VNF4 Ultra & A64 3000+ Overclock (Stable at 290 HTT, 2.61GHZ), BUT.....

[MajorPayne]

I have had my Chaintech VNF4 for several weeks now, and I have been working my tail off, trying to get the maximum overclock out of it solely using the BIOS. The BIOS has been very overclock friendly, allowing me to easily reach 240 HTT (after dropping my HTT multi to 4x, lowering the memory divider to 166, and upping my voltages a small amount). At these settings, my A64 3000+ was running at 2.16 GHZ (overclocked by 360 MHZ) at between 22 and 26 degrees C, and my memory (4 sticks of 400MHZ Kingston HyperX) was running at 406MHZ at 2-2-2-11 timings in Dual Channel Mode.

At this point, I reached a wall with overclocking using the BIOS -- no matter what I have tried, I was not able to get even 1 point over 240HTT. I tried lowering the HTT multi to 2x (even 1X), dropping the memory divider to 133, adding small amounts of voltage to the CPU, Ram, and the Chipset itself, and relaxing the memory timings -- it all did no good. Every setting I tried where HTT was over 240 resulted in a reboot to "safe settings", where my processor was automatically clocked down to protect me from myself, and the computer asked me to politely choose a different setting! Obviously the temps would indicate further overclocking possibility from this board/CPU, but the BIOS wasn't having any of it. So I decided to try another avenue.

I normally prefer to overclock solely using the BIOS, but in this case, this is obviously not possible, so I tried the NVidia N-Tune software that came with the board -- this ALSO is not a workable way to overclock this board. For some reason, the N-tune software will not let me move beyond any setting that results in a final HTT speed of over 800 at 4X, 750 at 3x (which gives me a 250, a mere 10 points above the BIOS' maximum overclock), and 500 at 2x (also 10 points above the BIOS limit of 240). Clearly this is not the way to overclock this board.

Next, I tried ClockGen, which is a very useful CPU overclocking tool. Using ClockGen, I was finally able to find the true limit of my board/CPU's overclocking potential. At a 3X HTT multiplier, with a 133 RAM divider, and my timings relaxed slightly to 2-3-3-11, I was able to reach 290HTT before things started to get unstable! It initially appears stable at 300+, but running prime, etc. can cause errors and lockups, and I was starting to worry about my temps (which were hitting 40+ degrees under load).

My final stable overclock (using BIOS to overclock to 240HTT as described above), and then clockgen launched hidden at boot to set the remaining overclock) is as follows: HTT is at 290, with a 3X multi, so final HTT bus speed is 870 (not too bad). CPU speed at this overclock is 2.61 MHZ (an 810MHZ overclock -- not bad at all!). Memory is running at 372.6 MHZ, which is a little lower than I wanted, but not too bad (I was hoping to hit the "sweet spot" at HTT of 315, where my memory would be back to 400MHZ).

I am running this board with a Gigabyte 6600GT (also overclocked slightly), and dual 120GB Western Digital SATA 7200 RPM, 8MB Cache Hard Drives, and my 3dmark 03 score (which was around 10,000 at stock) is now at around 11180! So I am quite happy with the boost my system gets from this overclock. I have posted links to some of the screenshots from my system.

Link1: CPU-Z showing processor and HTT speeds

Link2: CPU-Z showing memory settings

Link3: Everest showing system settings

Overall, I have been very happy with this motherboard... For a brand new technology (first Non-SLI Nforce 4 Ultra board I could find to purchase), with no reviews (still!), this has been an excellent motherboard. I was happy at 240HTT using BIOS to overclock, and I am happier at 290HTT (using BIOS overclock and ClockGen together). My only wish is for a new BIOS that could unlock the overclocking potential of this board, so that I can reach 290HTT without ClockGen!

 

[urfage]

Awesome work! You've been the champion of this board MajorPayne. Thanks to you I'm running mine at 2404MHz HTTx4 @ 267MHz up from just 2100MHz (couldn't get past 229MHz HTTx4 or 232 HTTx3). I'm using the stock cooler and have made no voltage changes. I have 2 sticks of Corsair Value Select 512MB running at 437MHz@2.5-3-3-8. It is Prime stable so far (1 hour), but I will let it run over night and report back. This board was so worth it. Have you tried out the new (12/29?) BIOS for the board? It didn't improve the "Safe Mode" problem, but you might be able to squeeze a few more MHz out of you overclock with it.

Keep up the great work MajorPayne!
-Bryce

P.S.: I've also got the Gigabyte 6600GT. I'm using the Auto-Overclock feature, havn't had time to play w/ manual clocks yet. What have you been able to squeeze out of yours?

 

[user1234]

Achieving 2.6 ghz using the winchester 3000+ is a property of the cpu, not the board, if indeed you have a stable system at 2.6 ghz. Some 3000+ can do that as reported by anandtech article about overclocking this cpu. But defintely not every 3000+, mine tops out at around 2.4 ghz, and for most people it seems to top out between 2.3 - 2.5 ghz. The chaintech board itself, if anything, is counterproductive to overclocking with it's annoying limitations in the bios, as you describe. Setting the speed using clockgen is not really a good solution, as many people use linux, and don't waste their time toying around with childish, unsecure operating systems.

 

[Ackbar]

Originally posted by: user1234
Achieving 2.6 ghz using the winchester 3000+ is a property of the cpu, not the board, if indeed you have a stable system at 2.6 ghz. Some 3000+ can do that as reported by anandtech article about overclocking this cpu. But defintely not every 3000+, mine tops out at around 2.4 ghz, and for most people it seems to top out between 2.3 - 2.5 ghz. The chaintech board itself, if anything, is counterproductive to overclocking with it's annoying limitations in the bios, as you describe. Setting the speed using clockgen is not really a good solution, as many people use linux, and don't waste their time toying around with childish, unsecure operating systems.

How's that saying go, it's been so long since I've had to say it to anyone since I mostly only talk to mature people nowadays... oh yes, I remember, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

Other than bashing what other people have done, try to add CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, you'll probably find that people will be more open to starting a dialog with you. Just a thought...

If you don't like Windows, fine, but it's likely that your comments aren't going to make people run out and install Linux on all their machines (or anything else that might be of interest to you). Windows vs Linux discussions don't belong on a thread made solely to describe someone's success overclocking his/her machine. Leave your "childish, unsecure" Linux vs. Windows thoughts out of this thread.

MajorPayne: Your post was informative, thanks for taking the time out to write up your results.

 

[MajorPayne]

Originally posted by: urfage
Awesome work! You've been the champion of this board MajorPayne. Thanks to you I'm running mine at 2404MHz HTTx4 @ 267MHz up from just 2100MHz (couldn't get past 229MHz HTTx4 or 232 HTTx3). I'm using the stock cooler and have made no voltage changes. I have 2 sticks of Corsair Value Select 512MB running at 437MHz@2.5-3-3-8. It is Prime stable so far (1 hour), but I will let it run over night and report back. This board was so worth it. Have you tried out the new (12/29?) BIOS for the board? It didn't improve the "Safe Mode" problem, but you might be able to squeeze a few more MHz out of you overclock with it.

Keep up the great work MajorPayne!
-Bryce

P.S.: I've also got the Gigabyte 6600GT. I'm using the Auto-Overclock feature, havn't had time to play w/ manual clocks yet. What have you been able to squeeze out of yours?

Sounds like you have a good O/C out of your board/chip as well. I would have been happy to stay at 240HTT with this board, but hitting 290HTT has been way over what I expected. Just out of curiousity, where did you get the 12/29 BIOS??? I have been watching the chaintech site for a new BIOS since I got the board, and it is always blank! I would LOVE to try out the new one, and see if it gets me further. If you do not have a link, could you possibly let me know where to get this? I am very interested. Even without getting around the safe mode "feature" of this board, it may allow me to get further with overclocking.

I do not remember where I got with the card (it is still running OC'd, I just forgot what I got it to). I will check later, and let you know when I get home, but it has been a very good card for the money I paid ($190.00 from newegg).

 

[MajorPayne]

Originally posted by: user1234
Achieving 2.6 ghz using the winchester 3000+ is a property of the cpu, not the board, if indeed you have a stable system at 2.6 ghz. Some 3000+ can do that as reported by anandtech article about overclocking this cpu. But defintely not every 3000+, mine tops out at around 2.4 ghz, and for most people it seems to top out between 2.3 - 2.5 ghz. The chaintech board itself, if anything, is counterproductive to overclocking with it's annoying limitations in the bios, as you describe. Setting the speed using clockgen is not really a good solution, as many people use linux, and don't waste their time toying around with childish, unsecure operating systems.

I do not normally resort to using ClockGen, but I was curious about the possibilities of overclocking this CPU, and the board seemed to have an artificial limit to the OC (not unusual on the first BIOS). I was very happy with this board even at 240 HTT, and the fact that clockgen let me hit 290HTT tells me that a future BIOS may help this board be even better. I would definitely prefer to do all of my overclocking via the BIOS if possible, but this just was not happening on the current BIOS.

 

[MajorPayne]

Originally posted by: Ackbar
MajorPayne: Your post was informative, thanks for taking the time out to write up your results.

Glad I could help! Hopefully more people will see it, and learn what is possible with this board/CPU combo -- at the price, it is hard to beat, considering the processor speeds I can reach! And maybe I can push the BIOS further if I can get the 12/29 BIOS urfage talked about above.

 

[user1234]

"I would definitely prefer to do all of my overclocking via the BIOS if possible, but this just was not happening on the current BIOS."

That's exactly my point, hence if people who'll be running Linux (like for a web server, you know "Ackbar") and hope to overclock a 3000+ using this board, they will be out of luck (beyond 240 fsb, that is). Your post has been very informative about what limitation people who run Linux can expect. But even for Windows users (and certainly windows has its uses, mostly as xbox++), running clockgen at startup to change the clock is a kludgy solution prone to stability issues, as well as not being healthy for the system, because it's not really recommended by any manufacturer that you change the clock speed of the cpu, fsb and ram every day. I guess most people, including overclockers, would frown upon such an act.

 

[ktgktg]

...and then we have those who get 2800 MHz from a 3000+, 1.4 V and AMD cooler. 1000 MHz overclock on air and no extra Vcore, that's crazy! Probably not 100% stable though...

If you read the threads at xtremesystems it seems like they get much better overclock from the very latest CPUs made (not surprising though...). They're also talking about what the codes on the CPUs mean. Someone said thet the numbers in bold are important because they tell the location the chip had in the wafer and that the closer to 1000 the closer to the center of the wafer. I've been looking at some pics of the FX 55 but they seem to be close to 0000. The 3000+ that runs at 2.8 GHz:

ADA3000DIK4BI
CBBHD 0448SPAW
1163859L401370137

Does any body know if the code can tell us something about the quality of the CPU?

 

[Vedder323]

Does this mobo support the XP120?

 

[MajorPayne]

Originally posted by: Vedder323
Does this mobo support the XP120?

I am not sure.... I have heard others say that certain heatsinks will NOT work with this board because of where the Caps near the CPU are, but I have not tried the XP-120 with it. The best bet is to email the makers of the XP-120 with the information on the board (and a picture if possible). I hear they are quite speedy about getting an answer back for e-mailed questions about motherboard compatibility with thier heatsinks. Temps with this board are quite cool anyway (possibly because of the unusual layout -- see the pictures of it on the Chaintech site to understand HOW different the layout is -- especially pay attention to the location of the CPU and RAM).

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: ktgktg
...and then we have those who get 2800 MHz from a 3000+, 1.4 V and AMD cooler. 1000 MHz overclock on air and no extra Vcore, that's crazy! Probably not 100% stable though...

If you read the threads at xtremesystems it seems like they get much better overclock from the very latest CPUs made (not surprising though...). They're also talking about what the codes on the CPUs mean. Someone said thet the numbers in bold are important because they tell the location the chip had in the wafer and that the closer to 1000 the closer to the center of the wafer. I've been looking at some pics of the FX 55 but they seem to be close to 0000. The 3000+ that runs at 2.8 GHz:

ADA3000DIK4BI
CBBHD 0448SPAW
1163859L401370137

Does any body know if the code can tell us something about the quality of the CPU?

Yes, but if you use this board, you are limited to 2.16 ghz with a 3000+, even if you hit the jackpot and got a cpu that can do 3 ghz. Bummer

 

[MajorPayne]

Originally posted by: user1234
Yes, but if you use this board, you are limited to 2.16 ghz with a 3000+, even if you hit the jackpot and got a cpu that can do 3 ghz. Bummer

Yes, if you have an A64 3000+, and use only the BIOS for overclocking, this is true. The current BIOS does not seem capable of going over 240HTT, which puts you at 2.16 at the highest CPU multiplier.

If you use ClockGen for Nforce4 boards, you can get much higher than this though. I am not sure why this is, except that possibly the board's BIOS is the limiting factor. I would rather overclock with BIOS than ClockGen for various reasons, but until the BIOS issues with going over 240HTT are remedied, then I will be using ClockGen to go higher.

 

[urfage]

The new BIOS I reported is on www.chaintechusa.com on the board's page. A direct link is here: http://www.chaintechusa.com/download/k8/VN210C29.exe

Let me know if you discover anything interesting about the new BIOS.

-Bryce

 

[MajorPayne]

Originally posted by: urfage
The new BIOS I reported is on www.chaintechusa.com on the board's page. A direct link is here: http://www.chaintechusa.com/download/k8/VN210C29.exe

Let me know if you discover anything interesting about the new BIOS.

-Bryce

Thanks for letting me know that Chaintech (finally) got around to posting some BIOS for this board. The site says that the one you posted is actually the original BIOS that came with the board. There IS a new BETA one just posted recently, which claims to offer the following fixes though (straight from the website):

Version : Beta_0117
Date: 2005/1/17
Note : Solved some issues as below:
Feature :
1.S4 can not get back to winxp.
2.win2000 installation issue.
3.add 1T2T of memory setting.
4.overclocking possibility issue.

The link to download the new BIOS is: http://www.chaintechusa.com/download/k8/VN210117.exe

My hopes for this BIOS are very high! I already know this board to be very stable, and a decent overclocker by itself, but I have to resort to CLockGen to go above 240HTT. Hopefully the 4th item listed is help with this issue -- I would love that!!!

The other thing of particular interest to me is #3, which adds a setting (instead of automatically picking for you) for RAM command rate, so you can choose 1T or 2T. Because I am running 4 sticks of 512MB in dual channel currently, I am stuck at 2T -- God I would love to be able to go home tonight, download this BIOS, and hit 290HTT (like I can in ClockGen) with 4 sticks of dual channel ram at 1T!!

My questions are these... Has anyone tried this new BIOS yet, and if so, does it seem to resolve your overclocking issue? Does anyone know if I will be able to run my 4 sticks of dual channel ram at 1T, and if I CAN, then SHOULD I?

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has used this BIOS about stability, overclocking, etc. I cannot apply it until later tonight (I already downloaded it to my laptop in case it gets yanked from the site), but if no one has gotten it by then, then I will happily be your beta tester.

 

[urfage]

Woo Hoo! This new BIOS is great! I can achieve the previous overclock (267HTTx4 2404MHz with ClockGen) using the beta BIOS on the Chaintech site MajorPayne linked to. New options in the BIOS include setting the HTT frequency by 1MHz intervals as well as new memory options (1T - 2T selection) and a few others I can't remember right now. Seems pretty stable.

-Bryce

 

[xpose]

First, I want to make a commment about user1234 bashing majorpayne. First of all, if someone OC's a computer from 1.8gz to 2.6, MOST LIKELY, they will want to play games. Hence, NO LINUX. I don't know of many people who are excited to overclock their cpu to run their httpd and ftpd on their linux box. Yes, sometimes people will have linux installed on their main pc but there are many who have a spare computer run linux as a firewall or some type of server. Anyway, on to whats important. . . .

On to the findings with the new beta bios. Bottom line, this will fix your problems. I am now at 2610 mhz with the HTT at 290. Here is a link to show the specs In fact, EVEREST reports the CPU I have as a AMD Athlon 64 4100+.

I should also mention that you may have to reset to your default settings (if you OCd) prior to reflashing your bios because I did not and had to reset the cmos. And when you do get up to 2610 mhz the boot up screen does not report the CPU speed correctly, but I am sure they will fix that in the final version. So those of you who are thinking about getting a cheap nforce4 ultra mobo and cheap CPU to OC, this is about as good as one can hope for.

Thanks to urfage and majorpayne for helping me get to 2.6

 

[superkdogg]

:beer:

WOOT!!

Glad to hear that you've overcome the troubles and got 'er up to speed.

 

[hafa]

Congrats, MajorPayne!

I'll be looking forward to when NF4Us are available in my part of the world!

As for your detractors:

Originally posted by: user1234
...and certainly windows has its uses, mostly as xbox++.

And this is why IBM chose to port the 5250 emulator/OS400 software, iSeries access to Windows and Linux both? The corporate world just does not see things that way. The overwhelming trend is towards adoption of multiple o/s. Most developers, myself included, develop for Win, OSX (unix) and Linux. Only by understanding and acepting the various platforms will we remain competetive.

 

[MajorPayne]

Originally posted by: hafa
Congrats, MajorPayne!

I'll be looking forward to when NF4Us are available in my part of the world!

As for your detractors:

Originally posted by: user1234
...and certainly windows has its uses, mostly as xbox++.

And this is why IBM chose to port the 5250 emulator/OS400 software, iSeries access to Windows and Linux both? The corporate world just does not see things that way. The overwhelming trend is towards adoption of multiple o/s. Most developers, myself included, develop for Win, OSX (unix) and Linux. Only by understanding and acepting the various platforms will we remain competetive.

Oh well, no OS can be perfect for anyone. I myself actually use Linux quite a bit, but NOT for gaming. For that, I reserve my Windows XP machine exclusively.

I don't take any of it personally though, and thanks for sticking up for me guys!! I appreciate it!

Oh, and currently, I am running at 275HTT (which overclocks my A64 3000+ to 2.47GHZ. I did a test boot at 310, but with just stock air cooling, I was not comfortable jumping that far at once. I will look into a better cooler (any suggestions that fit this board are welcome -- does the XP-120 fit this one?) before going much further. Chaintech has done a great job of addressing the OC concerns with this board!

 

[Thrax2000]

Congrats Major Payne and others!!!!

I've read (I can't remember where. I think it is on this forum somewhere.) that the XP-120 does not fit this board. I am currently using the Zalman 7700B-AlCu with no fitment issues at all.

I would like some help setting up MBM though, because my bios says my temps are around 30-35 at idle (I have virtually the same setup as you, Major Payne, but still stock speeds). I clocked down my fan quite a bit, as I am currently looking for quiet as opposed to speed. I'm just concerned that my temps are too high.

Anyway the good news is, the Zalman fits. The bad news is the XP-120 does not.

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: MajorPayne

Originally posted by: hafa
Congrats, MajorPayne!

I'll be looking forward to when NF4Us are available in my part of the world!

As for your detractors:

Originally posted by: user1234
...and certainly windows has its uses, mostly as xbox++.

And this is why IBM chose to port the 5250 emulator/OS400 software, iSeries access to Windows and Linux both? The corporate world just does not see things that way. The overwhelming trend is towards adoption of multiple o/s. Most developers, myself included, develop for Win, OSX (unix) and Linux. Only by understanding and acepting the various platforms will we remain competetive.

Oh well, no OS can be perfect for anyone. I myself actually use Linux quite a bit, but NOT for gaming. For that, I reserve my Windows XP machine exclusively.

I don't take any of it personally though, and thanks for sticking up for me guys!! I appreciate it!

Oh, and currently, I am running at 275HTT (which overclocks my A64 3000+ to 2.47GHZ. I did a test boot at 310, but with just stock air cooling, I was not comfortable jumping that far at once. I will look into a better cooler (any suggestions that fit this board are welcome -- does the XP-120 fit this one?) before going much further. Chaintech has done a great job of addressing the OC concerns with this board!

First, to all the people who thinks Linux does not have games - you may be surprise to know the follwing games run natively on linux - Doom 3, Unreal Tournament 2004, America's Army, Return To Castle Wolfenstein, Enemy Territory, Neverwinter Nights - and in most cases it's FASTER THAN WINDOWS, especially with regard to level loading times and networking. And if you use an emulator, you can get many other games to run, like Half Life 2 (all this is from personal experience). Also to the moron that mentioned ftpd - newsflash: no one is using it anyomre. If you didn't know that, you're probably also still using internet explorer with active-x, and you're messed up system is chok full of spyware I'm sure.

Now let's get to this board - if you really can get to 2.6 stable, then it's a very nice overclock. So what are your temps and voltages ? and why do you need a better cooler ?

 

[TJmoney]

What kind of memory dividers are you using, and which are available on this board's bios? I'v never really played around with async memory, but it sounds like its really not worth it to buy expensive memory capable of running >DDR500 when you get pretty much the same preformance running cheap memory with a divider. Could you please explain more about what you did with the memory clock?

 

[urfage]

Memory Dividers:
200MHz: 1:1 with HTT
166MHz: 5:6
133MHz: 2:3
100MHz: 1:2

I run my HTT at 267 and my memory divisor at 5:6 so my memory clock is 222.5MHz * 2 = 445MHz DDR

-Bryce

 

[ChineseDemocracyGNR]

Are you sure your memory is clocked at 222.5MHz? On the Athlon 64 the dividers are related to the CPU frequency. Link