I still need help...EP-8HMMI-A and A64 3200 Venice

[basketcase]

Anyone here have experience overclocking with an EPOX EP-8HMMI-A? I have paired it with an Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 754. I am having a hard time finding info on this board. Stock, it runs a multiplier of 11 and cpu is at 200. From what I have read about this cpu, it should easily get another 300-400 mhz, if not more. When I tried to up the cpu to 230 (2530 mhz) it boots to windows fine and the cpu stays around 30 degrees (Celcius) but locks up when I try to run a Doom 3 benchmark.

Here's the catch, I am using pc266 ram. In the bios I can set the ram multipier to 100 mhz, so with the cpu at 230, that put the ram at 115 mhz (or ddr230). That should be ok, as it is underclocking the ram. So, I am wondering where the problem is. One thing I am wondering is if the pci and agp buses are locked on this board. I can't seem to find anything in the bios to tell me. That may be the cause of the crashes. But, I find it hard to believe that with all the other settings on the board that you couldn't lock those.

Any other thoughts on what may be happening?

 

[basketcase]

Ok... this shows how much of a noob I am at oc'ing...
I think I figured out why I may have been having lockups. I am at work right now, so I can't test it out till later, but I think I forgot to change my HTT multiplier from 4x to 3x. That would have made my HTT bus 920 mhz, and it should be 800 mhz. I guess I will need to bump it down to 3x and that will put it at 690 mhz at this speed.

I wonder what will give me better performance.

Stock speed (220x11) 2200 mhz, ram at 133 mhz and HTT at 800 mhz. Or

OC'd at 230x11 for 2530 mhz, ram at 115 mhz and HTT at 690 mhz.

Which is better? Would the loss of 18 mhz on the ram and the loss of 110 mhz on the HTT bus negate the gains in cpu speed?

Then, if that was the problem, I wonder how high I will get the cpu core to. My board will allow up to 250 mhz, which would put me at 2750 mhz, ram 125 mhz and HTT at 750. Cross your fingers...

 

[basketcase]

OK, I didn't originally have the HTT set to 3x, so that may have been a problem. But, I tried setting that down to 3x, so that my HTT was at about 690 (cpu-z verified) and it still locks up. I am pretty sure that it is the agp/pci clock is not locked. Does anyone know if I can lock it on this board? I have looked through the bios setting, but I am not seeing an obvious setting for this. But, maybe it has an odd name... What is that setting usually called?

Can anyone help?

Thanks!

 

[basketcase]

Ok, I am sorry for posting so many times without any responses. But, I am kind of desperate.

Is there any programs, like CPU-Z, that can tell me what my pci and agp bus is running at? That way I can determine if it is locked or not when I overclock the fsb. From what I have read, it sounds like VIA chipsets don't usually have the agp/pci lock, but I have been unable to confirm if that is always the case. There isn't a whole lot of info on the board, that I can find atleast.

Another more general question. Why would they make motherboards that can increase the FSB, but not lock the AGP/PCI? It seems pointless to have that ability, without the lock. From what I have read, a system will never be stable with more than a couple mhz increase in either agp/pci bus.

Again, maybe I am missing those settings in the bios, because maybe they are not labeled with an obvious title like "AGP Lock" or "PCI Lock". Is there something else it is called? I do have a bunch of different things I can do regarding AGP and PCI, but I am afraid to just start turning stuff on and off.

Thanks again, and again, and again...

 

[basketcase]

I have given up on the OC. I have tried numerous things, and it doesn't appear that locking the AGP/PCI is possible.

Check out this post for some basic benchmarks I have run, compared to my old system. Nice bump in performance, in my opinion.
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1470340#1470340