Time to show how much of a noob I am...

I am installing a game, and it suggests 2.2gig processor, and that mine is only 2.0gig.

2 questions...

1. I have an AMD 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+ (yes its a bit on the old side). Does this mean it is in fact larger than 2.0 gig?

2. Is it worth overclocking - considering I have never done it before?

I have 2 gig of ram, but lordy knows what speed it is without checking.


Please resist the urge to say "read the internet". I would appreciate some advice from youze guys first

I'm fairly sure with AMD you take the number in to account now so 3800 would suffice to 3.8 GHz or there abouts. Atleast that's what I've done for a while.

Overclocking is a piece of piss all you do is change the clock speed multiplier in the bios or the bus speed. As long as your processor doesn't overheat you should be ok but keep an eye on your machine stability as overclocking can take it's toll and cause your PC to reboot without notice. I used to overclock all the time and it was normally quite sad when the PC would eventually start rebooting meaning I had to reduce the clockspeed back to normal.

Overall it can be worth it especially with older processors as they cost very little to replace anyways.

Never overclocked memory though as I prefer to go for quantity over speed so not sure if that's worth it or not.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article.php?aid=229&pid=2
Seems like most things can be done
Probably stating the obvious but if your fan came in the processor box then before you try this buy a better cooler Arctic 7 etc will get the normal temp down also need better airflow if your system runs a bit hot.
Find out how warm you are running then start small with the increases if it is already hot then you will end up spending cash to cool it .The 3800+ seems to be 2.0 so 2.2 should be easy enough with average to good air cooling and 2.4 or higher with right gear.This all assumes your mainboard will let you play with the settings to a decent level. Don't adjust your Vcore unless really needed for stability as more volts directly increase the heat
Overclocking is a huge topic and not without major risk to your system but if you only need a bit more to play a game and it will put off the pc for a few months give it a go

Depending on the manufacturer of the system board they could have some nifty tools on there to overclock from Windows instead of messing with bios settings.

I know with my old Athlon 2800+ CPU (I know, very old now), it was a case of just changing the clock multiplier, and seeing if it worked or not. I had an EPOX board, and could log into the bios and set the multiplier easily. I had it running at 3400+ speeds with a new cooler... def worth looking into.

Thanks people. I did think it was perhaps dual 2.0 gig (ish) rather than 2.0 gig in total.
It was an oldish game so I was surprised to see the warning.

I let the game load anyway and it played just fine.

I will take your information on board for the future. I think I will have a go at overclocking when I re-install COD4 onto my machine, as I seem to recall that was pushing the limits of my setup!

Thanks again peeps.