I just built my first computer and wanted to try overclocking but so far all I've managed to do is waste a couple hours of my time. I've got a nice hsf and case cooling and I know both my cpu and mobo are supposed to be good for OC'ing but all I've been able to do is increase the cpu bus a few mhz before my computer won't even post! I think it might be a psu problem. I used a psu calc and it said w/ stock speeds on a generic psu I'd need 20amps on the 12v rail and my psu only has 22amps. Could this be why?

My system

E7200 w/ Arctic Cooling freezer 7 pro

Hitachi 320gb hd

2gb ocz ddr2 @1066 2.1v

XFX 8600gt xxx edition @ 680/1600

Asus dvd-rw

Gigabyte GA-P35-S3g mobo

Raidmax Smilodon extreme black case w/ 500w psu (RX-500s)

Vista home premium sp1 64-bit

Crap rig.

Replace your psu, it sux, replace the mobo, and get a better cooling solution, best your going to get from the artic is about 3.4 if you have all the fans pointing in the right direction, how do i know? i own one.

I'm not looking to spend thousands on this rig. I bought the parts for $600 and idc about doing any extreme oc'ing. All I want to do is hit at least 3ghz and right now thats not happening. I just want to know what I can do with what i have. If i need a new psu, thats not that big a deal, but I don't want to replace everything.

then just increase the fsb in bios, its the quickest and easiest way with a gigabyte board if your lookin for the simple solution.

then i guess just get a good psu

like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703019

yes its overkill for your system but it will do two things 1. make SURE the psu isnt the problem lol and 2. power many of your future rigs/new pcs

wow. That rly is overkill. you have any suggestions for anything cheaper. I don't need that many watts, I probably won't ever go SLI on this rig so I probably will want something 500-600w right?

what about this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817190017

42amps on the 12v rails, probably still overkill but at $45 u can't beat it.

I like boop's reasoning, and I like his recommendation a lot--but not for you. Try this instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341010

I have it, and after much research, and reading half dozen totally positive reviews, I bought it. You can't go wrong with it at the price. You are literally getting premium 600 watt performance, no more no less. You WON'T get modular cabling, 8 pin videocard connectors, or glam/bling. But you WILL have a rock stable PSU for OCing.

Modtech's answer was borderline worthless. With a solid PSU, you will have a good system. Save your money for an 4850 videocard, you will have a maxxed out, overachieving budget system that you can be proud of. With that ACPro7, you should be able to hit 3.8 GHz if you so choose.

Good luck!

Well, firstly, not the best in the world, but not a crap rig. Could you please elaborate on how you're trying to OC. I really don't see a failed OC attempt at a few MHz being a PSU issue. Really guys, I've OC'd a D805 with a 250W PSU. Stable. For 2 Years.
I'm not trying to say ay PSU can do it, it's just not how they usually fail. The difference in power draw caused by a minimal frequency increase is not significant enough to draw a line between rock solid and non-booting.

I think it might be your ram. Double check the timings and voltage on the ram, and make sure its set to factory specs.

After more thought, I think roadrunner is onto something, re: RAM. When I first started dabbling in OCing, I eventually found that I was not giving RAM timings and voltage enough attention. Loosen them way out, and bump up the voltage, see where that takes you, then eventually tighten them again after you found stable settings.

Murissokah is right, except that there have been a bunch of articles on how poorly rated some PSUs are--meaning one company's 500 watt supply may not be as powerful as another's 250--let alone as stable. All-in-one PSU/cases are notorious for being underperformers.

But to Murissokah's other point--don't get down--you don't have a terrible rig. And with a couple upgrades, you can have an excellent rig.

He may not have a great PSU, but that is NOT his OCing issue.
Listen to some of the ram settings by others.

Yeah, its definitely not a PSU issue.... I have used absolute crap PSUs--- you know, the $20 ones that are supposedly ~580 watts that come with around 3 cables in several rigs which I have OC'd rather nicely.... from older Athlon 64s to newer Core2Duos, and I have never had a problem OCing with a crap PSU, in fact I've run these cheap units for years without any major problems. I'd say ram settings, or possibly other bios settings. Sometimes OCing just won't work unless certain features are turned on or off in the bios.