Abit AX8 Motherboard, Its nice.

[furballi]

Under Advanced Chipset Features\LDT & PCI BUS Control. You can set at 5x, 4x, 3x, etc.... Take your FSB and select the appropriate multiplier to keep the value between 750MHz and 1000MHz (250MHz FSB x 4 = 1000MHz). Right now, I would set this value at 4x.

If you're seeing 50C in Prime95, then bump the CPU Vcore up to 1.500V. This should allow you to raise the FSB by 2 to 3 MHz. The ultimate goal is to keep the temp under 55C for long CPU life. Based on your previous post, I think you will hit 55C at 1.550V. Some CPUs will overclock better than others.

Not sure why CnQ does not ramp up at 100% CPU load. Confirm this with System Properties.

 

[TheRealThing]

Thanks for the advice.
I have fixed the problem with the stepping in Cool n Quiet, had to flah the BIOS again.

I have been trying different settings all day and have come to the conclusion that my chip maxes out at about 2556, FSB 232, though I still have to do a long Prime95 test.
Thanks again for the info about LDT I have tried reducing it, as well as increasing the core voltage as far as 1.525 (you were right about the temperatures), I tried increasing the other voltages in various combinations but it just wont go any further with this cooler.
Anyway it seems quite speedy so I am happy at the moment.
Is it worth changing any of the ram settings. At the moment they are at the default 2.5-4-4-8?

 

[furballi]

Yup...suspect you're very close to the saturation point of the CPU. Pumping more Vcore will result in higher heat load with minimal improvement in CPU core speed.

I would run the CPU at 2.5GHz and the lowest Vcore that will pass Prime95 for 24 hour. Try 2.5-2-2-6-1T or 2.5-3-3-6-1T with the RAM timing. 2.5-3-3-7-1T should also work. Use Prime95 to check for system stability. You may have to backoff the FSB by a few MHz with some games.

Download SuperPi and run the 1M digits test. It's an easy way to quickly check for any speed improvement. You should see a 33-34 sec run at 2.5GHz core speed.

 

[TheRealThing]

Ok, I am now running at FSB 231 giving 2544, ram is set to 2.5-3-3-7-1T as it appears to be better than at 2.5-3-3-6-1T. I cannot even get it to post at 2.5-2-2-6-1T. Will complete some long Prime95 test tomorrow..
Once again thanks.
Must go to bed its 2am!.....Bloody computers, I will be in the divorce court soon if I don't look out

 

[furballi]

My Corsair VS works best at 2-3-3-8 eventhough I can run at 2-3-3-7.

 

[TheRealThing]

I have tried many settings now but 2.5-3-3-7-1T is stable and slightly better than 3-3-8. I did manage to get it to boot @ 2-3-3-7 and 2.3.3.8 but was not stable even when I increased the voltage.

So I have ended up with
3500+ Winchester @ 231 giving 2544MHz (1.475 Vcore, will try to reduce this)
Memory @ 2.5-3-3-7-1T
A small increase on my Graphics card, core 420MHz Mem 519MHz

Have run Prime95 for 2 hours and all ok, and played Unreal on-line last night for an hour, no problems. Will kick off a longer test this evening.

Again, thanks for your help

 

[furballi]

Looks like you've got most critical parameters covered. Suspect you will be fine with 24 hr Prime95 and Memtest86.

The final step is to tune the Zalman cooler. Go into BIOS and enable CPU fan control. Set reference temp to CPU. Set low limit to 46C at 8VDC and high limit to 50C at 12VDC. Reboot PC. Turn the Fanmate 2 fan controller to minimum speed (CCW) and run Prime95 @ max heat for 10 min. You CPU temp should be at or above 50C. Very slowly turn up the fan speed using Fanmate 2 until the fan is barely audible. Check the fan's rpm using ABIT EQ. Now use Fanmate 2 to reduce the rpm by 50 to 100 rpm. The goal is to select the highest fan speed at full load, and not add to the oveall loudness of the system.

You can also control the speed of the case fan (usually rear 120 mm) with the ABIT board. Simply enable this option under the CPU fan control. I disable all alerts and alarms.

3000 to 3500 CPUs will run between 2.2 GHz and 2.8GHz, depending on the luck of the draw. The 3500 will have a higher multiplier, but it will max out at a lower FSB speed.

 

[tury]

I got this board about a week ago, and thought i might aswell have a go at overclocking it, this is my first time overclocking an A64.

The problem i have is, when i set a higher frequency in the bios, it will display the infomation in the bios and uguru utility ok, but windows, cpu z and 3dmark, all display the default clock settings.

Also increased FSB doesnt seem to make any difference in any benchmarks, and i accidently forgot to change the multiplier one time, and it display 2936 mhz(or something) in the uguru utility.

I really dont think it's actually applying (or running) at the settings, since at default voltage with generic ram, it wouldnt have even booted.

Is there some sort of 'enabling' feature, or jumper i need to change? because at the moment i can set any value i want, but it will only run at default.


Im using a 3500 clawhammer btw

thanks

 

[renethx]

This is a typical uGuru bug. See this picture. The readings of OC Guru are definitely wrong. CPU-Z is always correct: the clock speed is the default 2043MHz.

Disconnect the 20-pin power connector from the motherboard, clear CMOS and leave the board for half an hour. The problem should disappear.

 

[tvdang7]

hey i jsut bought this board fomr newegg it had a 20 dollar mail in rebate...but i missed the form...to download it...any one kn ow the link?

 

[TheRealThing]

I had the same problem, (see previous page) flash your bios to 1.1 from a floppy, don't use the windows util, Power down, disconnect all power to the board and clear the CMOS.
If you save your profiles (F6) before you do it, you wont have to go through any setting up again afterwards, you can just re-load it (F7). I had to do mine twice before it flashed correctly!

 

[mccloud64]

new bios 1.2 is here

1. Add AMD MCT2 support.
2. BIOS compiled date: 06/21/2005

 

[Holy Smoke]

Anybody know what MCT2 is?

 

[mccloud64]

dualcore...i hope

 

[tvdang7]

ok so is this mobo supposed to have 20 pin or 24 pin?....i have a ultra x-connect that is 20 pin will it work?...im new a this...

 

[furballi]

20.

 

[tvdang7]

ok i loaded the 3 drivers....but it keys booting frmo CD...it doesnt do anyhting else...help? i have a hitachi 160 gig SATA HD some one help please

 

[tvdang7]

how i update the bios?....it says dont run in windows...but iono how to turn it on in safe mode some one ehlp please

 

[tvdang7]

im at 344 FSB with my 3700

 

[timecop67]

Anyone using the XP-90 heatsink with the Abit AX8 board? On my venice 3800 it is reporting a temp of 46c at startup then it goes as high as 58c under load. I have tried reapplying artic silver 5 --2 times but get the same result. Using only a small bb sized amount and bios 1.2.

 

[SkaarjMaster]

Are you spreading over the full surface of the CPU in a very thin layer?

 

[timecop67]

For my first application of Artic Silver I put a small dot in the center of the CPU. Then on second attempt I tried spreading Artic out with my finger on Saran wrap. No change really.
I remember getting better readings with the retail sink. Does about 1900 rmp for the Panflow sound about right? This panflow is the one recommended by Jab Tech on their site for the XP-90. With Cool and quiet enabled is it suppose to speed up and slow down with changes in processor usage? With the retail I could always hear it speed up but the Panflow it is pretty constant.

 

[timecop67]

After playing a round of Counter Strike I checked on the temp and it is showing 60c. I will try one more application of Artic Silver and if it doesn't work then I'm shipping it back for a refund. Maybe the sink isn't perfectly flat and contact isn't there. Don't know but I'll try a Zalman next time.

 

[jlbenedict]

Does anyone know when revision 2.0 of this board will be out?

 

[tvdang7]

uh... whats need to be fixed?.....or are u talking about the board it self that supports x2 processors?....