cdog222

I have a very general fan question. I've replaced the cpu fan 3 times (I'm on the 4th one now) over the course of a year, maybe a bit longer. The fans I have been using are the basic ones you can pick up at BB. The computer is inside a desk cabinet, with the door kept open. Is this the normal life expectancy for a generic cpu fan, or could something else such as the power supply be contributing to the fan malfuntioning? Thanks, Chris

Over the last year, I've been building a small business doing kitchen / bath remodeling as well as ceramic tile installation. It's great being able to work for myself etc. etc., but my real interests are in computers. I've been trying to think of a computer related business to start up, but I really don't have a feel for the 'market'. I do know that it seems many of the mom and pop type businesses that build pc's, etc., haven't fared too terribly well, as computers and components are so cheap now. I do not have a formal computer related education - it's all been hands on (since my TRS-80 from Radio Shack 20 years or so ago!). Startup costs aren't an issue - is there a viable business that I could run (on a small level) and make a living? I know I don't have too terribly much info listed here for such a question - we'll just see where the thread goes

I'm currently water cooling the video card chip, and I am using Tweakmonster ramsinks. The only hot part on the vid card is the little cold plate on the backside. I may try to get a fan in there, but I am really confused as to why my system wigs out when I clock the mem even slightly higher than what it is now. I noticed in a different thread, someone mentioned backing the mem timings off a bit to 6-3-3-2. I had mine set at 5-3-2-2, so I may try to back that off a bit and see if I can up the mem clock some. We'll see how it goes.....

I've been using Powerstrip as well. The nice thing is that when your card wiggs out and your system restarts, Powerstrip gives you the option to reset your clock speeds on the next bootup. So....if you accidentally power off your PC or it resets for something other than your card being clocked too high, you simply tell Powerstrip not to reset on bootup, and you can still keep your clock speeds. Now the million dollar question is whether or not to pay to register it to get rid of that annoying dialogue box timer

Thanks a bunch for the feedback. I guess I am at the point where my components just won't handle anymore, regardless of the fact that they are staying cool, which leave me to "dream of CPUs that operate at lower voltages, massive water blocks, peltier junctions and huge cooling towers so you can go back to step 1"

As I am relatively new to OC'ing, most of my knowledge is based on what I have read on these boards, and not firsthand experience. One thing that seems to come up over and over again is 'if you can manage the heat, you should be able to get more out of your cpu/video card/etc.". My question is this - my AMD 2800 is currently clocked near 2.5ghz (205*12.5) and runs at about 37

I've just recently oc'd my Radeon 9700 Pro to around 385mhz core, 340mhz mem and it is running quite well, but I noticed that the cold plate (not sure if that's the correct term) on the back on the board behind a bunch of capacitors is hotter than hell - almost too hot to touch. I was kinda expecting the main chip and / or memory to be hot, but they are actually just a bit warm. I am cooling the main chip with a Koolance liquid cooled case, and I just purchased ramsinks (I don't even really think I need them to be honest), but I'm not sure what to do about the hot part - is it normal, or is there something I can do to cool it down a bit if needed? Thanks for the help...

Best score so far has been 5753 with the following. I should have some ramsinks to try out in a couple days and maybe push the 9700 Pro a bit further, as he's already getting pretty hot Score: 5753 Date: 2003-06-26 CPU: AMD Athlon Processor 2466 MHz GPU: ATI RADEON 9700/9500 Series 382 MHz / 349 MHz OS: Microsoft Windows XP Res: 1024x768@32 bit

Ok, a bit of an update. Using the above suggestion (Thanks!), I was able to change the BIOS memory settings to 6-3-2-2. Unfortunately, when I try to change the RAS to CAS setting from 3 to 2, I wind up with a blank screen and flashing cursor immediately after POST. I'm assuming that 3 is my limit then?? Secondly, by changing the frequency to SPD, I am showing a memory frequency of 200mhz. Now here's the dumb question of the day - does this reflect the DDR capability of the RAM, meaning that it's running at 400mhz, or is it really at 200mhz? I made the assumtion that it was the latter, and changed the frequency setting from SPD to 120%, which resulted in my having to reset the CMOS. Any more feedback would be appreciated. Oh, and as to the type of RAM, it is the Platinum 'version' - not sure if that helps or not. Thanks!!

I am quite new to overclocking, and I have just spent the better part of 5 hours playing around with my new system. It seems that I have a good deal of flexibility with the FSB and multiplyer settings, and I am able to get to just under 2500mhz with my AMD XP 2800. I am using an Asus A7N8X Deluxe mb The problem starts when I try to make any adjustment to the memory settings in the BIOS. It seems that with any minor adjustments, things go bad fast, from having to take out the battery on the mb and reset the CMOS to simply not being able to POST. I am using Corsair XMS 3200 ram. I guess I have 2 questions : First, I am seeing many people post with memory BIOS settings of 5-2-2-2, etc. Currently, my BIOS is showing as 8-3-3-3, and I don't know how to make it better without running into the problems mentioned above. Second, how do I tell what frequency the memory is running at? With the frequency setting in BIOS set to 'auto', the 'Resulting Frequency' is also showing as 'Auto'. Hopefully I'm not another noob rehashing the same stuff for the 1000th time - if there is good reference material that I can read to help, please point me in the right direction. I've been looking for quite a while, and I've found lots of good general information that has allowed me to get to this point, but now I'm stuck Thanks in advance... edit......I wanted to add that I am currently at 205mhz with a multiplyer of 12.0