AMD 2500+ XP to 3200+ on Asus A7N8X Deluxe, problem.

[Hurmukka]

Hello there.

I have an Amd Athlon 2500+ XP Barton and Asus A7N8X2.0 Deluxe BIOS Rev 1007. I would like to OC it to 3200+.

I've tried to change the FSB to 200, setting the Memmory setting to Agressive, AGP Frequency to 66, i've tried Vcore voltage from the default 1.650 all the way to 1.750 and every time it starts up the computer showing that the CPU is 3200+ but there it stops. It stops before it makes the Ram memmory test, the last thing showing is the 3200+ cpu.
I have to clear the cmos to be able to re-enter Bios.

 

[Pain]

What RAM are you using?
Stock cooling with thermal pad won't work.

Stock cooling may work, it depends on the stock cooler. I have many of those boards OC'd and sometimes the lower speed cpus come with the same cooler as a 3200, so there is no reason to switch it necessarily.

Memory could certainly be an issue and it may need more voltge too. The stock DDR voltage on that board is 2.6 I think and you might want to raise it to 2.7, depending on the memory you have.

What I would suggest first of all is to put it back to default speeds, put the memory speed at Optimum and make sure everything boots, then start raising the fsb in small increments up to 200. When it stops working, then raise the core voltage.

 

[Hurmukka]

I am using 2 of these www.verkkokauppa.com/productimages/orig/5282_02.jpg

I have atm. the stock cooling fan which came with this 2500+ Boxed. I'm going to buy an Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu, but first i need to make sure i have any use for it. Do you think it hangs up due Boxed cooling is insufficient ?

The FSB is pretty weird, i can only raise it in large steps; 100, 133, 166 and 200. And i think the multiplier is locked so no help from that end.

DDR Voltage, yea that one i have not tried. But i'm a bit worried since this is my first time overclocking and i fear i might damage the DDR permanently. Any idea how much can these "stock" DDR memmory modules endure, voltagewise ?

 

[Pain]

You should be able to run that memory at any of the available voltage settings, at least on most boards. The standard adjustments would be 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, etc. Your board may not have any adjustments at all, or it might have others. What is the memory set to now? I wouldn't run it higher that necessary to get it to work, obviously.

I don't necessarily think the stock cooling is causing this problem. The only need to more cooling is if the thing is getting too hot, either under load or idle, but I would be very surprised if it is heating up to that point on boot.

 

[Hurmukka]

I tested now to up the memory only, i set the Memory frequency [By SPD]. Resulting Frequency 200. It started just as i had set the FSB to 200, it stopped just when it showed 2500+; never entering the memory test. And i needed to clear cmos to be able to get back to bios.

The default DDR Voltage is 2.6, it tried to up it to 2.7 but it did not help.

So i guess the memory is the problem ? Should i try it with DDR Voltage 2.8 ? Is it safe to run these memorys at such high voltage ?

 

[Anoobis]

Hurmukka needs to set his “System Performance” to [Expert] for more overclocking options. Not [Aggressive]. I suspect this is why he can only set his FSB in large increments.

You also need to realize that even though you would "like" to OC it to 3200+ speeds, you may not achieve it especially if the multiplier is locked.

A stock HSF is not recommended if you will eventually need to up the CPU voltage to achieve stability.

 

[Pain]

I also don't think a thermal pad is all that bad, but I do agree that a good HS is good to have, especially if someone wants to go above 2.2g.

 

[Hurmukka]

Now i tried with CPU default values at 2500+ and with RAM at 2.5 - 3 - 3 - 6 at 200. It didn't work. I tried with CPU values set to 3200+ and RAM at 2.5 - 3 - 3 - 6 and it didn't work. I also tried with 2.5 - 3 - 3 - 7 and nothing.

Should i try to up the RAM Voltage for this or ?

 

[Pain]

Keep the cpu at 2500+ and increase the memory voltage to 2.7.

 

[bobrishe]

I had smilar problem with A7N8X Deluxe 1.6. Any BIOS Revision higher than 1004 would give problems with overclocking. Try downgrading bios to earlier revisions.

 

[liquidx]

I have the same board, i would try updating to 1.09 first and see if that helps, in 1.08 there was some 400Mhz memory updates

 

[Hurmukka]

Ok thanks, that sounds promising. I hope it works.

btw. "A7N8X Deluxe BIOS 1009 for PCB revision 1.04, and 1.06 only" Is this suitable for my Motherboard ? I mean what is this PCB Revision 1.04, and 1.06 only ?

 

[Pain]

You have to look at the MB version stamped. It explains how to ID the board somewhere on the asus site.

 

[Hurmukka]

Ok, i've now updated my Bios to 1008. It didn't help.

But, i tried something new.
I set my FSB to 200 making it 11x200 and set my memory settings to 2.5-3-3-7 at 200 and DDR Voltage to 2.8, it started without problems. Only thing was that when Windows was about to boot it said "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt system32ntoskrnl.exe Please re-install a copy of the above file."

I also tried the same with 2.7 DDR Voltage, didn't start. Also tried with FSB set to 166 making it 11x166 the default 2500+ and memory settings to 200 2.5-3-3-7 DDR Voltage 2.8, it did not start.

Any ideas on that Windows thingy, it does not tell me that ntoskrnl.exe is missing or corrupt when i use my default CPU values.

And how healthy is it to keep DDR Voltage at 2.8 ? I mean i have my computer on almost 24/7.

 

[Pain]

The file error is not uncommon and is due to the machine not running properly. You might corrupt your disk if you keep messing with it, if it tried to write to the disk when it's having a fit.

2.8 is less than 10% higher than 2.6 so it shouldn't be a problem, but you've got other issues if you can't get your machine running at stock speeds and voltages.

 

[Dahak]

hello.as i owned a 2500 barton core i can assure you it will run as a 3200+.instead of changing fsb to 200,change it to 198-199.at 199 it will read as a3200+ and should run stable.goodluck and let me know how it goes.

 

[Hurmukka]

"2.8 is less than 10% higher than 2.6 so it shouldn't be a problem, but you've got other issues if you can't get your machine running at stock speeds and voltages."

Other issues if i can't get my machine running at stock speeds and voltages ?
Could you elaborate ?

 

[Pain]

I can't elaborate more than just to say that you have problems with something if you can't get the thing to run at stock speeds, and trying to get it running overclocked is futile until it runs stock. It may be a memory issue, or some other issue but the thing has problems.

Use only one memory stick and get it running. Then swap sticks and see if it still runs. Then use both sticks. If it doesn't work, switch memory slots. Start at the beginning and get it running else you'll be beating your head on a sharp corner for the rest of your life.

 

[Hurmukka]

Oh you mean stock as in memory at 200mhz with the default 2.6 DDR Voltage ? Yes, i will try this. Hope it will reveal something.

 

[Pain]

What I actually mean is stock as in 166 fsb with memory at 1:1. But, you could read stock as being cpu at 166 and memory at 200 because it is pc3200, so my mistake.

The bottom line is that if your machine won't run with the memory and the cpu at 166, then you have problems.

 

[Hurmukka]

Well now i have the default "stock" settings on both CPU and memory, CPU is running at 2500+ FSB 166 x11, memory is running at Dual-channel 166mhz with DDR Voltage at default 2.6.

I want to have CPU FSB at 200 and memory running Dual-channel at 200 so i could get the maximum out of my current setup.

 

[Pain]

So it is running perfectly stable at these settings. Prime95 runs for hours with no errors, etc.

If that is true, then raise the fsb. If you can raise it in small increments, do that until you get a failure, then increase the core voltage one notch and see if it becomes stable again. Lather, rinse, repeat.

 

[Hurmukka]

Now i tried with only 1 DDR memory module at a time, single channel. I used default Auto settings at 200 and FSB at 166. It works. Then i tried with the other one also alone single channel and it works. So both memory DDR sticks work by themselves at 200 but not together.

I also tried with one DDR stick at 200 and set the FSB at 200 x11, it did clear the bios entry screen and stopped where it would start to load windows. I then increased the Vcore voltage to 1.7 and it would start to load windows only just before entering in to windows it gave me an Blue Screen saying something like "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL".

Should i now assume that my DDR sticks are from a different batch and are not compatible at 200 as dual-channel ?

And should i try to increase the Vcore voltage more than 1.7 ? Or is this Windows Blue Screen something else ?

 

[Pain]

The a7n8x series of boards have steps between 166 and 200, and if you aren't seeing them then you don't have it set correctly to see them.

I'm not going to offer any more suggestions because it's just confusing the issue and I think you are at a point that you could do more harm than good and I don't want to be a part of any system melt down.

If you haven't done so already, be sure to read the sticky thread in the CPU forum about OC'ing an XP

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/newbie-guide-Overclocking-Athlon-XP-CPU-ftopict125714.html

Good luck.

 

[Hurmukka]

Well thank you guys anyway

Atm. i'm running my 2500+ Boxed, at 11x190 with both memory DDR sticks at dual-channel. Atm. i haven't done any stress test for this configuration but it seems to hold 45-55c temp.

Still would like to get the full 200 out of my fbs

Gona go buy myself that Zalman CNPS-7000B AlCu tomorrow and have a go with it.