Attempting another budget build... again

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Sometimes motherboards don't read memory specifications correctly when they see them. If your memory is rated for 1600mhz and 8-8-8-24, then you can set those in the motherboard.
Personally though, if it were me, I'd stick with only lowering the timings. By changing the memory speed, you could be overclocking your CPU's speed and making your system unstable.
Read up on overclocking before you change any of those. Not saying you should overclock, but that subject will perhaps help you understand why your motherboard lowered the memory's clock speed. It could be because the CPU's multiplier, FSB speed (that's what those athlon's use, eh?), and memory clock didn't have a common denominator.

Bleaktrotter,

Thank you for that informative message. However, I did figure out why it was underclocked. I read the specifications again, and it's actually 1600 (O.C) / 1333 / 1066, etc. But for now, I've set it back to AUTO and returned to 1333. I'm currently reading up on how to overclock the CPU only. I'm still not too sure on which voltage settings need to be changed.

Cheers.
 
The only way to overclock your processor independently is to raise the CPU multiplier which in your case won't be possible. All CPUs except for Extreme Editions and Black Pearl or whatever AMD calls it have locked multipliers (you can only go down). Since your memory is advertised as being able to go up 270 mhz higher than "stock" 1333MHz however, you should be just fine in raising the FSB to overclock since your memory has a lot of head room. To do a sucessful full system overclock, you'll probably need to raise vram (memory voltage, to a max of 1.8v in your case), vcore (to a max of 1.6v), and MAYBE northbridge voltage once you get more advanced and want to squeeze everything out of your computer.
But remember, raising voltages isn't absolutely necessary to overclocking. Only raise voltages when your system is crashing because of your overclock being too high. To start off, raise the FSB 5 MHz, then run prime 95 (the one that supports quad core). 10-15 minutes should be fine while trying to find a stable clock. Once you've decided on a clock speed you're happy with, run prime95 for a minimum of two hours and a recommended time of 4-5. Also grab a copy of CPU-z to keep track of your CPU's, memory's, and motherboards clock speeds. Another important piece of software would be a temperature monitoring tool. Everest Ultimate Edition is the best, but it costs money. Unless you know the ropes of various file sharing communities, you should probably use SpeedFan.
After you do all this,
 
I would not recommend OCing without aftermarket cooling installed; quad-core CPUs get very hot, very fast. Buy something like the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro, or spend some more and get the Xigmatek HDT-S1283, get some good-quality thermal paste like Tuniq's TX-2, and then OC the CPU. Raise the FSB only and follow the advice in the post above.

Do not bother yourself with the memory clocks; they make no noticeable difference performance-wise. Leave everything as-is IMO. Besides, if your board keeps a 1:1 (or other) ratio between the memory frequency and FSB, then it should OC the memory automatically along with the FSB to maintain the ratio.


You should not need to increase the Vcore or Vdimm (not too much, at least) to get to 3Ghz IMO.

I would recommend HWMonitor, CoreTemp and RealTemp as excellent temperature monitoring programs. SpeedFan is highly innacurate compared to these, and I do not recommend it.
 
same, don't oc if you're cooling can't handle it. I got same cpu cooler mentioned above and it did wonders for my quad core.
 
You can raise the vcore a little on the stock HSF. All you have to make sure of is that the temperature isn't higher than the safe limit. From what I've read, 70c is the max safe level, but to be extra safe and maintain the longevity of your CPU, I'd limit it at 65c. This allows for a little head room for voltage adjustments.
Better cooling solutions are available that will allow you to raise your voltage more. There are better HSF solutions such as Artic Cooler mentioned above which will probably be something you want. Water cooling may be out of the budget as the computer only cost 500$, but a good water cooling setup can last a decade and be applied to all your computers with just a new water block for your CPU. That's just something to keep in mind as you get more passionate about over clocking.
For example, for all of my CPUs I can max out the BIOS voltage settings with my water cooling set up. My e6600 is running at 3.6 GHz with 1.68v and has been chugging along since 2006. Before that, I had my FX-57 @ 3.3 GHz and Athlon X2 4800 at 2.8 GHz (didn't have much luck with high overclocks on the AMDs). I've never had a burnout problem in my life, so that might be why I'm so liberal with voltages. I personally think the community is too cautious with overclocking. The worst thing that has ever happened to me while overclocking is a BSOD which led to a borked raid array that housed my OS. It was a pain, but that's the life of an overclocker.
 
Guys,

Im back! This time, I have a power related question. I haven't used my PC too much yet since I've been busy, but for the two times I've used it, this is what I've noticed. After a "cold" period or so, perhaps a couple of hours? When I plug in the PC to the power socket, then flip the switch on the PSU, and then go to press the power button, the fans will start spinning for two thirds of a second, and everything will then go quiet. The system doesn't start up.

However, if I press the power button again, the fans start spinning and all is well, everything starts up.

On another occasion, pressing the power button did nothing and the PC did not respond (I tried pressing 4 ~ 5 times). However, flipping the PSU switch off, and then turning it on again fixed the problem. Pressing the power button started the system.

My question is, is this a faulty PSU or something? Or am I using up my 400 watts (which I highly doubt so)? Or when I plug in the PC, and flip up the switch, is there like a momentary period where the PSU needs to "collect" power before it can be used or something? Sorta like getting some juice to provide the initial jolt to start the system? Pardon me if I'm completely off, I'm merely a lay person and do not know the exact intricate workings of a PC's electronics. I only follow this reasoning because once it has started up, no matter how many times I shut it down, pushing the power button will start it up just fine. This is only until there's a cold period, perhaps a couple of hours again or something? Or when I unplug the PSU and flip the switch off?

ANy thoughts would be helpful on the matter.

Cheers,
Thanks again everyone.
 
Hi guys,

I have a quick question to see if anyone can diagnose a little quirk I've been having. For two times now, whenever I plug something into the front panel of the HAF-922, my windows would literally just reboot itself. No warning whatsoever.

The first incident occurred via a WD Passport (USB port), and the second incident occurred while I was plugging in a mic into the microphone jack.

Can such a thing occur (perhaps plugging in causes some sort of voltage instabilit) ? I've tried replugging it in after reboot, and I can't reenact the situation. It seems to be very random.

Or is there something wrong with the reset button perhaps? That it's loose and when I'm plugging it in, the slight movement in the case is sufficient to cause the contacts to touch?

I'm trying to figure this out because other than that, Windows 7 never restarts by itself, I've not had any problems except for this front panel issue (rear panel doesn't have any of these issues).

Thanks again guys, any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers.
 
Or is there something wrong with the reset button perhaps? That it's loose and when I'm plugging it in, the slight movement in the case is sufficient to cause the contacts to touch?
To eliminate this possibility you can temporarily unplug the reset button at the motherboard end and see what happens.

Are you getting a static discharge by any chance? Try grounding yourself by touching the metal of the case before connecting anything to the front panel.
 
To eliminate this possibility you can temporarily unplug the reset button at the motherboard end and see what happens.

Are you getting a static discharge by any chance? Try grounding yourself by touching the metal of the case before connecting anything to the front panel.

Mail,

Thank you for your reply. I don't think there was any discharge since I was touch the back of the case first (for support) before plugging something in. Perhaps I'll consider unplugging the reset button this weekend.

I've also considered that it was something to do with a software/driver or a bios issue. I'll keep you guys posted on this rather weird phenomena. It has not happened since.

Cheers.
 
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