Problems with some overclocking

[AsphyxiA]

About a year ago i got my friend into computer gaming and well after building a fairly nice system for himself, he also got into the overclocking crowd:cool: Well we tried overclocking his system and all seems to go well EXCEPT when we get the cpu clock up to a certain point anything beyond 3.2ghz, windows will not boot and will come up with an error message: windows/system32/drivers<-- something of that effect, is missing or corrupt. Need some help because I can see how much potential his system has and would like him to get the most out of it.

Friend's system specs:
Intel P4 478 3.0ghz Prescott<--only 45 dollars!
Gigabyte GA-8I848P<--only 20
1 gig (2x512) DDR 400 Corsair value ram
ATI X800 XT AIW
C.Labs XFI S.card <--godly
160gig SATA hd<-- is this the culperate?
Thermatake Big Typhoon with Green Antec fan @2000RPM max
DVD-RWDL

[FLY3R]

Make sure the PCI clocks are locked at 100mHz and the PCI clocks are locked at 33.3mHz. Yes that hard drive could be the problem but usaly it only becomes a problem after the CPU reaches a FSB of 250+ and if that chip is running a 15 multi (i think) and is only 3.2 gHz then thats not the prob (15x214=3210mHz). Try upping the Vcore and make sure that his load temps are not beoned 55C MAX, they can handle 60C but begain to "Thermal Throttle" at 62C. If that does not help then run his ram in a divider... Other than that it could just be a simple bios update. good luck!!

[Thermopylae_480]

What powersupply is he using?

[Polaris573]

where did you find a $45 P4?

[AsphyxiA]

ok the power supply is an antec 350 watter, it came with the case! As for the CPU, this guy at my college was getting rid of his "old" gaming rig because and i quote, "my new Dell laptop performs so much better and i dont need anything else." So I traded my old 2.4ghz Celeron and swapped it out and he let me have the P4 for $45. Plus it was in perfect condition, only had the thing for a year and it was running on an intel brand motherboard! Awesometacular!

[yogurt_21]

I'd recomend a beefier psu for overclocking, nothing too expensive but a good brand with 500 watts.

[Thermopylae_480]

At least 400watts with some good 12v amperage. Bare minimum.

[Solaris17]

thermo what do u recoomend i have a 400w psu and my amprage on the 12 is 17 is that all right?

[Polaris573]

OCZ Modstream has 26amps on the 12v. 17 is probably okay though.

[Dynamic]

OCZ 520 Modstream has 28amps on the 12v rail....look....

450W: +3.3V(28A), +5V(45A), +12V(26A)

520W: +3.3V(28A), +5V(52A), +12V(28A)

[Polaris573]

The 450 "only" has 26.... that's the one I was talking about. I guess I should have been more clear.

[Solaris17]

thnx guys but @ polaris u really think 17 is ok?

[Polaris573]

I think 17 is okay, obviously it's not the best. As long as the power supply is good quality and doesn't fluctuate to much then it should fine. I wouldn't go any lower though especially if you plan on doing some good overclocking.

[Solaris17]

what do you think is safe or the norm 20?

[Polaris573]

from what I've seen 17 & 18 are about average for most decent PSU that people mention.

[yogurt_21]

I'd say actually 22 is more recomended as overclocking makes for a strong draw from the psu. take my 4000 sandy, at stock it draws 89 watts (not sure of the amps), overclocked it draws 130, same with the x1800xt at stock it draws 270 watts load 14.9 amps, overclocked 18.5 amps 320 watts.

not sure about the prescott and the aiw x800xt but i'd still say 22 should be the bare minimum for overclocking.

[Polaris573]

Yes I would recommend around 20 as well. I'm just saying 17 or 18 at the very least for overclocking.

[Thermopylae_480]

I have 400w with 17amps on my 12v line. I can overclock my processor about 650MHz and overclock my 6800GS from 489-509MHz core, and from 500-622MHz mem, both working in conjunction. All on a generic powersupply. I do hit a wall after that that I feel I could easily break with a better PSU, but I can still acomplish some stuff.

I certainly recommend more than 17a though, if you go shopping.