Question about processor overclocking

[sehender]

Hi. I've got a P4 2.4 ghZ processor on a Via P4MA pro motherboard.
My motherboard came with overclocking software (though a warning message says the manufacturer doesn't condone overclocking) and i'm wondering how i might proceeed with this. I'd say they wouldn't have included the software if they didn't intend for people to use it! LOL!

I guess I'm asking what the easiest things to overclock are (speed, core or fsb) and what kinds of warning signs I should look out for if I decide to do it.
i don't want to mess up the machine, obviously, but i'm curious about the potential to squeeze as much out of it as i can.

many thanks for any help..

[W2DR]

Just step up the FSB a bit at a time (no more that 2Mhz in each step) until you start to see stability/boot problems and then back it down just a bit to restore the stability. You'll also probably need to step up the core voltage a bit as the FSB increases (but don't take it over 1.6 - ever). As long as you have the temp monitoring in-place and keep the full-load (100% CPU utilization) CPU temp below 60C you'll be fine. If you can lock the PCI/AGP frequencies in BIOS by all means do it (they should lock at 33/66) as they will otherwise increase with the FSB speed and eventually cause video/sound anomolies. I'm running the 2.2 here at 2.7 with the stock Intel HSI and no problems at all. Excessive heat is thing you have to watch for. You probably can't cook the P4 as it will automatically throttle back and eventually shutoff if it gets too hot, but do keep the temps below 60C to insure it a long and healthy life. And lastly, be sure you know how to reset CMOS to the default values. You will, without doubt, eventually get into a situation where the box won't even POST - don't panic if that happens, just reset the CMOS values (your motherboard manual will tell you how to do it - probably a jumper on the board.) Each CPU is different and some OC much better than others, but I'd think somehing in the range of 2.75-2.8 is attainable with no cooling mods. Be brave :-) .

Doug

[sehender]

hey, thanks! Great info here..
i think i'll try it.

So, in short, bumping up the FSB and the core voltage will maket he processor speed go up, too?