Overclocking...

jakelm

ShinAce wrote: »

I just noticed you are running AMD.

AMD has started implementing temperature compensation, but it is not as good as Intel's work. I don't know how much you should trust the AMD chip to keep itself alive.

Well specs say max temp 71c. So I should be ok, up to 60?

jakelm

What is that "Cool and Quiet" option in the BIOS?

Systems

If I'm not mistaken the cool and quiet option allows the mobo/bios to regulate the fan speed to run slower or faster or depending on ther need for cooling. Highlight the option and look to the right of the screen for an explaination???? I'm not sitting at MY computer to tell you...sorry.

Chuck

jakelm

stereo_luver wrote: »

If I'm not mistaken the cool and quiet option allows the mobo/bios to regulate the fan speed to run slower or faster or depending on ther need for cooling. Highlight the option and look to the right of the screen for an explaination???? I'm not sitting at MY computer to tell you...sorry.

Chuck

I think your right. I disabled it, let that fan run... I cant hear it anyways,,,:p

billbillw

Jake, I'd keep cool n' quiet enabled. It doesn't affect fans speed, but it does lower the CPU multiplier when loads are light. This of course lowers the CPU frequency, keeps temps lower, and saves a bunch of power. Unless you are constantly running heavy apps, there is no reason not to use it.

For those of you, like steveinaz, who think that over-clocking doesn't get you much these days, take a look at this article.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/12/pentium_dual_core/

Look at page 9 of the review. The overclock that they do shaves more than 1 minute off of the MP3, Divx, and Xvid encoding. For the HD video transcoding, it shave more than 5 minutes off of the time!

This is from a combination of raising FSB and CPU frequencies (which of course are interlinked by the multiplier).

This is the CPU I am running. I'm doing a conservative 3.0GHz overclock, that's 1200MHz over stock timings. I didn't have to fiddle with voltage or anything else other than changing the FSB speed and the memory multiplier (to maintain stock memory speeds) This is the only component that I overclock, and I believe for most of today's systems, the CPU is the only thing worth overclocking unless you are a gamer, then you might want to O.C. your GPU and video memory).

As far as stability, its rock solid. Been running this way since October. It will run Prime95 for hours without a single hiccup. As far as shortening the life of the CPU, who cares, it was a $80 CPU that is running with $250-$300 processors (at the time of my purchase). In a couple of years, when quad core prices drop, I can replace it with a quad CPU that will run circles around it.

EDIT: Jake, I'd read up at this forum:
http://forums.anandtech.com/categories.aspx?catid=28&entercat=y

In general, you want to keep the video card (PCIe) bus locked at a constant speed for stability. I don't know your motherboard that well, but take the time to read through the manual. Usually there is a feature to either lock it, or let it go up and down as you raise FSB. I'd stick with stock memory timings. In the end, it takes a lot of reading+ trial and error. You will find a lot more info at Anandtech or Tomshardware though.

jakelm

Thanks Bill,

Great info there. Will have to read up some more, if I am going to find out how to keep the vc memory and RAM memory locked, with raising the FSB.

I will enable the cool and quiet mode.

I didint get a chance to fiddle with it last night, but will tonight.

After reading other articles, judging by my fans and cooling system, I should be able to take my stock 2.2ghz and turn it into 3.0ghz. Now thats a substantial jump. And raise the 200 fsb to 300, it will be worth the project.

jwhitakr

billbillw wrote: »

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/12/pentium_dual_core/

Look at page 9 of the review. The overclock that they do shaves more than 1 minute off of the MP3, Divx, and Xvid encoding. For the HD video transcoding, it shave more than 5 minutes off of the time!

This is from a combination of raising FSB and CPU frequencies (which of course are interlinked by the multiplier).

This is the CPU I am running. I'm doing a conservative 3.0GHz overclock, that's 1200MHz over stock timings. I didn't have to fiddle with voltage or anything else other than changing the FSB speed and the memory multiplier (to maintain stock memory speeds) This is the only component that I overclock, and I believe for most of today's systems, the CPU is the only thing worth overclocking unless you are a gamer, then you might want to O.C. your GPU and video memory).

Yup I agree that, for CPU / memory intensive tasks, OC'ing can definitely give a noticeable improvement. In the cases where you are doing any of this heavy processing (any type of encoding / transcoding) you are able to get a nice jump in performance and OC'ing is worthwhile. That's why I was originally asking Jake what he was trying to accomplish with OC'ing. Plus it can be fun. :cool:

My point is just that most applications / games that also get an improvement really won't be noticeable. There are probably a few exceptions where I am wrong ... but if you are trying to play a new FPS game (like Crysis) with an old mobo / CPU / video card, OC'ing the hell out of them is not going to solve your performance problems!

jakelm

Ok people. Please be patient with me. If you can help, I so much appreciate it, if not its cool. This is my BIOS. I have changed CPU multiplier and some other things. I did not touch the voltage. Seems that I am just able to slow everything down and not speed anything up.

Take a look:

A. Advanced
.......1. Frequency Config
...........a. Spred Spectrum
................. (Auto), +/- 1.0% to +/-.1%, Disable
...........b. PCIE Clock sync to CPU
................(Enable), Disable
...........XPLL2 Clock 200MHZ... (Greyed out)
...........c. PCI Clock Sync to CPU
................(Enable), Disable
...........PCI Clock 40.0MHZ..... (greyed out)
...........d. CPU Clock..... 200MHZ
.................min 200, max 400
......2. CPU Multiplier
............. (Auto), x4 to x11
......3. Hammer Vid control
..........(start up), 1.4v to 1.1v


B. CPU config (the only thing adjustable, other info greyed out)
.... 1.Cool n Quiet
........(enable), disable


C. Chipset
......1. Current DRAM Frequency (200mhz)
......2. Timming mode
............(auto), manual
......3. Mem clock (200mhz)
......4. CAS# Latency (3)
......5. Min RAS# active time trans
.........(8T), 5T to 15T
......6. Rox Recharge Time TRP
.........(4T), 2T to 7T
......7. 1+/2+ memory timing
...........(2+), 1+
......8. S/WD RAM Over 4g remapping
...............(enable), disable
......9. H/W DRAM over 4g remapping
..............(enable), disable
.....10. MTRR mapping mode
..........(continous), discrete


D. LDT Bus Frequency
.....(auto), 400, 600, 800, 1g


E. VLink mode select
......(auto), mode 1, mode 2, mode 3, mode 4


F. PCI PNP
......1. Plug n play O/S
............(no), yes
......2. Resources Controlled by
...............(auto), manual
.......X IRQ Resouce (greyed out)
......3. Assign IRQS for VGA
...............(enable), disable
......4. PCI Express relative
..........(4096), 4096 to 128

G. Onboard devise config
......1. SATA
.............(enable), disable
......2. SATA Controller mode
............(IDE), RAID, AHCI
......3. HDA Controller
............(auto), disable
......4. On Board LAN
.............(enable), disable
......5. On Board LAN Boot ROM
...........(Disable), enable
......6. Serial Port Address
............(3F8/IRQ4)
......7. Parallel Port Address
.............(378/IRQ7)
......8. Parallel Port Mode
............(bi-directional), ECP, EPP, Normal
......9. ECP Mode Use DMA
............(3), 1-3
.....10. Game Port Address
............(210), 209, disable
.........a. midi port address
..............(330), 300, disable
.........b. midi port IRQ
..............(10), 5

H. USB Config


I. Power
....... VCORE - 1.39v
.......3.3v - 3.24
.......5v - 5.10
.......12v - 11.84v
......CPU TEMP - 48c
......M/B Temp - 30c
......CPU Fan speed - 2596 RPM
......Chassis fan speed - 0 (must not be reading my case fan)
......CPU Case fan warning (800rpm)


I know this was alot, and I appreciate you reading through it. but a cant find the HTT to change the FSB, and the multiplier seems to be maxed out already. Again, any help would be appreciated.....

I encreased the LDT Bus frequency to 400, but nothing changed,,


Jake

jakelm

Whats in "()" is whats enabled...

billbillw

Well, I know for sure, you want to disable A>1>b&c. Beyond that, you need to read through the manual and figure things out. Sounds to me like LDT bus speed at 400 is the lowest speed (and perhaps the stock speed, so its no surprise that it didn't speed things up)

If you search around at Anandtech or PlanetAMD64, there HAS to be an Athlon X2 or Asus (your model) overclocking guide of some sort. That would really be what you need to read.

ben62670

I didn't OC for a while. I used to with certain chips years back, but I have a Quad Core 2.4 that runs at 3ghz fine and dandy. It make a big difference on gaming for sure.

Ben

jakelm

billbillw wrote: »

Well, I know for sure, you want to disable A>1>b&c. Beyond that, you need to read through the manual and figure things out. Sounds to me like LDT bus speed at 400 is the lowest speed (and perhaps the stock speed, so its no surprise that it didn't speed things up)

If you search around at Anandtech or PlanetAMD64, there HAS to be an Athlon X2 or Asus (your model) overclocking guide of some sort. That would really be what you need to read.

Thanks Bill. All of the article I have read, have very different BIOS. CPU multiplier, cant go higher than what it is. 11 x 200 = 2.2ghz, cant get higher than that. Changing the LDT bus speed to 600, saving then reboot, does nothing. Specs stay the same.

jakelm

I cant find the HTT, that most article have in BIOS.. Isnt that what changes the FSB to encrease everything? The LDT does seem to do anything.

billbillw

jakelm wrote: »

Thanks Bill. All of the article I have read, have very different BIOS. CPU multiplier, cant go higher than what it is. 11 x 200 = 2.2ghz, cant get higher than that. Changing the LDT bus speed to 600, saving then reboot, does nothing. Specs stay the same.

Jake, from the looks of it, the CPU clock is what you need to change. If its stock 200x11, then go 210x11, 220x11, etc until you start to get unstable. Then raise core voltage slightly (we're talking 10ths of a volt) Disable all the things that say 'sync with..." and set those (that are grayed out) to default/stock values, which I think, (better double check) is 200 for PCIe and 33.33 for PCI. Leave memory timings alone. Leave LDT bus to auto and see how it works. You probably don't have to mess with anything below your D. section, although you might want to figure out what the heck Vlink does. I've never heard of it.

EDIT: Look at this thread. Lots of good info. http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=28&threadid=1497607&highlight_key=y&keyword1=a8v
Its probably important to do what they say in regards to keeping the Hypertransport around 1000. Just realize that terms are often different between one MB and another. In your case, HTT is probably what is shown as CPU Clock.

jakelm

billbillw wrote: »

Jake, from the looks of it, the CPU clock is what you need to change. If its stock 200x11, then go 210x11, 220x11, etc until you start to get unstable. Then raise core voltage slightly (we're talking 10ths of a volt) Disable all the things that say 'sync with..." and set those (that are grayed out) to default/stock values, which I think, (better double check) is 200 for PCIe and 33.33 for PCI. Leave memory timings alone. Leave LDT bus to auto and see how it works. You probably don't have to mess with anything below your D. section, although you might want to figure out what the heck Vlink does. I've never heard of it.

Thanks Bill, What through me was the LDT. I didnt know what that was.

But Yes, for the CPU clock , it does give me the option to type in manually what I want from 200 to 400. So 210 x11 multiplier = 2.3ghz, and so on correct?

How will I know when to raise the voltage, I read that it is not required. I could probably get 2.8 out of the CPU, but how will I know how much to raise the voltage?

Also , what raises the FSB? Or does by raising the CPU clock, that raises averything else?

jakelm

Bill disabling the "sync with", wont that throw everything off from the CPU. Wouldnt I want everything to "sync with" the new values of the CPU? Like it would auto config itself for the raised values of the CPU?

billbillw

jakelm wrote: »

Thanks Bill, What through me was the LDT. I didnt know what that was.

But Yes, for the CPU clock , it does give me the option to type in manually what I want from 200 to 400. So 210 x11 multiplier = 2.3ghz, and so on correct?

How will I know when to raise the voltage, I read that it is not required. I could probably get 2.8 out of the CPU, but how will I know how much to raise the voltage?

Also , what raises the FSB? Or does by raising the CPU clock, that raises averything else?

FSB is CPU clock. Read that thread that I linked above in my EDIT. It should talk about if/when to raise voltage.

billbillw

jakelm wrote: »

Bill disabling the "sync with", wont that throw everything off from the CPU. Wouldnt I want everything to "sync with" the new values of the CPU? Like it would auto config itself for the raised values of the CPU?

No, you do NOT want them to be synced when overclocking. If you have them synced and start to raise FSB (CPU Clock), then the PCIe and PCI bus start to overclock as well. This causes instability and can fry your video card and/or drives, soundcards, etc.

Un-syncing (aka Locking) takes all the other components out of the equation when you overclock and leaves them running stock speed. Its VERY crucial to getting a good overclock.

jakelm

billbillw wrote: »

FSB is CPU clock. Read that thread that I linked above in my EDIT. It should talk about if/when to raise voltage.

Absolutly will read...

jakelm

billbillw wrote: »

No, you do NOT want them to be synced when overclocking. If you have them synced and start to raise FSB (CPU Clock), then the PCIe and PCI bus start to overclock as well. This causes instability and can fry your video card and/or drives, soundcards, etc.

Un-syncing (aka Locking) takes all the other components out of the equation when you overclock and leaves them running stock speed. Its VERY crucial to getting a good overclock.

I have read that its ok to raise the entire FSB and all the component on the mobo. As long as you raise in small amounts.. Ikinda wanted to overclock my graph card as well, its not the fastest @ 128.

But ok...I trust ya...

billbillw

jakelm wrote: »

I kinda wanted to overclock my graph card as well, its not the fastest @ 128.

But ok...I trust ya...

You overclock your video card separately, not by raising the PCIe bus. You use ATItool (a 3rd party app) or ATI's own built-in overclocking utility (its buried in the Catalyst software)

jakelm

billbillw wrote: »

You overclock your video card separately, not by raising the PCIe bus. You use ATItool (a 3rd party app) or ATI's own built-in overclocking utility (its buried in the Catyalyst software)

I have the catylist software. I didnt see it anywhere.. But ok...thats another thread.,,,

i will try tonight what you told me.. I hope it remanes stable and doesnt lock up...oh well..we shall see.

billbillw

jakelm wrote: »

I have the catylist software. I didnt see it anywhere.. But ok...thats another thread.,,,

i will try tonight what you told me.. I hope it remanes stable and doesnt lock up...oh well..we shall see.

They call it "ATI overdrive". Its in there.

jakelm

billbillw wrote: »

They call it "ATI overdrive". Its in there.

Thanks Bill, and thanks for everything.... will let you know how it goes tonight.. hopefully I can reach 3.0ghz with stability..

billbillw

jakelm wrote: »

Thanks Bill, and thanks for everything.... will let you know how it goes tonight.. hopefully I can reach 3.0ghz with stability..

If you haven't done so, I'd strongly recommend that you make a full backup of your main system partition before you start to O.C.

Use Norton Ghost or a similar system backup utility to save an image of your main partition to a separate HDD or to DVD. Although its probably not common, the system instability that results from the trial/error crashes can corrupt your files leading to a full reinstall. Like I said, not common, but its a lot easier to restore a backup that it is to reinstall everything from scratch. Think of it like insurance. I've been burnt a few times and now I make regular backup to my spare drive. If you don't have a 2nd physical HDD, but have multiple partitions, then just do it on a separate partition. Its much faster if you have a 2nd physical drive though.

jakelm

billbillw wrote: »

If you haven't done so, I'd strongly recommend that you make a full backup of your main system partition before you start to O.C.

Use Norton Ghost or a similar system backup utility to save an image of your main partition to a separate HDD or to DVD. Although its probably not common, the system instability that results from the trial/error crashes can corrupt your files leading to a full reinstall. Like I said, not common, but its a lot easier to restore a backup that it is to reinstall everything from scratch. Think of it like insurance. I've been burnt a few times and now I make regular backup to my spare drive. If you don't have a 2nd physical HDD, but have multiple partitions, then just do it on a separate partition. Its much faster if you have a 2nd physical drive though.

Good advice, thanks


With the specs of my CPU saying up to 71c, how close is it? Or I can reach 71c and still have room. Manufactures are conservative in this spec?

billbillw

jakelm wrote: »

Good advice, thanks


With the specs of my CPU saying up to 71c, how close is it? Or I can reach 71c and still have room. Manufactures are conservative in this spec?

I'd keep it under 70C. With cool and quiet enabled, you should notice lower temps when you are not running hard. I'd get a 3rd party temp monitor like Coretemp to keep an eye on things. Going to the BIOS is not reliable because by the time you get there to look at it, the CPU is not under load anymore.

You'd be amazed how quickly these things heat up and cool down as the load changes. Watch Coretemp, then start running something like Prime95 and the heat will skyrocket up to 65c+. Stop Prime95 and the temps will drop down to normal within 30 seconds if you have adequate cooling.

jakelm

billbillw wrote: »

I'd keep it under 65C. With cool and quiet enabled, you should notice lower temps anyway.

Sorry to keep bothering you,

Cool n Quiet regulates the CPU fan, the BIOS reads the CPU fan's RPM just fine, But not the case fan, that is hooked to the label "cha fan" on the modo. Why?

its the same 3 prong type, connection..

billbillw

jakelm wrote: »

Sorry to keep bothering you,

Cool n Quiet regulates the CPU fan, the BIOS reads the CPU fan's RPM just fine, But not the case fan, that is hooked to the label "cha fan" on the modo. Why?

its the same 3 prong type, connection..

Cool n quiet does more than fan speed, it lowers CPU speed and voltage to lower heat/save power.

Fan speed monitors are notoriously unreliable on MBs. Usually the CPU one works. All the others are hit or miss. I don't use any because all my fans are manually controlled and/or hooked to the PS directly.

Again, look at my edit above.

jakelm

Whats a good "free" program you would recommend in windows to keep track of voltage and temp?