Who to overclocke my motherboard'z FSB or my processor?

Hi there, the freezing is probably caused by the north-bridge or CPU not getting enough voltage or becuase you are pushing your memory past the supported frequency, changing the FSB also changes the frequency of memory, overclocking a machine could also boost the temps past the point of conventional air cooling e.g might have to use water-cooling instead. You should be careful when you overclock your computer though, electronics are sensitive and you are going to cause permanent damage to either the board or CPU. I would rather advise you to return all values to default and continue to use the system normally, if you really need it to go faster rather go and buy a faster machine. b.t.w changing the PCI-e value will have no effect on your FSB and memory values, it could instead have an adverse effect on your graphics card if you have one installed

The BIOS. Overclocking is best done in the computer's BIOS (Basic Input/Output System or Binary Integrated Operating System). There are also some motherboards that let you do a basic increase in power by setting a jumper, but this is dangerous and you have no real stability control.

There are some software programs available which allow you to overclock inside the operating system, but the best results are achieved by changing BIOS settings. Usually you can get into your BIOS by pressing DEL (some systems may use F2, F10, or Ctrl-Enter) as soon as your computer begins the POST

(Power On Self Test - when it shows the RAM size, processor speed, etc.).

Here, you can change your FSB (front side bus), memory timings, and your CPU multiplier (also referred to as CPU Clock Ratio).

Clearing your CMOS. Sometimes, an overclock can become unstable. If this happens, or your computer will not boot, you will need to reset the BIOS back to default and start over again.

This is done by clearing the CMOS (a small piece of memory on the motherboard which stores your BIOS configuration, and is powered by a small battery). Some newer motherboards will bypass user settings in the CMOS if the computer fails POST (often caused by a faulty overclock). However, most motherboards require a manual clear.

This can be done in two ways, depending on your motherboard. The first way is by changing the position of the clear CMOS jumper on your motherboard, waiting a few minutes, then repositioning the jumper to its original place.

The CMOS Jumper

The second way, if your motherboard doesn't have this jumper, consists of unplugging your computer, removing the little CMOS battery, then pressing the power button (your capacitors will discharge), and waiting a couple of minutes.

Then you have to refit the battery and plug in your computer. Once your CMOS is cleared, all BIOS settings are reset back to default and you'll have to start the overclocking process all over again. Just so you know, this step is only necessary if your overclock becomes unstable.

Locked or Unlocked. The first thing to know when you start the process of overclocking, is whether your processor is multiplier locked or unlocked.

To check whether your CPU is locked, lower your multiplier via the BIOS one step, for example from 11 to 10.5. Save and exit your BIOS and your computer will restart.

If your computer posts again and shows the new CPU speed, it means your CPU is unlocked. However, if your computer failed to post (screen remains black) or no CPU speed change is present, this means your multiplier is locked

Multiplier Unlocked Processors. Usually, your max overclock is limited by your memory, or RAM. A good starting place is to find the top memory bus speed in which your memory can handle while keeping it in sync with the FSB. To check this, lower your CPU multiplier some steps (from 11 to 9, for example) and increase your FSB a few notches (e.g.: 200 MHz to 205 MHz).

After this, save and exit your BIOS. There are a few ways to test for stability.

If you make it into Windows, that is a good start. You can try running a few CPU / RAM intensive programs to stress these components. Some good examples are SiSoft Sandra, Prime95, Orthos, 3DMark 2006 and Folding@Home.

You may also choose to run a program outside of Windows, such as Memtest. Load a copy of Memtest onto a bootable floppy, then insert the disk after you have exited the BIOS.

Continue to increase your FSB until Memtest starts reporting errors. When this happens, you can try to increase the voltage supplied to your memory.

Do note that increasing voltages may shorten the life span of your memory. Also, another option is to loosen the timings on the memory (more on this a bit later). The previous FSB setting before the error will be your max FSB. Your max FSB will fully depend on what memory you have installed. Quality, name-brand memory will work best for overclocking.

Now that you know your max FSB, you'll figure out your max multiplier. Keeping your FSB @ stock, you raise your multiplier one step at a time. Each time you restart, check for system stability. As mentioned above, one good way to do this is by running Prime95.

If it doesn't post (reread the section about clearing the CMOS), or Prime 95 fails, you can try to raise the core voltage a bit. Increasing it may or may not increase stability. On the other hand, the temperature will also be increased. If you are going to increase the core voltage, you should keep an eye on temperatures, at least for a few minutes.

Also note that increasing voltages may shorten the life span of your CPU, not to mention void your warranty. When your computer is no longer stable at a given multiplier setting, lower your multiplier one step and take that as your max multiplier.

Now that you have your max FSB speed and your max multiplier, you can play around and determine the best settings for your system. Do note that having a higher FSB overclock as opposed to a higher multiplier will have a greater impact on overall system performance.

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=107977

hope this helps

In some motherboards, you can increase the multiplier, which will increase your processor speed.(Briefly, Processor Speed = FSB x Multiplier) You can also increase the chipset, memory, and CPU voltage, which will sometimes allow you to have a higher FSB. There are other settings such as PCI Bus and AGP Bus, you generally don't want to touch those, either they might put risk to your PC, or that they won't make much difference in performance. Be careful when you overclock because you can really damage your computer that way.

What you are trying to do is called overclocking, and there are some excellent guides for that on the internet, like here: http://www.compunamics.com/overclocking.htm
I suggest you read this before proceeding the overclocking.
You can open the BIOS (press a key like F1, F2, F8 or del during startup). Somewhere there will be a menu with options for voltages and frequencies (units in V and MHz)
As you have read, processor speed depends on the multiplier and front side bus speed: CPU Multiplier x FSB = CPU frequency.
Right now, your frequency is 2200 MHz (presumably 11 x 200)
To get it to 3000 MHz (3GHz), you either have to raise the option called FSB in the BIOS to 270 (270 x 11 = 2970), or increase the multiplier to 15 (200 x 15 = 3000). Before you do so, write both the values down, so that you can reset to them, in case things go wrong.
I sugest first trying to raise the multiplier from 11 to 15. It may however, be locked at 11. If you can get it to 15, you're done, your CPU is now running at 3 GHz.
If not, you'll have to go through some more trouble.

First, you'll need to find your memory (or RAM, or DDR) multiplier and frequency, in the same menu as the FSB and CPU multiplier. Write them down as well.
As you have also read, increasing the FSB will make your CPU and memory go faster. This may however, be too much for the RAM to handle.
With the FSB frequency and multiplier, you can calculate the frequency of your RAM just as with the processor.
You will now have to change FSB from 200 to 270, so you'll also have to calculate a new RAM multiplier, if you want the RAM to run at the same speed.
For example, your RAM frequency can be 200 (FSB) x 2 (multiplier) = 400. If you then increase FSB to 270, your RAM will run at 300 x 2 = 600. You will have to lower the multiplier to get as close to 400 as you can get, and preferably lower, if 400 cannot be achieved.
Having done this, you can slowly start to increase FSB, I would suggest by 10 at a time. As soon as the PC has trouble starting, in the BIOS, increase the CPU voltage by one step, until it runs stable again. However, as your CPU is rated at 3GHz, you shouldn't have any trouble with this,and should not have to increase voltages.

If you encounter any probems, let me know!

In the BIOS (probably in advanced features or overclock menu or the sorts)
you'll need to either find the option to tune down FSB (probably around 200) or your CPU multiplier. CPU speed is FSB*multiplier, so you can yourself calculate the desired speed. If you need any help finding the BIOS menu these functions are in, I could do a little more research, but for now I'll trust you can find them yourself.

I hope this answers your question,
Yannick.

Hi,

modern Boards Auto-Detect FSB speeds, usually determined By CPU fsb And Memory/Ram speeds. It may be Wise to see if theres A user manual/guide for this board. or a possible bios update to support the CPU. also check the boards fsb speed ratings charts. overclocking is not recommended, as this can damage cpu/ram and motherboard.

Mike @ Compurepair.

Hi there.
You can change the front side bus in the bios if the bios supports it, if it does be very careful not to overclock the processor to much as you can cause damage to the motherboard and blow the processor up, also bear in mind that cooling is very important when it comes to overclocking.

Good luck and thanks for using FixYa!!

1: You problem is your power supply, PSU. When you try to give more power to your CPU by overclocking it, it doesn't have enough wattage, or power, to get the CD drive, or your sound card to work. This is why the CD drive works again when the CPU isn't overclocked. So, in this case, to overclock your CPU, you would have to get more power to your system by getting a more powerful PSU, or one with more wattage. How much you can overclock your processor depends on a variety of different things. Your RAM, PSU, HDD, CD drive, etc. I would not go past about 3.4ghz with your processor, however, a "max overclock" is hard to determine.

2: The maximum temp for your processor is 70C, 158F. I would try to keep your temperatures under 60C to ensure your processor doesn't "die early" on you. The multiplier cannot be changed, only the FSB can be changed. You should be able to create a "profile" in bios and set it to your default so that it loads up automatically when you boot up. Make sure you find a stable configuration before you make a default profile.

Yes, you can put any Pentium 4 or Celeronsocket 478 processor in there, including those with an 800MHz FSB onthe processor. Don't waste your time with only a faster FSB unless youjust happen to have one laying around, the performance won't improvethat much. This one is $50 from Newegg.

Upgrading the components is not overclocking. Overclocking is when youforce the components to run faster than they are rated for. Yourmotherboard is set up to allow this, through the BIOS. Severaloverclocking features areintegrated into the BIOS, including the ability to adjust the FSBfrequency, and the Vcore, DDR, and AGP voltages.

If you choose to overclock, be prepared to make frequent changes toachieve best performance vs. stability. I would suggest upgrading yourcooling to the best you can afford as well. Your PC may lock up orrefuse to boot for no apparent reason if you overclock. Be preparedfor that and know what to do about it before you start youroverclocking career.

Yes, if you overclock you computer, I believe if you enter your bios of the motherboard, asus already has a pre overclock options. That is if your using a p4 2.8 ghz processor. You can not put a 3ghz processor and overclock it to a higher fsb, your motherboard will literally smoke up but, most motherboards probably can easily detect a non compatible CPU.