Help me overclock my machine

[segap21]

Hi everyone,

Can anybody tell me whether my overclock is good or if I'm doing something wrong? It is a socket 939 AMD Atlhon64 X2 4400+, Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-9, 2x1GB DDR400 Corsair RAM, Leadtek 7800GT, WD250GB HDD.

The maximum stable overclock I can manage is 236MHz x 11 = 2.6GHz with the RAM at 2-3-3-6-1T running at 186MHz (according to CPU-Z). I've also found that if I relax it to 2.5-3-3-6-1T, I can run the RAM at 217MHz using a divider. The temperature at full load with both cores at 100% seems to be about 56C, while idle is about 31C (according to SpeedFan). Also, I need to run the CPU at 1.475V (up from stock of 1.350V) for it to be stable. In addition, for me to achieve any sort of decent overclock, I need to set the HTT multiplier to 1x or it won't even POST.

Essentially, I guess my questions are:
1. What do you reckon about this overclock?
2. Should I run at 2-3-3-6 186MHz or 2.5-3-3-6 217MHz?
3. Are the temperatures a bit toasty?
4. Why do I need to set the HTT multiplier to 1x when it clearly falls out of the "acceptable range" of HyperTransport bus speed around 1000MHz? According to lots of guides on the internet, everyone seems to be able to overclock to this level setting the HTT multiplier to 3x. Why can't I do it?

Thanks.

 

[segap21]

I find it incredible how a genuine request for assistance goes ignored yet some silly posts on other topics receive instant attention. This reflects badly on the quality of forum members here. Guess I won't be helping others out anymore.

 

[maverick7]

unfortunatly i agree with you , most of the people posting here are asking for help rather than giving it (myself included)...

i honestly dont know about ram settings the 2 3 4 5 etc.. (and if u could explain that to me that would be great)

though i do think if ur almost hitting 60 c i would relax the oc a bit or get better cooling.

 

[burn-e86]

of course it can overclock! It has the word ultra in it!
but seriously...did you search for info first? might not be your board spacific but you should be able to apply the information. so quit bitching about how your being passed over cause no one can be bothered to tell you to STFU!

reflects badly on the quality of forum members here

maybe you should try to post in the right section...i donno, the OVERCLOCK section might be a good idea

Guess I won't be helping others out anymore.

you've had 6 posts at time of writting...quit whining you POS

sorry if i'm a bit harsh...I apologise..
now if you want to overclock ur machine have a look at this thread, it applies to athlon XP but the concept is the same
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/newbie-guide-Overclocking-Athlon-XP-CPU-ftopict125714.html

 

[krazyIvan]

Hi, I was going to post on my results on OCing my new +4400 X2 and you beat me to it. First of all, if you have to set your HTT mult to X1 your system is not really stable. At 236MHz X 4HTT your HT Bus would only be 944MHz. That’s well below 1000MHz norm.

My system is very similar to yours only I have an Abit AN8 nF4 MB. I found safe, stable results to be: 228MHz X 11 (2500), HT X 5 (1140) and Ram @ 2-3-3-6 T1, 380MHz (Ram div @ 333MHz), VCC = 1.475V and min temp 39c, max temp 57c (on air: CM Hyper-48/AS-5) with Prime95 running on both cores.

I say "Safe and Stable" because I can actually run at 236MHz (in fact that was my original goal) but it requires VCC of 1.55 and my max temps hit 65c and that seems a bit un-safe for the little gain in MHz. Also another concern was my PWM power regulator was hitting 65c, and that’s a bit much.

Based on our results I would say 2.6GHz is the max this CPU will handle w/o water cooling but that the sweat spot (the point of diminishing returns) would seem to be 2.5GHz. An upgrade to water or replacing my quiet but slower fans would also allow higher speeds but the fan option would increase the noise.

Not as high as I had hoped for; BUT considering that’s better then TWO +4000 SanDiego core CPU’s I guess that’s not so bad.

 

[segap21]

Thank you for your input.

krazyIvan, your results seem similar to a lot of other people's overclocks. I just don't understand why I have to set my HTT multiplier to 1x.

though i do think if ur almost hitting 60 c i would relax the oc a bit or get better cooling.

Maverick7, I did consider getting better cooling but that would go against my whole principle of overclocking in the first place (obtaining more performance for no extra cost).

i honestly dont know about ram settings the 2 3 4 5 etc.. (and if u could explain that to me that would be great)

Check out this link from AnandTech. I was clueless like you once and referred to this article for explanation of RAM timings. It may be a bit too much to read but if you can understand it, it'll help a lot.
Memory Technology Overview

now if you want to overclock ur machine have a look at this thread, it applies to athlon XP but the concept is the same
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/newbie-guide-Overclocking-Athl...XP-CPU-

Thank you for the link, burn-e86, but I've already read it and it doesn't shed any light on my orginal question 4.

maybe you should try to post in the right section...i donno, the OVERCLOCK section might be a good idea

I do believe this is the General Discussion of the Overclocking section of the forums. There is no worthwhile substance to your suggestion.

Comments like:

quit bitching about how your being passed over cause no one can be bothered to tell you to STFU!

and

quit whining you POS

are uncalled for and are exactly what I'm talking about when I say

reflects badly on the quality of forum members here.

Flaming other forum members is not appreciated and does nothing but make you look arrogant.

you've had 6 posts at time of writting

If you bothered to run a search of my previous posts, burn-86, you would have noticed that although I only had 6 posts, the majority of them were actually answering other members queries.

I have since found an answer to my original question 2 about running my RAM timings and now know that it is better the run at 2-3-3-6-1T 186MHz rather than 2.5-3-3-6-1T 217MHz. This is because the first setup results in latency of ~10.75ns and the second setup is ~11.52ns (lower latency is better).

I'm still looking for an answer to my original question 4 about the HTT multiplier. If anyone can explain or provide some links, I would aprreciate it.