AthlonXP 333mhz Bus-- But I want memory at 400mhz

[axemurderer83]

So I've been investing a little money into my older computer. I upgraded the motherboard to an MSI board with nForce2 chipset. the chip I am using is an AthlonXP 3000 w/ 333mhz bus.

I upgraded the memory to 2 PC-3200 512mb Patriot Signature Series chips (dual-channel). All the settings are still set to Auto, so does this mean that my memory is running at sub-optimal speeds? Does the bus have to be 400mhz to get the best out of my new memory?

I believe all the multipliers are unlocked, and I'm willing to O/C the chip a little if I have to. Any help would be appreciated, even if somebody could just point me in the right direction-- I've been on Google for hours with no luck.

 

[mad_fitzy]

Where do you want pointing to in regard to overclocking? In response to the DDR400 question, there should be a setting for speed that you should set to spd instead of auto. That should get your memory running at 400mhz. But in my experience Athlon XP's run better (read:faster) when the memory is running sync'd with the fsb which is, consequently, 333mhz.

 

[axemurderer83]

right, the O/C-ing would be in the form of upping the FSB from 333 to 400 (or 166 to 200, to be technical). I've also heard that running the memory and CPU out of sync does not improve performance much.

Is this advisable? What should my multiplier setting be?

 

[mad_fitzy]

Correct. Athlon XP's do not benefit from running mem/fsb out of sync at all. I have an XP2600+ running at 2.3ghz which I did by upping the fsb from 166 to 200 (my multiplier is 11.5) and upping my voltage to 1.85 with good cooling. How do you know your multiplier is unlocked? If it is unlocked set it to a low number like 9, then raise your fsb as high as you can with your memory sync'd until it wont boot or causes random lockups in windows. This will more than likely be the limit of your memory so back it down until you dont get lockups and then run memtest to make sure your ram is stable. Then up your multiplier little by little until the same happens. Back it off then prime it for an extended period of time keeping an eye on temps. If your multiplier is locked simply raise your fsb (and voltage according) until random restarts kick in. Back it off and prime it until it is stable. As far as is it advisable. Its your computer and your money. No one else can tell you to do it or not.

 

[axemurderer83]

ok thanks for the tip

 

[axemurderer83]

well all I did was change the multiplier to 9x, the voltage from 1.6 to 1.65, and the FSB to 200. Now the system won't even POST-no beeps, no nothing, monitor doesn't come out of suspend state either. ( I did it to myself)

I've tried clearing the CMOS, took out the battery and unplugged the thing too. still nothing. right now I wish I had an extra processor handy to see if it POSTs with that.

so what did I do? is my CPU fried? the only other thing i can think of is that when I was done in the BIOS, i clicked "save and exit" and then the computer just went to a blank screen and sat there. after a minute I hit the reset button. is it possible my BIOS got erased somehow? how would I go about fixing it?

 

[capnbfg]

I've encountered that same problem several times when overclocking both my T-Bird 1.3 and my XP2800+. All I ever did to recover the system was to just leave it alone for a while and go do something else. Then when I came back and tried booting again it would let me get to the BIOS and drop the settings back a tad. It's possible that I was just lucky, although I know a couple friends who were equally fortunate when overclocking XP2500+ rigs.

By the way, what does POST mean? I've always done my overclocking by trial and error and without worries, thus I've never read PC forums until recently and this term is new to me. Thanks.

Good luck with your system, I hope it works out well.

 

[chocobocorey]

I've encountered that same problem several times when overclocking both my T-Bird 1.3 and my XP2800+. All I ever did to recover the system was to just leave it alone for a while and go do something else. Then when I came back and tried booting again it would let me get to the BIOS and drop the settings back a tad. It's possible that I was just lucky, although I know a couple friends who were equally fortunate when overclocking XP2500+ rigs.

By the way, what does POST mean? I've always done my overclocking by trial and error and without worries, thus I've never read PC forums until recently and this term is new to me. Thanks.

on screen test. all that crap that the BIOS shows you at startup when the BIOS initliaizes your hardware

 

[axemurderer83]

yeah, there's it stands for "power on self test". every time a computer turns on, it tests all the mandatory pieces of hardware for it to run. if it doesn't pass the test, then it isn't "POST"-ing, meaning you're staring at a black screen

 

[thechristopher]

Your ram is running at 333 because the Athlon is a socket 754 with a single memory controller on the chip. It will run at 400 with double sided ram in one chanel only. If you use two sticks speed drops to 333.

 

[thechristopher]

There is a jumper on the board to clear cmos, try that for a boot

 

[Pain]

It's a socket A, 32 bit Athlon XP.

 

[thechristopher]

Awe crap - I was up too late and I am looking stupid now.

Will think then attempt a vaguely correct sollution