Overclocking AMD Athlon

[Rasker]

Alright, heres the thing........
I have an AMD Athlon 1.2ghz, and at the time when I got it. It was top of the line or close to it. Now, after getting some new games and new software its getting dragged down. Like just opening the right click menu on the desktop seems to become a chore for it now. I have cleaned out my master HDD in thought that it might speed it up, but it didnt have much effect. So, I am wondering if I could overclock this baby, and have better performance WITHOUT burning up everything I have. Also, would it affect the voltage load on my power supply, because I have been having some problems with it. (The fan quits spinning every once in awhile and over heats.) And quite naturally, the people I got this computer from didnt give me a list of what all is in this heap of junk. So, Im figuring that the power supply is 300watt give-or-take. Im looking into buying a 400watt with extra cooling, but I have no idea when I will be able to get it. Also, Im currently running two HDDs (40gig Samsung & 20gig Western Digital) both running @ 7200rpms I belive. And so would overclocking have any affect on the "voltage load" on the power supply, and would the power supply be able to supply enough volts to everything? Btw, this will be my first time I have overclocked something...

Thanks in advance...
I also attached a more detailed description of my computer.

[JCB]

(The fan quits spinning every once in awhile and over heats.)

Doh, I'd say yea get a new one like... yesterday. Then worry about overclocking that **** thing.

[Rasker]

Yeah, but its only when I first turn on the computer. If its not spinning, Ill hit it and it will start spinning again and wont quit then. And it doesnt stop spinning everytime I boot up, its like every other boot it wont spin...
But, I am going to get a new one......hopefully soon! :eek:

[$1500-P4 gamer]

Yes the higher you raise the mhz of chip the more power it generally uses. So since the PSU is exhibiting abnormalities now oclocking will only make it worse. Not the effect your after when seeking performance. get the psu-get it stable then oclock. never overclock a machine thats already showing signs of instability!;) :t

[Rasker]

Alright, will do. :)
Would there be anyway of replacing the fan in my PSU that I have now? I hear it requires soldering which I am not good at. :(

[zybch]

I'm not too good with the old soldering iron myself, but so long as you go slow and have some heat-shrink tubing you should be able to make too much of a hash of things.

First, get hold of a new fan (even get one of those ones with LEDs in them coz it looks cool to have a blue glow coming from the back of your case).
Open up the power supply and see if the old fan is actually soldered in or uses a clip.
If it uses a clip then things get a bit easier.

If a clip is used, unscrew the fan from the casing and unclip the wires from the board, cut the wires off close to the fan and cut the connector off the end of the new fan's wires.
Slip a small piece of HS tube over bothe the red and black wires of the fan and then just solder the black wire to black wire, red to red from the fan to the cable with the clip that you removed from the power supply.
Slide the tubing over the solder joins you have made and use a lighter to shrink the tubing down to a snug fit with no bare wire showing.
Screw the fan back in and there you go.

If the old fan doesn't have a clip, just cut its wires close to the fan and do the above (it'll be a bit trickier as you'll have the power supply hanging off the wires, but it should still be quite easy).

[$1500-P4 gamer]

Originally posted by Rasker
Alright, will do. :)
Would there be anyway of replacing the fan in my PSU that I have now? I hear it requires soldering which I am not good at. :(

If its not the only fan stopping the fan isnt bad. Its the psu failing to carry the load. Unhook ANY unused drives etc. will help. I had a friend who had to unhook from outlet like 4-5 times in a row till it would power up all the way. The thing was overtaxed is all. The fans would half come on then he knew to unplug it again. LOL replaced psu and his temps went down over 10c on the cpu only. The case temp dropped tons also and suddenly it was rock stable.;) :t

[Greg Harper]

Running a cpu with fans that stop spinning is like having breakfast in the evening complete with "Toast". I wouldn't turn it back on till you fix the psu , fans or both. Least you care to fry your processor.:eek:

[Rasker]

On the soldering the wires together, can I just take a **** splice connector and slip the two cut wires in there and just pinch the connector? I think thats what they are called...but would they work just as good as soldering the wires together?

And as for the PSU not being able to supply enough power, its just the PSU fan that I have trouble with. And does the PSU really have effect on how hot your cpu runs? Mine is an AMD Athlon 1.2ghz and it runs at an idle boot @ 45C/113F and my system runs @ 37C/98F with my cpu fan turning @ about 5,000 RPMs. Is that normal or would getting a hight watt PSU cool it down a bit?

[Rasker]

I found some very nice PSUs that are on my kind of budget.
What do you peeps think?

#1 (http://www.xpcases.com/shop/item.asp?CatID=16&Sku=367)
#2 (http://www.xpcases.com/shop/item.asp?CatID=16&Sku=279)
#3 (http://www.xpcases.com/shop/item.asp?CatID=16&Sku=278)

Tell me what you experts think ;)

[Someone Stupid]

Those look like they are awfully cheap for their given wattage. I'd go with a Sparkle, Antec, Fortron, or Zalman. Will cost more, but the PSU is the last thing you want to skimp on.