Final Installation:

Ready To Rock

   Now with the motherboard, CPU & RAM installed, it's time to add in the rest of the hardware to complete the system. Here's the setup:

Hardware Setup:

- ASUS M2N320SLI Deluxe
- AMD AM2 3500+ CPU
- SuperTalent PC2-6400 DDR2
- Dual XFX 7800GT OC's in SLI
- Ultra X2 550w Modular PSU
- Sony 16x DVD-RW
- Modded Tech Station

The Adventure Begins:

   Now that my journey thru the BIOS is done and I'm up and running, let's take a look at the standard information on this particular combination:

   CPU-Z is a terrific program to get some in-depth information on your rig. It's highly recommended for anyone who is, or plans to mess with their system.

Time to Overclock:

   After running the system idle for a day or so to get the feel of it and it's temperatures I was mightily surprised by this AM2 3500+. Now I know I installed a mildly better heatsink to the cpu, but the incredibly low temps that I was running really were impressive.

   My AM2 3500+ was idling between 20c and 23c. That's due in great deal to the low voltage (1.35v) that this CPU consumes. Even under load it was only in the upper 20's range to maybe 30c-31c. That's pretty damn good considering my X2 4400+ would idle around or above 30c. But this is a single core, not a dual core so I expected a reduction, just not that much.

   Now I never really overclocked my X2 4400+ much because, well, I paid $545 for that cpu. It was my first dual core. It was impressive powerful right from the beginning and I didn't see a need to overclock it. So overclocking this AM2 3500+ is a new venture into AMD overclocking for me, but certainly not a first time overclocking in general, so I know what I'm looking at and what generally to adjust to get the desired results.

Where to Begin...

   As I sit here and think of ALL the changes and reboots and more changes and reboots and CMOS resets and more changes and reboots, I think where the hell do I even begin to explain this process!?

   I'll have to start with the memory, since that was my primary objective, to torture this SuperTalent memory.

   Since AMD CPU's have a built-in memory controller and something called Hyper-Transport Technology (HTT), you have to have some idea as to what you're doing. Overclocking an Intel CPU is pretty straight forward where you just up the FSB and see how far you can get it. After that, if your motherboard has a "divider" you can go for more.

   With AMD it's different. This AM2 3500+ is what they call "unlocked" meaning you can adjust the CPU clock multiplier from it's stock 11x down to whatever your motherboard will allow. Most overclockers bring it down to 10x or even 9x and 8x to achieve maximum overclocks.

   As you increase the CPU frequency (HTT), you will also increase the CPU clock speed. When you get to a certain point, you're gonna want to take down the CPU clock multiplier a notch to lower the CPU clock speed in order to up the frequency. If you're going for broke, you'll also want to lower the HTT multiplier. It's 5x HTT by default on this ASUS board (200mhz x 5 = 1000mhz 'doubled' to 2000mhz because it's HT 2.0) Make sense? Some of you know what I mean.

Example:

- With an 11x CPU clock multiplier, and a 5x HTT multiplier, a 200mhz External Frequency will be 2.2ghz CPU Clock Speed and a 2000mhz Hyper-Transport Speed.

- With a 10x CPU clock multiplier, and a 5x HTT multiplier, a 200mhz External Frequency will be a 2.0ghz CPU Clock Speed yet still a 2000mhz Hyper-Transport Speed.

   If you noticed, everything revolves around the CPU External Frequency in obtaining the numbers for an AMD setup. Using multipliers for both CPU and HTT we get to the overall CPU clock speed and the HTT speed. Now since AMD's HTT 2.0 is capped at 2000mhz, you want to stay as close as you can to that 2000mhz HTT number. Using multipliers, that's not as hard as you may think. Here's a couple more examples with some added overclocking.

Overclocked Examples:

- With an 11x CPU clock multiplier, and a 5x HTT multiplier, a 240mhz External Frequency will bring a 2640mhz CPU clock speed and a 1200mhz (x2) HTT speed.

- With a 10x CPU clock multiplier, and a 4x HTT multiplier, a 240mhz External Frequency will bring a 2400mhz CPU clock speed and a 960mhz (x2) HTT speed.

   The second example above is typically a more favorable situation for your system. You won't be stressing the CPU as much and you'll be closer to the magic 1000mhz (x2) HTT speed. CPU clock multipliers, HTT multipliers, CPU voltages, RAM voltages, and CAS latency's are some of the main components in overclocking. However let's not forget the hardware itself.

    Gathering the right hardware for your own personal overclocking adventure is crucial for success. I go back to my purchase of the best ASUS board currently on the market for AM2 and the uber SuperTalent DDR2 T800UX2GC4 supplied by SuperTalent.