**ABIT BH7 / P4 2.40B C1**

[Technonut]

The big brown truck arrived this morning with my goodies from ExcaliberPC . Upon first inspection, the BH7 is what I expected to see... A "no-frills" mobo that looks like it is up to some down and dirty OC'ing.

The board is small compared to others, and the layout is good. I applied AS3 to the Northbridge and installed a fan. WinXP Pro installed without a hitch at default speed.

I have decided to start off my testing with air-cooling since everyone does not have a Prometeia. (Although that bad boy will be installed as soon as the air-cooled testing is complete ) I do not have any high-end P4 HSFs around, so I will use the copper bottom retail HSF from my P4 3.06.

***System***

ABIT BH7
P4 2.40B C1 (SL6EF Pack Date 02/18/03)
512MB PC2700 Kingston Value RAM (Winbond BH-6)
40GB Maxtor D740-X ATA133
Antec TruePower 550
Radeon 9700 Pro
Acoustic Edge
WinFast TV 2000 XP

I will return shortly with the first run of results......

I started out @ 145MHz FSB... Everything silky smooth...

CPUZ.. 2618 MHz / 145.5 MHz FSB / VCore 1.472 (BIOS Default) / RAM (3:4) 2-7-3-3 / 388 MHz

Sandra

CPU: 6756 1509/3427
MEM: 2855/2846
MM: 10440/13270

3DMark2001: 15045
3DMark03: 4782

PCMark 2002

CPU: 6498
MEM: 7170
HDD: 854

CodeCreatures Benchmark: 3084

Next stop... 150 MHz FSB.. (Will it go @ BIOS default VCore?? )

CPUZ.. 2708 MHz / 150.5 MHz FSB / VCore 1.472 (BIOS Default) / RAM (3:4) 2-7-3-3 / 401.3 MHz

Sandra

CPU: 6986 1561/3544
MEM: 2948/2937
MM: 10793/13732

3DMark2001: 15256
3DMark03: 4821

PCMark 2002

CPU: 6717
MEM: 7350
HDD: 831

CodeCreatures Benchmark: 3084

How about 155 MHz FSB???....

CPUZ.. 2798.9 MHz / 155.5 MHz FSB / VCore 1.472 (BIOS Default) / RAM (3:4) 2-7-3-3 / 414.7 MHz

Sandra

CPU: 7914 1612/3654
MEM: 3061/3038
MM: 11156/14182

3DMark2001: 15637
3DMark03: 4854

PCMark 2002

CPU: 6946
MEM: 7606
HDD: 848

CodeCreatures Benchmark: 3084

On to 160 MHz FSB....

 

[gsethi]

Cool...i have the same board coming this way tomorrow
Eagerly waiting for your results.

Good Luck

 

[lupohki]

I await your results. I have one coming too.

edit: If you've tested that CPU on another board before as well, please give o/c number comparisons.

 

[slag]

I am eagerly awaiting the results as well.. hurry!!!

 

[wicktron]

gogogo!
I want this setup except with a multiple VID P4 (ie: 2.4b SL6RZ)

 

[Technonut]

If you've tested that CPU on another board before as well, please give o/c number comparisons.

No, this one is fresh out of the box into the BH7...

First results up....

 

[SinfulWeeper]

 

[jpetermann]

Alright Techno... let's see that thing Rock & Roll!!


PJ

 

[maxSe]

I knew you'd be all over this Sonny... Dammit... Mine won't be here until Tuesday... I think I'll just run some benches and record them with Max2 v2 (probably redundant since both are PE boards... ).

Sonny, I noticed that default core is 1.472v.. With C1, it should be well above that... I guess Abit's undervolting is still in full force, huh?

 

[jpetermann]

Unless he got one of the new multivid chips... I have one on the way my self!

PJ

Originally posted by: maxSe
I knew you'd be all over this Sonny... Dammit... Mine won't be here until Tuesday... I think I'll just run some benches and record them with Max2 v2 (probably redundant since both are PE boards... ).

Sonny, I noticed that default core is 1.472v.. With C1, it should be well above that... I guess Abit's undervolting is still in full force, huh?

 

[slag]

You should start at 170 mhz FSB and work up from there. Your C1 2.4b should easily hit at least 3.06 ghz

 

[Technonut]

Sonny, I noticed that default core is 1.472v.. With C1, it should be well above that... I guess Abit's undervolting is still in full force, huh?

Yes, the default processor voltage is 1.525v. The BIOS default gives 1.472v. I want to see how far it will go @ BIOS default. I am skipping Prime95 for now due to time, but will run a full 24 hours when I hit top-end on air-cooling. When necessary, I will bump the VCore to processor default.

2nd round of testing up....

 

[Mikki]

Sweet!!! Very nice Technonut...I look forward to seeing what that can do, esp in the Prommie... Good luck!

 

[Tates]

Go Sonny

 

[human2k]

Originally posted by: slag
You should start at 170 mhz FSB and work up from there. Your C1 2.4b should easily hit at least 3.06 ghz

Not all C1's will do 3GHZ+, thugs has one that tops 2.8GHZ max, Ive heard of a few guys on here with the same stepping that hit the wall at 2.7 and 2.9. DO a search.

 

[Technonut]

Quick update.... The 2.4B was benchmark stable up to 2978 MHz / 1.472v I had to bump the VCore to 1.632v idle / 1.60v Prime95 load to currently top out @ 3068.9 MHz / 170.5 FSB Not too bad for air-cooling with a retail 3.06 HSF.

I am very tired of running benchmarks now, and am going to hit the sack... I will continue running Prime95 tonight, and update tomorrow.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone.... I have a feeling that this rig may see close to 200 MHz FSB when I freeze it.

 

[gsethi]

Originally posted by: human2k

Originally posted by: slag
You should start at 170 mhz FSB and work up from there. Your C1 2.4b should easily hit at least 3.06 ghz

Not all C1's will do 3GHZ+, thugs has one that tops 2.8GHZ max, Ive heard of a few guys on here with the same stepping that hit the wall at 2.7 and 2.9. DO a search.

I concur....I have had 3 C1 P4 2.40B so far.

One of them topped at 2.80 Ghz
Other topped at 2.90 Ghz
Last one topped at 2.95 Ghz or so

tested all 3 of them w/ 1.80v Max (i returned all the chips though.....gotta love Frys for testing CPUs )

 

[Technonut]

Well, my goal with air-cooling was 3.0 GHz at default VCore.. Since the BH7 undervolts, I have to settle for one notch above default. (1.552v) Prime95 Stable for over 5 hours. I will call this a wrap on air- cooling. I have raised the VCore to 1.712 and completed all benchmarks @ 3248.9 MHz / 180.5 MHz FSB, so I think that the results with the Prometeia should be interesting...

CPUZ.. 3014 MHz / 167.5 MHz FSB / VCore 1.552 / RAM (4:5) 2-7-3-3 / 418.7 MHz

Sandra

CPU: 7893 1738/3943
MEM: 3098/3088
MM: 12020/15274

3DMark2001: 16000
3DMark03: 4889

PCMark 2002

CPU: 7459
MEM: 7777
HDD: 845

 

[maxSe]

Sonny, quick question on your northbridge cooling.. Are you using the stock HS with AS applied and a fan on it, or are you using an aftermarket cooler? I couldn't use my chrystal orb on the NB for my IT7 Max2 due to the lack of mounting holes, and from what I saw on the pictures, I didn't see any mounting holes on BH-7 either...

Does the NB seem to run hot while oc'ing? I noticed the HS on it (I applied AS3 on the stock HS with my IT7) run hot to touch (hot, as in I can't rest my finger on it for more than 10 seconds..) while running above 180fsb... I suspect the NB chipset is the limiting factor in most of the PE boards while running at high fsb.

 

[Technonut]

Sean, I am using the factory NB HS with a fan. I just cleaned off the thermal tape and applied AS3.

I have not touched the NB HS without a fan, but with the fan running @ 180 MHz FSB, it is not very hot. I may try unplugging the fan to see how hot it does get..... The BH7 should not need a NB fan to run high FSB speeds... It is just a habit of mine to throw one on. Dammit Sean, you have me curious now, I will probably be taking temp readings of the NB for hours to determine stability points..

 

[maxSe]

I just wanted to see if the new caps and 4-phase have improved the NB stability (I don't even know whether they are relevant...). It came up when Erik (ErikaeanLogic) and I were talking about our rigs and he noticed that the NB was running quite hot on his P4G8X as well (both of us were/are struggling to get over that 195fsb mark... ). Since then, I placed a 80mm fan on top of my vid card so that it's blowing over the NB heatsink, but still not much of improvement... His chip and my chip are getting to 180~190fsb range at very close to default (my chip is running 180fsb at 1.52v actual), so we're thinking 200fsb mark *should* be within reach...

I will probably be taking temp readings of the NB for hours to determine stability points..

If you do this, I'd be very, very interested in this. That's why you're DA MAN!!

 

[jhites]

:Q


That pretty much says it all.

 

[ErikaeanLogic]

I can't wait to see how you'll fare on this new Abit board! Alas, the BH6. . .I remember it well!

What's the date of manufacture on your P4? I've found that P4's with the same pack date can (and usually do) have widely varying dates of manufacture. So, what are you doing with that 3.06, eh? I'd be willing to accept a tax-deductable donation of it if that helps you out, heh.

As far as the NB limitation goes, my best experience has been with the P4B533. I was able to run a P4m at 225fsb, default voltage, totally stable (endless hours of P95, etc.) on that badboy. It looks as though I may have to dump my P4G8X and spring for Canterwood (no pun intended) when it comes out, in the interest of removing the fsb limitation on my P4. I'm cruising along, completely crash-free, at 189fsb (3402MHz) with H2O now, and can Prime for over 6 hours+ at 3474, but things get dice-y after that: have to max out the Vagp and Vdimm (presumably to help the voltage flow into the NB), no amount of Vcore will help stabilize after that, etc. I wonder how my chip would do on your Prommie!?

Looking forward to seeing more outta yer new rig.

 

[Technonut]

What's the date of manufacture on your P4?

Week 02/2003... Philippines.

So, what are you doing with that 3.06, eh? I'd be willing to accept a tax-deductable donation of it if that helps you out, heh.

LOL! I am just waiting for the right mobo to come along... I don't really like any of the GB offerings so far... The Gigabyte SINXP1394 SiS 655 was ok except for the buggy DPS and A0 stepping I received.

This 2.4B / BH7 combo is just something to fool with until "the" mobo comes along for my 3.06.

 

[Technonut]

Threw on the Prometeia..... Prime95 1 hour so far @ :

3338.9 MHz / 185.5 MHz FSB / VCore 1.680 (Load) / RAM (1:1) 2-6-2-2 / 371 MHz

I'll let Prime95 go for the rest of the afternoon, run benchmarks, and then shoot for 190 MHz FSB...

EDIT: ErikaeanLogic: Wanna swap processors?? I would like to try yours on phase change...