Do i have to upgrade motherboard?

hello, im new to overclocking and all that stuff, i just saw a guide i found on google about the "maximum stable overclocks easily attainable with a stock Intel heatsink/fan" on a E6300 Intel Core 2 Duo (its what i currently have), and it says the max stable OC they could get was this

"E6300 was able to reach 2.592GHz using a 370MHz FSB at 1.400V (up from 1.320V stock)"

what im wondering is if i will have to upgrade my motherboard in order to OC up to this or a lil lower, and if i have to upgrade anything else. my pc is as follows


HP Pavilion a1640n :

Windows Xp Media Center Edition SP2
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 1.8ghz
2048 Memory
250 GB HDD @ 7200 RPM
Evga 8800 GTS 320 MB
SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme-Gamer Professional Series



any help would be appreciated

 

Google "pc wizard" & use that to post your mobo make & model. Also, memory.

 

The simple answer is yes, you will need a motherboard that supports at least FSB overclocking. Aside from pin mods and other motherboard modifications HP motherboards are not overclockable. Overclocking via the PLL is also a possibility but IIRC HP has been using PLLs that don't support software overclocking when ever possible.

 

Okay, sorry for the late reply, heres what i got with pc wizard


Manufacturer : Hewlett-Packard Company
Mainboard : Asus Buckeye
Chipset : Intel P965
Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 @ 1866 MHz
Physical Memory : 2048 MB (2 x 1024 DDR2-SDRAM )
Video Card : Nvidia Corp GeForce 8800 GTS
Hard Disk : HDT722525DLA380 (250 GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : HL-DT-ST DVDRRW GSA-H30L
Monitor Type : 17 inches
Network Card : Intel Corporation 82562V 10/100 Network Connection
Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.01.2600 Service Pack 2
DirectX : Version 9.0c (March 2006)



is that what you needed?

 

Thanks, that's all I needed.

This being the most important. Yup, it's overclockable.

Read the guide you found. Basically, you multiply the CPU core ratio by the FSB. Your cpu has a ratio of 7 and a default speed of 1.86ghz.

http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9SA

1066 / 4 * 7 = 1865.5 or 1.86ghz

Divide by 4 cuz the FSB is quad bumped.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quad_Data_Rate

You can start by going to 333Mhz x 7 = 2331 or 2.3ghz. If the pc won't power on, look at your mobo manual for how to clear cmos. Start over. With a bump of cpu voltage (vcore). Keep vcore under 1.5v with air cooling. Find memtest on this site. Write it to a floppy/cd/dvd. Boot it up for 5-8 passes. Any errors mean your settings are unstable. Back off the FSB by 5mhz & keep memtesting. You might have to increase the vFSB/vNB (northbridge) up to 1.55v. Also, vdimm (ram voltage) up to 2.1v.

 

so would i have to do anything to my ram , or only increase the voltage on that after i up the cpu fsb to 333? i was looking at the "guide" i talked about before, and it has different ram i think than what i had, thats why im wondering if i have to do anything to my ram, i was looking at the ram info and it says

DDR2-SDRAM PC2-4300 (266 MHz) - [DDR2-533]
200 MHz, 266 MHz (frequencies supported)

and i think it said on a OC guide you guys have here stickied, i would have to raise the frequency on the memory to what i put on the cpu right? so since you said 333 , wouldnt that pose a problem with this ram or something? or would the only thing i have to do is raise the voltage up to 2.1 for the ram, (currently it says 1.8v i think)

 

I didn't know your ram specs. You can still try 333 FSB & a bit more vdimm. If that doesn't work, you might have to get new ram. I'd suggest DDR2-800MHZ or 1066mhz. Reason is your ram is the limiting factor. And most Core 2 chips are upward-locked. x7 is x7. No exception. The Extreme chips for $1000+ apiece is unlocked. Can be set to x9, 10, 11, 12, etc.

Before you buy ram, try to overclock your pc by 5mhz. 266 + 5 = 271 FSB. Reason is to find out if the bios lets you overclock. OEM makers like HP customize their BIOSes for stability. They might lock down the FSB option in bios.

 

heres what it says when i click on the memory sub menu on pcwizard


General Information :
A0 (RAS 0, RAS 1) : 1024 (Double Bank)
A1 : Empty
A2 (RAS 4, RAS 5) : 1024 (Double Bank)
A3 : Empty

Information SPD EEPROM (A0) :
Manufacturer : Micron Technology
Part Number : 16HTF12864AY-53ED4
Serial Number :
Type : DDR2-SDRAM PC2-4300 (266 MHz) - [DDR2-533]
Format : Regular UDIMM (133.35 x 3)
Size : 1024 MB (2 ranks, 4 banks)
Module Buffered : No
Module Registered : No
Module SLi Ready (EPP) : No
Width : 64-bit
Error Correction Capability : No
Max. Burst Length : 8
Refresh : Reduced (.5x)7.8 µs, Self Refresh
Voltage : SSTL 1.8v
Prefetch Buffer : 4-bit
Manufacture : Week 33 of 2006
Supported Frequencies : 200 MHz, 266 MHz
CAS Latency (tCL) : 3 clocks @200 MHz, 4 clocks @266 MHz
RAS to CAS (tRCD) : 3 clocks @200 MHz, 4 clocks @266 MHz
RAS Precharge (tRP) : 3 clocks @200 MHz, 4 clocks @266 MHz
Cycle Time (tRAS) : 9 clocks @200 MHz, 12 clocks @266 MHz
Min TRC : 12 clocks @200 MHz, 16 clocks @266 MHz

Information SPD EEPROM (A2) :
Manufacturer : Micron Technology
Part Number : 16HTF12864AY-53ED4
Serial Number :
Type : DDR2-SDRAM PC2-4300 (266 MHz) - [DDR2-533]
Format : Regular UDIMM (133.35 x 3)
Size : 1024 MB (2 ranks, 4 banks)
Module Buffered : No
Module Registered : No
Module SLi Ready (EPP) : No
Width : 64-bit
Error Correction Capability : No
Max. Burst Length : 8
Refresh : Reduced (.5x)7.8 µs, Self Refresh
Voltage : SSTL 1.8v
Prefetch Buffer : 4-bit
Manufacture : Week 33 of 2006
Supported Frequencies : 200 MHz, 266 MHz
CAS Latency (tCL) : 3 clocks @200 MHz, 4 clocks @266 MHz
RAS to CAS (tRCD) : 3 clocks @200 MHz, 4 clocks @266 MHz
RAS Precharge (tRP) : 3 clocks @200 MHz, 4 clocks @266 MHz
Cycle Time (tRAS) : 9 clocks @200 MHz, 12 clocks @266 MHz
Min TRC : 12 clocks @200 MHz, 16 clocks @266 MHz

Memory Controller Information :
Memory Controller : System Memory
Location : Mainboard
Error Correction Capability : No
Number of connectors : 4
Max. Module Size : 4096 KB


is that what you needed?

 

Yup.

This is the best memory chip manufacturer. Their chips are very overclockable. You should be able to hit 400mhz x 2 = 800mhz (DDR2) with a bit of more juice. Say, 2.1v.



I don't know your exact mobo model, but you should see something like this when you restart pc and tap DEL or F2 or whatever is written on screen or in the manual to access the BIOS. Change tuning to manual, increase dram freq to 271 mhz. That's a 5mhz overclock. Should be a walk in the park. Insert the memtest disk & save bios & exit. If it errors out, you might have to back to bios and increase vdimm by a notch.

 

ok i went into the bios settings and the cpu was grayed out? i couldnt adjust it or the ram??

 

Can you post a picture of your bios? Or copy and paste the text in here? I think you have a parent/top option at the top of the screen, try setting it to manual. By default, it's AUTO.

 

and sorry for late reply, my MOBO model is this i think it says.

P5BW-LA Buckeye

i googled the number and found some links to forums, and in one of them i think it said a guy was trying to OC something in it and people replied "you wont be able to OC anything on that" , so my guess is im gonna have to buy a new MOBO , what do you think akhilles? i think if i end up buying a new MOBO im gonna have to get a bigger Pc Case , since this HP one is kinda small and im not sure itll hold a different MOBO (its already way cramped with my upgrade PSU / Vid Card

 

Didn't I Say that all the way up on post 3? And your asking akhilles for more advice :confused. Never mind me I'm not here. rolleyes

 

lol sorry ace, he had said i could OC it so i took it for granted lol, i think it would just be cheaper for me to build a new pc.... since either way im gonna have to buy a new mobo, new case, etc just for a lil oc'ing, i figure if i just build a new one and buy a quad processor instead and stuff, do vista on that one and keep this one as an XP backup

 

I assume its a micro ATX mobo?

 

honestly, i got no clue =/

 

In theory, it can o/c, but the bios is locked down. See the advanced tab. You can pick up a $50 ASUS P965 mobo on ebay that can overclock. If you're lucky, it's even less, given the economy. i.e. ASUS P5B or GA-965P-DS3. P35 will cost you $70-100.