Some Newbie Questions
OK, I have never OCed yet, but I have a pretty solid system and I think I should be able to get some good results out of my kit. I have done quite a bit of reading now and I think I am ready to take the plunge.
I will start a new thread when I do start tweeking with my stock benchmarks and what settings I change and what results I get, but I have a few questions.
My CPU runs stock at 200X15 and my RAM is DDR2 800 which means it runs at 200x4. If I up the FSB I will be running my memory above 800. Is this a problem or is it a case that it may cause stability issues which could be resolved by uping the voltage or latency. I could use a divider but I dont want to unless I have to.
Also I have read that changing the frequency of the PCI bus can cause stability issues, but I cant see how I change the PCI Bus? Will that change when I change the FSB or do I have to change something myself?
Thanks
Rich
I will start a new thread when I do start tweeking with my stock benchmarks and what settings I change and what results I get, but I have a few questions.
My CPU runs stock at 200X15 and my RAM is DDR2 800 which means it runs at 200x4. If I up the FSB I will be running my memory above 800. Is this a problem or is it a case that it may cause stability issues which could be resolved by uping the voltage or latency. I could use a divider but I dont want to unless I have to.
Also I have read that changing the frequency of the PCI bus can cause stability issues, but I cant see how I change the PCI Bus? Will that change when I change the FSB or do I have to change something myself?
Thanks
Rich
0
Comments
As for the memory, yes, by bumping the FSB, you'll be bumping the speed of the memory as well. It all depends on the RAM how well it handles it; lots handle it fine, some require extra voltage, some require looser timings, and some just need to not get overclocked (use your dividers to keep it low). If you see instability, you can bump the voltage, try different timings, lower the divider, or all three. It's a fun game.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ (Windsor)
2GB DDR800 Crucial Balistix
Gigabyte M55S-S3
Corsair HX 470 Modular
Award Bios
OK so I have had a bit of a tinker. I had to flash my bios as I was getting post errors with minimal OCing. I have my FSB up to 220 with a multiplyer on auto. When I flashed the bios I lost 15x as an available multiplier. This means the only way I can get 15 is to have it set to auto.
Core temp is reporting max core temperatures at 62C under load but Prime95 is giving me errors. How do I identify what is causing the problem? ie mem of CPU or another.
I am going to run memtest86 overnightand it has so far completed 1 pass so I dont think it is the memory.
I am tempted to try and up the CPU core Voltage. At the minute it is set to 1.4v in the Bios but CPU-Z is reporting varying voltages from about 1.35 to 1.55. I don't think my CPU should be loaded more that 1.4v but my temperatures seem to have a bit of headroom left. Is it generally OK to up the volage above the recomended if the core temperatures have head room or could that fry the CPU?
Thank you
It looks like it needs more vcore. Reading what overclocks people are getting, at 3.3Ghz almost everyone needed more than 1.4v. With better cooling you might hit 3.2 or 3.3Ghz but from the looks of it 3.1 - 3.2Ghz is the normal overclock.
It seems like the Athlon 64 X2 6000+ just doesn't have a whole lot of overclocking headroom unfortunately:sad2:
My memory seems to be pretty stable as Memtest ran 13 passes with 0 errors. On this evidence I suspect it is the CPU (possibly one of the bridges). Therefore, am I right in saying that I can up the FSB further to OC the RAM even more and drop the CPU multiplier to keep it stable?
Are the fluctuating vcore values caused by variances in the actual PSU rather than the BIOS?
It's usually not a good idea to lower the multiplier and increase your FSB because that can cause more stability problems to work out while trying to overclock your memory.
An easy way to OC your memory is to change the divider. Your memory was probably running a 1:1 ratio to your FSB, you can change the divider to 2:6, 2:8, 2:10, etc. and it'll increase your memory speed. You may also have to change your timings to get your memory stable at higher speeds. I'm assuming your memory timings are 4-4-4-12, if you run your memory faster than 800Mhz and it's not stable try 5-5-5-15 instead. I would also leave your memory voltage alone for now, memory tends to be very picky about what voltage it runs at. Some memory like to overclock more than others. Some don't like to overclock hardly at all.
It's natural to have some vcore fluctuation, it's called VDroop. Some vdroop is good but the fluctuations you're having seem unusual. There might be a setting in your BIOS that talks about vdroop, it could be called "Load Line Calibration". Try disabling it if it's there. There maybe a different setting that talks about vdroop, I would check your motherboard manual. If none of that works it could be your power supply.
It's all about trial and error and FUN!!!!:D
My memory timings are by default 5-5-5-15 but again there does not appear to be an option in my BIOS to change these. Ill download the manual later and have a look what I can find out. I dont want to up the memory voltage on RAM until I know a bit more about what I am doing.
There is an option to set the CPU VCore and auto is the default but I have set it to 1.4 which is why I don't understand the fluctuation. I feel some manual reading coming on!
Does the vcore fluctuate when everything is at stock settings? I would go back to stock if the fluctuations stop. That jump to 1.55v could cause damage to the proc if it keeps doing that.
Alot of dead components in overclocking are a result of applying too much voltage.
I have been trying to up my FSB further and I am so far up to about 224 but I my multiplier has had to be dropped to 14 to keep my CPU stable this is giving me about a CPU clock of 3200Mhz and the equivilent of DDR900. I still think there is a bit of room left on the FSB but the CPU doesn't seem to want to go higher than 3.25Ghz