My Specs:
Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200
Gigabyte S-Series G31M-ES2L motherboard
NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT
4GB Kingston DDR2 RAM

How much could I overclock with my dual core? Need instructions and etc. thanks

Hi Waterproof,
the e5200 has a history of going to 4Ghz with a minor bump in voltage (1.415-1.430) check this out from bit-tech http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2008/12/22/athlon-x2-7750-vs-intel-e5200-oc-review/1 i would in no way shape or form attempt this without a very good aftermarket HS/F, and reading up on overclocking. and you are aware that when you overclock that there is always a chance that you could burn up your processor and the components attached to it right? a vast majority of time if you do it correctly you will add performance and things will be fine, but there is always a chance. enough of my soapbox! this article has good info on how to overclock the e5200. hope it helps

Hi Waterproof,
the e5200 has a history of going to 4Ghz with a minor bump in voltage (1.415-1.430) check this out from bit-tech http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2008/12/22/athlon-x2-7750-vs-intel-e5200-oc-review/1 i would in no way shape or form attempt this without a very good aftermarket HS/F, and reading up on overclocking. and you are aware that when you overclock that there is always a chance that you could burn up your processor and the components attached to it right? a vast majority of time if you do it correctly you will add performance and things will be fine, but there is always a chance. enough of my soapbox! this article has good info on how to overclock the e5200. hope it helps

I'd suggest going over to overclockers.net or one of the other very popular sites for this thing you want to achieve. Few things to consider.

1. Your power supply, how many watts is it, what brand, and how old is it. "Rage" here at TS could better explain to you about capacitor aging than I can.
2. Your motherboard, does it allow decent overclocking, if you dont know google your motherboard...
3. Your method of cooling. The 4 Ghz club isnt easy on your cpu if you cant transfer the heat quickly enough you may cook your cpu from the inside out.


Might I also say "DO A LOT OF READING." I've yet to cook a cpu, but I did my homework. If you're going to overclock dont bump your front side buss really high or your vcore voltage to the max, take small steps. You can find a lot of guides online, I also think there is a guide here, use the search box.

1) Dont go higher then 1.375 volts for e5200 (Based on intel's max vid).
2) Download core temp. Keep temperatures below 65celcius. Buy an aftermarket heatsink. Artic Freezer Pro and Xigmatech heatsinks have good value and performance.
3) Make sure you set your ram divider correctly, or your ram will be unstable.
4) Expect 3400mhz to 3800mhz for stable 24/7 usage, with moderate longevity.

I have a similar motherboard and chip in my secondary system. Go to bios, in my system I have to push delete on startup. Go to motherboad tweaker section.

Robust Graphics- Auto.
Cpu Clock Ratio 12
Fine CPU CLOCK Ratio 0.5
CPU host clock control enabled
CPU host frequency 280
PCI express Auto
Performance enhanced Standard
System Memory Multiplier 2.5
System Voltage Control Manual
DDR Overvoltage control Normal
FSB Overvoltage control Normal
CPU Voltage 1.35 Volts

Then push f10 to save.
This will give you 3500 Mhz. Make sure the temperature is safe with core temp. Test stability with prime 95. Check speed with cpu z (The chip will run slower when its not being used). Just search google for programs. If you have any questions just ask.

Now you need to fine tune a few things. Set memory multiplier to 3.0 and ddr overvoltage to +0.1. Test your memory to see if it is stable using prime blend. This will make your memory run at 1.9 volts @ 840mhz.

What to do if your system is unstable? You have two choices.
1) Lower your speed.
2) Raise your voltage.

a good max temp 65 celcius, max voltage for cpu - 1.375volts, ram - 1.9-2.1volts