Socket 939 overclocking MBs. What have you got?

[segap21]

To all those running AMD socket 939 processors, which motherboard do you use for overclocking?

I've got a 4400+ in a Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-9 and it can't overclock for **** without setting the HT multiplier to 1x. Serious instability.

Anyone else have better luck?

 

[nigelf]

i have a dfi nf4 ultra. its the ultimate 939 oc board. i like it. unlimited tweaking options and rock solid at pretty much any setting

 

[segap21]

yeah, that HS could grill a steak on it! (my finger has grill marks from touching it). That Jing Ting Forcetake cooler looks hella chunky to be dangling from my MB like that!

Did you try OC'ing before you got that Jing Ting? If so, did you have to set your HT multiplier to 1x as well?

I have a 7800GT at the moment which overhangs the heatsink so I don't know if that Jing Ting could squeeze in there.

By the way, how did you get the heatsink off? Mine doesn't look like it has any screws on it.

 

[segap21]

Thanks. (Now where do you get one of those Jing Tings in Australia?)

 

[segap21]

I was just checking out PC Case Gear myself. Looks like they're based in Melbourne. I wish someone in Brisbane had one.

 

[segap21]

They probably would. It's just that I'd rather pick up an order than have it delivered. (I get to check the parts before paying for them and I won't have to pay a delivery fee.)

 

[segap21]

I'm just checking out the reviews on the Jing Ting found at the bottom of
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_inf...mp;prod
It looks like a tight fit with a 7800GT. I'm not sure if I'd be able to squeeze it in my setup. You wouldn't happen to have pics of how you set it up by any chance?

 

[Mousemonkey]

An Abit AN8 32x goes quite well, I've got a 3800x2 running @ 2.7Ghz HT @ x4 RAM @ 225/DDR 450 and it's rock solid stable, sorry to read of your Gigabyte woes I always used to like their boards but just recently I've been reading more and more posts from people who have issues with them be they 939, 775 or AM2, but if you think that the Jing Ting cooler is a bit big then check out this puppy http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/printpage/389/2 20% bigger than the 9500 8O

 

[breedalot]

i have a foxconn NF4K8AC-RS great buget ocer runing a a64 3000 @ 2.5 with ram at 225 or there abouts on a very cheap mobo dfi eat your heart out lol

 

[segap21]

That is big, but isn't that cooler for a CPU? The Jing Ting is for the chipset.

 

[frank43]

I have a Dfi nf4 Ultra-D motherboard.
Has been the best board I have ever owned.
It is running a athlon 64x2-64 dual core at 2.7ghz stock cpu is 2.0 ghz
Fsb is 270 with 1 to 1 ratio.
Stable as a rock.
Memory is Ocz Platinum rev2 3200 with samsung tccd chips

Frank

 

[HA_ZEE]

I use an Asus AN8-E with an AMD 4000. The chip is good to 2.76 GHZ stable. The FSB will not go above 230 mhz and stay stable (regardless of multiplier). I use Corsair XMS PC 4000 memory and the Northbridge has an Coolermaster CM blue cooler. This cooler is not offset and lightly touches my x1900xt video card (I would not use it agin in the future)
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/ProductList.aspx?catID=102

I just purchased a Abit motherboard with the ATI chipset:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127234 and want to see if it overclocks better plus add a second videocard.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Yeah you're right mate, it does ah heck all for the chipset, my bad, still it do look don't it

 

[Mousemonkey]

Dude, you might want to disable the uGuru software in windows, you have to install it but just stop it from starting when windoze fires up, damn thing gave me so many lockups I thought I'd bought a lemon but once I disabled that I found I could go crazy with the settings and the board just laps it up!, hope you have fun and good times with it my friend, a great choice IMHO

 

[HA_ZEE]

Thanks for the tip, will take care of it first thing. The board seemed to get great reviews on newegg. The board is really cheap now (less than $100 with MIR) so I couldn't pass it up. Will let you now how it works out.

 

[unsmart]

from this page[ http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?id=1598&cid=6&pg=9 ]it looks like this is a good OCer 290 at 4x ht. I thought my msi k8n neo4/sli NB was over heating but I think the NF4's just run hot. It looks like you have a passive hs, could you just piont a small fan at it or even make a duct.
By the way my msi neo ran may opty 146 @2.972 [972mhz OC] stable and would boot to windows at 3.2 my temps where 42c max in prime on air. I just got a dfi ultra d and new PSU [ which was my prob vcore drope to 1.47 under load ] so I think with good voltage 3gh is possible. With a vcore that stays at 1.5 heat might be my new prob.

powmax sucks

 

[segap21]

Thanks for the link. In fact, I remember checking that specific review out before purchasing my MB and because of the large OC he obtained, I was convinced. Which is why I don't understand how my board can't OC much if I stay on a HT multiplier of 4x. The highest OC I've ever got (and I was not satisfied) was around 2.5 GHz with my Vcore raised to about 1.45v and the HT had to be at 1x (which sux).

Do you really reckon that the chipset is too hot to allow me to stay on 4x HT, or do I just have a dud board? I don't seem convinced that cooling the chipset further will allow me to get a better OC. The guy in the review got an awsome OC without even doing anything to the chipset cooling.

I even tried flashing my bios to an OLDER version but it was useless.

 

[segap21]

HA_ZEE, let us know how that Abit board goes.

 

[unsmart]

It's really hard to say whats holding you back. heat may be it but I think a setting is the prob. I've heard of some odd stuff killing and OC, even whats pluged it to what port.
What I do is disable everything I don't need on the mobo and check the web for where I'm stuck. GA-K8N Ultra-9 and then type in your CPU and highest OC. I find alot of the time someone else has the same thing going on.
Can you post system specs with ram timings and highest fsb. that may help get to the issue faster.

 

[speedemon]

Ive got an A8N-E ASUS Nforce4 Corsair XMS Athlon x2 3800
Had that config all the way up to 2.8 but I like to stay cool so its @2.4 HTT 960
mhz x4 XMS is @ 480 2.5 3 3 6

 

[sirheck]

i use an asus a8n 32sli deluxe.



and have a x2 4400. got the same with my old 3700 sandy.

 

[JBS181818]

yea. DFI lanparty, all of them for the most part, are incredible and give you just about every option possible. They actually give you too many options if you don't know what you're doing. But they get the job done the best. They also let you save certain overclocking profiles to quickly load up depending on your needs.

 

[Dahak]

I have an EVGA nf4 mb and it seems to work just fine.Although I had an issue or two in the beginning,it seems to be runnning great now.Needed a bios update.Anyways I have a very similar system to you so goodluck.

Dahak

AMD X2-4400+@2.4 S-939
EVGA NF4 SLI MB
2X7800GT IN SLI
2X1GIG DDR IN DC MODE
WD300GIG HD
EXTREME 19IN.MONITOR 1280X1024
ACE 520WATT PSU
COOLERMASTER MINI R120

 

[segap21]

This is my setup: 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). 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.

Just out of curiosity, I tried a mad OC just to see how high I could go. I managed 280MHz x 10 = 2.8GHz with the RAM at 2.5-3-3-6-1T, but that was WAY TOO HOT (Vcore was at 1.650V)! I didn't do any stress testing at that speed; it just managed to boot into Windows.

What bothers me is the darn HTT multiplier which needs to be set at 1x and I don't like that.