BIOS SETTINGS??

[rickd59]

I have a quick question about what the advanced settings of the bios should be for the following combination:

<b>Newegg Item No Description </b>
13-131-451 MB ASUS A7V8X-X/LAN KT400
19-103-418 CPU AMD|2600/333 ATHLON XP BARTON
20-200-017 DDRAM 512MB|PC-2700CL2.5 APACE
37-102-141 CD MS|WIN XP HOME w/SP1a
14-121-502 VGA ASUS|RADEON R9600SE/TD 128M 8X

I am not interested in OC'ing, I was very surprised that something changed some of these settings making the computer all but useless (actually, it was useless). Computer had several worms, but I reformatted the HDD and reinstalled Windows, with all updates. It worked fine for several days, and then the bottom fell out. The computer would boot, and shortly after the Windows "Welcome" screen popped up, the monitor would shut off and the box seemed to still be on (at least the fans were still buzzing until you turned it off). I reset the settings and here is what I currently have. Since last nite, it seems to be fine now (but I just wanted to double-check, especially the items in red...old settings in green):

<font color=red>CPU Speed: <b><font color=blue>1917 MHz</b> <font color=green> ...was 'Manual'
<font color=red>CPU Freq Mult: <b><font color=blue>11.5X</b> <font color=green> ...was '10X'
<font color=red>CPU Ext Freq: <b><font color=blue>133/33 MHz</b>
<font color=red>Memory Freq: <b><font color=blue>333 MHz</b> <font color=green> ...was 'Manual'
<font color=blue>CPU VCore Setting: <b><font color=blue>Auto</b>
<font color=blue>CPU VCore: <b><font color=blue>1.650V</b>
<font color=blue>CPU Level1 Cache: <b><font color=blue>Enabled</b>
<font color=blue>CPU Level2 Cache: <b><font color=blue>Enabled</b>
<font color=blue>PS\2 Mouse Fx CTL: <b><font color=blue>Auto</b>
<font color=blue>USB Legacy Support: <b><font color=blue>Auto</b>
<font color=blue>OS/2 OnBoard Mem > 64M: <b><font color=blue>Disabled</b>

If anyone can explain, IN ENGLISH, the relationships and calculations between these parameters, that would also be great (especially as they relate to this system). Also, under the "Chip Configuration" settings, the Graphics Aperture Size is set to 64 MB. Should I bump this up to 128MB? As always, thanks in advance!


-Rick

 

[endyen]

Everything looks ok except the cpu/ external frequency. I believe that this is your pci divider. It should be set to 166/33 , as your fsb is set to 166. This number multiplied by the multiplier gives your chips speed. Ie. 166X11.5=1909mhz. That is the normal speed of the barton xp2600.With the pci divider set to 133/33 you are effectively overclocking your pci bus to 41.5, and your agp bus to 83, instead of thier default 33 & 66.

 

[Mr_Nuke]

Your CPU and RAM are currently running async.
CPU speed is FSB(first figure from CPU ext freq) times CPU freq multiplier
Athlon XP 2600+ runs at 1909Mhz=166Mhz * 11.5
Your FSB is currently at 266(2*133)
The memory requires a FSB of 333(2*166)
The FSB and memory should be running at the same freq for best performance
REMEMBER:sync performance > async performance !!!!
So set your CPU Ext Freq at 166 to sync with the memory. Those are all normal parameters and this is NOT overclocking.
If there's anything you still don't understand, just ask.

 

[Mr_Nuke]

He said in english, so please in english.

 

[rickd59]

Are the settings I currently have detrimental? They seem pretty stable. I also thought the CPU Ext Freq should be set to 166/33, but the system seemed to become unstable when I did this (all other settings remaining equal). Also, should I bump up the Graphics Aperture Size to 128? Thanks all.

-Rick

 

[endyen]

The settings are good. When you set the cpu speed to 1917, you set the chip to proper multiplier and fsb. Your memory speed is right. If you raise the agp aperture to 128, or even 256, it will be okay.

 

[Mr_Nuke]

What's the AGP aperture size and what does it affects?

 

[rickd59]

Cool, thanks for the info endyen! I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't fry something.


-Rick