Overclocking???

[Mi}{alis]

I was thinking today, if there is any way to check system stability if
it is overcloced, under linux! There are no apps to do so! Then again
i though "WHY WOULD I NEED OVERCLOCKING IN LINUX" ???

I almost laughed at my thoughts! Really funny if u think of it! But the
only apps that need strong hardware are games! Soooo there is
no need for overclocking in linux! On the other hand tho im a gamer,
and i still want to keep win for some games...

Also tweaking the bios / mobo / cpu every time i want to change os
isnt so good, so, is there any other way to check stability under linux?


I mean, linux is so "stable" and stuff.. :D

[Odin]

I have a Pentium 120 that I run my Mandrake 8.1 on. I wiped out everything on that system so that Linux is all I have on it. I find that my X (with KDE) runs really slowly. I've tried to drop KDE and go with WM and others, but the settings never stay after a reboot. I've tried to create new user accounts and select different environments, but they always seem to default to KDE after I reboot or logout. Maybe I just don't understand how it's supposed to work. I'll have to keep digging at it until I figure it out. Anyone have any suggestions for a light desktop environment? I'm new to Linux, but wanting to learn it. If it looks nothing like a Windows desktop I don't care (different is good).

I still would love to overclock my cpu but I have the same questions as you. I guess the best way to find out is to just do the overclock, and see how it runs. If it doesn't run well, put it back to where it was and try again with different settings. Would this cause any problems that anyone knows of?

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

Originally posted by Odin

Maybe I just don't understand how it's supposed to work. I'll have to keep digging at it until I figure it out. Anyone have any suggestions for a light desktop environment? I'm new to Linux, but wanting to learn it. If it looks nothing like a Windows desktop I don't care (different is good).

I still would love to overclock my cpu but I have the same questions as you. I guess the best way to find out is to just do the overclock, and see how it runs. If it doesn't run well, put it back to where it was and try again with different settings. Would this cause any problems that anyone knows of?

I have to agree with the second statement-- that's what I did. I managed to OC my 1.4ghz T-Bird all the way up to 1620mhz and had it stay stable. Here's what I did:

I made a baseline in Windows98. I OCed the machine, and then did some things like websurfing and 3d Gaming, so it will heat up the processor. All the while I monitored the temp to see if it got too hot.

Once I got a temperature I was comfortable with, I just reboot into Linux and stay happy!

Also, on the WM thing, Odin: On changing your Window Manager, find out what the name of the windowmanager you want to use is, and edit the .xsession file in your home directory. At the end of the file, it should say

exec <some WM name>

Put a # at the beginning of that line, and add the line

exec <your WM name>

wherever you want it. I personally like WindowMaker and FluxBox. They are pretty lightweight and will speed up an older machine when compared to KDE or Gnome.

[Odin]

1.6GHz processor must be sweet. I have to boxen--P120 and a P233 MMX. The P233 is my wifes and she won't let me touch it:rolleyes: I've heard of a guy who got his P120 clocked to 400MHz stable (with a heat sink and about 8 fans added). He got it to 500MHz but had to do some soldering (too much trouble). I'm hoping to get mine to at least 233 or maybe 300 will be my max.:)

Thanks for the input on the WMs. I'll have to check that out. I have tried WindowMaker before (I really like the look of it) but I could do NOTHING with it other than setup how it looks, clicks, etc. After I did all that, I couldn't find ANYTHING. I had a few boxes to click on, and my clip, but I couldn't navigate to anything. I just kept getting back to the WindowMaker options/setup thing. I think I might not have installed all the files it needs. I'll have to look into that more. I've seen lots of posts here advocating fluxbox too. I'll have to check it out and see how long it will take me to download it on a 33.6. ;)

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks Alex. After I get things up and working properly I'll let you know how I did it and if your suggestion worked.
:D

[Timothy L. Miller]

Back in the day, I had a P1MMX 233 that I got to 300 rock stable with no added cooling...of course, now I use an Athlon XP1800+, Athlong (t-bird) 1400, P3M 700(laptop), Celeron 300a (overclocked to 450)(it's my fathers box, but he doesnt' know if he wants it...I'm trying to convince him it's time to get into the 20th century, since it's now the 21st).

[Mi}{alis]

Originally posted by Timothy L. Miller I'm trying to convince him it's time to get into the 20th century, since it's now the 21st). [/B]

The momment im writing those im recovering from falling to the floor :D :D

[TacKat]

Originally posted by Odin
Thanks for the input on the WMs. I'll have to check that out. I have tried WindowMaker before (I really like the look of it) but I could do NOTHING with it other than setup how it looks, clicks, etc. After I did all that, I couldn't find ANYTHING. I had a few boxes to click on, and my clip, but I couldn't navigate to anything. I just kept getting back to the WindowMaker options/setup thing. I think I might not have installed all the files it needs. I'll have to look into that more. I've seen lots of posts here advocating fluxbox too. I'll have to check it out and see how long it will take me to download it on a 33.6. ;)

You might have already known this, but just to be sure: you can bring up a menu in WM by right-clicking on the desktop.

[Odin]

Originally posted by TacKat


You might have already known this, but just to be sure: you can bring up a menu in WM by right-clicking on the desktop.

Actually I had no idea.

I haven't had the time to jump on my Linux box in a while. Hopefully this weekend will be slow enough for me to jump on and get with the overclock.

As far as the right-clicking thing goes I don't think it worked for me. If I recall correctly, when I right-clicked I did get a menu, but it only gave me the setup/properties option--there were other options, but they were greyed out. I'm thinking there was an error in my install. I only had a few icons on the screen as well. One was the clip, there was the WM "look-n-feel" (I can't remember exactly) icon, and 2 more. One of the 2 was completely not selectable and the other did nothing when I clicked it. If it's an install issue, I'll just have to re-install my desktop environments.

TacKat, I appreciate the help. I am dead certain it won't work for me at the moment, but after I re-install WM your advice will definitely come in handy. :)

[Icarus]

If your looking for a way to monitor your system, look into gkrellm. It is capable of monitoring all system functions from HD access, memory, eth and more. With a properly complied kernel it can even monitor cpu temp, system voltage and case temp (this is called lm_sensors which required I2C to be compiled into the kernel, or at least as a module).

Plus it looks really cool in screenshots :D
http://web.wt.net/~billw/gkrellm/gkrellm.html

[Mi}{alis]

VERY COOL app! Slim look! I hope it blends in with fluxbox's theme!
Thx very much!

NOTE: I noticed many debian users have that app in their screenshots,
it comes built in with debian woody?

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

Originally posted by Mi}{alis

NOTE: I noticed many debian users have that app in their screenshots,
it comes built in with debian woody?

You can get it in Woody (and potato, I think) by running

apt-get install gkrellm

[Mi}{alis]

Originally posted by Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379


You can get it in Woody (and potato, I think) by running

apt-get install gkrellm


apt-get apt-get apt-get apt-get apt-get apt-get apt-get everywhere! hehe
i c

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

Originally posted by Mi}{alis



apt-get apt-get apt-get apt-get apt-get apt-get apt-get everywhere! hehe
i c

:p

What? Would you have wanted me to say,

1. Open up dselect
2. Pick the Select option.
3. Search for gkrellm
4. Hit the '+' key to add it.
5. Hit <Enter>
6. Then, select Install

I like apt-get ;)