dfi nf3 ultra overclocking
I just put together a new dfi/a64 rig and this is my first venture into the whole a64 thing. I have been going through tons of pages over at dfi-street forums, and they have helped explain many things. however i am still in the dark about a few things. it seems that dfi's award bios doesn't use the standard language when describing things so i am a little confused.
For instance, on dfi-street, they talk about HTT and LDT and what they do. Here's a quote:
ok, great---i understand this concept, but in the BIOS there is no corresponding HTT or LDT settings. Well maybe there is, they just aren't labeled that way. i have included some BIOS screenies to show you what i mean. Also i can't seem to find and ram frequency controls. Thanks to cpu-z i can tell that my ram is running at ddr333(166) but i am not sure how to get it up to speed. Also i can't find cpu:ram ratio adjustments. I assume right now it is at 4:3 since the fsb (HTT) is 200 and my ram is 166. where can i change this? is there some hidden menu like the ctrl+f1 thing on gigabyte boards?
Can someone please confirm/deny what i have circled in the pics below...
specs:
dfi nf3 ultra-d (stock 6-02 BIOS)
a64 3200+ venice (e6 stepping)
1gb geil pc4400 (3,4,4,8)
ati x800xl, vivo
120gb maxtor pata
550w superflower(TIGI) modular psu
1st pic is the genie BIOS settings, and 2rd is dram config...
Thanks!
For instance, on dfi-street, they talk about HTT and LDT and what they do. Here's a quote:
Wildstyle says.. HTT is your “FSB.” LDT is the HTT Multiplier (LDT = Lightning Data Transport)
So for example on your system we could use..
200 (HTT) * 5 (LDT) = 1000 (HyperTransport freq.)
HTT * LDT = HyperTransport Bus Frequency.
ok, great---i understand this concept, but in the BIOS there is no corresponding HTT or LDT settings. Well maybe there is, they just aren't labeled that way. i have included some BIOS screenies to show you what i mean. Also i can't seem to find and ram frequency controls. Thanks to cpu-z i can tell that my ram is running at ddr333(166) but i am not sure how to get it up to speed. Also i can't find cpu:ram ratio adjustments. I assume right now it is at 4:3 since the fsb (HTT) is 200 and my ram is 166. where can i change this? is there some hidden menu like the ctrl+f1 thing on gigabyte boards?
Can someone please confirm/deny what i have circled in the pics below...
specs:
dfi nf3 ultra-d (stock 6-02 BIOS)
a64 3200+ venice (e6 stepping)
1gb geil pc4400 (3,4,4,8)
ati x800xl, vivo
120gb maxtor pata
550w superflower(TIGI) modular psu
1st pic is the genie BIOS settings, and 2rd is dram config...
Thanks!
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Comments
so under dram config...
max memclock (mhz) = Auto (1:1)
so why is my ram running at 105mhz when i up my HTT to 210? shouldn't it be at 210 also? it's like the auto setting is a 2:1 instead of a 1:1.
i understand that by changing CPU freq i am changing mem frequency too, but i can't figure out this ratio thing.
and thanks DFI for making everything so vague..i guess i am just spoiled from my abit boards where everything was labeled clearly in plain english.
so after a few hours of exhaustive testing and experimenting i feel pretty comfortable w/ the poorly-worded BIOS settings. i pretty much changed every setting untill i figured out what they all do. plus i read all of the dfi-street "stickies" on the subject. DFI could have made it easier to understand though.
anyway, i can get into windows at 250htt, sandra burn-in stable, but 3dmark03 crashes during the 1st test. here are my settings in the pics below... any suggestions on what i need to be stable? my eyes hurt from looking at most of the 3000+ posts on this mobo over at dfi-street---i can't search through there anymore.
my goal is to get her game stable at around 260-270 htt, 1:1.
***some issues to be noted***
board is undervolting the +12v line. this seems to be a known problem. BIOS reads it at 11.71--11.64. tested the psu w/ a MM before i hooked it up to the board and all rails/voltages were dead on. board seems to undervolt in general if you leave things stock. however oc'ing seems to level out the other voltages so the +12v seems to be the only real issue. this could be leading to my instability??? many have sent their board back to DFI for this very problem. I am hoping DFI might release a new BIOS update with a fix, but no report of any BIOS(new or old) fixing this issue so far. RMA might be my only choice.
also the dreaded cold boot issue has cropped up. things are fine if i warm boot after changing BIOS settings but not after i power down. tested it a few times just to be sure, and it happens everytime i try a cold boot--i have to clear CMOS first.
according to quite a few folks at dfi-street, newer BIOSs don't seem to be immune to cold boot problems. many say stick with the original 6-02 while others swear by the 7-11. People seem to hate the newest 8-24 b/c it has all the usual problems like cold boot, 216 htt bug (won't POST on anything over 216 htt), and not saving BIOS settings (where you change values in BIOS and everything seems fine, but windows reads as default 200 htt).
Wow, i knew this board would be a challenge--just wasn't quite ready for all of this.
But actually calling the reference frequency 'CPU OverClock in MHz' is terrible. They should seriously correct that in the next revision.
'HT Frequency' should be LDT Multiplier or HTT BUS Multiplier. Last I checked 4x is not a 'frequency' at all
Hammer Fid is the CPU multiplier.
'Max Mem Clock' is also a terrible description. DRAM Frequency Set is the NF4 equivilant. This is basically your memory divider, which allows your memory to run at a fraction of the reference or 'base HTT' frequency.
Btw, in regards to your low +12V, the DFI boards are notorious for reading this incorrectly. Even my PCP&C reads 11.7V. With a DMM, I get 12.08. That has been my biggest complaint about these DFI boards. My NF3 is not any better. CPU temp and voltages are not read correctly.
Good work so far. 2.5 is nothing to scoff at. My first suggestion would be to find your maximum CPU clock with your default 10x multiplier, and a 1/2 or 2/3 memory divider, and 2T command timing enabled. (CPC Disabled). Slowly increase your reference clock frequency, and see how far you get. It is very possible that your on-die memory controller is limiting your overclock. My Winchester clocks up to about 2.6GHz, but I cant do much better than 240MHz on the memory. My TCCD clocks fine up to 305MHz, but I have to use a low CPU multiplier, to keep the CPU clock below 2.4. The Venice chips are better, but the memory controller can always be a limiting factor.
I'm currently working on an A64 overclocking article, hopefully I'll get it finished soon and put these terrible naming errors to bed
can i just forget about the low +12v reading? gonna see if i can get a true value off of the mobo with my MM. do you know which transistor or pwm to monitor exactly for +12v? i'll probably figure it out through trial and error soon---starting near the 20pin connector sounds good...
so the temp reports in DFI nf3/nf4 BIOSs are innaccurate? are they reading high or low typically?
will try for max cpu OC later tonight and report back.
The NF4 boards are a little better, the screen shots you displayed are quite bad as far as bios parameter naming.
The easiest way to check the +12V rail is to use a MM on the molex connectors. Simply test the 'yellow' conductor, which is +12V. You can use either of the two black wires as ground. You can do the same for +5V, using the red conductor. Not necessary to poke around at ICs etc.
Actually, my NF4 board reports temps okay, but the +12V is off. My NF3 250GB however, has far-off temp readings. The CPU temperature is about 6-7 degrees too cool. When I had the H2O cooling on it, it was always below ambient. BIOS updates didn't help unfortunatly. I got used to it after a while..
Cool stuff
seems to be at 2.6 or just above. can't get into windows at 270htt at all. i can get into windows at 265htt but not really stable. 260htt seems to be pretty stable. everything except prime95 works fine. sandra burn-in loop, 3dmark complete without problems. unfortunately, prime95 torture test fails in under 10 minutes everytime.
also can get the same 260htt, 1:1 ratio, 3,4,4,8 (2t) stable into windows and all benchmarks except for prime95. if i try (1t) command rate i can't complete any benchies.
so i think my cpu is fine, but i might be overvolting/undervolting something. what's the limit for chipset voltage, and cpu vcore on air? here's what i am at...
cpu idle = 36C/ load 49C
cpu: 1.55
chipset: 1.85
mem: 3.0 (might be too much for my ram)
agp: 1.5
also my 12v line reads 12.1 with a MM (or DMM), so that's fine. here are some pics...
I wouldn't worry about chipset voltage. Unlike the NF2 boards, it does little but create unwanted heat. You could try +0.1V if you'd like to try it out, but any more than that is not necessary. I have had my NF3 250GB run at 300+MHz without a hiccup at default vchip.
You'll likely be okay with 3V on your memory as long as there is some airflow over the dimms, however it is likely unnecessary with your geil pc4400. 2.8 or 2.9V should be plenty for that ram to reach it's max clocks.
As for the CPU, 1.55V is about as high as I would go on air-cooling. I have tried 1.6V on my Winchester, and it did nothing for stability, and simply added a lot of heat. I was pushing close to 60 degrees, even with an XP90.
I havent given up all hope, but if you are hitting around 2.6 with and without the memory divider and 2T, chances are you have simply hit your CPU's limit. What is your LDT (or HTT) multiplier set to?
At a 260MHz reference clock, I'd stick with the 4x LDT multi, which will get you about 2080MHz HTT, close to stock. 3x is likely too low at only 1560MHz.
2.6 seems like the limit without some other means of cooling.
cold boot issue is really annoying though. do you know of any remedies?
all power connections connected---standard 20pin and 4pin are all that is on the board.
@ MackanzOCZ,
nothing wrong per say, just that i am totally unfamilar with any a64 boards/BIOSes and it was confusing the hell out of me at first. after much research and testing, i am comfortable with the settings in the BIOS. I think they could have made it a little clearer that's all. Like just call things HTT, LDT, and dram:cpu ratio instead of the weird things like "max memclock (mhz)," etc...