Overclocking my 1.6A

FatBurger · Feb 24, 2002

Well, I'm currently at a 120MHz bus. 133 froze almost instantly in 3DMark. I probably just need more juice, I've got another BIOS sitting at work that will give me more, so hopefully tomorrow evening I can get to 133MHz.

I got through both CPU tests and the RAM test in Sandra at 133MHz, I'll upload my scores from that and 120MHz in a minute.

Any other suggestions/questions/comments? I just barely started OCing, and I haven't even gotten WinXP to install on my RAID array yet, so I don't have very high expectations so far.

<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/fattyburger/120benchmarks.html" target="_new">Benchmarks @ 120MHz FSB</A>

Quarter Pounder InsideEdited by FatBurger on 02/24/02 02:49 PM.

aarona · Feb 25, 2002

If it's the TH7II-Raid, there's a volt mod you can do to the mobo that's pretty easy and not permanent. I am using it. I need better cooling to keep higher voltage though.
Here's some benches and stuff I posted on another forum.

http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68659

and here,
http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=69294

OldBear · Feb 25, 2002

It is looking very good.

You get what you pay for.... All advice here is free.

AMD_Man · Feb 25, 2002

Great! Set the FSB to 133MHz and lower the RAM back to spec. Make sure you have the PCI/AGP bus locked. I suggest you aim for processor performance first and then memory performance second. As long as you don't underclock memory, you'll still see a sizable performance increase with the faster bus and CPU.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the ULTIMATE PC processor

FatBurger · Feb 25, 2002

I know I can do that, but I'm going to do this with the stock heatsink and no physical modifications to the motherboard (at least at first). Besides, with a BIOS that gives you higher voltages, why bother? :tongue:

AMD_Man, I'm pretty sure it's my voltages holding me back. I'll also try it with the RAM in spec, but my goal is 133 for both CPU and RAM.

Quarter Pounder Inside

aarona · Feb 25, 2002

If you want to find where you max out at quickly with current voltage settings then I suggest using the program SetFSB. The author just made support for the TH7II. For example I was running at 1.7volts and a setting of 133FSB and the Ram at 300 in bios which is actually 400 when overclocked to 133 at bootup. Now I Increased to 156 FSB incrementally in WindowsXP Pro at which point I got errors. Well that gave me an indication where to do some more testing. I booted up at 150 and tested away.

AMD_Man · Feb 25, 2002

Ok, up the voltage to over 1.6V and report your results, please.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the ULTIMATE PC processor

FatBurger · Feb 26, 2002

I'll try SetFSB, I've heard of that before.

Amd_MAN, my 133 bus was at 1.625v, the highest allowed with the current BIOS on my motherboard.

Quarter Pounder Inside

FatBurger · Feb 28, 2002

Well, SetFSB didn't work too well, but I think I know why.

The Abit TH7II-RAID does not lock the PCI bus, although it says it does. How do I know? Because my RAID card refuses to let me boot when I get too high (at 120MHz now, 133MHz wouldn't boot), even though the BIOS states the PCI bus is at 33MHz. Because it's supposed to lock it down, there is no divider. There is an AGP divider, they might be connected. I'll test it and see what I can do.

Quarter Pounder Inside
Don't step in the sarcasm!

aarona · Feb 28, 2002

Are you using that "77bios" to get more voltage? If you are that may be the problem because it's a modded version not a true beta from Abit. The 38 version is newest so far and I don't know what the 77 version was modded from.

FUGGER · Feb 28, 2002

Im running the 77 bios now, you can kick the Vcore up to 1.85 without and fear of dmg. The Abit will draw up to 1.85vcore and should remain @ 1.39~1.50 while its running at 1.6ghz.

Set differential current to 4x

set AGP apature to 64

Set fastwrites on

Ok, your PC returns to 33Mhz when the FSB breaches 133Mhz, 166Mhz, 199Mhz, 232Mhz. you will see the PCI speeds on the right of the FSB adjustment.

@ 134FSB your vcore should be around 1.6v based upon where mine hits at that speed.

Make sure you PSU is up to snuff, disconnect all devices from PCI, IDE, power, except the hard drive and video card.

Make sure you have good air flow across cpu and from around memory and chipset.

Try to break the 133FSB first with AGP at 2/4 and memory and 300.

My raid controller starts to fail around 41Mhz from what I can remember.

I can break 160FSB with a AVC sunflower, good samsung RDR, and a strong breeze.

I run constantly now @ 140FSb = 2.25Ghz'ish with just the AVC.

Proving once again that <A HREF="http://www.zombo.com" target="_new">anything is possible</A>.

FatBurger · Feb 28, 2002

What is the differential current? Is that for RDRAM voltage?

It always shows 33MHz in the BIOS, regardless of where the FSB is. At 133MHz, my PCI RAID card refuses to boot.

I'm not going to disconnect devices, I have a 431w PSU, but I want to make sure I hit 133MHz with the retail heatsink and everything running, and running stably.

I'll try with AGP at 2/4 and RDRAM at 300 first like you say, to make sure it's the CPU or PCI.

How loud is the Sunflower? I might look into getting one, they're pretty sweet.

All my other settings are what you've said, thanks for the help.

Quarter Pounder Inside
Don't step in the sarcasm!

AMD_Man · Feb 28, 2002

Fugger, if you have to remove all your PCI and IDE devices except the hard drive to get a P4 stable at high overclocks then everything about the P4 Northy being good at overclocking is an extreme stretch of the truth. It could even be called a lie. Hmm...it makes me wonder about your 3DMark2001 scores...what's the point of getting a 10,000pts score when your computer is unusable for anything else?

Anyway, Fatburger, I do suggest you raise the voltage to over 1.7V now and set the PCI bus with a divider rather than locking it. Lower the RDRAM speed for now too. If everything is stable at 133MHz FSB then try raising the RDRAM speed again. You may be having a RAM issue.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the ULTIMATE PC processor

FatBurger · Mar 1, 2002

There is no option for changing the PCI bus speed. None whatsoever.

Quarter Pounder Inside
Don't step in the sarcasm!

aarona · Mar 1, 2002

What PCI slot do you have the raid card in? I have XP installed on a WD HD on a Promise Ultra100 IDE (nonraid) card in PCI slot 3. There is a lot of sharing of slots and devices explained in the manual. This may be a problem for example if the card is shared with USB or AGP or some other device when overclocked.

AMD_Man · Mar 1, 2002

Hmm, I've seen them in reviews, with the option to either set a divider or lock the bus at the default 33MHz.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the ULTIMATE PC processor

FatBurger · Mar 1, 2002

Hmm...I'm not sure, I'll look into that. I really doubt that's the problem, but I'll consider everything.

AMD_Man, if you could find me a link, that'd be great. I'd think it might be an old BIOS though.

Quarter Pounder Inside
Don't step in the sarcasm!

aarona · Mar 1, 2002

Post all your voltages at your best overclock so far. I read somewhere that someone was only getting 2.42vmem where I get 2.53vmem. Take the surface temp with the probe provided of your RDRAM. I got a 60mm fan on mine and it's at 31C - 35C variable, without the fan it would hit 45C.
Vmem 2.53
VIO voltage 3.39
+5 5.14
+12 12.17

Matisaro · Mar 1, 2002

There is no option for changing the PCI bus speed. None whatsoever.

Burger, ....man.....are you enjoying your p4?
Damn, the motherboard dosent lock the pci bus?

Dosent ray and fugger swear it does, what bios are you using?

"The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark"
No Overclock+stock hsf=GOOD!

Matisaro · Mar 1, 2002

Fugger, if you have to remove all you PCI and IDE devices expect the hard drive to get a P4 stable at high overclocks then everything about the P4 Northy being good at overclocking is an extreme stretch of the truth. It could even be called a lie. Hmm...it makes me wonder about your 3DMark2001 scores...what's the point of getting a 10,000pts score when your computer is unusable for anything else?

Now arent you glad you didnt choose to get a NW amd_man>? Hehe

"The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark"
No Overclock+stock hsf=GOOD!

AMD_Man · Mar 1, 2002

I'm not giving up yet. FatBurger still has a few things he can do, but if he can't lock the PCI bus, then he can't overclock, which sucks. We'll see... Anyway, I didn't realize I had two mistakes in one sentence! Ewww! I wrote you instead of your and expect instead of except. I need to work on my typing accuracy.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the ULTIMATE PC processor

aarona · Mar 1, 2002

Hey, you guys are in the wrong CPU forum, scroll back up.

Fatburger, check out this forum thread. A lot of experience on there with the TH7II and the feel I get from some users is not to use that "77" BIOS.

<A HREF="http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=70296" target="_new">http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=70296</A>

Edited by aarona on 03/01/02 10:52 AM.

FatBurger · Mar 1, 2002

I'll post voltages tonight, I'll also try going to 134 instead of 133. If what FUGGER said is right (PCI bumping down every so often), maybe it's just bumping down 1MHz late.

Yes, I'm enjoying my P4 very much so far. My memory scores in Sandra 2002 are through the roof (>3GB/s, instead of 600MB/s with my KT7a-RAID), and it's performed well so far. My harddrives are choking for some reason, haven't figured that out yet.
I'm still just starting overclocking, we'll see how far I can go.

Thanks for the link, I had a look and at least one person had good success with the 77 BIOS, so I'll leave it for now at least.

Quarter Pounder Inside
Don't step in the sarcasm!

FUGGER · Mar 1, 2002

I dont remove all my PCI devices, I usually bench with PCI network card installed. I was trying to remove all variables that could cause a problem with fatburgers overclock. He should be be hitting higher.

Im scoring 10.5k and my machine is very useable for anything else. in fact, its the opposite with a lot of the competition out there where they can only run for a few minutes at a time. My scores are with 100% stability.

Here is a <A HREF="http://fugger.netfirms.com/reporthpt.htm" target="_new">complete breakdown</A> of my machine and temps system temps and voltages at a non overclocked speed. sorry this is my 2.0Ghz CPU but this is the hardware I bench on except the CPU. This is with Arkua HSF and AVC retention only.

In this <A HREF="http://fugger.netfirms.com/reportxp.htm" target="_new">report </A>I was trying to increase the SSD score in Sandra, Mhz has little effect on a SSD. But it shows my voltages, temps and SSD scores. Cooling turned on

This is <A HREF="http://gamershq.madonion.com/compare2k1.shtml?2692208" target="_new">my 1.6a</A> on same hardware overclocked with cooling on.

I can still hit 2.4Ghz without cooling on, My cooling is used when I bench at highest speeds with video card. Still doubt my 10k scores?

I use my 1.6A on my P4T-E motherboard unless I bench for a higher score.

Im picking thru Visiontk GF4's now. expect new score this weekend =)

I will eventually end up with a Gainward GF4 750/Ultra. These should be the best overclockers.

Proving once again that <A HREF="http://www.zombo.com" target="_new">anything is possible</A>.Edited by fugger on 03/01/02 10:41 AM.

aarona · Mar 1, 2002

Thanks for the compare links Fugger.
All of your system voltages with your 2.0 are matching mine with my 1.6 P4 but I have my CPU voltage at a true 1.6volts running 2133Mhz and yours is 1.39volts CPU. This indicates my PSU is not dropping low when I up the CPU vcore. I also have more devices hooked up than you. This should give Fatburger some good comparisons.

<A HREF="http://aarona.50megs.com/photo.html" target="_new">http://aarona.50megs.com/photo.html</A>

Edited by aarona on 03/01/02 03:17 PM.

Overclocking my 1.6A

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