Unofficial Northwood database and Overclocks

[ashneel]

ok newbie questions.

i want to know how to over clock before i build a system.

i know how to build a computer but dont know how to over clock.

can someone help me out or link me on what do i have to do to over clock the system.

thanks

 

[shadow]

Daovonnaex - have you done the '600mhz DGCC' mod?

shadow

thx

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< Daovonnaex - have you done the '600mhz DGCC' mod?

shadow

thx >>

Unfortunately, I do not recognize that acronym. Can you spell it out (literally), please?

 

[Duvie]

Johnny, unless you get the asus P4s333 sis645 board....

 

[shadow]

Daovonnaex -

I don't even know what it stands for, but I do know what it does. It's the chip responsible for the timing of RDRAM on your motherboard. The abit th7II ships with 400mhz 'DRCG' chips. There are a few people who have switched (soldered) new 600mhz chips on there so they can run their RDRAM at 1066mhz. Supposedly it's not the memory holding people back - it's these timing chips. I read this in the HardOCP forums.

I'll see if I can dig up the thread for you, as I imagine you are interested.

EDIT: HardOCP forums down now (imagine that, snicker snicker)

they are DRCG - not DGCC they are talked about here on anandtech: DRCG info - scroll down

shadow

 

[ginfest]

Ya, I saw that thread on Hard OCP. They are DRCG ICs, "Direct Rambus Clock Gens", I'm still waiting for my Th7-II to arrive, but just got 2 sample 533 Mhz DRCG pieces from Texas Instruments in case my board only has the 400 Mhz pieces and they won't do 533. I was going to do the soldering myself, but these things are tiny, if anyone knows who can do this in the area north of Boston, MA, LMK.
Mike G

 

[Rapier]

CPU: P4 1.8a @ 2.5ghz
Core Voltage: 1.775
Cooler: Swifttech MCX478 w/50 cfm YS Tech fan
SL Code: SL63X
FPO/Batch: L149B193
Location: ?
Pack Date: 1/14/02
Motherboard: Epox EP-4SDA+ (SiS 645)
FSB: 139
Memory: Crucial PC2100 CAS 2.5

Rapier

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< Daovonnaex -

I don't even know what it stands for, but I do know what it does. It's the chip responsible for the timing of RDRAM on your motherboard. The abit th7II ships with 400mhz 'DRCG' chips. There are a few people who have switched (soldered) new 600mhz chips on there so they can run their RDRAM at 1066mhz. Supposedly it's not the memory holding people back - it's these timing chips. I read this in the HardOCP forums.

I'll see if I can dig up the thread for you, as I imagine you are interested.

EDIT: HardOCP forums down now (imagine that, snicker snicker)

they are DRCG - not DGCC they are talked about here on anandtech: DRCG info - scroll down

shadow >>

Ah. 600MHz chips actually allow for PC1200 RDRAM, and they were already installed. I was able to safely push all the way to 1248 MHz, which leads me to believe that they're down-rated for some reason or another.

 

[Rapier]

<< BTW, I encourage all of you to submit your data to the overclockers.com database. >>



I entered mine in this afternoon.

Rapier

 

[Duvie]

Rapier are you not concerned abut the voltage on that??? I get 2.4 at 1.57v and I have read many say don't go over 1.65v or you could kill this thing...electromigration, and a few other things I know nothing about...

Have you prime95 stressed that thing?

 

[LarryJoe]

Daovonnaex - a few question for you please. I am running a TH7II-RAID as well.

1
On the clock generators, how can I tell if I have the 400 or 600 version? Where is this located on the mobo and what markings should I look out for? My board did ship with the latest 38 BIOS loaded, so maybe I am lucky and got the faster clock generator.

2
I see you are running at 2.0 volts. Did you do the wire trick or are you running a beta or hacked BIOS? I tried the 77 beta BIOS, but it proved to require more voltage for me at the same speed as the 38 BIOS, so I flashed back. (per MBM). If you did the wire trick, any chance you have a link to some instructions?


Thanks in advance,

LJ

 

[DashK]

1.8A @ 2.4Ghz (133)
P4B266
AVC Sunflower Cooler

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< Daovonnaex - a few question for you please. I am running a TH7II-RAID as well.

1
On the clock generators, how can I tell if I have the 400 or 600 version? Where is this located on the mobo and what markings should I look out for? My board did ship with the latest 38 BIOS loaded, so maybe I am lucky and got the faster clock generator.

2
I see you are running at 2.0 volts. Did you do the wire trick or are you running a beta or hacked BIOS? I tried the 77 beta BIOS, but it proved to require more voltage for me at the same speed as the 38 BIOS, so I flashed back. (per MBM). If you did the wire trick, any chance you have a link to some instructions?


Thanks in advance,

LJ >>

As for the clock generators, I believe the two versions are actually 500 and 600 versions. They are in the left center area of the board, and say ICS on them. If you purchased the board recently, you have the 600 versions, and odds are good that you have them even if they're old. I don't recall the marking difference, but mine say 600 on them.

I did the wire trick to get 2 volts. Search overclockers.com for it.

 

[cyberizer9]

<< CPU: 1.6A
Voltage: 1.525 (Asus Probe says 1.552 - 1.584)
Cooler: Stock - TIM removed (and that nasty piece of foil), lapped with 320-->600 grit, applied Arctic Silver 1 ($3 @ Bestbyte.net)
SL code: SL668
Fpo/Batch: H202035W
Location: (hhmmm, must be on the chip....)
Pack Date: 01/12/02
Motherboard: Asus P4S333 - BIOS from 8/21/01 or around there
FSB: 137 memory 1:1
Memory: Centon (C.C. stuff) 256DDR (VT chips) running at 2.0 - 2 - 2

2192mhz -- Had this running for 5 hours now. I really don't think I needed to boost the voltage, but I'm gonna burn in at these settings for a while anyway.
Temps w/no case fans running ---- edit: turned on lower case fan blowing in
1600mhz CPU = 40C mobo = 35C
2192mhz CPU = 40C mobo = 35C
2192mhz w/fan CPU = 40C mobo = 28C
2192mhz w/fan CPU = 48C mobo = 29C <-----Prime95
edit: added Prime95 for 1 hour / turned rear case fan on blowing in directly on heatsink/fan

2192mhz w/back fan also CPU = 42C mobo = 32C
2192mhz w/back fan idle CPU = 40C mobo = 30C
(may need to convert the rear fan or front fan to exhaust)
These are thru Asus Probe. gonna grab something more accurate eventually...

I also want to say I'm using a Powerman 250W(FPS250-60GTA) power supply/Inwin S500. Using a 4-pin molex for the 12V power on the Asus. That could be a reason for the fluctuations in VCore. Gonna game and benchmark. Will update in a few days. Good luck all. >>


daclayman,
Is the centonm (Circuit City) chips Hynix (hyundia) brand? I was wondering whether I should keep it or return it. I got it for around $40 for the 256 DDR SDRAM. Thanks!

 

[Schmo]

<< Rapier are you not concerned abut the voltage on that??? I get 2.4 at 1.57v and I have read many say don't go over 1.65v or you could kill this thing...electromigration, and a few other things I know nothing about...

Have you prime95 stressed that thing? >>



I have been running my 1.8a at 1.75V for a couple weeks and have run Prime95 on it for many hours. Never gets above 44C and yes many say about not running over 1.65V since it could reduce the life of the CPU... but if it reduces it from 10 years to 4 years... who cares. Only time will tell, besides, it is retail so if it breaks, I will get another one.... or just eat the 150 and chalk it up to a learning experience. Not all are as lucky as you to get a 1.8a to 2.4 with just a little extra voltage.

We'll see.... no one has actually confirmed a failure at a certain voltage... but I do know some that are running at 1.85V with no problems..... yet!

 

[pepsimanz]

CPU: 1.6A @ 2.4ghz
Voltage: 1.7@Bios , 1.65 Actual
Cooler: Intel Stock Fan
SL code: ---
Fpo/Batch: ---
Location: Malay
Pack Date: ---
Motherboard: MSI 645 Ultra
FSB: 150
Memory: Crucial PC2100 DDR @ 300mhz

Got my 1.6A from googlegear yesterday, only got to 2.3 stable with the 1.6max voltage setting on the MSI 645 Ultra
Did the wire trick to modified the default voltage at 1.7v (1.65actual), stable @ 2.4 now, ran 3dMark and some burn-in, no problems,
however, Prime95 still shows one error everytime

In addition, the reported temp in BIOS and Hardware Monitor in windows shows to be 49-50 C (overclocked or not)
I am afraid to push up my voltage any further to get higher speed until I figure out what the actual temperature is

Questions:
How can I get an accurate reading of my cpu's temp?
Is the stock fan + Heatsink enough cooling for 2.4ghz and 1.7v

 

[Schmo]

That sounds pretty warm for 1.7V. I have mine running at 1.75V and it never gets above 44C... but that is with a Sunflower. Even with the stock HS and fan, I never saw anything above 48C.

 

[Errtu]

CPU: 1.6A @ 2.32GHz
Voltage: 1.5v (auto)
Cooler: stock Intel HSF w/AS3
Fpo/Batch: 3149A726
Location: Costa Rica
Pack Date: 1/25/2002
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-8IRXP
FSB: 145MHz (580MHz quad-pumped)
Memory: 512MB Corsair XMS 2400 (PC 2400, CAS 2) clocked at 290MHz (2:1 ratio)
PCI/AGP Frequency.: 36MHz/72MHz

System posts at 150MHz FSB (2.4GHz) but bluescreens windows on boot (default voltage). Will try cranking up the voltage, but I know if I set it manually I won't be able to reboot (only problem with this board). Edit: For some reason my board reboots fine at 1.65v!! Will do more testing...

I've been running prime95 for about an hour now with no hiccups at 2.32GHz. Temps idle are 36c...haven't seen anything over 49c yet.

So far I'm dazzled beyond belief! Thank you Intel and Newegg!

[Edit:] Boots Windows at 150MHz FSB @ 1.65v... 2.4GHz so far seemingly stable! Temps have gone up a few degrees though (up to 53c so far) while running Prime95 for only 15 minutes. I'll probably go back down to 145MHz FSB just for the lower temps.

 

[shadow]

nm

 

[ginfest]

Another 1! Bought from Newegg/ Rambus from Googlegear

P4 1.6A Retail Costa Rica
Abit TH7-II (no raid)
2- Samsung 256MB Double-sided(16 device) Rimms set at "400" in BIOS running 4x133FSB 533Mhz PC 1066/ no volt mods

2nd day of operation,
running at 2.1 GB, 1.5 vcore, set to 1.55 in BIOS MBM shows 1.5-1.52
Stock hs/fan with AS2
room temp 20C
mainboard 28C
CPU idle at 38C
under load 46C

33% OC reminds me of the 300A-450 days.
This board has the ICS 9212-03 DRCGs which I believe are 400 Mhz parts, but runs the ram at 533 Mhz with no problems.
Great stuff, Sandra mem benches are "sky-high", 3xxx range but I didn't write the actual #s down although they were substantially abve the reference PC800/2.0GB/CL2 .
I'm going to run a couple days, then try to go higher.

 

[SpongeBob]

I'm so excited I just ordered the following from googlegear:

P4 1.6A
Asus P4S333
Samsung 256MB PC2100

I'll update this as soon as I get them and get everything up and running!

5-8 days ground shipping though

Update: Got everything today and assembled.

System is up and running at 2.133 for now, seems stable. Will try to go higher later.

P4 1.6A@2.133
SL668 Costa Rica
256 MB Samsung PC2100 @ CAS 2
Asus P4S333

Update 2:

Now at 2.3 Ghz (144 FSB)
Ratio at 4:5
Retail Cooling with radio shack thermal grease
Prime95 ran for a few hours with no errors

Unstable at 2.4 Ghz, I think it's because of my 250W power supply.

 

[barkatraz]

CPU: 1.6a@2.4
Voltage: 1.65v
Cooler: retail hs/f
SL code: SL668
Fpo/Batch: 3147A682
Location: Costa Rica
Pack Date: 01/31/02
Motherboard: MSI 845 ARU
FSB: 150
Memory: Crucial PC2100 256MB@300Mhz
CPU TEMP: 26C/78F (PCIII Alert)
3DMark2001: 7869


After reading everyone's post about there overclocking succes with this CPU, I went out and bought it. I am truly delighted at these results.


BarKaTraz

MSI 845ARU (I like the RED PCB)
P4 Northwood 1.6a@2.4Ghz
Crucial PC2100 256MB
60GB Maxtor (5400)
GeForce3 Ti 200 64MB DDR
SBLive 5.1!
Via 10/100 NIC
Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM
Lite-On 16x/10x/40x CD-RW

 

[Steven the Leech]

CPU: 1.6a@2608
Voltage: 1.75
Cooler: retail hs/f
SL code: SL668
Fpo/Batch: 3147A682
Location: ??
Pack Date: 01/31/02
Motherboard: p4b266c
FSB: 156
Memory: Crucial PC2100 512MB 1:1
CPU TEMP: 40

 

[Nate420]

Like SpongeBob, I too just ordered a 1.6A, but I chose the Asus P4B266 (both retail) from Googlegear. Even though they rape ya on shipping, I paid the extra for the 2 day Fedex Patience is not one of my virtues. I got my mem direct from Crucial because it's cheaper, and they ship 2day Fedex for FREE!

From reading multiple threads on these forums, it seems that the Maylay chips O/C a little better than the Costa Rica chips, is this indeed a fact? That's the only reason I ordered from Googlegear rather than Newegg, people seemed to be getting lots of Maylay chips from Googlegear.

I'll post detailed results soon as it gets here, but in the mean time I have a question.... What exactly are people referring to when they say "burn in"? Is that a technical way of saying "run the hell out of it"? Is there some kind of physical change that takes place inside the chip when you burn it in?

 

[SubfornicalOrgan]

<< From reading multiple threads on these forums, it seems that the Maylay chips O/C a little better than the Costa Rica chips, is this indeed a fact? --rgowen >>



No, I think it's a bunch of hype.

Retail Intel Northwood 1.6A, Costa Rica, SL668, 01/31/02, 3147A682
Retail Asus P4B266/PA/WOL-UAY

16 x 160 = 2.56GHz @ 1.7V and 40 deg C (idle) w/ retail heatsink and thermal pad.

wcpuid screenshot
SiSoft Benchmark screenshot

I think it may be able to go a bit higher than 160MHz--maybe even 166MHz--but I doubt I'll push it any further. Btw, I'm using a 256MB stick of PC2100 from Crucial. SiSoft Benchmark screenshot