Overclocking my Sempron 3000+

lewicronlewicron Glasgow
edited May 2006 in Hardware
I've never overclocked anything in my life, but having heard good things about the OC-ing potential of the Sempron 3000+, i've decided to have a go. I intend to build a new rig later this year, so I'm not terribly worried about the long term effects on my processor's lifespan (I realise this may illicit frowns of disdain from serious overclockers, but I can take it), which is good because I only have the stock cooling fan and heatsink from AMD. Anyway, I've had a look at the short-media overclocking guide for A64 754/939 (which is excellent, cheers short-media), but I'm having problems when testing the max processor clock speed. I started by limiting my memory to 133Mhz, and increasing the ref, clock from 200Mhz to 215Mhz. I tested this for 15 mins on Prime 95 and got the all-clear, so continued to increase the ref. clock to 220Mhz - OK. When I set it up to 225Mhz and reduced the HTT to 600Mhz, however, the sum'bitch wouldn't make it past the windows loading screen :scratch:. If anyone can suggest any reason why I'm having problems, or anything I could do differently, I will be eternally in their debt. Would there be any advantage, for instance, in reducing the multiplier to 8x and trying even larger increases in ref. clock frequency?

Here's my setup:
AMD sempron 64 3000+ on ASrock K8upgrade VM800 (Chipset: VIA ID0204 rev. 00, BIOS: American Megatrends Inc., revision P160)
1GB DRR400 PC3200 (2x512MB)
80GB Hitachi 7200rpm ATA HDD (operating systems - xp pro SP2 and xp 64)
160GB Seagate Barricuda 7200rpm SATA HDD (storage)
Hope that's not too much or too little information, please let me know if there's anything important that I've left out.
Thanks in advance for any help - remember: every time you help out a newbie Jesus gives birth to an angel... er... ;)

Comments

  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited April 2006
    Hi lewicron, welcome to Short-Media! :cheers: Glad you liked the overclocking guide.

    Sounds like you've done everything right so far. There is a couple of things you can try: keep the HTT at 800MHz, and try again. Sometimes the system can get a little finiky if the HTT is too low. You were right to decrease it at that time, but give it a shot to see if it makes a difference. Also, what is your CPU voltage currently set to? If the HTT at 800MHz does not help, you should try to boost the CPU voltage a notch or two to see if anything changes. If stability improves with a voltage boost, it could be a simple matter of vcore. I'd be surprised that it needs more voltage at as low as 2GHz though.

    Don't bother reducing the multiplier to 8x yet. That will likely make things more difficult.

    Best of luck! Let us know how it goes.
  • lewicronlewicron Glasgow
    edited April 2006
    Cheers! I'll give it a go. Vcore is set to 1.45v, and unfortunately that seems to be the maximum my mainboard will allow. Anyhoo, will soldier on and let you know how it goes, thanks again!
  • lewicronlewicron Glasgow
    edited April 2006
    Damn. Still no joy. I wonder if it's worth downloading the latest BIOS, though I frankly have no idea whether it willl offer any advantage. It's starting to look as though the closest I'll get to overclocking this thing is to paint go-faster stripes down the sides.....
  • naturalitenaturalite DFW, Texas
    edited April 2006
    lewicron wrote:
    Damn. Still no joy. I wonder if it's worth downloading the latest BIOS, though I frankly have no idea whether it willl offer any advantage. It's starting to look as though the closest I'll get to overclocking this thing is to paint go-faster stripes down the sides.....


    LMAO
  • naturalitenaturalite DFW, Texas
    edited April 2006
    Can I have some of that paint when ur done
  • rykoryko new york
    edited April 2006
    updated BIOS is worth a try, but don't count on it for an overwhelming increase in performance.

    you might have just hit the wall with that via based mobo of yours. i am sure your cpu has some more headroom, but your mobo is just not an overclocker's dream--220-225 fsb is most likely the limit.
  • lewicronlewicron Glasgow
    edited April 2006
    Yeah i think you're probably right about the mainboard. I bought the whole system on the cheap on ebay, so the components are obviously pretty basic. Never mind, I'll certainly be bearing overclocking potential in mind when I upgrade. Thanks again for the replies.

    PS - naturalite: Of course you can have some paint mate, you just need to pay for the postage. BTW, I'm also fitting my case with some bucket seats and a wee rear spoiler from an old radio controlled car: I'm thinking some extra downforce might improve system stability >;D. (I'm wearing a crash helmet as I type this...)
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited April 2006
    lewicron wrote:
    Yeah i think you're probably right about the mainboard. I bought the whole system on the cheap on ebay, so the components are obviously pretty basic. Never mind, I'll certainly be bearing overclocking potential in mind when I upgrade. Thanks again for the replies.

    PS - naturalite: Of course you can have some paint mate, you just need to pay for the postage. BTW, I'm also fitting my case with some bucket seats and a wee rear spoiler from an old radio controlled car: I'm thinking some extra downforce might improve system stability >;D. (I'm wearing a crash helmet as I type this...)

    LOL! ;D

    Take a look around for a used DFI NF3 250GB. It's the best 754 board I've used, and is a lot of fun to tweak. It has just about all of the options of the popular NF4 939 boards. They are usually going sub-$100 on ebay.
  • lewicronlewicron Glasgow
    edited April 2006
    "Take a look around for a used DFI NF3 250GB. It's the best 754 board I've used, and is a lot of fun to tweak. It has just about all of the options of the popular NF4 939 boards. They are usually going sub-$100 on ebay."

    Cheers dude - I'll check that out. :)

    Can anyone offer any opinions on processor/mobo for a new (first time) build? I'm moving to Singapore for a year in august and i'm hoping the cheap electronics reputation will translate into a zippy new system. I was going to wait for AM2 and buy an A X2 4400/4800, but having spent some time looking at threads on this site i'm starting to think about getting an Opteron. I wouldn't want to fry a new chip through inexperienced overclocking, so I'm thinking it might be better to stick with a current platform, since it's mature and plenty of people have written guides, etc, on how to do it.

    On the other hand, I want all the newest, shiniest stuff I can get my hands on. Hmmm.... :scratch:
  • naturalitenaturalite DFW, Texas
    edited April 2006
    I have the DFI landparty UT NF3 250 board. Havn't been able to overclock it much my self (really cheep memory) but it does give alot of options in bios. And I havn't had any problems with it yet.
  • i0esign
    edited April 2006
    First if you are gonna pay $100 for a Nforce3 mobo go to Outpost.com and get a combo. They sell a Siempron 3000 w/Nforce3 mobo for $79. Otherwise check out the Refurbished section at Newegg. I am currently using this mobo (939) and it OCs well.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138268R

    Second if ur gonna OC than Better than the stock cooler is needed. The ACcooling Freezer pro can be had for less than $30. It can always be used on your next system.

    Also faster memory makes it MUCH easier to OC (and also can be used on the future system) and you wont need the divider.

    As for newer stuff,most people like dualcore, the Opty 170 seems like a nice one (it has a 10X multiplier) and OCs well.

    For mobo I like my Biostar Tforce but LOVE my DFI LanParty NF4 Ultra..

    For HDDs I use 4 Hitachi Sata2 80 gigs in a Raid0 array (speed not security for me) Was only $200 but is REALLY fast.

    Ive heard about Conroe and AM2 and basically am very happy with what i have now.

    For memory I use 2.
    1 is Geil One 1gig for Racing (probably one of the fastest memories there is)
    2 is 2 gigs of ddr400 for everyday use. If you are gonna OC look at DDR 433 or 500.
  • naturalitenaturalite DFW, Texas
    edited April 2006
    Wise dicision i0esign. That $79 deal souns sweet. My buddy still Plays games with an atholon 2500+ and it plays as good or better than my syatem, but he has top $ mobo and memory, which makes a big big diffrence
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited April 2006
    Lewicron, you have been immortalized here!

    I like your sense of humor. Are you using a Honda Civic computer case by any chance? Spare yourself the paint stripe job and just get a "Type R" sticker. But yes, your logic is sound. Put that wing on the case! A ground affects package would help too, especially if you are moving the computer from one room to another. You can tote your computer as fast as you wish and it won't fly out of your arms.
  • lewicronlewicron Glasgow
    edited May 2006
    Leonardo wrote:
    Lewicron, you have been immortalized here!

    I like your sense of humor. Are you using a Honda Civic computer case by any chance? Spare yourself the paint stripe job and just get a "Type R" sticker. But yes, your logic is sound. Put that wing on the case! A ground affects package would help too, especially if you are moving the computer from one room to another. You can tote your computer as fast as you wish and it won't fly out of your arms.

    Ha! Cheers Leonardo :D

    Too late for the TypeR sticker, though - paint job's already done. Thought I'd post a pic to let you guys have a look: As you can see, the rear wing is copper, so heat dissipation is excellent. The ventilation offered by the new front fender really improves airflow within the case, too - not to mention exterior aerodynamics.

    She may only do 1.8Ghz on the straight, but I'll wager this baby can take on anything through the corners. Time to throw on some Clapton and hit the road....:rockon:
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited May 2006
    Outstanding! You da Man! :cheers:
Sign In or Register to comment.