Overclock - right way?

[suki_uk]

Here is my setup,

NF7-S 2.0 Bios v6.00PG
AMD ATHLON XP 2500+ (AXDA2500DKV4D AQXEA)
2 x OCZ EL DDR PC-3700 / 466mhz / Gold Edition
Radeon 9600PRO
Levicom 350W PSU
2 x Maxtor Diamond 120G on Riad 0
SLk800 with Smart Fan 2

Temp on Stock
CPU 34 cel

Right Im ready to overclock this baby now. I've dropped the multiplier to 5 from 11. (following advise from various guides)
Then I increased the multiplier in 5mhz increments testing with Prime 95 each time, do I use the torture test or just the benchmark? If its the torture test each time I will be here for years, please advise.

I have left the Memory timings on optimal, 8-3-3-2.5
The PCI bus is locked on these boards so I do not need to worry? i think? same with the AGP slot.

So far I have hit 190 FSB, testing with prime 95 each time,

What do you think people so far so good? any opinions welcome,

Am I going the right way? Do I have to use Prime 95 each time?
When shall I start to increase the Voltage?

[SilentDeath]

torture test doesnt end as such.. just test for 30 mins or so...

please use respectable timings, 7-3-3-2.5 or lower, u have to give ur ram some chance of dieing

agp is locked, and the pci is divided off the agp, so u wont get probs with that

erm only 190fsb? u should start at 205.... ur ram is fine for 233fsb, mobo is fine for atleast 215, but should do 230 without much kicking

make sure ur mem and fsb are in SYNC, its very important

....well its not, but i lied

also ur overclocking wrongly.. most ppl are lazy gits and do it that way, but then it takes effort later to find what is being pushed too far - mobo cpu or ram... leave multi at stock and push the fsb, the mobo and ram should be good enuf to push the cpu to its limit.. (unless u go past 215, then it could be either giving errors if u get any) - test CPU with prime95, 5/10 mins whilst ur clocking, 30-60 once uve pushed it to max to test long term stabliilty/tweak final voltage
then u can set the cpu multi to 5 or so.. and up the fsb till something gives.. probly be the mobo first.. - u should test mobo and mem together with memtest86, prime95 wont push them enuf to give good errors

only do voltage in small steps, and only when u need it... which is only when prime95 cant do 5 or so mins of torture... once uve hit 50*c dont bother going further, as u wont get much... and it can go downhill from there.... dont go past 0.25 more than stock voltage either, or ur chip will die then laugh at u

ive probly missed out a lot of info u need but im a lazy git and ill edit this later

[suki_uk]

Is it worth me updating my bios?

[Austin]

YES. However note that NF7 v1.x and v2.0 use very different BIOS files so be sure you get the right one (took Abit ages to imform people of this). I find the US site is best but choice is yours.

There's only a few 'incorrect' ways to o/c...

* Just taking a huge leap, ie guessing what their PC can do. Small steps are best, take your time as anything you do get is virtually a free bonus anyway. Take what other people get as a rough idea, each part is different.

* Not testing properly (if at all) esp at the longterm o/c'ed speed.

* Upping the voltage before it's needed, no need to give things load more heat and stress (before you need to), see what you can get at more normal voltage.

* Using higher voltages for a tiny bit more o/c, simply not worth it at all. Always benchmark to see what you're truly getting for all the added heat and stress.

* Finding the PC becomes unstable and just assuming it isn't heat related, then upping voltage (oh dear).

* Leaving the PC too near the maximum stable o/c, always best to back off a notch (or two).

* Failing to realise most mobos tie PCI, AGP, IDE and of course RAM in to the FSB, try to keep PCI=33mhz (IMHO 36mhz max). All nForce2 should overcome this if you set these to locked.

* Running multiple things out of spec at the same time, how would you know what's become the limiting factor? Try to keep FSB to the mobo's official maximum and then up the multiplier remembering to keep RAM running at its rated maximum, slow (high) timings are best while o/c'ing too.

[aeronic]

some good advice from austin on things to avoid - you seem to be going on the right tracks.

As for what your pc is capable, you should be able to reach 220+ mhz with ram in sync. note that for 210+ fsb's you may need to increase the vdd from 1.6 to 1.7v (should be fine on the nf7-s as it uses basically a alu vantec to cool the NorthBridge)