Author Topic: Need help, overclocking question....... (Read 895 times)

StarOfAfrica2 · « **on:** November 12, 2004, 03:38:43 PM »

I thought I was all set. I bought low latency RAM with heat spreaders that matched the bus speed of my CPU. I set up the cooling system and got everything well within specs. Then I turned up the settings in my MOBO for the CPU. It still says its running at 1.9 Ghz. Did I miss something?

CPU-Z reports 1.9 ghz with a multiplier of 11.5

Isnt that normal speed?

Processor is a Barton core Athlon XP2600+ rated at 1.9 Ghz on a 333mhz FSB.
RAM is PQI PC2700 512x2 matched set latency settings 2 2 2 5.
MOBO is a Biostar Nforce2 chipset

eagl · « **Reply #1 on:** November 12, 2004, 05:30:00 PM »

The multiplier is probably locked so what you need to do is if it isn't set by default, enable the PCI lock which locks the pci bus at 33mhz and agp bus at 66mhz. Then increase the cpu FSB. You can't change the multiplier unless you unlock the cpu. Some cpus (the mobile bartons for example) come with unlocked multipliers so you can change those multipliers without changing the FSB, but otherwise you need to change the FSB to overclock your system. This typically also overclocks the memory unless you can run your cpu and memory asynchronously. Async speeds sometimes hurt performance a bit though, so you might be better off keeping cpu and memory bus speeds matched as you increase the FSB and just boost it a little at a time until you see instability, then back it off a few steps and run it that way for a while.

You need to closely monitor temperatures while doing this or you might inadvertently overheat your cpu. If the cpu is stable, a little overheating that doesn't cause system crashes probably won't hurt in the short term while you're testing but in the long term it could damage the cpu and make it not work properly at any speed. That is why even if you have a stable overclock, you need to keep the cpu temps reasonably low.

If your motherboard won't let you lock the pci/agp bus separately from the cpu and memory FSB, then you're sorta hosed because then the pci/agp bus is a fixed ratio from the FSB, and increasing the FSB will increase the pci and agp bus speeds. This works up to a point, then will usually cause add-on cards or integrated components like video cards or the hard drive controller to cause errors. The nforce2 mobos should be able to lock the pci/agp bus but I don't know if it's locked to 33/66 mhz by default. Unless you want to risk your files, you are better off leaving the pci/agp bus at 33/66 mhz.

If that doesn't help, you need to find a few overclocking guides on the web and read up on nforce2 overclocking.

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #2 on:** November 12, 2004, 07:49:34 PM »

Cool thanks! I'm not real sure I understand how the AGP stuff figures into the equation. I can push the FSB up to 190mhz before the memory stops keeping up if I set it "By SPD" That gives me a bus speed of 380mhz matched for both RAM and CPU. Processor is now running at 2174 mhz. Over 200 mhz not a bad jump. The AGP frequency (not sure about that one) I set at 100mhz. Also last night I pushed up the speed of the VPU and memory on the video card.

schizer · « **Reply #3 on:** November 12, 2004, 08:51:36 PM »

You bought PC2700 to overclock with? That is going to severly limit you in your overclocks. That chip could easily overclock higher with better memory, 200+ FSB is easily obtainable with PC3000 or PC3200.

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #4 on:** November 12, 2004, 10:20:12 PM »

At the time I didnt know which to buy, RAM that matched the FSB setting on my CPU or RAM that was faster. The only advice I got was to match the FSB of my RAM to my CPU. So I did. Live and learn.

DAVENRINO · « **Reply #5 on:** November 13, 2004, 01:47:30 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by StarOfAfrica2
Cool thanks! I'm not real sure I understand how the AGP stuff figures into the equation. I can push the FSB up to 190mhz before the memory stops keeping up if I set it "By SPD" That gives me a bus speed of 380mhz matched for both RAM and CPU. Processor is now running at 2174 mhz. Over 200 mhz not a bad jump. The AGP frequency (not sure about that one) I set at 100mhz. Also last night I pushed up the speed of the VPU and memory on the video card.

I suggest you set the AGP back to 66 ASAP and PCI to 33 if it isn't already.

DAVENRINO · « **Reply #6 on:** November 13, 2004, 01:55:50 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by StarOfAfrica2
At the time I didnt know which to buy, RAM that matched the FSB setting on my CPU or RAM that was faster. The only advice I got was to match the FSB of my RAM to my CPU. So I did. Live and learn.

The bus speed of RAM is merely a rating for the minimum speed you should be able to run it at. You can always use higher speed RAM since the actual speed is controlled by the BIOS setting. If you plan to OC the FSB, it is always better to use the fastest RAM you can afford without sacrificing low latency.

Roscoroo · « **Reply #7 on:** November 13, 2004, 03:14:58 AM »

When it comes to overclocking, the ram you use is the most important . Always buy top of the line ram and go over in speed of what you will be clocking at . (see Dave's Spec's)

Ive got the same set-up as he does and after burning 2 sticks of ram i finally put in some Crucial 3200 ddr and now im compleatly stable @ 2.4ghz W/a 2500+ amd .(long story lots of parts/ect here this time to get the combo correct)

If you cant figure the clocking out I can crank open the Mrs Roo's Bios (amoung other things I like to crank open)... and see what the settings ect. are again She has a Amptron/biostar M7NCD Mainboard in her machine That I think is the same thing as your running .Its a smaller cpu but i've got it oced alittle .

(she's been eyeing the ati 9550 ive got in my old gammer though )

I also recommend Keeping the agp at 66, Also Dont up the agp's voltage if your running a 1.5v card and if you up to 3.0v it will destroy it .

schizer · « **Reply #8 on:** November 13, 2004, 04:50:26 PM »

Pretty much every Nforce2 board autlocks the AGP and PCI bus.

Captain Virgil Hilts · « **Reply #9 on:** November 13, 2004, 05:53:20 PM »

Try the forums and FAQ's at http://www.overlcockers.com . Also, since you are using an AMD, try http://www.amdforums.com .

Unfortunately many (if not most) of the AMD processors made after November 2003 (and sold after January 2004) have their multipliers locked, and cannot be unlocked, even by the motherboard. The only solution for overclocking those processors is to turn up th FSB.

I bought PC4000 memory for that very reason, although I have a Mobile Barton 2500+ that is unlocked. The slower memory just won't run with the FSB turned up, you get too many errors and such, and it corrupts everything.

Also, some motherboards just aren't real good for overclocking. My Mom has the same board as you have, with a regualr 2500 AMD. I have not tried to overclock hers, since she doesn't need it.

AMD processors run HOT. You need top notch cooling to overclock them successfully, and to make them last and be reliable. I spent an extra $75 on a good fan and heatsink for mine.

My rig runs near 24/7, and my AMD 2500+ Mobile Barton has been running at 2.4GHz since February. It benchmarks as being equal to an Intel P4 3.2 . But I did a lot of research to make it happen before I spent a nickel.

DAVENRINO · « **Reply #10 on:** November 13, 2004, 07:02:35 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by schizer
Pretty much every Nforce2 board autlocks the AGP and PCI bus.

I believe you are correct but he said he set it to 100.

quote:
Originally posted by StarOfAfrica2
The AGP frequency (not sure about that one) I set at 100mhz.

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #11 on:** November 13, 2004, 08:06:30 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by DAVENRINO
I believe you are correct but he said he set it to 100.

quote:
Originally posted by StarOfAfrica2
The AGP frequency (not sure about that one) I set at 100mhz.

rgr that. The AGP frequency is changeable on mine. 50 then 66 then it goes up 1mhz at a time up to 97mhz, then jumps to 100mhz. I have it set at 100 now and its not giving me any problems. I had the CPU up to just over 2300 mhz but the RAM didnt want to run when I tried to push its FSB up to 200mhz (400mhz bus speed). For 50 bucks more I could have bought the PC3200 with the low latency settings and the heat spreaders instead of the 2700 RAM I bought, I just didnt know any better. Right now I'm running the FSB at 180 for both the CPU and the RAM until I can install a water cooling system. Runs too hot at the higher settings and the CPU kicks off.

eagl · « **Reply #12 on:** November 14, 2004, 03:25:42 AM »

Before you go all the way to water cooling, try one of the big thermalright heatsinks. They are about the best you can get for air cooling and the newer ones use heatpipes to increase the efficiency of the heatsinks. Find the biggest thermalright heatsink that will fit on your mobo and in your case, and plop a 90mm fan (or bigger) on it. Even a quiet 90mm fan will move a lot of air.

I have a thermalright SLK-800 on my athlonXP and it works great, but the newer thermalright HSFs are even better.

If your computer is working "fine" with the AGP bus set to 100, I suspect that it is ignoring that setting and just running at a slower speed. I don't know any video cards that will run reliably at 100mhz AGP bus speed or any hard drive controllers that can handle 50mhz pci bus speed. There's even a chance that it's throttled back below 33/66 since you have it set that high, and you're just hurting performance.

Captain Virgil Hilts · « **Reply #13 on:** November 14, 2004, 10:50:35 AM »

I have the big Thermalright heatsink on mine as well, with one of those Tornado fans on it. I think in the summer, when I had the air off, and the house was up to 80 degrees or so, my CPU temp did hit 48C. Right now it is at 39C.

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #14 on:** November 14, 2004, 02:59:22 PM »

Guess I didnt pay enough attention. This heatsink was available as a "deal" for 5 bucks extra when I bought my CPU.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=35-103-419&depa=0

I thought that since it was copper it was better than what I had. Well, it probably is better than what I had. I'm having trouble finding a retailer that sells a larger size Thermalright heat sink that will fit my processor. I did find this one from Aero Cool though, wonder if its better?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=121037&Sku=Q131-2500

I'd appreciate an opinion. Or if you know of a good retailer that sells the heatsinks you reccommend I'd be happy to look at it.

Thanks.

SA2