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Step One, Selecting a Motherboard

     As you've explained before having a motherboard with the features you need to overclock is the primary step from which to start overclocking. If you are reading this article and you have a OEM computer from a manufacturer such as one of the top ten such as Dell, Gateway, Compaq, HP, or IBM, etc; Well you're out of luck to a certain extent. Most of these computers have no overclocking options whatsoever, let alone options to change the latency settings to take advantage of performance memory. Some of you may be in luck, and have one of these computers with a Universal Power Supply which means you an install any brand of power supply, upgrade your motherboard, and use all your existing equipment. Your processor, memory, video card, and so on should be applicable to your overclockable board of choice, and you now have a HP, Compaq, Dell, Gateway system (well not really anymore) with the capability to overclock. As mentioned above a ABIT, Asus, Epox, Albatron, etc motherboard is the preferred board of choice at ClubOC, and the most recommended. Most of these motherboards will have some options to gain performance from overclocking, although some of the less expensive ones may be disappointing, so pay attention to reviews from hardware websites to insure you make the right choice. Within the ClubOC review archives you should be able to get a good idea of what a good motherboard can offer, you can find that link here.

Step Two, Selecting a Power Supply

     Most people not familiar or just starting to overclock overlook one of the biggest keys to a good performing and stable system, the power supply. Overclocking stresses components, and when the components get stressed it all leads back to the heart of the system, the motherboard, and its ability to hold the voltages which power such things as the memory, video card, USB devices, input devices such as your keyboard, soundcard, etc. Well surprise, the motherboard won't be able to make these functions capable of being stressed if your power supply isn't able too either. Since the power supply gives power to the motherboard, well you can pretty much understand what I'm getting at at this point. We recommend the biggest baddest power supply you can buy for your money. A link to our power supply reviews is here.

Selecting the right memory

     Selecting the right memory can be as confusing as the technology behind it. Let's take standard DDR for instance. When DDR first came out, it was named after it's actual speed such as PC266, which would be 266MHz. Some guy got the brainy idea to make the memory sound tougher in order to compete with RDRAM memory, so they started exaggerating the numbers. PC266 suddenly became PC2100 and the naming game continues. Below is a chart outlining the PC Rating of memory and shows you the actual Front Side Bus that you motherboard will be running at.

     One of the biggest things that confuse people these days is the good old PC rating on DDR memory. Even worse, most people don't realize that any memory over PC3200 hasn't been JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council) approved. Even though PC3500 or PC4400 hasn't been official accepted, it is usually quite capable of running at those specs. However, because there is noting regulating this memory, you're Mom & Pop's PC4400 or other non standard memory may actually be overclocked PC3200. The bottom line is to always buy memory from a trusted source.

     Memory is one of the most important things to consider for gaining performance. Good, high quality memory will last and last, and give you an excellent performing system with good a good overhead of overclocking speed. DDR is the typical choice among overclockers, especially because its a proven component, is stable, and the motherboards that use it are good performers. If you start to do some research on the many types of brands, and speeds, you'll notice a huge variety. DDR speed should be one of the most important buying decision, next comes the brand, and from our last couple reviews, brands such as Crucial's "Ballistix", OCZ's "EB" series, and Corsairs "XML" or "XMS" make fine choices. The given speed of memory can be tricky. Most lower speed memory can be overclocked more so than high speed, and lower speed memory is cheaper, has lower latencies, and can be more forgiving when it comes to settings. For example we can take some Crucial PC-3200 Ballistix memory and loosen the timings a bit and overclock to PC-400 speeds, but also have the option to run default PC-3200 speed of the need arises, whereas some other brands of higher speed memory such as PC-4000 won't allow us to tighten the latency timings and run at a lower memory speed. This can be a big problem with Intel setup since they have a locked multiplier, and a higher core speed CPU wont allow a very high FSB speed.

     Most setups now use what is known as a memory frequency rating of 400mhz or PC-3200. When we overclock our FSB on an AMD the only real way to gain performance is to use a synchronous divider so our FSB is aligned with the memory bus, the tricky part is almost FSB and memory bus is DDR and QDR (double-data-rate/quad-data-rate) so for instance with an Intel setup we'll have a QDR FSB on our processor of 800mhz which equates out to a 400mh DDR memory rate, BUT the memory is rated at PC-3200 or 200mhz, but since it is DDR it runs synchronous with the FSB of the processor at 400mhz DDR memory bus, and 800Mhz QDR front-side bus. Confused yet? so am i, but luckily by doing your homework by searching with Google I am sure that you can get more than what you're after as far as theory. At least a lot more than we care to really think about. I basically take the manufacturers description and go from there. it makes it much easier that way.

     Regarding overclocking the memory, well there are several different choices, and speeds. As I mentioned earlier most systems now operate using PC-3200 memory. Now there is nothing wrong with that unless its generic junk memory. Almost every system I've ever seen that was not a DIY has this kind of ram, unless its absolutely specified. Some of the manufacturers as mentioned above produce PC-3200 memory that will overclock well beyond that specification into the PC-4000 and up range with a few BIOS adjustments to loosen the latencies. For example our last review on the OCZ PC-3500 was just like that, reaching well beyond the PC-4200 level and past PC-4400. This is exactly why it is so important to buy wisely.

     When it comes to latencies we say the lower the latencies and higher the speed the better. PC-3500 is a good all around guarantee along this method, although our recent tests with the Crucial line of their new Ballistix reveals that their own PC-4000 does PC-3500 specs at low latencies. This is a primary example of why choosing the right kind of ram for your application is so important. I basically have a rule of thumb, the higher I want my FSB the higher speed I will want from my memory, whereas if I am going for sure CPU core speed and I have an adjustable multiplier, I will opt for something that is of lower speed but with very low latencies. Only extreme overclockers will opt for super high speed memory such as PC-4400+ in order to get their FSB as far up as it will go, but that takes a lot of work, and in most cases modifications to your motherboard's line voltages through the use of soldering resistors and such. This only leads to system failure and a lighter wallet which to me is not the art of overclocking.