Quick and dirty A64 clocking guide **UPDATE** X2 OC information!

[sadistik]

I need some opinions on my set up guys. I am a 1st time overclocker, but I read a lot and understand it all pretty good for the most part.

Im running a 3000+ 2.0ghz newcastle at htt 240 x 10x multipler, which obviously is 2.4 ghz.

This is my max stable overclock unless I raise Vcore above stock. I could get to 2.5ghz stable if I raised the vcore I am sure, but Id rather not because on full load I am already at 52c with prime95. Strange thing is it idles around 30c, lol.

Seems like a rather large gap to me. I know 65c is the max rating for the newcastle so I would say 55c should be the limit, just to be sure.

My memory will clock up to 260 fsb at 3 4 4 8 timings, and I am at 2.5 4 4 8 right now.

I am pretty sure that this set up would be better than lowering my multi to 9x and using that 260 fsb, but what do you guys think?

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: screaminglemon
ok an update on my issues.

i tryed lowering the HT frequency to 1x and cpu ratio to x4. when i do that this board will post to 259mhz cpu fsb frequency. i can bump the cpu ratio to x9 and it will still post at 259 but if i move the HT freq to 2x (with cpu ratio at 4x) then i get hard lock.

anyone know what piece is holding me back? the A64 is taking some getting used to, thats for sure.

The later chips are kinda bummers

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: TJmoney
I seem to be hitting a wall above about 240 fsb.
First, the system specs:
Winchester 3200+
DFI Lanparty UT ultra-d
Cooler Master 450 watt PS (24-pin, dual 12v)
2X512 Corsair value
Zalman 7000alcu w/ as5
IDE hard drive. No issues with locks on that, right?

I can get the FSB up plenty high, and the ram is clean at any FSB in memtest as long as I keep its actual speed under 220 with a divider. The thing that seems weird to me is that I run prime stable with the processor at 2.4ghz on 1.45V (software reads it as 1.4V, so it may be undervolting), but I can't run 250 stable at 1.55V. Is it normal for processors to hit a wall like that, or do I have some other problem? Temps are really good, at 2.4ghz I idle ~32, peak load ~43. At the unstable 2.5ghz settings idle ~36, load ~49, so I don't think that is an issue.

Funny you mention "hitting the wall" like that. I've never seen processors like the winchester.. they do literally "hit a wall" real quick. Which is cool in a way, you know when your chip is at it's limit. I've tried +.2 vcore and maybe gained an extra 50Mhz with all that xtra vcore. This is why I recommended such low volts (1.55 max) on winnys in my guide. Unless you're super cooled more volts gets you nothing of substance.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: punjig
I also have a quick question Zebo. I have a a8n sli deluxe. a fx-53 cpu. 4 sticks (2 matched pairs) of corsair 512 4000(ddr500)-a total of 2 Gigs. 2 sata hd on 3&4. and 2 6600gt vid cards running in sli. And a 500watt server power supply, and have burned them all in for 3 weeks now without a hiccup.
Everything runs great in auto(mem runs at ddr400 W/ 200 fsb in auto). When I try to run my memory with Stock timings ((3-4-4-8) or auto for that matter)) at stock speeds it is a no go. In the bios I set my ddr setting to "ddr400" 1:1 setting, and my cpu out of the equation and htt multi sett to 3 or 4 no matter and set fsb to 235 no prob, but anything higher and its a no go. I don't get it, it should run at fsb250 just to get it to stock speeds of the memory, but it won't.. Also just more info, I looked the specs up on this ram and its factory tested speed is 2.75, so i tried the voltage from there up to 3.0, and no go with any of those voltage settings.I isolated just as your guide stated, during the htt I got 305*3, Durring the cpu I got 255*10,But I cant get ram to even go stock speed. I really don,t even care about OCing the cpu just want ram to run rated speed.Does it have anything to do with the 4 sticks? I don't know any help would be nice. I didn't buy faster ram to not see it run at it's rated speed. Thank you very, very much for your help ahead of time!!!

Well ya!! that's because when RAM is spec'd they spec it with one stick, not four. Increasing dimms signifigantly lowers thier clock AND timing ability. Four!! I'm surprised you can even run DDR2700 at stock timings. This is why you always see the benchmarkers using small 2 x 256 sticks for thier records. My suggestion: Give max volts and isolate that ram starting with 166Mhz and start increasing from there (you will not run 1T must set to 2) @3-4-3-8.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: Tabb
I think I am starting to understand this...

Planning to order...

Lian Li V-1200 (execellent airflow, already bought)
Antec NeoPower 480 (Working perfectly, all voltages + or _ .3)
DFI Lan Party Nforce4 Ultra-D (Planning to buy...)
Low Latency PC-3200 2x512MB (Possibly Kingston...)
PowerColor X800XL (Planning to buy, might add a Arctic Silencer...)
AMD 64 3200+ (Planning to buy)
Zalman 7700 AlCu (Planning to buy)
other random crap....

It seems that keeping your memory speed the same as your FSB doesn't really matter, having low timings make a huge difference with certains things like winRaR.... which I use everyday... (Excellent compression btw...)

I want to at least hit 2.5Ghz ideally, it's just a perfect number.

200 = HTT Mhz
183 = HTT x .90 = Mhz
166 = HTT x .83 = Mhz
150 = HTT x .75 = Mhz
133 = HTT x .66 = Mhz
100 = HTT x .50 = Mhz

Or

200 = HTT Mhz
183 = HTT x 9/10 = Mhz
166 = HTT x 4/5 = Mhz
150 = HTT x 1/4 = Mhz
133 = HTT x 1/3 = Mhz
100 = HTT x 1/2 = Mhz

If I want to leave my memory at DDR 400 and my timing alone...

I'll need to...

Max out my HTT basically and my CPU multi (I thought these were locked???)

I'd basically end up with something simaller to your previous example

200 (Memory Speed) * 4/5 (Divider) = 187.5 x 14 (ugh I hope they've got multiplers that high...)

I am understanding this??

Tabb A64's are only top locked multis. This makes them pretty cool in that you can screw around and find your boards max (chipset and sub system) and memory max while ruling out chip simply by lowering multiplier.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: sadistik
I need some opinions on my set up guys. I am a 1st time overclocker, but I read a lot and understand it all pretty good for the most part.

Im running a 3000+ 2.0ghz newcastle at htt 240 x 10x multipler, which obviously is 2.4 ghz.

This is my max stable overclock unless I raise Vcore above stock. I could get to 2.5ghz stable if I raised the vcore I am sure, but Id rather not because on full load I am already at 52c with prime95. Strange thing is it idles around 30c, lol.

Seems like a rather large gap to me. I know 65c is the max rating for the newcastle so I would say 55c should be the limit, just to be sure.

My memory will clock up to 260 fsb at 3 4 4 8 timings, and I am at 2.5 4 4 8 right now.

I am pretty sure that this set up would be better than lowering my multi to 9x and using that 260 fsb, but what do you guys think?

What kind of memory do you have?

As far as OCing more? ...you can go up to 1.6 vcore with stock heat-sink-fan w/o issue. Don't pay attention to temps. Motherboards are notorius liars, varying by 20C with a simple bios change sometimes. Basically just make sure it not over 70C..long as it passing prime95 I guarantee you if it's showing 65 and you're passing temps are lying.

 

[sadistik]

I have kingmax memory rated to run at 250 fsb with 3 4 4 10 timings(pc4000). I ran it at 260 htt with 3 4 4 8 timings and no problems with a 9x multi. Right now its at 2.5 4 4 8 at 240 htt and multi is 10. It is awsome ram and doesnt limit me at all.

I noticed while playing the only game i play, which is RTCW:ET, that my temps only went up to 48 on full load. However, on prime95 temps are 52 on full load. Shouldnt I just take 48c as the number Im at since that is the farthest ill be pushing my pc, just that 1 game.

Knowing it only goes to 48c Im sure raisng the vcore up a little and cranking the htt up a bit wont hurt anything. I would like to get to 250 htt. I am just amazed that Im up to 240 with default vcore.

 

[Zebo]

So why not use a 9 multiplier and see how far you mem will go?

9x267 = 2400Mhz

Nice chip you got there BTW..

 

[screaminglemon]

Originally posted by: Zebo

Originally posted by: screaminglemon
ok an update on my issues.

i tryed lowering the HT frequency to 1x and cpu ratio to x4. when i do that this board will post to 259mhz cpu fsb frequency. i can bump the cpu ratio to x9 and it will still post at 259 but if i move the HT freq to 2x (with cpu ratio at 4x) then i get hard lock.

anyone know what piece is holding me back? the A64 is taking some getting used to, thats for sure.

The later chips are kinda bummers

so are you saying my cpu is weaksause? i thought the HT multiplier was only tweaking the motherboard and that was what was holding me back.

 

[Zebo]

You mean you can't post with 4x LDT (aka HT frequency) and 250 HTT/FSB like a 7x CPU multiplier? If not That board is bunk.

I'm going to DL PDF for that mobo just to be sure we are using right terms.

OK couple things under cell menu

Disable cool and quiet
Disable High perfoprmance mode
Disable spread spectrum, all
Disable Dynamic overclcoking
HT width 16:16

Try that.

 

[sadistik]

well im sure i could get to 267 since I have already been to 260 with 3 4 4 8 timings, but I bet I would have to lower the timings just a tad. Maybe to 3 5 5 10.

Would I take a noticeable performace hit though is the question. I would be at 2400mhz both ways but my timings would be less on the memory at 267 im sure. Granted my fsb would be a hella lot faster though. I thought lowering the multi to 9x was a bad thing though by what I have read. Am I misinformed?

I tried going to 245 and raising the vcore but prime95 failed. I think I would have to raise the chipset voltage a bit to get 245 to 250 htt, but that would bring too much heat on the northbridge and I dont have any cooling on it. I guess it'll just have to wait till I get water cooling. =) I think 52c @ full load is as high as I would like to go temp wise for right now, just to be safe.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Zebo I sent you a PM with a quick question. Your help is appreciated.

 

[screaminglemon]

Originally posted by: Zebo
You mean you can't post with 4x LDT (aka HT frequency) and 250 HTT/FSB like a 7x CPU multiplier? If not That board is bunk.

I'm going to DL PDF for that mobo just to be sure we are using right terms.

OK couple things under cell menu

Disable cool and quiet
Disable High perfoprmance mode
Disable spread spectrum, all
Disable Dynamic overclcoking
HT width 16:16

Try that.

i cant even get close to 250 unless the HT multiplier is set to 1x. i tryed everything above and cant post past 219. i guess i got a garbage mobo. thanks zebo for all your help but it seems like i am up sh!t creek without a paddle.

by the way, my crappy mobo is the MSI k8n neo4 platinum ultra. i have heard some people with this board can post past 300 but others like me are stuck at 220. this is my first and probably last time i buy from MSI.

 

[Zebo]

Dude how bout just resetting cmos and running stock? right there is 5x ht/LDT x 200. If that runs you're board is fine. If it don't RMA.

PM answered

 

[Feinripp]

Hi @ll,

first i have to say sorry for crappy spelling.

According to the highly appreciated Posts here i have found some issues wich i cant explain but are present:
tested 2 A64 3000+ so far. Finding the max. Clock of CPU /MB / Rams is first step, i think these Infos help alot to find the area in which it is save to try.
What i mean is following: Testing with for example cheap TakeMS Rams i found a max. Clock of that RAM of 225 Mhz.
Max. CPU (according to Zebos fine Tut.) is 300x9 (using these Rams at save clocks)
Mobo/chipset 325 Mhz.
So the system should be able to do 275x9, with Rams @225 (166divider). Due to the fact that every component is in its save range. But this is not stable, by testing other Rams i can achive this clock without problems. This Ram CPU MB Combi refuses to even boot at 290x9 with Ram at lowest clock (145Mhz).
Then trying crappy methusalem-DDR266Rams (512MBx2). With same frequencies and surprising surprising, the sys comes up and does fine with Prime..@ 300x9/150Mhz Ram WTF. Shure it is slow Ram now but why the hell does one Ram this and others not although they are all within their save Ranges?
Next point i found in my rigs is: some Ram does not like slower clocks: 270x9 Ram@220 --> fine, same RAM with 270x9 Ram @ 190 Mhz --> crash of XP at boot.. funny..

So conclusion for me is: The whole process to find the max OC is massive depending on what Type /sort /chips of Ram i use. It seems that particular combinations of Ram and Memcontroller/CPU showing big differencies in OC-ability.

Has anyone of you fellow readers found similar effects on your rigs?
Again sorry for german-english. ;-) and endless post..
Thx

 

[webbyboy]

I've a very weird problem here, I've just gotten another 3200+ cpu and this batch of it can go beyond 2.5ghz(research from the various forums). But the problem is It refused to work with 10x multiplier with 230HTT and above. But when i removed one of my tccd rams, now running single channel, i'm able to go 235HTT. I'm able to use 265HTT if i set it to 9x multiplier with dual channel. There seems to be so problems with pdp patriot XBLK 3200+ TCCD rams together with DFI LANParty


Below is the summary of problems.

1. Will not go beyond 230HTT with 10x multiplier(Dual Channel). Tested with 255 x 10.
2. Able to go beyond 230HTT, tested at 235 x 10 multiplier(Single Channel) (Previously tested with dual channel, it will BSOD when entering windows)
3. Able to work with 9x multiplier with max 265HTT (1:1memclock Dual Channel)
4. Tested with 2/09, 2/17 BIOS.
5. Settings in bios with dual channel and single channel are the same.
6. Tried 290 X 8 and the memory is stable.

So what could be the problem? It seems like i can run high FSB with 10x or rather cannot run high HTT with higher cpu clock. It's either high HTT with low cpu clock on dual channel memory or high cpu clock with single channel memory.

My systems specs:

AMD Athlon64 3200+ (Winchester) |
DFI LANParty UT Ultra-D |
PDP Patriot 3200XBLK+ 512MB X 2 (TCCD) |
Powercolor ATi Radeon X800XL 256MB |
Creative Audigy 2 |
IBM/WDs 540GB hdds(PATA) |
Enermax 495W PSU(Dual12V) |
BENQ 1920PRO 16X DVDWriter |

 

[highlandsun]

Thanks for this guide, it made things (almost) painless (I only locked up and had to reset CMOS once...)

Asus A8V-Deluxe (Rev 2.00), A64 3000+ (Winchester)
Running at 260x9, memory is at 5:3 (~212MHz), HTT is set to "800" in the BIOS which I think gives me 1040.
The memory is a Kingmax SuperRAM dual channel kit, 2x512MB, MPXD42D-2K, labeled as DDR400 and DDR433. (A bit confusing, since the label on the front says one thing and the label on the back says another). I left the memory timings on Auto, and got 2.5-3-3-6.

[OK, Sandra showed the SPD contents, the individual modules are MPXC22D-38KT3R which are just DDR400, not DDR433 modules. A spec sheet is available at http://www.kingmax.com/support/DDR_333400433_DataSheet.pdf]

The system would actually POST with HTT all the way up to 300MHz, the limit of the BIOS config menu. But the hard drive wouldn't boot until I dropped it below 290MHz, and Windows wouldn't load until I dropped it to 280. Prime95 and SuperPi got errors until I dropped it to 270, and I was running the memory divider at 3:2 then, but that put my memory speed around 196MHz or something, so I settled on 260 and 5:3 to get a bit more bandwidth.

The Asus BIOS has this "CPR" CPU Parameter Recall which is handy - if you save bad settings and the system can't POST, power-cycling will restore you to the previous settings. The trick here is, once you've screwed up like this, you should dial in some known safe settings. If you just continue on with more experimental settings and get *two bad settings in a row* then you're hosed. (Which is when I needed to reset the CMOS.) But if you hang, power cycle, go back to safe settings, restart, and then experiment again, you're totally safe.

Hm, something weird - I set the Vcore to 1.55V in the BIOS but all the probe programs (Asus PC Probe, MBM, etc.) still report it as only around 1.4V. I also set the Vdimm to 2.8V, the highest the BIOS menu goes. Didn't change much else. Prime95 is still running at the moment...

By the way, it's all in an Antec Sonata case, which came with their TruePower 380W supply and one 120mm fan. I installed a second Antec 120mm fan on the optional front mount, and also replaced the stock AMD cooler with an Arctic Cooling Freezer64, using an almost transparent layer of the MX-1 paste that it came with. Right now with room temperature around 19C my motherboard temp is reported as 27C, idle CPU around 30C, and the highest I see with Prime95 is about 41C.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: Zebo

Originally posted by: TJmoney
I seem to be hitting a wall above about 240 fsb.
First, the system specs:
Winchester 3200+
DFI Lanparty UT ultra-d
Cooler Master 450 watt PS (24-pin, dual 12v)
2X512 Corsair value
Zalman 7000alcu w/ as5
IDE hard drive. No issues with locks on that, right?

I can get the FSB up plenty high, and the ram is clean at any FSB in memtest as long as I keep its actual speed under 220 with a divider. The thing that seems weird to me is that I run prime stable with the processor at 2.4ghz on 1.45V (software reads it as 1.4V, so it may be undervolting), but I can't run 250 stable at 1.55V. Is it normal for processors to hit a wall like that, or do I have some other problem? Temps are really good, at 2.4ghz I idle ~32, peak load ~43. At the unstable 2.5ghz settings idle ~36, load ~49, so I don't think that is an issue.

Funny you mention "hitting the wall" like that. I've never seen processors like the winchester.. they do literally "hit a wall" real quick. Which is cool in a way, you know when your chip is at it's limit. I've tried +.2 vcore and maybe gained an extra 50Mhz with all that xtra vcore. This is why I recommended such low volts (1.55 max) on winnys in my guide. Unless you're super cooled more volts gets you nothing of substance.

Yeah it is strange, my Winch 3000 is doing 2.52GHz on stock cooling and voltage, but if I try 2.6 and up the voltage from 1.4 to 1.55, it doesn't boot into windows. Its nice to know what my limmit is, it would have been great to hit 2.6, although I was only hoping for 2.4 out of stock cooling, I'm definately pleased with the results. $600+ CPU performance for only $165, I'm not complaining

 

[HateKick]

Just wanted to share my results with the board, and the famous 3000+ Winchester.

I hit 2.6 GHz today, I have not tested for stability yet however. Just a few PC Mark 04 runs.

3x HTT
289 MHz FSB
9x Mult
1.50 v

DDR266 Clock
2-3-3-6 @ 2.70 v
1T/2T : Auto (not sure what it is using)

Maybe it is my PSU, maybe I should have a 20-24 converter, but I get unstable voltage reported. I have seen it jump from 1.48 to 1.52 (asus probe). This is with a TRUEBLUE 480.

CPU temps are good, about 34*c idle and up to 42*c load. Arctic Cooling Freezer 64, I am very happy with this cooler.

I got a PC Mark 04 score of 4815, I used the 6.6.9.3 drivers because the 7.1.2.5 (give better results but) cause HL2 to crash and reboot.

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc?id=4175
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?pcm04=2837650

But for what I paid, I too am happy getting scores similar to FX 55 and 3500+ chips.

 

[dfedders]

I'm having a hard time overclocking my system.

I am running the following:
Chaintech VNF4 Ultra
A64 3200+ Winchester
Mushkin RAM
ATI X800XL video

Right now I'm running the FSB at 240, multiplier is 4X (960), memory is at 166, so its about ~199Mhz, processor at 2400Mhz (x10). Vcore is at 1.65

I get errors in Prime95 max heat torture test within 20 minutes. The temp gets up to about 43 degrees C, which doesn't seem like too much, unless it is incorrect.

Is my chip just bad, or what? I'm obviously not overclocking the HTT or memory, so it looks like those aren't the problem. My goal was to get it to run at 2500Mhz, but I can't even get 2400Mhz stable.

Any suggestions, or do I just have a dud chip?

 

[Heinrich]

Not very good luck here. Maybe I'm not doing this right as trying to match up terminology on my MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI wasn't perfect. I set CPU ratio Startup to 7. I set HT Frequency from 5x to 4x. Then I started moving up CPU FSB from 200 to 215. At 220 the board will not post. I can't even get it to reset - there's supposed to be CLEAR CMOS button that won't work. I have to unplug the power supply, take the CMOS battery out, and wait about 15 minutes or so. What am I doing wrong?

HDs are in SATA 3 and SATA 4. The manual tells me that the HDs are in SATA 1 and SATA 2 but the etchings on the mobo are different - that's what I'm going by.

 

[CaBoOse999]

Thought I'd share my results as well. It didnt go quite as good as I had hoped but I cant complain.

msi neo2 platinum
athlon 64 3200 90nm
pdp patriot ddr400

Mys fsb wouldn't go past 275 which was dissapointing and my ram refused to overclock very well, I'd get tons of errors on memtest.

274 x 9.5 = 2603 Ghz vcore 1.5
the processor wouldnt go past 2.6 ghz without failing prime95 at that voltage and I dont wont to raise the vcore beyond 1.5

ram running at 228mhz 2.5-3-3-7 1t 2.70 v
the default timings are 2-3-2-5 so i wasnt thrilled having the raise the timings that much to get to 217 mhz


Overall I think it was a decent overclock although I am somewhat new to this so any tips would be appreciated especially in regard to overclocking my ram.

 

[CaBoOse999]

Ok I took a different aproach to it this time and i got some results that I like a bit more.

260 x 10 = 2600 Ghz vcore 1.5
stable on prime95 for 12 hours and no errors

Ram 5:6 217 Mhz 2-3-2-5 1t vdimm 1.85 (my boards max)
ran memtest with no errors

I was happier with this because I was able to keep my timings pretty tight altough i did have to drop my fsb a bit lowr than before. I'm pretty happy with those results and I think I'll be satisfied with that (I hope).

EDIT: was not stable at 2.6 for some reason, seems to run fine at 2.5 for now. Waiting for new heatsink before I try again.

 

[cjorod]

thx for sharing! got this bookmarked for when I can afford mine

 

[timrsl]

Ok, first time overclocking and I am failing at step one. Ok I am testing out max HTT/FSB. I lowered the cpu multiplier to 7, RAM to auto then 100 MHz, and then upped the FSB to 220 and lowered that other thing down to 4x from 5x. It will not boot. I have to clear the cmos. I tried again at 217 and it posted fine. My limit cannot be 217 when other people are in the 300's. My specs are the following:
Neo4 Platinum
3200+ Wincester
4x80Gb Raid 10 on the silicon controller
2x512 Hyperx 3200
PLEASE HELP!