OK, It's Time to Overclock my Barton Rig - First Time
Leonardo
Wake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, Alaska Icrontian
Your comments and advice would be appreciated for my first-time effort at overclocking system No. 2 (in signature below).
Heresy you say? A nice Barton - Abit combo just sitting there not overclocked? Well, I had been preparing to OC earlier, but a few things held me back: 1) massive BIOS chip problems (replaced it), 2) wanted to learn Intel overclocking first, and 3) it’s the computer my wife relies on as a listmaster for a non-profit organization it must remain 100% reliable.
I am an experienced overclocker with Thunderbirds, Palominos, and Intel P4Cs, but this will be my first AMD OC foray with Nforce/Barton.
(Geez, is Leo wordy, or what!)
Well anyway, system specs speak for themselves, but here are some things not listed in my signature:
- PSU: CompUSA 500W, not the greatest, but it worked at 3500MHz in my Intel system
- PSU: Geil DRAM, DON’T HARASS ME ABOUT IT. It was cheap and works as advertised. No problems at all at 400MHz DDR Dual Channel, 2.5/6/3/3. It works. Yes, I’ll probably have to use FSB/mem. bus dividers to keep it near 400MHz. Yes, I admit, it’s not good overclocking memory.
- BIOS revision: 1.8
- present setup runs 47*C at 100% CPU utilizations
Questions:
Any BIOS anomalies I should be aware of?
“CPU Interface” - enabled for overclocking, right?
The NF7-S board unlocks the CPU for both FSB and multiplier settings, right?
OK, comments? Advice?
Heresy you say? A nice Barton - Abit combo just sitting there not overclocked? Well, I had been preparing to OC earlier, but a few things held me back: 1) massive BIOS chip problems (replaced it), 2) wanted to learn Intel overclocking first, and 3) it’s the computer my wife relies on as a listmaster for a non-profit organization it must remain 100% reliable.
I am an experienced overclocker with Thunderbirds, Palominos, and Intel P4Cs, but this will be my first AMD OC foray with Nforce/Barton.
(Geez, is Leo wordy, or what!)
Well anyway, system specs speak for themselves, but here are some things not listed in my signature:
- PSU: CompUSA 500W, not the greatest, but it worked at 3500MHz in my Intel system
- PSU: Geil DRAM, DON’T HARASS ME ABOUT IT. It was cheap and works as advertised. No problems at all at 400MHz DDR Dual Channel, 2.5/6/3/3. It works. Yes, I’ll probably have to use FSB/mem. bus dividers to keep it near 400MHz. Yes, I admit, it’s not good overclocking memory.
- BIOS revision: 1.8
- present setup runs 47*C at 100% CPU utilizations
Questions:
Any BIOS anomalies I should be aware of?
“CPU Interface” - enabled for overclocking, right?
The NF7-S board unlocks the CPU for both FSB and multiplier settings, right?
OK, comments? Advice?
0
Comments
I'm at work if ya need any real time help
Now this is with Kingston HyperX PC3500 RAM. I think my RAM is damaged however, because I get all sorts of errors at 3200 speed. Windows reboots on its own, I get IRQ NOT EQUAL BSOD's, and Internet Explorer crashes quite often.
So either my RAM is messed up or my CPU is getting too hot. I doubt the latter however because I'm using a Thermaltake smartfan 2 fan on a SLK-800 heatsink. Interestingly, the system gives me alarms and shuts down when I place the tower in the vertical position. When I lie it on its side, it works fine. It looks like my heatsink isn't tight enough on the CPU core, and I have no idea how to fix that.
In anycase, I've dared to go up to 225 FSB and 2400 MHz on this machine, but that's just for cool points. I can't even stay stable at DDR400, which is pretty sad considering my setup. I've jacked up the CPU's voltage to 1.85 and the other voltages to their max, but that hasn't helped things.
Barton 2500
Abit NF7-S 2.0
2x256 Kingston HyperX PC3500 RAM
Antec Trupower 430W
Dunno what else would be applicable in this case.
Oh and make sure to lock AGP:PCI clocks in BIOS somewhere. And run sync not like the P4 system.
Haven't had a Barton and don't remember - that's a 333 FSB chip, right? What's default multi?
I would probably first set the fsb to 200 (DDR 400) 1:1 ratio cpu interface enabled, yes. RAM to SPD to start. Then set the multi so that the cpu is running THE SAME SPEED AS the default 166 (DDR 333) X whatever multi, or close. I believe default is 12.5 X 166 (333) = 2080, so try going 11 X 200 (400)= 2200 for a mild starting point overclock. Your PC3200 is made for that speed @ SPD timings, in theory.
***There are issues with NF7-Series mobo's not having multi's 8.5 to 10.5 at fsb 215+ with cpu interface enabled*** so I recommend you stay away from 8.5 - 10.5 altogether. Find a fsb around 210 or so then play with multi's. The exception is apparently bios v D10 (? I think) CPU interface supposedly tightens up mobo internal timings and makes a substantial difference to bandwidth results so you WANT it enabled.
As you are already at 11 multi in the above scenario, try upping fsb until your RAM can't handle it, but stay 1:1. I suspect you'll be doing more experimenting with multis than you will with fsb, but I hope you get lucky with your RAM and I am wrong.
Last thing to do is mess with RAM timings, if it will handle over 200 fsb @ SPD, then try and get them tightened down somewhat and see if she's stable.
I'm running 2100+ @ 11 X 207, seems fine, tho still experimenting. Different core tho (non-Barton). Bios version 1.8 (most recent) on NF7-S. Lovely wonderful stable problem free motherboard, the only exception being that I can't get a microphone to work, which is almost a non-issue for me.
Correct. Default multiplier is 12.5. Right now I am running the rig asynchronously - FSB at 166MHz, DRAM at 200MHz. Runs perfectly. As far as running syncrounously for the overclock, I will probably be limited to 200FSB or thereabouts, as my Geil PC3200 is not game for much more than its rated speed. I'll try synch, but assuming that this CPU has good FSB headroom, I'll eventually have to run asynch to keep RAM speed down.
We'll see how it goes. I will though, have to be conservative. I cannot risk making this computer unstable at all - my wife would justifiably have my head.
I do hope to get a good overclock out of this that is day-in-day-out usable. As both rigs are 2800 (one is 2800+), it should make for some fun, amateur benchmarking comparisons.
You are correct about both the fsb and multi's being fully unlocked with your NF7-S 2.0. All I had to do to overclock to 3200 speeds was bump the fsb up to 200 as the XP3200 uses the same 11 multi as my 2500. Once I got past 2.2 GHz, I had to start coming up on the vcore until I hit the heat/speed wall at around 220 X 11 with 1.95v vcore. My SLK800 just couldn't dump the heat fast enough to run totally steady at that speed even with my Delta 68 at full speed; my temps were right around 50-55 C loaded. I am presently running at 210 X 11 at 1.8v vcore and temps are 39 C folding with the Delta running at mid speed(around 34-3500 rpm).
What are you presently cooling with, Leo? You might have to upgrade to the SLK900a if you want to overclock with quietness if your temps are already 47 C at stock speed. SVC is presently running a sale on them for $19.95, so go jump on it while the sale lasts and you should have a premium cooling solution. For a fan for it, sidewindercomputers has a 92 X 32 mm Sanyo Denki fan that pushes 55 cfm at 36 dBA sound and it doesn't have an annoying whine to it either. It isn't cheap at $9.95 but Sanyo Denki is noted for making high quality fans in the same quality range as Panaflo. Also, mpja.com has some Papst 92 X 32 mm(listed as 3 5/8 X 1 1/4" on their site) for $3.95 per fan, which is a steal for Papst fans. The only drawback to them is I think they have a minimum order requirement of $15, but they have a bunch of neat stuff and have some great prices on DC and AC fans and also very low prices on Cat5 cables too.
You shouldn't have any problems getting to 3200 speeds except that you will probably have to upgrade to a better performing hsf if you want the rig to stay relatively quiet.
Try that at 1.7v, then 1.75, then 1.8, then 1.825. Make sure it doesn't go over 50*C. That's slightly too hot at that point.
I can confirm the 10x range not working above 210. 10 and 10.5 don't work for me at 211-230.
//EDIT: Scratch those suggestions. 47*C idle is too high already. Better cooling (<font size=-7>better memory too! heh</font>) is in order.
I'm using Corsair XMS3700 sitcks. These are nice because they give you a great deal of freedom in raising the FSB speeds.
Good luck and let us know how things work out.
No Thrax, that's 47*C at full load, 100% CPU utilization.
I will agree with what I saw mentioned a time or two already, you definitly want to run sync. You shouldn't have any problems by just upping the fsb to 200 and change the multi to 11 @ default vcore. After that you will need to start playing with your multi's due to your RAM limitations. I was trying to help someone locally with the same mobo and RAM you have with a 2500 Barton and we could not get it to run dual channel @ 200fsb unless we set the timings to 8-6-6-2.5 (186 was all we could go dual channel with stock timings in dual channel). We pulled one stick and it would go to 210 @ SPD timings then tried loosening up the mem timings a notch and put the second stick back in and no go. We messed with this thing for a whole weekend and tried everything but it just didn't take to being pushed. Most attempts at running async at high bus speeds resulted in either no boots or instability. This stuff just hates AMD set-ups in dual channel if pushed at all. I'm not knocking it or harassing you but you may want to consider some of the Buffalo chips Mac has been recomending as they are very cheap and you may be able to dump yours for close to the same price. So it's just a thought.
Sir, I'll report back later today with the results. If I FUBAR the computer, I won't report back, as I'll be at the morgue and my wife will be in jail.
Bumped mulitiplier down to 11.
Set FSB at 190.
Bumped vCore up to 1.7v.
Previous to this, I changed DRAM at SPD, which set it at 166MHz; moved multiplier to 11, and hit F10; computer rebooted without problems at all.
Upon changing FSB to 190, the computer would not boot past the first two lines of the first POST screen, indicating that the CPU was "AMD Athlon 1250MHz". It took about ten "Insert" key restarts, three CMOS jumper resets, and two CMOS battery removals to get into the BIOS after that.
What the heck is going on?
Could it have anything to do with the "CPU Disconnect Function" under "Advanced Chipset Features"? I had/have it set to Enabled. Also, should I set the "CPU/FSB Ratio" to 5/5, SPD, or Auto? (Remember, I don't want to exceed 400MHz DDR with my RAM.)
Edit: This is frustrating. I've never had problems like this before, even as a complete overclocking noob with my old Abit KT7-R!
i oced and im totally with thrax on this one
and it should be around 50ish with fullload...nothing more than 54 id say,....52 would be good
I'll set CPU Disconnect to Enabled, and FSB/DRAM Ratio to 5/5. Temperature is not yet a factor - case is open and it hasn't even been in Windows yet with OCed settings.
vCore - 1.7
Multiplier - 11
FSB - 191
Effective OC of 2100MHz, FSB 191, DRAM 382 DDR, CPU core temp 42*C full load (case open).
I monitor for a while and then bump up FSB some more.
Leo
Have you tried lower vcore?
If you need to raise any voltages, I would suggest trying the DDR voltage first since your memory is the weakest link.
Multiplier - 11
FSB - 200
Effective OC of 2200MHz, FSB 200, DRAM 400 DDR, CPU core temp 47*C full load (case open).
I monitor for a while and then bump up FSB some more.
I've already got DRAM voltage two notches above default. After monitoring the currenct clock of 11X200, I'll try inching up the FSB/DRAM in small increments, to see what the DRAM will take. I predict it won't OC past 205. That's the limit of the same RAM in my Intel box.
If I have to stop FSB OC at 200, then I'll move up the multiplier and see what shakes out of the tree.
I learned from some posters at Xtremesystems that in bios 18 the 5/5 and 6/6 are buggy. ??????? I had issues with bios 18 and went back to 14 si I can't confirm. It is possible as there are some other bugs of a similar nature showing up in most bios revisions.
Outstanding!
I wonder if the guy here had the older revision that didn't like dual ch. I know they have changed it twice now for sure.
(Temp. measurements are MBM 5; voltage measurements are BIOS.)
2306MHz - 11.5 X 200
vcore (BIOS) 1.8
chipset - 1.7
DRAM - 2.7
CPU core temp - 48*C full load (case open). Temp will rise when I close the case; this is a Chieftec (Antec 1030B-style case) with it's inherent poor breathing with itty-bitty intake and exhaust ports.