Can someone help me?

[BrokenHalo83]

I've never OC'ed before and I think after completing a few builds, I think i'm ready to try. Is there a guide of some sorts i can use to follow somewhere? I'm not going for anything huge(especially since my board is mATX), I just wanna see if I can squeeze a bit more performance out of it.

[Yellowhello]

It's hard to recommend one end-all guide to overclocking since everyone has a different motherboard/CPU/RAM. Basically, you want to bump up the FSB (front-side bus) until the system becomes unstable (failing to boot into Windows, doesn't run at 100% load for extended periods of time) then bump up the voltage a little bit (about 0.05V at a time) and start upping the FSB once again.

Watch your temps when upping the voltage, and raising the voltage too much can cause your CPU to overheat. Also watch your RAM speeds and the ratio between your FSB and RAM. Usually there is a "divider" or ratio between the FSB and RAM like "266/800" or "1:2", something along those lines. Unless you have the uberfast, ultra-expensive RAM, use the divider to keep it at it's stock speeds.

Overclocking is not an exact science and nothing is ever gaurenteed. Also, stability is the name of the game when you are overclocking for 24/7 use and not to do a one-time beckmark suicide run. There are some recommend programs designed to stress your CPU and test it's stability outlined HERE.

If that's not confusing enough for you, just post some specific questions and we can go a little more in-depth for you.

Good luck!

[BrokenHalo83]

I'm using the parts in my specs below and the ram im using is OCZ Vista Performance Platinum 4GB kit(part #OCZ2P8004GK). Im using a 2 gig stick right now but im thinking of switching to Vista 64 bit which would be why I bought a 4gig kit. The divider shows up on cpu-z as "1:2" and the latencies are 6-6-6-18. The main thing I suppose I wanna try for first is to overclock the cpu a bit and if all goes well I may try to OC the memory. I know not all processors, boards or ram will all OC the same so I know it can be a painstaking process. And I do somewhat understand what you're talking about Yellow, I was just wondering if there was a detailed guideline of sorts that I could follow

[Yellowhello]

That is the issue, for the guide to be detailed it has to be written about your board/CPU/RAM specifically. And I have yet to see any detailed guide written using those parts.

[Craigleberry]

As long as you leave volts alone you will be playing in a "safe" field.

[Tech Geek Deluxe]

It isn't wise to make "fail to boot" a parameter to reach ... it could be bad for your CPU.

That 2.2 CPU should comfortably OC to 2.6 GHZ without raising Voltages and keeping Ram Timings near spec. You can inch it up from there ... but I don't suggest trying to hold much past the 2.6GHZ ... especially if you don't have a great aftermarket Heatsink and Fan setup.

Start with 2.4GHZ or therabouts ... watch for any hangs or quirky behaviors not to mention temps that are too hot. Keep it below 55 degrees C on full load ... period. If everything is working well with no quirkiness and the "full load temps" are lower than 55 degrees Celsius ... and you are holding 2.6GHZ stable ...

Then do what you do normally with it paying close attention to odd hangs or quirky unstable behavior. If you run into it on occasion ... a small incremental increase of voltage usually completely resolves the problem.

You can be more aggressive on finding the OC max as yellow suggested ... however you said this is your first attempt ... I suggest slow and steady cautious increments that prove to be temp and operationally stable.

The core 2 does accept additional Voltage ... but there is a diminishing return ... or a ceiling as to what each chip can really run without some stress and damage to it.

When you test it to the point of tiny stresses and damage ... the damage is already done and you can't go back. Usually your chip is still fine within spec and maybe some over ... but why not take it up carefully without risk of any stress and damage?

Besides at those levels of "Unable to boot" ... your not as likely to have a super stable system ... even with voltage increases ... which can more readily damage the CPU.

Hey ... I've been overclocking since the mid 1980's and on most of the 25 or so computers I have had since then ...

Never fried a chip yet ... however I did recently take a Core 2 Duo E6600 too high during some testing and what I noticed is ... it just can't take near the overclock that it did when it was brand new. I took it up too much ... too hot ... too long ... too much voltage ... so I now only have a 400GHZ overclock on it ... It was able to hold an 800MHZ OC pretty stable before that ... but I wanted to push it to its edge ... I did ... but it did have a small effect on its ability to overclock ... I cannot be exactly certain as to why ... but It doesn't perform as well as new.

[Craigleberry]

What he said ^^

[BrokenHalo83]

Should I leave the FSB and ram linked when overclocking or should i unlink them?

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by BrokenHalo83

Should I leave the FSB and ram linked when overclocking or should i unlink them?

You should unlink them and keep the RAM at their stock speed if your only going to overclock your CPU. You can raise the RAM speed later.