Help me push my 64 Venice 3000+ !

[Apocalypse23]

Hello all! I have a DFI LanpartyUT nF4 Ultra-D with an AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 90nm and 2X1GB OCZ Performance PC3200 1GB DDR400 CL3 3-3-8 (dual channel) i'm trying to overclock. I'm still fairly inexperienced in this, my first overclock was my old athlon 2500+ that I got up to 2.3 successfully. But this seems a little more complicated.

I've been reading around and played with my bios a bit(latest flashed) and so far I got up to 2.48 GHz (275x9.0). I'm reading the fantastic A64 overclocking guide sticky and i've come up with some results. Max HTT/FSB was 380FSB(x6.0), Max Chip capable was 285x9.0, Memory Max was 240x6.0.

I've got my CPU voltage up to 1.4V and my DRAM is 2.90 (2.5-4-3-7) 1T. The DFI mobo i'm using has a lot of bios settings i'm unfamiliar with. So i've pretty much set everything else to 'Auto' and just altered the main things (FSB, Multi, RAM timings, Voltage...)

I previously had the following settings that I got(and modified) from some other DFI users and some research of my own:
------
Core speed: 2340.3 MHz
Multiplier: x9.0
HTT: 260.0 MHz

FSB Bus - 260
LDT/FSB Ratio - Auto
CPU/FSB Freq ratio -9.0
CPU Vid Startup - 1.475
CPU Vid Control - 1.450
CPU Vid Special Control - auto
LDT Volt - 1.30v
Chipset Volt - 1.60v
DRAM Volt -2.80v

DRAM Frequency: 166 (5/06)
CPC : Disabled
Tcl: 3.0
Trcd: 04
Tras: 09
Trp: 04
Trc: 12
Trfc: 15
Trrd: 05
Twr: 03
Twtr: 02
Trwt: 04
Tref: 3120
Twcl: auto
Dram bank interleave: enabled
Dynamic Skew ctrl: auto
Skew Value: 0
DRAM drive strength: lvl 3
Dram Data drive strength: Auto
Max Async: 07
Dram Response time: normal
Read Preamble: 05
IdleCycle Limit: 32
Dynamic Counter: auto
R/W Queue Bypass: 02x
Bypass Max: 02x
32bit granualarity: enabled(2bursts)
--------

Like I said before, at my current setup i've set a lot of those options to 'Auto' and am looking for some advice on oc'ing this proc even further.

I'd be happy if I can get this up to 2.6-2.7 or so. Thanks a lot in advance, any help would be greatly appreciated ! =) Oh and Happy New Year!

 

[thesurge]

why not push it to 285?

 

[Apocalypse23]

^Can't seem to get it up there for some reason. I can get it up to 2.4something, but thats if I reduce my Dram frequency to 166(5/06) and get worse scroes in 3dmark than when I had it at 2.3 and 180mhz(ram)

 

[xgunnas32]

push the voltage of the cpu up to 1.55 first and keep going, the idea way to push it would be 325*8, set the LDT to 3x, with ram multiplier @ 2/3
set these settings
CPC=enable
Trc=13
CPU/FSB=8.0
LDT/FSB=3.0

325*8=2.6
and HTT would be at 325*3=975
just a suggestion cause we have the same mobo and it turns out it worked when i try getting similar numbers with different multipliers

 

[Apocalypse23]

Originally posted by: xgunnas32
push the voltage of the cpu up to 1.55 first and keep going, the idea way to push it would be 325*8, set the LDT to 3x, with ram multiplier @ 2/3
set these settings
CPC=enable
Trc=13
CPU/FSB=8.0
LDT/FSB=3.0

325*8=2.6
and HTT would be at 325*3=975
just a suggestion cause we have the same mobo and it turns out it worked when i try getting similar numbers with different multipliers

Thank you, I will try that out and report back in a few mins.
For now, these are my current settings(updated) :
I'm up to 2.5 now using 280x9x and 150 (03/04) DRAM frequency. My timings are 2.5-4-3-7. Trc:12clocks and Dram idle timer is 256. All else is set on auto/default, using the 704-2bt bios. What i'm having a hard time understanding is how my 3dmark05 scores are actually lower. I'm a gamer, and the main reason i'm oc'ing is to get better performance in games. What's going on? Thank you!

 

[Apocalypse23]

Update:

@xgunnas32: The settings you suggested have worked, my benchmarks have also improved (sisoft/everest cpu+memory), I haven't tried 3dmark05 yet though. My timings are still 2.5-4-3-7 as well and i've pumped up my CPU voltage to 1.55 (shows as 1.48V being used though). DRAM voltage is 2.90(haven't tried lower volts yet, just trying to find out how much further I can push this before I settle down) Thanks! It feels good to be finally making some real progress

 

[xgunnas32]

even if it all works out, try to get ur HTT close at 1000 by using a different cpu or ram multi if u want to get any higher, keep an eye on the temps timings are good, the trc and the other timings at the bottom can be a bit lower, but we'll worry about that after u get ur 2.7

 

[xgunnas32]

im doing the exact same thing u are doing lol, found some settings that can bench and prime with high temps (just need better cooling), perhaps i couple of the settings can be a bt better if i have the complete spec.

and i see u are over on teh other forum too haha

 

[Apocalypse23]

^Yah, i'm basically trying to see how far I can go before I hit a wall, and then slowly reatreat and stabalize from there. I increased the fsb to 330(*8) 2.64ghz and everything seems to be ok so far. Benches have increased as well so thats good.

So HTT needs to be 1000?(ltd*fsb right?[eg. 3*330) Hmmm, I will play around with that. As for my temps, suprisingly they seem alright. My CPU is reporting 30-40C, the only thing that worries me is my "chipset" temp which is 48C and hits 50C under load. I'm not really sure what 'chipset' that is, my mobo? nf4? Everest identifies it as Northbridge. Thanks again for your help BTW, its been fantastic. =)

Edit: It's at 333*8 now, that should be 999 HTT if my understanding is correct. And that is exactly 2.70 =)

 

[Apocalypse23]

Originally posted by: Apocalypse23
^Yah, i'm basically trying to see how far I can go before I hit a wall, and then slowly reatreat and stabalize from there. I increased the fsb to 330(*8) 2.64ghz and everything seems to be ok so far. Benches have increased as well so thats good.

So HTT needs to be 1000?(ltd*fsb right?[eg. 3*330) Hmmm, I will play around with that. As for my temps, suprisingly they seem alright. My CPU is reporting 30-40C, the only thing that worries me is my "chipset" temp which is 48C and hits 50C under load. I'm not really sure what 'chipset' that is, my mobo? nf4? Everest identifies it as Northbridge. Thanks again for your help BTW, its been fantastic. =)

Edit: It's at 333*8 now, that should be 999 HTT if my understanding is correct. And that is exactly 2.70 =)

Editx2: lol yeah I am, those guys aren't too helpful though =/

(argh didn't mean to post, but edit my post =p )

 

[xgunnas32]

as long as everything is under 60 u are fine,it's winter for me so i try to keep it under 50 my chipset is at 45 with the cpu at 32 idle haha, but just do 15minutes of prime should give u the load temps with smartguardian

and there is no northbridge, i have no idea where that senser is, so just check the chipset since they are always similar anyway
as far as i can tell the trc can be at 10 or 11 (not sure the order of the timings) and trf can be a 13 for a slight increase in benching

Trrd: 05
Twr: 03
Twtr: 02
Trwt: 04
as for these, i have them all at 02 and it works fine, 2 of them can be at 01, but i havent ran those settings long enough to give u a sure answer, just lower these timings one at a time

ur welcome

and it doesnt have to be right at 1000, i'm at 257*4 right now, so that's 28 over, even the dfi junkies cant gimme an exact answer to that, so i just go by 950-1050, the multipliers does the trick

 

[Apocalypse23]

Originally posted by: xgunnas32

as far as i can tell the trc can be at 10 or 11 (not sure the order of the timings) and trf can be a 13 for a slight increase in benching

Trrd: 05
Twr: 03
Twtr: 02
Trwt: 04
as for these, i have them all at 02 and it works fine, 2 of them can be at 01, but i havent ran those settings long enough to give u a sure answer, just lower these timings one at a time

I tried the intial settings you reccomended, and got SLIGHTLY lower benches. So like you said, I changed them around and lowered them to:
TRRD - 03
TWR - 03
TWTR - 02
TRWT - 03

And now my benches have SLIGHTLY improved(LoL). In the Sisoft Sandra CPU Arthmetic benchmark I got Dhrystone:11334||Whetstone:4252/5542 on 333*8. And with my 337*8 at those settings, I got Dhrystone:11336||Whetstone:4253/5543. Not much of a difference at all I know, lol. Will probably try to reduce them to 2's as well if its stable.
I also have TREF to 3120 and DRAM bank interleave enabled. All that Skew and Dram Data drive strength stuff is default/auto though.

I have another question, does my reduction of the DRAM frequency (3/4) have a significant impact on my ram performance? Would gaming generally be better or worse because of this? Thanks again.

 

[xgunnas32]

ermmm for this one i dunno which to go by, there's 2 #s
the memory bus under "computer-->overclock--> memory bus" in everest
or just pull out the calculator and do fsb*multiplier, if u dun touch the timings and the results comes out to be the same, then it should be the same ram proformance
337 on a 2/3 multi is 212, ur original oc to 2.34 was 215, so it's close enough, i think u can oc a tiny bit higher

and keep an eye on the temp and think it's the oc is worth it, i gave up 200mhz on my oc when temps went up by 10C
http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/114/images/Ihdoctor.zip to mon ur temp continuously instead of the everest snapshot

 

[Apocalypse23]

^Well 337 failed, and 333 lasted longer, but that crashed as well. I'm thinking it might be because of me tightning the trrd, twr etc. settings, but i'm not too sure. I would like atleast 2.60+ghz, I just hope its stable and performs well. You think I should try a diff multiplier/fsb all together or that this is probably as good as it gets? Good advice on the temps as well, I will make sure they stay in control. Thanks a lot again bro, I appreciate your help. I think i'm going to goto bed now, pretty tired. I'll check back tomorrow.

 

[xgunnas32]

stay with that for now, the reason it jams is usually due to the fsb, and 2.7 is a good oc, and if u think tightening it caused, then jump those timings back to 3 as u said they only increase it slightly, my advice would be lowering it to 325 and go up slowly from there, (my rig was originally at 253 when i started my oc, now it's stable at 257), so i would let it run for awhile to see if it's stable, and save ur settings somewhere not on the comp b4 making any multiplier changes.
depends on what u do, prime for half an hour is good enough for me, cause even when i game, my usage doesnt break 50

if u want to go up from there, ur best bet would be 340-350FSB
8x cpu multi
3x HTT
3/5 ram multi
which would bring u right to 2.8ghz

be sure to lower the voltage a little afterwards and bench til the blue screen appears, then raise back 0.01v afterwards
if u know how to use the cpu vid multi, then u can find the exact voltage by going down 0.005v at a time

 

[thesurge]

what exaclty is cpc? i have an epox 9npa+ and i wanted to push mine past 2.6 i think i can do it (opt 144) but there are some minor settings i know i have to tweak.

 

[xgunnas32]

cpc is 1T and 2T
enable is 1T, disable is 2T
but reading about the opty 144 brings tears coulda saved me 60bux for a cooler cpu that runs the same to say the least, i'm even using a 9multi on my SD *cries*

 

[Apocalypse23]

340-350 wasn't stable at those settings. I'm trying 330*8 now (2.64ghz) and checking for stability; will report back. By the way, this is all on a stock HSF, but i'm using the Antec Air Duct and have my old 92mm tornado as my CPU cooler and a Zalman as my vid card cooler. I'm thinking of getting rid of the tornado and buying a Thermalright SI-120 with a panflo 120mm fan on top of it for my CPU.

Edit: failed stability, trying 325 now, really hope I don't have to go under 2.60 =). Prime95 is very stable so far, temps are around 45C for the CPU but 51C for the chipset. I'm also wondering if the TREF setting has anything to do with this, I have t at 3120 but don't really understand it's significance.

 

[Apocalypse23]

Theres something i'm having a hard time understanding. Although my Sandra and Everest benches are high(er) (CPU/RAM), 3dmark2005 is actually reporting a LOW score. I got 6841 on stock 1.8ghz, but now at 2.60 i'm getting around 6118 or 6202. And I remember that I got over 7k when I overclocked it to 2.3ghz and used 180mhz ram frequency(can't remember the exact settings though). So what exactly does this mean? I've heard that with 64 chips memory bandwidth doesn't matter much and that cpu speed >*. But if my scores are so low in 3dmark05, does that mean i'm going to get bad performance in games?? How exactly does this work? Sorry if this has been covered already, i'm just really trying to figure it out. Thanks!

Edit: 290*9.0 with LDT at 4.0 also seems to work (2.61) CPU/11 membus:237mhz but that pushes the HTT over 1k, and as I understand it, ti should be around or lower. Still experimenting though, not sure what to stick with yet.

 

[Apocalypse23]

Okay here is my current setup:

325*8.0 (2.60ghz)
LDT - x3.0
LDT Bus Transfer Width - (down)16 (up^)16

Voltages:
CPU VID Startup Value - 1.525v
CPU VID Control - 1.500v
LDT Voltage - 1.30v
CHIPSET Voltage - 1.60v
DRAM Voltage - 2.90v
DRAM + .03v if its not 3.2v - DISABLE
(haven't tried lowering voltages yet)

RAM settings:
DRAM Frequency - 150RAM/FSB: 03/04
CPC - Enabled
TCL - 2.5
TRCD - 04
TRAS - 07
TRP - 03
TRC - 11
TRFC - 15
TRRD -03
TWR - 03
TWTR - 02
TRWT - 03
TREF - 4128

DRAM Bank interleave - Enabled
DQS Skew Control - AUTO
DQS Skew Value - 0
DRAM Drive Strength - AUTO
DRAM Data Drive Strength - AUTO
MAX Async - AUTO
DRAM Response Time - FAST
Read Preamble time - AUTO
IDLE Cycle limit - 256 cycles
Dynamic Counter - DISABLE
R/W Queue Bypass - 16x
Bypass Max - 04x
32 byte Granularity - DISABLE (4 bursts)


Not sure if I can push the CPU further to 2.7, but now I don't really care as I doubt there will be a significant performance boost. Right now I just want to know if there is anything I should change in the above settings and why exactly is my 3dmark05 score low but my ram/cpu benches are high (sandra and everest). Thank you.

Edit: I ran the hardwareoc/guru3d HL2, Farcry and Quake 4 benches on both stock, and overclocked settings. I got 16FPS more in Farcry after overclocking, but only around 3fps more in Q4 and HL2. How does this work?

 

[RBauer]

I wish i could get my 3200 over 2.2 but no matter what it seems most i can get is 2220 but i guess having the htt at 1100 2200 efective helps some?

 

[thesurge]

q4 and hl2 are more graphics card based? overclock that 7800gt!!!

 

[thesurge]

Originally posted by: RBauer
I wish i could get my 3200 over 2.2 but no matter what it seems most i can get is 2220 but i guess having the htt at 1100 2200 efective helps some?

htt near 1000 is optimal, u dont really notice performance increase if you're lower though. i dont know but i think over 1000 is not really advised.

 

[xgunnas32]

i see nothing wrong with the multipliers and stuff, and ur ram is showing up as having a 243bus which is WAY higher than 215 which was stable

the reason i asked u to do a 350*6 is to see how ur cpu would do, that just means it needs more voltage past 2.65ghz or so.

find out the best combo with the best actual ram bus and oc it to 2.6
and 3-5fps in a graphic intensive game is like a considerable oc to ur vid card, and if u got that by just ocing ur cpu, u should be happy

and i forgot to add, settings below 7/10 doesn't work well for me, just keep that in mind that some ram multipliers may not like certain setups

i think ur best shot would be lowering the ram multi to 7/10 and then getting the htt back above 950
then lower the trfc to 12 and then trc to 10, this two timings will work

for benching, i wouldnt consider everest so seriously, i would look at pcmark

 

[cpacini]

Originally posted by: thesurge

Originally posted by: RBauer
I wish i could get my 3200 over 2.2 but no matter what it seems most i can get is 2220 but i guess having the htt at 1100 2200 efective helps some?

htt near 1000 is optimal, u dont really notice performance increase if you're lower though. i dont know but i think over 1000 is not really advised.

Going over 1000 is not very usefull as it does not increase performance at all. The HTT bus is not saturated one bit right now, going as low as 700-800 really has no performance impact. You should really just worry about keeping it somewhere between 800-1000.