failed overclock or am I forgetting something?

[Quetzacoatl]

Sup guys, got a question for the overclocking gurus. Okay, so I took my Athlon Thunderbird at 1 Ghz, 266FSB (133Mhz physical), and I did a little bit of calculating. Supposedly, it has a base bus speed of 133 multiplied by 7.5 to get 1000Mhz. Easy enough so far. Okay, so I decide i'm going to SLOWLY increase the multiplier in increments of 1/2 (66.66Mhz), until I get to the level of a 1200Mhz Thunderbird. I'm not too worried about the cooling, i've got a relatively large cooler/heatsink (I believe it's from coolmaster) which runs at a steady 110 degrees farenheit. From the advice heard before, I think I can reliably overclock it to about 1200Mhz without upgrading my cooler.

I ran into problems when I actually went to overclocking. I first decided to increase the multiplier 1/2 to 8, just to make sure the thunderbird could run stably at 1067Mhz. I messed around with the dipswitches and jumpers. I wasn't sure what the core voltage was, so I left it autodetect. Also, I left BOTH the jumper and dipswitch block for the voltage level at autodetect. After I finished moving the jumpers and switches for the multiplier, I closed up my case and booted up my computer. To my horror, it identified it as a Thunderbird 1.0Ghz, no change at all. To confirm the results, I ran WPCPUID, which gave me a similar message.

Now I was a little confused at this point, so I opened up my computer and looked at my work. All the jumpers and dipswitches were set correctly. Still confused, I tried moving the jumpers and switches to a higher multiplier to no avail. I'm guessing that I need to manually set up the voltage or to check out my bios. One other possibility occurs, i've read several guides stating that the "bridges need to be unlocked." I've seen a friend do that for an AXP, but I don't know what exactly is involved in unlocking a Thunderbird.

I'm running the Thunderbird on an FIC AD-11 with the latest drivers. It supports the Thunderbird and AXP. The motherboard has handy jumpers and dipswitch blocks for disabling or maunally setting up the multiplier and voltage. I am a little confused by the BIOS. I don't think I can set up the multiplier, FSB, or the voltage in the BIOS. I do remember that a jumper on the mobo lets you set up the FSB for either 100 or 133.

My Thunderbird is happily running at 1.0Ghz right now, with it's original specs of 7.5 multiplier and a 133.33Mhz FSB. I am stuck right now, and I still want to overclock this bad boy. Any advice for me?

"When there's a will, there's a way."

 

[phsstpok]

You need to close the L1 bridges, much easier on a Tbird than an XP. I used automotive conductive paint, $8 at NAPA.

The L1 brides look something like this

L1
::::

Make them look like this.

L1
||||

On XPs there is channel or groove between the bridges that needs to be filled with an electrically NON-conductive material. The bridge points are also much smaller. These two things make the process much more difficult.

Read the stepping codes on your Tbird. AXIA, AXIAR, AYHJA, and AYHJAR are all very good overclockers, particularly if the second line starts with a letter code (often "Y" for the AYHJAR) rather than a number code (like "9").

My 1.0ghz AYHAR-Y overclocks to 1560mhz with no trouble at all. It POSTs as high as 1755 but my power supply is too weak on the +5.0 volt rail to support that speed.

<b>We are all beta testers!</b>

 

[Quetzacoatl]

How far can I increase the multiplier if I leave the FSB at 133? Also, i'm having problems removing the heatsink and fan from the motherboard. I tried pliers, but I noticed I was warping the board from the pressure. What am I doing wrong? I don't want to wreck my mother board =/ Also, where can I get a picture of the bridges? I would like to see a picture of the core. Thanks

"When there's a will, there's a way."

 

[phsstpok]

I don't know what heatsink you are using but if you need plier you are probably doing something wrong.

Usually you just press one end down (toward the motherboard) on one end of the clip then push it off of the tab. Some clips you can do this with your thumb others you need screw driver. The ones that need a screwdriver have a little slot. With these you need to be very careful. One slip and the screwdriver jams the motherboard. Don't forget to hold the heatsink in place so it doesn't flip up (very bad) when the tension is released on one side. Once the tension is released the other side of the clip should come out quite easily. Some clips have a lot of tension making removable with a srewdriver tricky.

You can find pictures. (I could only find a closeup of the L7 bridges but the L1 bridges are the ones you want to connect.

Duron picture (close enough to a Tbird for our purposes).
<A HREF="http://www.ocinside.de/index_e.html?/html/workshop/socketa/socketa_resistors.html" target="_new">http://www.ocinside.de/index_e.html?/html/workshop/socketa/socketa_resistors.html</A>

L7 closeup
<A HREF="http://www.ocinside.de/assets/images/L7_bridge.jpg" target="_new">http://www.ocinside.de/assets/images/L7_bridge.jpg</A>

Notice how some of the bridges are cut. You have to close the connections. (Reminder: One more time, you need to close the L1 bridges. This picture is just an example).

<b>We are all beta testers!</b>

 

[Quetzacoatl]

I'm using a rather large coolmaster heatsink that is the basic grilled metal plates with a flat fan on top. The clip holding it down is really tight. Once again, thanks

"When there's a will, there's a way."

 

[Quetzacoatl]

I read somewhere about having to cut or "open some of the bridges". I think it was referring to either the L1 or L7 bridges. What is that about?

"When there's a will, there's a way."

 

[phsstpok]

You said your board has Multiplier adjustments so you don't have to worry about cutting any bridges. Just connect the L1 bridges.

Cutting bridges is necessary when a motherboard doesn't have multiplier adjustments. In this case to overclock, some bridges need to be cut so that they can be re-connected in the correct pattern to change the CPU's default mulitplier. Change a multiplier from 7.5 to 9.5 and the motherboard "thinks" you have a 1200mhz CPU instead of 1000mhz CPU. I don't recommend trying this method. It's too easy to permanently damage a CPU.

<b>We are all beta testers!</b>

 

[Quetzacoatl]

Do you know how far an Athlon T-bird 1.0Ghz will run at with only an air cooler? I'm not going to get some monster MCH-462, just the regular fan I have. Currently running at an average of 41 degrees celsius. If I can go beyond 1.2Ghz with a regular fan, what is the highest celsius a T-bird can run at (stably)?

"When there's a will, there's a way."

 

[phsstpok]

Do you know how far an Athlon T-bird 1.0Ghz will run at with only an air cooler? I'm not going to get some monster MCH-462, just the regular fan I have. Currently running at an average of 41 degrees celsius. If I can go beyond 1.2Ghz with a regular fan, what is the highest celsius a T-bird can run at (stably)?

My Tbird 1.0 is at 1500mhz (150*10) with an air cooler. I've run it as as fast as 1560mhz and it will POST at 1755 but my little 330 watt Enermax can't cut it. At 1600mhz the +5 volt line is down to 4.70 volts.

I'm using a $5 cooler myself, <A HREF="http://www.nexfan.com/29/248.htm?463" target="_new">this one</A>, but swapped a Delta fan from a $17 cooler. With the Delta my Tbird runs between 39 and 46 degrees but with the stock fan it's only 2 degrees warmer.

<b>We are all beta testers!</b>

 

[Quetzacoatl]

I've got an Antec 300Watt power supply I think. Not anything special, but I don't think I need a monster PIV 350Watt power supply. I'm assuming at 1200+Mhz I need to set the voltage to 1.85 for my T-bird. Also, at what Mhz will I max out at 300Watts?

"When there's a will, there's a way."

 

[phsstpok]

I can't answer that. It depends on how much is inside your case, PCI cards, videocard, drives, fans,etc. It also depends on the power supply's design and quality.

As a rule of thumb, 300 watts is usually enough for a modestly equipped system. For overclocking you may need more.

You should be able to do some overclocking. Just monitor your voltages (I recommend Motherboard Monitor). If the 5 volt rail start to drop as you increase your overclocking then this may be a sign that your power supply is inadequate. More obvious signs include spontaneous reboots (this could be caused by other things, though) and a power supply shutting down would be a very bad sign. Even AMD indicates that a larger power supply may be necessary (see excerpt from <A HREF="http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/quick_ref_faq.pdf" target="_new">AMD's FAQ white paper</A> below).

You'll have to make your own decision. I personally recommend 400 watts or more just so one doesn't have to worry about it. (Some day I'll take my own advice. LOL!)

<font color=green><i>If you are not certain of the final user-configuration, it is safer to install one of the approved 300-watt (or larger) power supplies listed on the recommended power supply listing. If the Athlon processor-based system will have <font color=red>more power-consuming accessories than the basic minimum</font color=red>, we recommend you build your system using <font color=red>300-watt (or larger) power supplies</font color=red>. By using a larger power supply, the system is also robust enough to handle future enhancements.</i></font color=green> - AMD FAQ white paper

<b>We are all beta testers!</b>

 

[khha4113]

I have TBird 1000 (266FSB) running at 1400MHz (133*10.5) with default voltage 1.75V on Asus A7V133. Try it at default voltage first. If it's getting instable or cannot boot into Windows, you can increase a little bit (.25V increment) until it'd be stable. BTW, Antec 300W is good enough (mine used to have that one about a year).

Good or Bad have no meaning at all, depends on what your point of view is.

 

[Quetzacoatl]

My parents are considering buying a new computer (I'll custom build it) to replace our old P2 300. I'm thinking to go frugal and get this.

AMD Duron 1.2Ghz-$98
ECS K7S5A-$80
256MB DDR SDRAM PC-2100-$80
Geforce2 MX-200 32MB-$50

then i'm just gonna stick in the old cards (ethernet, modem, sound, ect)

Considering that the Duron is based on the Athlon Palamino core, will it be overclocked in the same way as the Thunderbird, or does the Duron look more like the AthlonXP? I might overclock the Duron 1.2Ghz just to get some more performance out of it.

"When there's a will, there's a way."

 

[phsstpok]

You'll be really sorry if you go with an MX200, very, very slow. If you are in the US you can can get the <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=14-129-007" target="_new">Visiontek Xtasy 5632 Geforce2 GTS-V</A> at Newegg.com for just $48, faster than most MX400s.

By the way <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com" target="_new">newegg</A> sells the Retail Duron 1.2 for just $75.

<b>We are all beta testers!</b>

 

[texas_techie]

Hey Quetza, Did you ever get that hetasink off? For athlon sockets, you use a screw-driver. It sounded like you were trying to pull off the HS without undoing the clip. You must push DOWN on the clip, then pull the clip out.
Remember: down then away from the socket.
Once the clip is unhooked from the socket, the HS will come off with no force required.

NOTE: using a screwdriver the unhook the clip is a semi-dangerous manuever. The screwdriver can easily slip and stab the motherboard-- been there, made me wet my pants.
So be real carefull, and make sure the tip of the screwdriver doesnt slip.
Also, it does require a fair amount of force, so you will see the board flex some. Dont panic, unless of course you tear the socket out of the motherboard. That would be the perfect time to panic.

Benchmarks are like sex, everybody loves doing it, everybody thinks they are good at it.

 

[Quetzacoatl]

LOL, yeah I got the HS off finally. The little ah heck was stuck on pretty tight, and I almost nicked the mobo several times with my flathead screwdriver...AMD has gotta make a better clippy system. Silver laquer went well! I used the scotch tape system in the DivX video that THG had.

Well, here are the OC'ing results anyways
AMD Athlon Thunderbird unlocked 1,000Mhz@1466.67Mhz (11x133.33)
Vcore 1.77 (autodetect didn't register as 1.75...oh well =/)
3.3V 3.33V
5V 4.97V
12V 12.30V

CPU Temp-about 100-115 degrees farenheit
system Temp-no more than about 90 degrees farenheit

Runs great! I love the %46 increase in clock speed. Hey, seeing that my voltage ramp is still running fairly constant, should I try jacking the multiplier to 12.5? I don't know too much about FSB oc'ing, but I heard some people successfully got 166! I think the AGP and PCI would go at about 41.5Mhz. Is it possible???

"When there's a will, there's a way."<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Quetzacoatl on 03/12/02 09:33 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[dhlucke]

What was the stepping on your Tbird1000? I was just going to note that not all tbirds overclock this nicely. Mine for example is a crap stepping and won't get above 1150 or so. It's really only stable at 1050. So it's not even worth it in my case. That's with a 400W powersupply.

<font color=red>If you were to have sex with your clone would that be considered incest or masturbation?</font color=red>

 

[Quetzacoatl]

I believe AXIA, although to be certain i'd have to take off the stupid heatsink again.

"When there's a will, there's a way."