Overclocking Athlon 64 - 3500? 3700? 3800? Is there a "sweet spot"?

Not sure how exactly I'm going to phrase this question, but here
goes. I'm trying to figure out which Athlon 64 to get, and I've
decided that I'm going to base my decision on each CPU's
generally acknowledged overclockability. The obvious answer is
that an overclocked 3800 will be faster than an overclocked 3700,
which will in turn be faster than an overclocked 3500, but I'm
after information less generalized than that. Why? Quite simply
because of the dramatic price differences between the various CPUs.

The particular phenomenon I am considering on this topic is the
scenario where a given CPU (or whatever) seems to overclock very
well, but the next step up barely overclocks at all, resulting in
both items reaching very similar speeds overclocked, or at least
with a large discrepancy between the overclocking results of the
two CPUs. This could be the fault of differing nanometer
manufacturing processes from one CPU to the next, or who knows what.
Point is, it happens, and I'm keen to know if this seems to be the
case with the Athlon 64 series of CPUs. If, for example, the 3500
(Newcastle) overclocks very well, but the 3700 barely overclocks
at all, then I can happily save $150 by passing up the 3700.

If it's relevant, I'll be using air cooling, albiet with a nice
(in my opinion) heatsink / fan combination: Thermalright XP-90
plus a 92mm PanaFlo.

If anyone knows of a page I might peruse which gives statistics on
typical overclocking results for various CPUs, that would be very
handy information.

Thanks in advance!

On 26 Sep 2004 00:45:06 -0700, (Marc Brown) wrote:

If anyone knows of a page I might peruse which gives statistics on
typical overclocking results for various CPUs, that would be very
handy information.

The CPU Database page on www.overclockers.com should be just what you
need.
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I have found the Amd 64 bit cpu to be very overclockable, and fairly cool
running....at least mine seems to have that capability.

The only problem preventing a good OC on these cpu's is the fixed AGP buses etc.
ie. one increases speed and all the other buses increase speed too. So its
essential you buy a motherboard based on the later NF3 250 chipsets where you
can lock the AGP etc.

I've had the 1meg 2nd cache version of the 3200 for several months and I've only
been able to increase the clock speed to 212 from its default of 200
(ie.400-ddr) any higher and I get corrupted graphics (9800 Pro) because I
cannot lock the AGP port on my Asus K8V SE D/L board. However I can run at
that speed fine with the cpu core voltage reduced from its default of 1.5v down
to 1.4v so I have my fans running slower for a quieter machine & cpu temps are
only around the 34c mark.

So based on the fact I can OC a small amount and yet run with a lower vcore
voltage tells me this cpu should OC very well indeed.
Whether the later and faster cpu's have good OC potential I don't know, maybe
other users can answer that.

Regards

Mike

Haven't had much luck with my A64 2800. I hit wall at 216 FSB with a nforce 3
chipset.. Could be a ram problem but I haven't seen too many big O'Cing
succeses with these CPU's.So its
essential you buy a motherboard based on the later NF3 250 chipsets where you
can lock the AGP etc.

On 27 Sep 2004 21:21:22 GMT, (YanquiDawg) wrote:

Haven't had much luck with my A64 2800. I hit wall at 216 FSB with a nforce 3
chipset.. Could be a ram problem but I haven't seen too many big O'Cing
succeses with these CPU's.

The earliest 2800's may have been "bad" cpu's that just didn't run
faster.

Newer one's are probably better, but prices have dropped on the faster
chips too.

I'd start a bit higher these days.

I just bought it 3-4 weeks ago. It could be original stock though.

The earliest 2800's may have been "bad" cpu's that just didn't run
faster.

Newer one's are probably better, but prices have dropped on the faster
chips too.

I'd start a bit higher these days.