Hello everyone I just recently built a system around the X2 3800+ Socket AM2. The goal of this thread is to help everyone out there with their AM2 overclocking. I am also new to overclocking and this new platform and I have many questions myself. I want to thank everyone in advance. I would also like to say that what I have working is unique to me and not everyone is going to get the same results I have. I would also like to ask posters to refrain from flaming me because I am only out to help people and get help for myself. Thank you.
This is my first attempt to go dualcore and I am amazed at the potential of this processor. It is truely the enthusiast's dream CPU. I bought the CPU a few days after the price dropped happened and I picked it up for around $160 after shipping. Here is the list of parts I used to build my computer.
CPU: AMD Athlon X2 3800+ Windsor
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5 AM2
Graphics card: eVGA 7900GT KO 256mb
Memory: Patriot eXtreme Performance 1GB DDR2 800
- cas. 4-4-4-12
PowerSupply: KINGWIN ABT-600MA1 600w Modular PS
Case: GIGABYTE 3D AURORA
GPU Cooling: ZALMAN VF900 - CU 2
CPU Cooling: ZALMAN CNPS 9500 AM2
HardDrive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB
OpticalDrive: NEC 16X DVD+-R Burner
OS: Windows XP Pro w/ SP2
My Current OverClocks:
CPU:
Voltage: 1.425v
Core Speed: 2388.3 MHz
Multiplier: X 10.0
Bus Speed: 240.0
RAM:
Frequency: 398.1
CAS Latency: 5.0 clocks
Voltage: +0.2
NB-->SB HT Speed: 4x
NM<--SB HT Speed: 4x
Memory Clock: DDR 667
PCI-X:
Locked at 100 MHz
CPU Smart Fan Control -- Disabled
With these settings I have had a perfect cool running overclock to 2.4GHz.
Based off recomendations from people throught the TG Forums I was able to accomplish the overclock but I have a few questions.
The only way to keep my memory from frying itself was to change the memory clock from DDR800 down to DDR667. This proved to be perfect for an overclock to 2.4GHz. My frequency is currently at the above noted 398.1 and with DDR2 you multiply that by two and I nearly have DDR800, atleast thats how i think it works. So I thought everything was going great until I realized my Cas. Latency is now 5.0... I have Cas. 4.0 ram. What happened here? I know I could go in and manually change it thanks to a multitude of overcocking settings in my BIOS, but my question is... is that safe? Did the Cas. latency get raised automaticly to prevent my ram from becoming damaged? If anyone has any infromation about this I would love to hear it.
My next question is what the hell is "NB-->SB HT Speed" and "NM<--SB HT Speed" I figured this is the HT ratio that has been talked about so I dropped both directions down to 4x. I figured that instead of just one setting the Gigabyte board is allowing me to manage the speeds of both directions. If anyone could clarify this that would be awesome.
I would also like to know if anyone notices any settings I might have misunderstood and should change. I am open for any advice.
Now I have compiled a list of temperatures and OC numbers I used to compile some before and after data. Now this is not the most accurate test but this is how i tested:
--To test IDLE temp. I started up the computer and let it sit there for 15 minutes. After which I would take my GPU and CPU temps.
--To test LOAD temp. I ran 3DMark06 and immidiately after the last test was ran I used NVidia advanced settings and EasyTune to get my current GPU and CPU settings. Here are the compiled results:
**Please note that I didnt take as many temp readings as I should have but I wanted only accurate results so if I happened to be away from my computer when 3DMark finished then I didnt record the temp readings. Sorry****
Temps baseline. CPU OverClock: 2.14GHz GPU: Stock
IDLE LOAD
CPU: 35C 50C
GPU: 49C 57C
Temps after new ZALMAN HSF setup CPU OverClock: 2.38GHz GPU: stock
IDLE LOAD
CPU: 32C 40C
GPU: 45C 50C
I couldnt believe the readings either. The CPU temp drops were amazing and I believe the ZALMAN AM2 CPU cooler is worth every penny, I dont care what anyone else says.
3DMARK06 Scores:
Stock Cooling:
CPU OverClock: 2.1GHz GPU OverClock: Stock
SM2.0 Score: 2179
HDR/SM3.0 Score: 2223
CPU Score: 1538
TOTAL: 5168
CPU OverClock: 2.2ghz GPU OverClock: 540/691
SM2.0 Score: 2331
HDR/SM3.0 Score: 2352
CPU Score: 1648
TOTAL: 5506
After ZALMAN HSF Setup:
CPU OverClock: 2.38GHz GPU OverClock: Stock
SM2.0 Score: 2220
HDR/SM3.0 Score: 2296
CPU Score: 1775
TOTAL: 5424
CPU OverClock: 2.38ghz GPU OverClock: 552/809
SM2.0 Score: 2445
HDR/SM3.0 Score: 2517
CPU Score: 1750
TOTAL: 5837
So here is most of the data I have compiled on my system. I would kill to get any advice to make my system more stable. I am also looking to push my CPU to 2.6GHz and meet X2 5000+ speeds. All on air cooling. If I can achieve that goal I will be floored, because the newegg.com price for the X2 5000+ is $759.00 my X2 3800+ was $160.00. This is why I mod. Feel free to send me a PM if you have a question.
Also a bit of advice to anyone that owns the same MB I have. If you cant find the advanced memory settings you need to press either ctrl+shit+F1 or alt+shift+F1 to unlock the CMOS settings catagory. You wouldnt believe how long it took me to figure that out. Last I heard F11 was the magic key!
Thanks again and I am looking forward to responses to my thread!
This is my first attempt to go dualcore and I am amazed at the potential of this processor. It is truely the enthusiast's dream CPU. I bought the CPU a few days after the price dropped happened and I picked it up for around $160 after shipping. Here is the list of parts I used to build my computer.
CPU: AMD Athlon X2 3800+ Windsor
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5 AM2
Graphics card: eVGA 7900GT KO 256mb
Memory: Patriot eXtreme Performance 1GB DDR2 800
- cas. 4-4-4-12
PowerSupply: KINGWIN ABT-600MA1 600w Modular PS
Case: GIGABYTE 3D AURORA
GPU Cooling: ZALMAN VF900 - CU 2
CPU Cooling: ZALMAN CNPS 9500 AM2
HardDrive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB
OpticalDrive: NEC 16X DVD+-R Burner
OS: Windows XP Pro w/ SP2
My Current OverClocks:
CPU:
Voltage: 1.425v
Core Speed: 2388.3 MHz
Multiplier: X 10.0
Bus Speed: 240.0
RAM:
Frequency: 398.1
CAS Latency: 5.0 clocks
Voltage: +0.2
NB-->SB HT Speed: 4x
NM<--SB HT Speed: 4x
Memory Clock: DDR 667
PCI-X:
Locked at 100 MHz
CPU Smart Fan Control -- Disabled
With these settings I have had a perfect cool running overclock to 2.4GHz.
Based off recomendations from people throught the TG Forums I was able to accomplish the overclock but I have a few questions.
The only way to keep my memory from frying itself was to change the memory clock from DDR800 down to DDR667. This proved to be perfect for an overclock to 2.4GHz. My frequency is currently at the above noted 398.1 and with DDR2 you multiply that by two and I nearly have DDR800, atleast thats how i think it works. So I thought everything was going great until I realized my Cas. Latency is now 5.0... I have Cas. 4.0 ram. What happened here? I know I could go in and manually change it thanks to a multitude of overcocking settings in my BIOS, but my question is... is that safe? Did the Cas. latency get raised automaticly to prevent my ram from becoming damaged? If anyone has any infromation about this I would love to hear it.
My next question is what the hell is "NB-->SB HT Speed" and "NM<--SB HT Speed" I figured this is the HT ratio that has been talked about so I dropped both directions down to 4x. I figured that instead of just one setting the Gigabyte board is allowing me to manage the speeds of both directions. If anyone could clarify this that would be awesome.
I would also like to know if anyone notices any settings I might have misunderstood and should change. I am open for any advice.
Now I have compiled a list of temperatures and OC numbers I used to compile some before and after data. Now this is not the most accurate test but this is how i tested:
--To test IDLE temp. I started up the computer and let it sit there for 15 minutes. After which I would take my GPU and CPU temps.
--To test LOAD temp. I ran 3DMark06 and immidiately after the last test was ran I used NVidia advanced settings and EasyTune to get my current GPU and CPU settings. Here are the compiled results:
**Please note that I didnt take as many temp readings as I should have but I wanted only accurate results so if I happened to be away from my computer when 3DMark finished then I didnt record the temp readings. Sorry****
Temps baseline. CPU OverClock: 2.14GHz GPU: Stock
IDLE LOAD
CPU: 35C 50C
GPU: 49C 57C
Temps after new ZALMAN HSF setup CPU OverClock: 2.38GHz GPU: stock
IDLE LOAD
CPU: 32C 40C
GPU: 45C 50C
I couldnt believe the readings either. The CPU temp drops were amazing and I believe the ZALMAN AM2 CPU cooler is worth every penny, I dont care what anyone else says.
3DMARK06 Scores:
Stock Cooling:
CPU OverClock: 2.1GHz GPU OverClock: Stock
SM2.0 Score: 2179
HDR/SM3.0 Score: 2223
CPU Score: 1538
TOTAL: 5168
CPU OverClock: 2.2ghz GPU OverClock: 540/691
SM2.0 Score: 2331
HDR/SM3.0 Score: 2352
CPU Score: 1648
TOTAL: 5506
After ZALMAN HSF Setup:
CPU OverClock: 2.38GHz GPU OverClock: Stock
SM2.0 Score: 2220
HDR/SM3.0 Score: 2296
CPU Score: 1775
TOTAL: 5424
CPU OverClock: 2.38ghz GPU OverClock: 552/809
SM2.0 Score: 2445
HDR/SM3.0 Score: 2517
CPU Score: 1750
TOTAL: 5837
So here is most of the data I have compiled on my system. I would kill to get any advice to make my system more stable. I am also looking to push my CPU to 2.6GHz and meet X2 5000+ speeds. All on air cooling. If I can achieve that goal I will be floored, because the newegg.com price for the X2 5000+ is $759.00 my X2 3800+ was $160.00. This is why I mod. Feel free to send me a PM if you have a question.
Also a bit of advice to anyone that owns the same MB I have. If you cant find the advanced memory settings you need to press either ctrl+shit+F1 or alt+shift+F1 to unlock the CMOS settings catagory. You wouldnt believe how long it took me to figure that out. Last I heard F11 was the magic key!
Thanks again and I am looking forward to responses to my thread!