD, can you give me the URL to tom's hardware? I think I'm know what you're talking about, but unfortunately I have no documentation for my motherboard, and I have no idea what a dip switch or a jumper looks like.

[sgt stutter]

Thewz here is a photo of what dip switches look like. You may also have to set or change some jumpers these are also located on the motherboeard. The jumpers are small pegs with small plastic connectors jumping them together. You will need to know what mobo you have, it will make the overclocking a lot easier.

www.overclockersonline.com

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click--><eVa>SuperGreg

R.I.P Trigger Happy

[PondScm007]

well im not sure about pIII on the locking, but it could be and youd have to read up on how you unlock that kind of cpu...i think there are come addon chips or something you can stick onto a p3 to unlock it, but again not sure ;>

the dip switches you are looking for...what do they control? if you cant boot windows or are having some system instability id try increasing the cpu voltage a tad, which could be controlled by dip switches, or probbably jumpers...consult your mobo manual for what everyting does...

also the pci divider may not be changeable from your bios, especially if you have an older board, but check the manual...

[merf]

All Intel processors are multiplier locked. So the only overclocking you will be able to do is through the Front Side Bus. Your memory may be holding you back. Is it pc100 or pc133? Some memory will run out of spec well, while others won't OC for s**t. Sometimes increasing the vcore of the proc helps to get it a little higher. To really help you out I need a little more info though.

what kind of hardware?

Mobo?
Memory?
Power supply?

MErf

[thewz]

Motherboard Model: i440bx-w977
Chipset: Intel 440bx/dx/zx chipset
Power Supply: 300W (not sure)
Memory: 512 megabytes pc133 sdram

Thanks for all the help. I asked a classmate, he told me that intel locks all their cpus, so I can't change that. I looked on my motherboard and I couldn't find any dip switches that looked like the ones in the picture, but I did find two small 1cmx1cm, about half a cm high boxes near my cpu. Each box had 3 very small white switches or prods coming out of them. I decided not to start playing around with them, since they looked quite fragile and I'm not sure what they are for. If I can get my webcam working I'll send you some pics of them.
_________________
-Thewz
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[Blown]

You could search around for the brand of your ram and see what it usually OCs to, or you can get faster ram, but with your system that wouldnt make much sense. Intel processors like someone else said are locked and cant be unlocked. Some AMD cpu's are locked but they can be unlocked with a little bit of time. Best bet is increase your FSB little by little till it starts to act up and then go back to your last stable setting. Is there any settings in the BIOS to change your FSB?

[thewz]

Yes I can change the fsb in my bios, but like I said I don't know how to change the pci and agp dividers, so my system gets really unstable and crashes every couple of seconds if I put my fsb too high.