This simple?

NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
edited November 2003 in Hardware
Hello,

I have an Asus A7N8X Deluxe Rev. 2 and a AMD Athlon XP Barton 2500+ w/ 333Mhz FSB. Recently I thought i'd try my hand at overclocking the CPU. So all I did was go into the BIOS and change the multiplier from 11 to 12.5 (well, i went to 12 first, then 12.5 after i rebooted and it was fine). So I went from:

11 x 166 = ~1.83GHz

to

12.5 x 166 = ~2.08GHz

just by doing that. It now shows up in the BIOS and wcpuid as a 2800+ and running at 2GHz. In the OC'ing guides i've read they say you have to do something to the chip itself (usually do things to the bridges) to adjust the multiplier. I didn't have to, the option was already "available" there and let me change its value. Is this normal with my board and CPU combo? I didn't notice any jump in my 3dmark2001 scores.. probably because the memory bandwidth stayed the same and that might be my bottleneck?

I have 2 x 256MB PC2700 Corsair XMS modules @ CAS2 (i think... 6-3-3-2T are my settings IIRC) and setup to use Dual Channel DDR. My videocard is a Asus GeForce4 Ti4200 128MB... only mediocre i know.

Also, last question: I've read that some things about my RAM that says it runs at CL2.5 when using 166Mhz FSB and CL2 when below 166Mhz. Is this CAS2 and CAS2.5 or something different?

Thanks.

Comments

  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    CL stands for CAS Latency as far as I know ...what makes you think you have a bottleneck ...everything appears to be going well so far.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    cl = cas latency
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Thrax had this to say
    cl = cas latency
    lol ...thanks & edited
  • NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
    edited November 2003
    Well, i'm not sure... I score around 11,250 in 3dmark2001. I just thought i'd see a little raise once I went from 1.8 to 2.0GHz, but I didn't see any raise. I guess that's too much to expect when just raising the multiplier?

    Also is it normal that I didn't have to modify the CPU in any way to be able to adjust the multiplier? Are the guides I was looking at just older when you had to do something physical to the chip to unlock the ability to adjust the multiplier?

    Thanks.
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    yeah you have an unlocked chip ...the older thorobreds were mulitplier locked so they involved a few tricks ...just be thankful you have an unlocked chip and let it rip.
    So have you tried to get any more fsb out of it?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    nForce2 boards automatically unlock the multiplier.

    CPU speed changes of roughly less than 300MHz on the same chip model (1.8GHz AXP to 2.0GHz AXP, for example) rarely return a large performance increase.
    yeah you have an unlocked chip ...the older thorobreds were mulitplier locked so they involved a few tricks ...just be thankful you have an unlocked chip and let it rip.
    So have you tried to get any more fsb out of it?

    Not true. No Barton comes from the factory unlocked. He said he had a 2500+. And even if it was locked, it wouldn't matter. nForce2 performs the 5bit FID.
  • NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
    edited November 2003
    Ah, thanks. Looks like I picked a good combo. :p

    So, my RAM is running @ CAS2.5 since i'm using a 166MHz FSB? Are the Corsair low-latency modules able to run at CAS2 with a 200MHz FSB? I'm thinking of upgrading my RAM to 2 x 512 PC3200 and trying to OC the CPU FSB to 200Mhz as well. Is that unrealistic?

    I haven't touched the FSB yet because I've read things about data corruption when doing it. Is this still an issue and what precautions do I need to take to avoid it, if possible? Finally, would the RAM speed change when the FSB is raised? I know the bandwidth would, but i've read that the best combo. is when your FSB speed matches the RAM frequency (right word?)

    Thanks.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    The nForce2 has locked PCI and AGP speeds. It's impossible to corrupt data with it.

    The Corsair PC3200C2LL modules do 2/2/2 all the way up to 220MHz in my experience. I have two sticks, and they're both capable of it.

    Raising memory speed increases the FSB. 200MHz FSB = 200MHz RAM. You'll have to turn your multiplier down to 10.5 or 11, and you'll have an instant AXP 3200+.
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    200mhz fsb is very realistic ...up the fsb a little at a time though and if you get to 200mhz test it thoroughly before you go further.
    ram settings can be changed once you find your high fsb ...you can up your dram voltage and probably get it to cas2 successfully but first up the fsb because that's where your 3dmark scores should show increase.
  • NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
    edited November 2003
    Ok, here's what i've tried:

    I also got a bluescreen when booting windows when I had my RAM set to 6-3-3-2T and I believe my FSB was @ 200MHz and RAM set to 200MHz as well.

    Anything with RAM @ 200MHz (i think...) = Fails to POST

    200 x 11 with RAM @ 166MHz = Boots as 3200+ but rebooted before I got into Windows 2000. RAM is set to "optimal", not the settings it's rated for.

    200 x 10.5 with RAM @ 166MHz = Boots as 3000+, running 3dMark2001 now. RAM is set to "optimal", not the settings it's rated for. 3DMark2001 won't start... well, the process sits in memory but neither the splash screen nor GUI show up. Reinstalling didn't help. I'm going to set my settings back to what I had them on before and try.

    Edit:
    We'll now it looks like 3DMark2001SE is broken. :doh:
    Wonder what could have did that... ugh!
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    mf4,

    You can use max memory voltage without worrying that anything busts. 2700 memory might need more voltage to run at 200+ fsb.
  • NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
    edited November 2003
    Well, it looks like my Win2k install might be messed up from OC'ing...

    dxdiag.exe, 3dmark2001se.exe, NVSystemUtility.exe run, but never appear. they just sit idle in memory. :banghead:

    Never had this problem before and have been running Win2k for years. This install has been here for 8+ months with no probs. until today.

    Running other things, IE, Trillian, Half-Life: Counter-Strike (OpenGL), WCPUID, etc. all work fine.

    Could I have damaged the RAM by trying to get it to run at 200MHz without upping the voltage beforehand?

    Edit:
    Just as soon as the problem appeared... it went away. Very odd. :eek3:
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    i say u reformat!
  • NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
    edited November 2003
    WuGgaRoO had this to say
    i say u reformat!

    was about to, when the problem went away. no need to format if it isn't broken anymore. :hrm:
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