xms3500 on a7n8x dlx2 with 2500+ (all stock)
Hi! Newest member after Creep from cs introduced me to this site.
Yup. Mind you, I know diddly squat about overclocking irl, but I've been perusing a huge amount of info from different forums. So, in theory, I'm set.
Anyway, if I post incomprehensible questions plz don't flame the nub That said, I'ma get to the point of this thread:
I recently received my 2x512 sticks of xms3500, and I'm still wondering what to do next. In order to get the most out of this ram, and considering that I haven't o/c'd yet (900a+tornado92+nexus is on it's way,) how should I configure bios prior to installing these chips? Seeing how they're running @ 434mhz, while my barton is still at 333, should I set the ratio within bios, or run @ 100%? (in sync is supposed to be great)
Either way, should I just key in the timings that corsair recommends (they seem to have tested the 3500 extensively on the a7n8x, but not specifically the 2500+, so I'm at a loss,) or should I just set bios to optimum?
Also, with this extra bandwidth, will I expect any problems? That is, concerning agp/pci locks? Seeing how uber1007 has more options than the default bios I had, there seems to be more that I could tweak within bios, to get my system stable. I'm not interested in any o/c tweaks, as yet, since my cooling isn't up to par.
Any suggestions welcome.
Edit: Which slots have y'all used for stable dual channel?
Yup. Mind you, I know diddly squat about overclocking irl, but I've been perusing a huge amount of info from different forums. So, in theory, I'm set.
Anyway, if I post incomprehensible questions plz don't flame the nub That said, I'ma get to the point of this thread:
I recently received my 2x512 sticks of xms3500, and I'm still wondering what to do next. In order to get the most out of this ram, and considering that I haven't o/c'd yet (900a+tornado92+nexus is on it's way,) how should I configure bios prior to installing these chips? Seeing how they're running @ 434mhz, while my barton is still at 333, should I set the ratio within bios, or run @ 100%? (in sync is supposed to be great)
Either way, should I just key in the timings that corsair recommends (they seem to have tested the 3500 extensively on the a7n8x, but not specifically the 2500+, so I'm at a loss,) or should I just set bios to optimum?
Also, with this extra bandwidth, will I expect any problems? That is, concerning agp/pci locks? Seeing how uber1007 has more options than the default bios I had, there seems to be more that I could tweak within bios, to get my system stable. I'm not interested in any o/c tweaks, as yet, since my cooling isn't up to par.
Any suggestions welcome.
Edit: Which slots have y'all used for stable dual channel?
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If you go farther down, you will see the "CPU vCore setting" label; change that to "user define" as well, and you will be able to adjust your CPU's voltage. Now you can adjust all the speeds of cpu in bios. what your stepping on cpu? do you know if its locked or not cause that determines how far you can go
As with every operation that could fry $300 in parts, take it slow. Don't try to jump 30 on your FSB (I tried that once on an 1800+ out of curiosity and it hardly POSTed
And watch your Temps. You should be able to run that Barton at 50*C to 55*C without any problems. I think you'll be too unstable to get that hot with that HSF, but keep an eye on it. The A7N8X should have some kind of shutoff feature if your CPU gets hot (The NF7-S does, and is practically the sister of the A7N8X, with a touch of Abit). You can get Motherboard Monitor and watch your Temps from your system tray. http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=311
Good luck in your OCing. Before long, you'll want water.
Although I've received all of the cooling bits (900a,nexus,as5,) I figured it'd best to take the temperature readings first, and compare them to the readings post-hsf upgrade.
The ram has survived 3 passes of Memtest.
Currently, my memory is running in-sync with my 2500+ @166, and is currently working on the 1st test of the 3rd iteration set in prime95 (torture mode.) My temperatures on stock heatsink/fan ranges from 42-49 degrees on the diode. I'll give this test approximately 8-10 hours till completion, after which I'll probably repeat the process with the slk+tornado+as5 combination.
I'm documenting everything down as I go along, just in case any of you resident o/c-veterans need something tangible to help diagnose any problems that I may come across. I'm being as meticulous as humanly possible (if you haven't already surmised from the length of this post,) but hey, I figured it's my first tweak that didn't involve a car.
All in all, I'm glad that I didn't rush into this head first.
I'll keep you all posted
Sync/Async doesn't really matter ATM, I don't think. PERSONALLY, though, since it's PC3500, I'd run it sync with the CPU @ PC2700 speeds, and use the most agressive timings available. I think that would give you better results than running it at PC3500 with the default timings.
First of all, you need to tell if the cpu is locked or not. If it is locked, the limit will be the cpu and not the ram. There is no way the chip will do default multi and Pc3500 speeds on air. Can you boot with lower multi?
ALWAYS run Sync as the speed increase will be enormous in memory bandwidth. Run 100% and lower the multi to 9 to start with. Put the modules in the 1:st and 3:rd slot for dual action. Use rated timings and rated voltage to start with at 200 fsb. Leave the voltage on the cpu at default.
Did you guys skip my post altogether?
I thought that I was doing the right thing..
Welcome to Short-Media. Hopefully we can help ya out
1) Dual Channel DDR is enabled on the A7N8X by installing your RAM into the first 2 memory banks closest to the processor (the top 2), shown in this picture.
2) Since your FSB is running at 333 MHz and your memory is capable of running faster than 333 MHz, run the memory divisor at 1:1, or 100%.
3) Corsair (and all memory modules) are pre-programmed with default timings (like 2-3-3-5), and are detected by the motherboard with something called SPD (Serial Presence Detect). What that does is detect the pre-programmed timings from the memory modules and programs them into the BIOS.
Since the Corsair XMS3500 can do low timings, you are best to go into the BIOS and set the timings to something lower than the SPD values (which are 2-3-3-7). The lowest possible timings available on memory modules are 2-2-2-5, however you may need to increase the voltage on your memory modules to get that low.
However, if you just want to stick the modules in and go to town, install them, go into the BIOS, set the memory divisor to 1:1 or 100% and leave the timings set for SPD.
Dual-Channel DDR is not a requirement for extreme performance on the Athlon XP platform, as the memory bandwidth requirements of the 400 MHz FSB can be filled with PC3200 DDR memory in single channel (offering 3.2 GB/sec memory bandwidth). You will notice a slight performance increase in benchmarks, but nothing that you can really see during normal day-to-day usage.
With those Corsair XMS3500 modules, stability will not be an issue. As long as the modules are not damaged, your system will be stable when running dual-channel mode
I've got an A7N8X-Deluxe; Dual-channel is enabled by putting the RAM in the third slot (bottom most one in that pic), and either one of the other two slots.
I blame old age
I'm just glad that everything has proceeded smoothly. Currently, I've adjusted my timings to 2 2 2 5 (as you suggested,) with both prime95+sandra04's torture tests showing no real signs of instability. My voltage is set at default across the board (apparently the xms3500's require less V's than comparable brands,) and temperature readings show no real signs of danger.
Currently I'm on my Dell pIII 500 laptop, with my main rig benching pi's and 'Mark suites. I'll compare these readings to the feedback I received prior to installing the ram, to see if any bottlenecks had surfaced.
Tomorrow, after allowing my computer too cool down after an overnight prime95 torture test, I'll attempt to install the: 900a, 92mm Tornado, alongside the 205spec Nexus controller.
I can hardly sleep, but this could be attributed to my girlfriend's terrible mood.
Till then.
:banghead:
Ginipig, what's the situation? What multi/fsb do you run at now?
So far, the o/c gods have treated me right. As I mentioned in the subject line, my air-cooled setup is complete. I'm in the process of running a few burn-in tests, prime95'ing till my readings indicate a steady high-load temperature, and intensely researching all possible scenarios given my system specs.
Also, judging by other's experience with the arctic compound, it seems that I should give my rig some time to soak in all the goodness that is as5 ("break-in period" - someguy; circa sometime ago.)
My 2500@166 will see rises in fsb in small increments. Multiplier settings remain at 11, as I've yet to figure out the highest fsb possible on my barton revision. For those of you with the rare ability to decipher incoherent alphanumerics, heres whats tagged on my cpu:
AXDA25000KV4D
Y859278270068
AQXEA0327MPMW
From what I can gather, 0's tend to pair with other 0's, and W's are too chubby to be first in line, hence the last position.
It'll be a while before I actually start modifying values within bios, though. I'd like to get it right the first time round.
Will keep y'all posted.
I can tell that is a great cpu!
Try to lower the multi if you want to find the highest fsb. Or do you want to find the highest clock first?
Just an update for you: I've been slowly raising the fsb to 200, with no adverse effects. I started with a 10mhz increase, then +5 +5 +5 +5 +4. Right now, my specs are (with adequate sandra burn-ins and prime95 torture tests) :
2500@200x11 1.65v
xms3500@200 (in-sync) 2 3 3 7
temps@idle:28 load:34 (with load stemming from prime95)
92mm Tornado@3200 rpm (nexus controlled)
I'll try lowering my multiplier to ~8.5-10.5, and maybe loosening my memory timings. I'd like to be able to end up with insync memory @ dual channel, but I'll test with single-slot configurations too.
What kind of increments do you suggest?
I will keep my memory running @ 2 3 3 7, until I manage to go past 434 fsb (if that's a reality.) I'll be benching in sandra02/4, 3dmark01 and pcmark02/4. Realisticly speaking, I'd like to find a nice compromise between Ghz and day-to-day usage, as this rig will probably be passed on to my younger sibling. That said, I'm still curious about the potential of this thing.
Any suggestions welcome.
//Edit: Googling gave me some mixed results. While most people were fine with lowered multipliers, it seemed that a handful of people had trouble setting their multipliers to ~8-9.5. This may or may not be applicable to me, but seeing as how I'm on a forum, I'd like to see if any of you ran into this problem.
/me foams at the mouth
//EDIT:
Set it at 2/2/2.
Edit, Thrax is right about the timings, but let's worry about that later when we fine-tune the stuff.
Right now I'm researching airflow basics. Backpressure, blowholes, convections, induced pressures.. all that neat stuff. I'd like to install a few more intake fans to cool down my 9800pro, as well as to feed that 92mmTornado.
Will write.
/me drools...
I later found out that it was a bargain.
Damn, that's half the price.
That was the first piece of computer hardware I bought; I usually had preassembled Dell's.
Then the Chieftec Dragon DA-01BD and VantecTornado/ThermaltakeSFII from Directron (whose warehouse was 5 minutes from where I lived.)
Then the mobo, cpu, ram, and Nexus controller from newegg.com.
So far, it's costing me (in total) less than that of any Dell system I've purchased in the past.
It's an alright deal.
Who are the guys in the avatar? Is that some sort of actor/body builder/celebrity? It's not too clear.
It's me and Shorty, the administrator of this place. He is a very good friend of mine and we met once. That's where the picture is from.