Prescott 2.8 Overclock

[allstars]

Hi all..

Been reading a lot from what you guys/girls do with/on/at/for you lovely toys. As a brand new member of this site, i must say that im impressed far beyond what i thought was possible. Watching different systems among the users makes me wish i could do same to my system. Anyhow, i have read the overclockers guide posted in this forum. I would still be thankfull, if a few would spend some time writing me more specific details, and eventually guide through a smaller OC.

If any reply this message, i will gladly participate and give out any needed info.

ty in advance

//allstars

 

[secretanchitman]

hi! welcome to the forums!

first off, you can browse through this section via the search near the top. "overclocking guide" or "amd OCing" whatever is good enough.

also, what is in your computer? that would definitely help us out more. give us everything basically. psu, cpu, motherboard, memory, psu, etc.

 

[stevty2889]

Really need more info. Your other components are just as important as the CPU when it comes to overclocking. Especialy the motherboard, the memory, cooling, and the PSU. I had a 2.8ghz prescott that ran at 3.5ghz on an Asus P4P800.

 

[phaxmohdem]

Yep post us the follwing Information:

-Motherboard Brand/Model #
-RAM Brand/Speed/Model
-Heatsink type (Stock or other kind)
-Type of case
-Cooling in that case
-Power Supply

And we'll post you back a good overclocking plan

 

[allstars]

Cool, ty for the welcome..

And ty for the fast reply. I hope i can get some more power of my system, allthough its not state of the art.
The only thing i did from BIOS, was raising FSB as you all might read from below data, but since im so "green" on this, i dont dare touch anything more, simply afraid i kick the system behind the moon..

Here is some details, lemme know if they aint enough..


CPU

Intel Pentium 4, Prescott 2.8, Family/Model/Stepping F/3/3
Instructions Sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
Clock Speed 2899.5 MHz
Clock multiplier x14.0
Front Side Bus Frequency 207.1 MHz
Bus Speed 828.4 MHz
Stock frequency 2800 MHz
L1 Data Cache 16 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64 Bytes line size
L1 Trace Cache 12 Kµops, 8-way set associative
L2 Cache 1024 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64 Bytes line size
L2 Speed 2899.5 MHz (Full)
L2 Location On Chip
L2 Data Prefetch Logic yes
L2 Bus Width 256 bits
ZALMAN cooler

Chipset

Northbridge Intel i865PE rev. A2
Southbridge Intel 82801EB (ICH5) rev. 02
Graphic Interface AGP
AGP Revision 3.0
AGP Transfert Rate 8x
AGP SBA supported, enabled
AGP Aperture 128 MBytes
Memory Type DDR
Memory Size 1024 MBytes
Memory Frequency 207.1 MHz (1:1)
CAS# 3.0
RAS# to CAS# 3
RAS# Precharge 3
Cycle Time (tRAS) 8
Performance Mode disabled


Memory set as DUAL

DIMM #1

General
Memory type DDR-SDRAM
Manufacturer (ID) Kingston (7F98000000000000)
Size 512 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC3200 (200 MHz)
Part number K
Serial number 630CAE53
Manufacturing date Week 23/Year 04

Attributes
Number of banks 2
Data width 64 bits
Correction None
Registered no
Buffered no

Timings table
Frequency (MHz) 133 166 200
CAS# 2.0 2.5 3.0
RAS# to CAS# delay 2 3 3
RAS# Precharge 2 3 3
TRAS# 6 7 8


DIMM #3

General
Memory type DDR-SDRAM
Manufacturer (ID) Kingston (7F98000000000000)
Size 512 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC3200 (200 MHz)
Part number K
Serial number 8B090C26
Manufacturing date Week 22/Year 04

Attributes
Number of banks 2
Data width 64 bits
Correction None
Registered no
Buffered no

Timings table
Frequency (MHz) 133 166 200
CAS# 2.0 2.5 3.0
RAS# to CAS# delay 2 3 3
RAS# Precharge 2 3 3
TRAS# 6 7 8


Motherboard :
vendor AOpen
model AX4SPE-UN

PSU : 420W but a really nice one, delivering perfect and constant so far..

3 other seperate fans, giving a total flow that keeps my cpu around 35-38 idle

ATI Radeon 9700 Pro, ZALMAN cooler

2x200 GB Seagate SATA
200 GB Seagate IDE
160 GB Seagate IDE

SB LIVE

Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1
DirectX Version 9.0c


Last.. Been running SETI project for 1½ year, system running 24/7

 

[phaxmohdem]

Wow! You weren't kidding around giving us those specs :thumbsup:

Here is what I would do. My guess is that your RAM will be the limiting factor... We'll see.

Step 1)Bump it up! - Keep bumping up the FSB in 3-5 MHz Increments, (Run some programs like 3Dmark03/05 and SuperPi, & memtest at each stage to test for basic stability.) Keep bumping up the FSB until your system starts have stabillity problems. Note that number somewhere, and drop the FSB back down.

Step 2)Identify your bottleneck - IF you feel that your RAM is holding you back once you find the above FSB setting that causes instability, go to your BIOS, and there should be an option to run the RAM at 320MHZ instead of 400 (4:5 ratio). Select this, and boot up with the setting that caused errors previously. Your RAM will(should) not be a factor, as it will be clocked lower than stock most likely. Test for stability again, and if stable keep bumping up the FSB.

Step 3)Tweaking - IF your system won't clock much higher once you drop the memory divider there are a couple of options left. If it is failing and memory is not the cause, ussuaaly you need to bump up the core voltage a hair. (10% increase over stock is a fairly safe and proven upper limit. (Example 1.55V + 10% = 1.7Max vCore). (NOTE: vCore is where you start risking damage to your CPU! if you are not comfortable with this, do not raise it. Simply play with your memory divider and FSB's to find a good stable point on stock voltage. If you are feeling adventurous, you can ussually squeeze a few more MHz with a small VCore increase.

Some more helpful tips:

Your Prescott 2.8 has a Multiplier of 14. Therefore 14xFSB = clock Speed.

Some goals to shoot for:
14x220 = 3.08GHz (My old Northwood 2.8 could hit this speed without a RAM divider using budget RAM)
14x236 (4:5 mem divider) = 3.3gHz ( I think this is realistic for your CPU possibly on stock VCore)

But as ever, Overclocking is simply controlled trial and error. Have fun

 

[stevty2889]

Ok, couldn't really find anything on your motherboard that was in english, but the Aopen board I have has decent OC features. You'll need to use a memory divider to keep your ram stable. Idle temps aren't as important as load temps, because of throttling, if you get to 72c under load, you'll throttle, if you increase the vcore to stabalize your OC, throttling kicks in at lower temps. Most likely has AGP/PCI locks so you should be ok there. Don't know if the SATA bus is locked or not on that board, that makes huge differance.

So basicly, use a mem divider to keep the memory from getting overclocked, and then start slowly increasing the FSB. Like I said, I got mine to 3.5ghz with a slight vcore increase. Try the 166mhz divider and you could get to 250mhz fsb, with only a mild OC to the memory(207mhz). Just do slow increments, 5-10mhz FSB increases.

 

[allstars]

Awesome!!

Think i understand some of it, hehe..

I will start hitting my FSB, step by step, like 3-5 mhz a time.
Test system
And raise again..

So far so good..

A few fast questions then..

1) How do i know my limit apart from system starts failing or beeping. I mean, how can i see in the testprogram SUPERPI, 3dMark2003 or memtest, if my system fails somehow ?

2) Since i havent changed my vcore yet (currently set at 1.4 or 1.5 //using 1.35/1.38), how do i know if i need to set it higher, and same with memory voltage

3) I have an option in BIOS, called Performance Mode, which i havent used except once. Settings are DISABLED / FAST / TURBO and works as a kinda FULL THROTTLE for the system. Allthough i tried it once with no serious luck, i prefer do it the way showed by suggestions. As we speak, its set as DISABLED.



I read the "goals" hehe, and the look much more impressive than i imagined. I hoped for a 3.0 ghz load maybe, but now i think i might with some experts at hand, get a bit higher..



I have downloaded memtest for windows environment, and will install 3dmark2003, since 2005 is way too heavy for my system "gfx is from 2001 "



Hope all this aint too confusing, else we do it step by step,
unless im too much of a pain in da xxxx



//allstars

 

[stevty2889]

The non-windows memtest is far superior. Your mem should be fine with the 166 divider to at least 245mhz FSB. Use prime-95 to test CPU stability, S&M is also good to test CPU stability.

 

[allstars]

Okay.. I checked my BIOS..

I can change cpu bus, which i presume is same as FSB

and i can change memory as 2.0 / 1.6 / 1.33

Currently they´re set as

cpu bus 210
memory 1.6

giving a total of this according to Everest Ultimate Edition 2005

CPU hastighed:
CPU Hastighed 3023.39 MHz (original: 2800 MHz, overclock: 8%)
CPU multiplier 14.0x
CPU FSB 215.96 MHz (original: 200 MHz, overclock: 8%)
Hukommelses Bus 172.77 MHz


Next is running some tests, right ??

Last for this message, my memory testing shows lesser performance which i presume is cause of the 172.77 mhz instead of above 400 earlier, can this be increased also or should i start testing before going further..

Idle temp atm is :

Motherboard 31 °C (88 °F)
CPU 39 °C (102 °F)


Damn you guys are experts. I´m still pretty thankfull for the time you spent on this...

//allstars

 

[phaxmohdem]

Looks good so far man, keep crankin up those FSB's

 

[allstars]

Cool...

Ran the first test and reached FSB at 220, system was completely stabile and running so faster that i could even feel the runner burning under my feet.

Reached about 50-52 degrees while testing with Prime95..

Question is now..

How far can i keep pushing without killing my sys, and IF i can go further, when is time to step Vcore ?



Thank you all so far for turning my Prescott 2.8 to a F1 Prescott..



//allstars

 

[stevty2889]

I think you should be able to make it to 240-250mhz FSB. 52c with prime95 isn't bad at all, my pentium-D was idling at 50c. If you up it, and it's not stable, then you can try upping the vcore to try and stabalize it. I think I was running at 1.525v with my 3.4ghz prescott @3.82ghz, can't remember what the stock vcore is for the 2.8, but don't over do it, too much voltage can kill the chip.

 

[Moohooya]

I have a 3G prescott that I've pumped up to 3.9G without any changes to any voltages. I'm currently calculating the factorial of a huge number to keep the CPU spinning and the temp is up to 59.5C and mobo is at 41C. Is this an issue? How high can it go before I should start to worry? I may have an extra fan I could add to the case, but I don't want to get too noisy. Typical temps are much lower, and I don't normally get the temps up so high, but I want to make sure I'm not killing it.

Thanks,

Moohoo

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: Moohooya
I have a 3G prescott that I've pumped up to 3.9G without any changes to any voltages. I'm currently calculating the factorial of a huge number to keep the CPU spinning and the temp is up to 59.5C and mobo is at 41C. Is this an issue? How high can it go before I should start to worry? I may have an extra fan I could add to the case, but I don't want to get too noisy. Typical temps are much lower, and I don't normally get the temps up so high, but I want to make sure I'm not killing it.

Thanks,

Moohoo

Your temps are very good, and that is an excelent OC for stock voltage. 72c is where throttling starts at stock speeds. I would think you'll be safe up to around 67c before it would start throttling.

 

[Moohooya]

Originally posted by: stevty2889
Your temps are very good, and that is an excelent OC for stock voltage. 72c is where throttling starts at stock speeds. I would think you'll be safe up to around 67c before it would start throttling.

Great, thanks for the help and the quick response. Much appreciated.

 

[abs0lut3]

Originally posted by: stevty2889

Originally posted by: Moohooya
I have a 3G prescott that I've pumped up to 3.9G without any changes to any voltages. I'm currently calculating the factorial of a huge number to keep the CPU spinning and the temp is up to 59.5C and mobo is at 41C. Is this an issue? How high can it go before I should start to worry? I may have an extra fan I could add to the case, but I don't want to get too noisy. Typical temps are much lower, and I don't normally get the temps up so high, but I want to make sure I'm not killing it.

Thanks,

Moohoo

Your temps are very good, and that is an excelent OC for stock voltage. 72c is where throttling starts at stock speeds. I would think you'll be safe up to around 67c before it would start throttling.

I agree. I wonder what board he is using. I have 3.2 Pressie running solid 3.8 on P4S-800D-X stock voltage but I'm board limited at 238FSB. The board fails to boot at 240FSB but I'm happy right now. At least the comp is running

 

[Moohooya]

I'm using an ASUS P4P800 SE