Do i have the right settings? (Performance Wise)

[BluerjB]

I changed a bunch of settings on my bios and i just want to make sure if i did the right thing.

Specs: Processor:       Intel Pentium E5300 Dual Core 2.60Ghz (Overclocked to 3.14Ghz)
           RAM:                PNY 2GB 2 x 1 GB PC2 5300 667 MHz DDR 2 Desktop DIMMs
           Power Supply: 650 Watt
           Graphics:         BFG Geforce 210 Cuda 512MB
           Hard Drive:      400GB 2x200GB
           WiFi Card:        Linksys WMP54G
           Case:              NZXT M59

Bios Settings: AI Overclocking=20% Overclocked
                       Dram Frequency=800Mhz
                       1.8V Dual Overvoltage=1.25V
                       VTT_CPU Overvoltage=1.3V
                       1.25V Overvoltage=1.4
                       1.5V Overvoltage=1.6V

Other Settings: SpeedStep =On
                         PEG Force x1=Off

And is AC97 Better Than HD Audio?

Thank you
                      
                      

[2x3i5x]

I have Realtek AC'97 Audio on my system, sound is fine. HD sound is better, but then again in my opinion, I'm no expert in audio and I seriously did not hear that much of a difference from my computer as compared to my friend's laptop that has HD audio.

want to know though, what brand is your power supply, and what is the +12V rail ratings?

[BluerjB]

I have Realtek AC'97 Audio on my system, sound is fine. HD sound is better, but then again in my opinion, I'm no expert in audio and I seriously did not hear that much of a difference from my computer as compared to my friend's laptop that has HD audio.

want to know though, what brand is your power supply, and what is the +12V rail ratings?

Chiefmax 650Watt 20/24 pin power supply w/ SATA that all i know and i dont know that +12V rail ratings are... lol sorry

[BluerjB]

...bump...

[Geek-9pm]

...bump...

Do i have the right settings? (Performance Wise)

What do you expect in performance? You have a great system.
Why overclock it?
What are the settings recommended by Intel?

If you wish to overclock, you need to improve the cooling system.
Unless the PC is in an igloo in Alaska.

[BluerjB]

Thanks... ^^ in performance wise i mean like squeezing every bit of available (gaming) performance out of it..

[Geek-9pm]

Thanks... ^^ in performance wise i mean like squeezing every bit of available (gaming) performance out of it..

OH... In that case, you should have got a better system.
Like this:
  *  Intel Core i7-980X CPU
    * 12GB DDR3-PC1600 Memory
    * 2 x NVIDIA GTX480 1.5GB Video
    * Asus P6T Intel X58 MB
    * 300GB x 2 in Raid 0 VelociRaptor
    * 1TB SATA II 7200 RPM HD
    * Lite-On 4X Blu-Ray Drive
    * LG 22X DVD±/±RW Drive
    * SilverStone/Raven RV01B-W Case

That could  really help the game performance. 
And cost about 3 grand. Just go get a student loan.

[BluerjB]

that isn't really my question though.... the question was that im asking if there are anymore changes in the settings that can be made to make the computer perform better

[Accessless]

OH... In that case, you should have got a better system.
Like this:
  *  Intel Core i7-980X CPU
    * 12GB DDR3-PC1600 Memory
    * 2 x NVIDIA GTX480 1.5GB Video
    * Asus P6T Intel X58 MB
    * 300GB x 2 in Raid 0 VelociRaptor
    * 1TB SATA II 7200 RPM HD
    * Lite-On 4X Blu-Ray Drive
    * LG 22X DVD±/±RW Drive
    * SilverStone/Raven RV01B-W Case

That could  really help the game performance. 
And cost about 3 grand. Just go get a student loan.

No no no. Replace the processor with one of these: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
Then you can afford two of these babies :ATI Radeon 5970 2048MB
(and obviously change to the AMD version of the MoBo).

[BluerjB]

how did this post go from me asking if i have the right settings to me being advised to buy new parts for my computer?

[Calum]

To address your original question ...
Replace that PSU as soon as possible with a quality model, preferably before it causes damage to your hardware.
Don't try using the automatic overclock settings, it will either be unstable or pick random voltages which aren't optimal.
What exactly do you want to achieve?

[BluerjB]

what im trying to achieve is... to safely squeeze every single bit of performance out of this computer.. SAFELY


And this is my Power Supply Unit (PSU Right?) http://3btech.net/newv2ch6524p.html

[Calum]

PSU = Power Supply Unit, yes.  That's not a good quality PSU.
If you want to overclock, we'll need some more info such as your motherboard and your CPU cooler, but it's not something we can talk you through exactly - if I give you some settings there is no guarantee they will work as every single chip and motherboard, even from the same batch etc, is slightly different and one may be stable at a really high speed while the other will not go above stock.
One more thing - where exactly do you want to gain performance?  I'm only asking because if this is for gaming, you won't see a benefit without a new graphics card.

[BluerjB]

every thing bout my computer is on my spec's link... I've just updated it....

[Calum]

OK, thanks for that.
One thing to note, is that you will not reach a "good" overclock with that system.  The board is not designed to be overclocking friendly as it's a basic board, and your stock cooling will not handle the higher heat load from even moderate overclocking.  This should at least point you in the right direction, though I would strongly recommend not changing ANY setting until you know EXACTLY what it does - research is the key, and ASK if you are unsure.  With that said ...

First thing to do is to reset the auto overclocking back to the standard settings, then set up your RAM properly according to the manufacturer's specifications - speed, voltage and timings.
Next, set up the rest of your voltages manually - CPU Vcore, northbridge, and so on.  Set them to the standard voltage for now, and raise them later if necessary - "Auto" will normally overvolt massively when it's not needed.
Start upping your FSB by about 20MHz at a time.  Test for stability using Prime95 or OCCT - the way I like to do it is to run OCCT's Linpack test for 20 minutes each time I up the FSB, then reboot and up it again.  Wuen it becomes unstable, add a little more voltage.  I'd keep the voltage below around 1.375V for that chip, so stop when you reach there or when you add more voltage and it doesn't stabilise your system.
You will most likely need to adjust your RAM speed to keep it at or below the rated speed as you increase the FSB, as they are linked.

[BluerjB]

My CPU is 20% Overclocked right now, and has been for the last 3-4 months and is running at a stable... the temperatures are when idle is at about 41C.
My ram cards were running at 800MHz but changes it to 667MHz. thats what the manufacturer case say's.. Hopefully its a good idea of setting it that way?

P.S: you have really nice spec's

[Calum]

Your idle temperature is rather high, what's the temperature under load?
If it's stable, then that's good, I'm glad you're one of the very few that auto overclocking works for.  However, as I said earlier do be aware that your voltages will not be optimal.
And, if you're referring to my specs - they're nothing too special, I did pick it all up on the cheap though.

[BluerjB]

could you tell me how to test it under load?

your spec's are still better than mine haha... my build is for a building enthusiast with barely any cash.. haha i barely spent little over $500 on this rig...

[Calum]

I usually use Prime95 for load testing, although OCCT's Linpack test is the most stressful.  For a rough comparison, "normal" 100% load gets my chip to the high 40s, Prime95 takes it to mid 50s, and Linpack gets it to mid 60s.
I think I may have spent about the same as you on my rig, excluding peripherals.

[BluerjB]

ok im trying that out right now

[BluerjB]

Ok. i did it and it didnt come out with any results... i had to do it myself so while having linpack (runme_xeon32.bat) on i had speedfan monitoring my temperatures too.. so the top temperature is about 65-68. what makes me wonder is when there's no test going on speedfan readts that CPU=30C Core0=34 Core1=41.. idk how this is happening why is my second core being used too much?

[Calum]

Seems a little warm for full load...as I said, I expect the auto overclock settings are giving your chip too much voltage.
Linpack will push your CPU harder than anything else though so you don't have to worry - I'm just one of those that likes to set things myself so I know what they are.
As for your idle temps, again they're warm but OK ... it's normal to see a discrepancy in temperature between cores.

[BluerjB]

so your telling me that the more voltage i put to the CPU or the RAM it will heat up my pc more but improve the performance?

[Calum]

More voltage causes more heat, yes.  More voltage can stabilise a higher clock speed - for example, one may hit 3GHz at 1.2V but need to increase that to 1.35V to hit 3.2Ghz.  Components do have a maximum voltage they can tolerate though.  Adding more voltage than necessary adds heat and uses more power, it has no benefit.

[BluerjB]

More voltage causes more heat, yes.  More voltage can stabilise a higher clock speed - for example, one may hit 3GHz at 1.2V but need to increase that to 1.35V to hit 3.2Ghz.  Components do have a maximum voltage they can tolerate though.  Adding more voltage than necessary adds heat and uses more power, it has no benefit.

so what programm do you suggest for me to use.. to see how stable my computer is? when i change the voltage

[Calum]

I usually use OCCT's Linpack test.
Be warned that this does put a lot of stress on your CPU, and creates more heat than any other test.

[BluerjB]

I've noticed that when i lower the voltage i don't see any performance change.. but my CPU temperature kinda went down... so its better now

[Calum]

Yep, sounds right.
Voltage affects stability, not performance, and more voltage = more heat, hence what I said earlier - auto settings will overvolt, resulting in the high temps you saw.

[BluerjB]

thats good what about videocard wise? you think i can tweak that too? for the max performance.... i have the latest drivers installed on it..

[bvs1216]

yea i never understood the need to play games on my computer, i sit in front of a computer all day last thing i want to do after a hard days work is come home and.....sit in front of the computer! 

thats what i got a xbox and nice big lazy boy for 

[BluerjB]

Thanks for the reply!! But yeah your not helping. But thanks anyway.

[Calum]

You can overclock the graphics card too, but you really won't see a benefit on that card.
It's not a gaming card now, and no overclock you manage to get stable on it will make it a gaming card by any stretch of the imagination.

[BluerjB]

ohh can you recommend me a good gaming card but in the same time cheap around the $80 to $100

[2x3i5x]

ohh can you recommend me a good gaming card but in the same time cheap around the $80 to $100

What games are you going to play? Might want to check out Newegg. They have some good stuff there for the price you wanted, but maybe Calum can help you with the specifics 

[BluerjB]

hmmm i dont really know what kind of games i mean the begraphic quality game im playing right now is blur/ crysis

[Calum]

You're playing Crysis with your current setup?  Wow ...
Anyway, for that budget you can get (in order of decreasing performance) - a 4850, 9800GT, 5670, GT240, or 4670.  All are capable of light to "medium" gaming.  For reference, I had an 8800GT (same as the 9800GT) and Crysis was playable on high settings, 1440x900 resolution, with an E8200.
Hope this helps.

[BluerjB]

ok thats works thats... I dont get how im able to play crysis with my setup... that highly unusual huh?

[Calum]

Well, sure, I'd imagine you could probably play at very low resolution and all lowest settings ... but, that's not "playing" Crysis.

[BluerjB]

ohh ok then then "playing" crysis  would be on hi res... so what would it take to make my computer keep up with crysis?

[Calum]

Well, playing a game that's one of the best looking games out on all low settings isn't exactly satisying, at least not for me.  If you're OK with it, there's no need to upgrade.
To play Crysis with everything maxed, smoothly, isn't something that can be done as far as I know, not with today's technology.
Grabbing one of the better cards I listed, the 4850 or 9800GT, should let you play on mostly high settings.

[BC_Programmer]

Well, playing a game that's one of the best looking games out on all low settings isn't exactly satisying, at least not for me. 

it increases the replay value... you beat it once on low graphics, then when you upgrade your system at some later time you revisit the game again. I did this with a lot of games.