possible HW list OC; by MoBo, CPU, Mem, BIOS CPU x Addition HCL (stock BIOS settings)

Tyan K8E S2865, AMD FX-55 (San Diego-939), HT=Auto, 2x1GB Gskill DDR400 (now ~520). GPU nVidia 6800GS (256MB, dual DVI).
All vDC were default/stock, have not tried many adjustments yet as on first few tests Southbridge got hot/passive cooling did not work when V was raised! Stock HSF, CPU ~30 C, ambient 22C. IMHO (from tests) Raising voltages on my existing HW does not help, lower normally has better stability!
Ran memtest 1-10 overnight, etc to verify stability of CL, RAS, RP, Tcd settings
BIOS 3.02 (have not loaded 3.03 yet), nTune (5.05.18-WinXP) had indicated CPU FSB@229 8-3-2, memory @ 216 was best stable performance, but bundles would not load, Media check would not complete (kernel loading, never progressed to check). Many bundles would not install FSB >225.
Ran memtest86+ v1.65 found on Ubuntu6.10 Server CD (=Same as on SysResc CD, FC5 & ?, NOTE: Many distros have an older version of memtest 3)
It appears I can run 2GB Gskill 223 @ 233 @1T (~=520) CL3 8-3-2 (At least memtest & kernel loading for media check worked). Will try installing Ub, FC5, Slack 11, oSUSE10.1
Will also check FX60x2 (Can test +FX51, +FX53 if desired), but think less OC is possible when using DDR400 2-3-5. Noticed FX55 Clawhammer is also less OC capable (different memory controller setup?)
Also guessing OCZ2048DDR400- will probably only get ~480 from previous tests w/ xpPro, x64Pro. OCZ & Corsair get hot, but not Gskill!

Thought a way to file Linux user OverClocking data by mainboard, CPU, Memory, BIOS and best stable settings achieved may benefit some users trying to maximize the capabilities of their systems. Separate section from HCL, which is probably only for listing Hardware compatibilities, and @ only stock settings?
Plus would give other users what might work w/o complete HCL.

*!* NOTE: DT mainboards I currently have K8E ANRF & G2NR, GA-K8NF, Abit AN8, SL-K8TPro, GA-KV8T800M (?) and the following PCI add in cards (Some are IDE or SATA only, others are capable of combined SATA & IDE RAID); Pacific Digital Talon ZL4-150, Promise FTS150TX2+, Sil 680, Sil 3112, Via VT6421

PCI Express (SATALink & SATA RAID); PCI-E x1 Sil 3152 (SIIG SC-SAE411-S1).

Comment only; Had been experiencing boot problems w/ M$ Windows XP (Home, Pro & x64 Pro) not loading or running when powered HDD are connected to the PCI cards. System booted fine with PCI add in card & appropriate driver loaded, but when HDs (1 &/or RAID 0 or 1) had power applied (similar Hot Plug=LOCK UP). Appears to BIOS problems that mainboard manufacturers are unwilling to address, as I Did Not disable IDEchannels 0 or 1,{or nVRAID} but tried with nForce IDE & SATA RAIDs + PCI add-in.
Best I had acheived was 14 (of >22) HDs + 4 DVD burners all on one mainboard, using 2 Power Supplies.*!*

Will be testing GNU/Linux bundles when I learn more stuff (dmraid, LVM etc). But if U need more info (aka; want me to test something) or have experience with any of these weird set ups please email or PM
(Would like to keep this thread & future replies pure OC comments!)

I don't think there is enough demand for a dedicated section on this at the current time. Thanks for the feedback.

--jeremy

You don't have an option in the poll for me... Used to OC things, understand how it works, but I don't bother to OC anything anymore.

No option for me, either. I don't see how overclocking would help anything in my case since I am not doing any heavy gaming or other real-time heavy calculations on a regular basis. I'd rather save on the electric bill and not decrease the life of my computer's components.

While we're on the issue, what is the point of overclocking your Linux box, anyways? I'm just curious what exactly you are doing that makes the manufacturer recommendations insufficient.

HDTV h264 since there is no HW accel yet for my gfx that I know of (nvidia 6600GT)
OC my CPU only from 1833 to 2250 MHz

Overclocking is usually useless anyhow. The execution time benefit that can be obtained is minimal.

Debated overclocking but saw no real need for it. At the moment my hardware is more than capable of running what I want without any speed related problems what so ever. I've read a lot about OCing though, not really that impressed by it.

it's the first time i see so much people agreeing that overclocking is generally useless (i think so too)

i don't want to be mean, but aside overclocking things for fun (why not ) , i think it is dumb to buy (by example) a graphic card 300$ instead of another which costs 320$ thinking it is a good bargain because you will overclock the first one to be as good as the 2nd.....
-> great, you have gained 20$, but on the other hand, if you card dies after a week (for whatever reason, related to the overclocking or not), you just lost 300$..


of course in the case of an old computer, overclocking it to make it useable for a longer time can be a good idea, but that's it ^^

No option for me ither I have overclocked some of the slower hardware up but never anything recent since all of it is rather cheep and fast now days. I OC back when 750mhz was the max

I overclock massively. I don't do it to try to save cash, when I bought my P4 3.06 it was the fastest out but after adding peltiers, copper plates and a decent heatsink I was running at 4ghz while everyone else was waiting for the 3.2 ghz cpu to be released. It is rock solid stable and after running at 100% cpu load for 48 hrs the cpu temp was 20f, at idle it will get down to -10f or lower depending on ambient temp. Obviously overclocking has caused it no damage as it is still solid as the day they released it. Total cost of the peltiers, heatsink and copper plates compared to running oem at stock speeds, $30.00 plus 4 to 5 hours of design and setup. I would think it was a good return on my investment for a 33% increase in speed.

ITSa341, you keep your CPU running below freezing even under full load? Do you keep your computer in the ice chest or what? Sounds like you have more than $30 worth of copper.

@ITSa341 : as i said i'm not interested in overclocking, but i'd interested by cooling my PC to reduce the sound to a minimum (well, when i'll have a new PC i'll think about it )
so if you have some usefull links, please post them ^^

(i didn't ask by PM because it may be interesting for overclockers coming in this thread too)

Originally Posted by Penguin of Wonder ITSa341, you keep your CPU running below freezing even under full load? Do you keep your computer in the ice chest or what? Sounds like you have more than $30 worth of copper.

Actually, the copper spreader plates between the cpu and peltier and between the peltier and thermaltake are from the local scrap metal yard ( cost $0.00 ). I polished them to a mirror finish by working them on a mirror with varying levels of polishing compounds. Working them flat on a mirror helped keep the surface true and flat to reduce gaps.

I made the gaskets out of an old torn pair of neoprene waders ( cost $0.00 ). Gaskets are required under the heatsink and behind the motherboard to prevent condensation.

I found the peltiers on ebay for $12.00 a pair or so going from memory. $12.00 per pair for a total of (cost $24.00). ( two for the cpu and two for the gpu.

Power supply for the peltiers came from an old server case and cost nothing but some time and aggravation mounting it. (cost $0.00)

The heatsink is a rather large thermaltake ( used, ebay not sure of model ) I paid $30 for it but needed a heatsink whether overclocking or not as I did buy an oem cpu without the heatsink so I did not include it in the total as even factory clockspeeds would have required a decent heatsink. One important factor here is it came with a TMD fan so there is no motor in the middle of the fan, the motor is out on the tips of the fan increasing airflow to the core area of the heatsink and allowing longer blades since they go almost to the center instead of having a motor in the middle restricting airflow.

Hardware etc I figure about (cost $5.00) from memory so really I do only have about $30.00 more than I would have if I had gone factory speeds.

Now, if you include time for polishing, cutting gaskets, experimenting with settings etc etc, we would be way over budget but I had nothing better to do at the time so I donated the time.

Originally Posted by Shautieh @ITSa341 : as i said i'm not interested in overclocking, but i'd interested by cooling my PC to reduce the sound to a minimum (well, when i'll have a new PC i'll think about it ) so if you have some usefull links, please post them ^^ (i didn't ask by PM because it may be interesting for overclockers coming in this thread too)

With the case I have including 4 large fans, a dual fan 780 watt power supply and the TMD fan on the heatsink this thing is anything but quiet. For quiet clling, consider a passive radiator water cooling system such as the Zahlman Reserator or Reserator 2. We have used these with good luck on xbox and xbox 360 consoles with great results. They are quiet and work well. If you also add peltiers, copper spreaders and some work you will acheive excellent results well below room temperatures.

Peltiers allow using either water or air cooling to acheive well below room temperatures, sometimes WAY below with proper preparation and design. But, hardware monitoring is required along with auto-shutdown alarms since a peltier has horrible heat conduction if it fails or it's power supply does. Peltier do not conduct well at all but they "pump" heat from one side to the other very well. If you power a peltier and just let it hang in the air one side will leterally create frost and ice so once again prevent condensation or listen for the horrid zapping noise to end your fun!!

ok thanks for the additional infos, i'll look into all this later