Building a computer, anything else needed?

[spyro415]

So does this sound about right:

- Go into BIOS

- Set RAM to run at DDR266mhz

- Lower FSB multiplier

- Enable AGP/PCI lock

- Raise the FSB speed slowly in small increments, rebooting after each time to ensure stability and keeping a close eye on temps

- After finding the highest FSB speed, bump up voltage (1.50v to 1.55v?)

- Continue to raise the FSB speed until failure to boot again.

- Try to raise RAM back up to DDR400

- Run Prime95 for an extended period of time to ensure stability

And Furious, i am using the dvd/cd drive, HDD, and floppy drive from my old machine.

Also, will i be alright on the cooling? I will probably have around 5 80mm fans, 1 90mm fan, and the stock athlon heatsink. I hear alot of people OC fine on the stock athlon heatsink, but just double checking.

[ChopperKill]

So does this sound about right:

- Go into BIOS

- Set RAM to run at DDR266mhz

- Lower FSB multiplier

- Enable AGP/PCI lock

- Raise the FSB speed slowly in small increments, rebooting after each time to ensure stability and keeping a close eye on temps

- After finding the highest FSB speed, bump up voltage (1.50v to 1.55v?)

- Continue to raise the FSB speed until failure to boot again.

- Try to raise RAM back up to DDR400

- Run Prime95 for an extended period of time to ensure stability

And Furious, i am using the dvd/cd drive, HDD, and floppy drive from my old machine.

Yeah that sounds about right. If you go upto a 3800+ and it's unstable scale it back until it is stable. Also only increase the voltage of anything if it's unstable. For instance random reboots are a typical sign especially when playing games. Crashes to desktop or blue screens also. Don't panic if you get these it's just that the CPU and RAM don't have enough power so it causes a crash, that's why the higher voltages are needed. Be VERY careful when increasing voltages and it's better to have it slower and stable than a dangerously high voltage just to get it stable. You also may need to go higher than 1.55v About 1.65v is the highest you want to go but you could possibly get away with stock voltages. I have with my 2500 but it's all down to the individual setup. Be aware temperatures will be higher so you might need a better cooler. The older stock AMD ones were next to useless. I'm not sure about the new 64bit ones. Try it and if temps look a little high after your overclock just get a good 3rd party one.

If you're seriously considering this and want the very best out of it then you can get RAM that is rated upto 600Mhz so this allows it to run synchronously or 1:1 with your FSB even when overclocked. Something like Geil or OCZ RAM is what you want. It can be pricey though. If you can't get it though it won't matter too much. Any decrease in performance from a final slower RAM speed will more than be made up for by your gains in CPU speed.

One last thing. I wouldn't push your CPU until failure to boot or as far as it can go. If you can get it to a 3800+ speed then that's great and you're gunna get great value for your money. It's easy to get carried away with overclocking sometimes but the most important thing always is stabilty. If you can't use it day in day out for hours at a time then it's time to dial it down.

[T1no]

I hear nforce4 mobo's require some tweaking to be BF2 stable? Like shutting off NIC cards and such?

dont worry.
get socket 939.

[spyro415]

Yeah that sounds about right. If you go upto a 3800+ and it's unstable scale it back until it is stable. Also only increase the voltage of anything if it's unstable. For instance random reboots are a typical sign especially when playing games. Crashes to desktop or blue screens also. Don't panic if you get these it's just that the CPU and RAM don't have enough power so it causes a crash, that's why the higher voltages are needed. Be VERY careful when increasing voltages and it's better to have it slower and stable than a dangerously high voltage just to get it stable. You also may need to go higher than 1.55v About 1.65v is the highest you want to go but you could possibly get away with stock voltages. I have with my 2500 but it's all down to the individual setup. Be aware temperatures will be higher so you might need a better cooler. The older stock AMD ones were next to useless. I'm not sure about the new 64bit ones. Try it and if temps look a little high after your overclock just get a good 3rd party one.

If you're seriously considering this and want the very best out of it then you can get RAM that is rated upto 600Mhz so this allows it to run synchronously or 1:1 with your FSB even when overclocked. Something like Geil or OCZ RAM is what you want. It can be pricey though. If you can't get it though it won't matter too much. Any decrease in performance from a final slower RAM speed will more than be made up for by your gains in CPU speed.

One last thing. I wouldn't push your CPU until failure to boot or as far as it can go. If you can get it to a 3800+ speed then that's great and you're gunna get great value for your money. It's easy to get carried away with overclocking sometimes but the most important thing always is stabilty. If you can't use it day in day out for hours at a time then it's time to dial it down.

I don't think i'd have enough to get some OCZ or Geil RAM, but i'll check the prices again.

Yeah i was planning on stopping at about 2200mhz or 2300mhz, regardless of me able to push it any further.

Again, thanks a lot for your help, and your money saving solutions. I would still be totally lost without you guys explaining everything to me, haha.

EDIT: haha, i go to put together the cart at newegg, and the mobo i was going to get is out of stock. How long does newegg usually take to restock their items?