G31 overclocking question

[VirtualLarry]

I recently bought an ASrock Wolfdale1333 board, which is based on a 945GC chipset. It has problems overclocking a 200FSB CPU to 333FSB, the most it will go is 266FSB, without a BSEL mod. It also overclocks the PCI-E when you OC the FSB. Not good.

I was wondering if this G31 chipset based board has a similar problem with overclocking, or if it overclocks like the P35 - eg. no problem with straps or PCI-E freq dividers?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128078

From a newegg review: "Other Thoughts: FOR OVERCLOCKERS: As of writing this, the lowest RAM multiplier available is 2.66x. That is fine unless you have a CPU with a low multiplier. I got the E2140 expecting it to OC easily to 3.0 gHZ. To do this I would have to have the FSB at around 375 mHZ because the multiplier on the CPU is 8x. With a RAM multiplier at 2.66, that would push my 800 mHZ ram to like 1000 mHZ. My ram could not handle it. So I was stuck at 2.5 gHZ. DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID! If you are looking at pairing this board with a budget Intel processor, at least get the E2160, I believe that has a 9x multiplier. You should be able to get to 3.0 gHZ with that one if you have some decent RAM. Overall, I was very happy with this board though."

That sounds strange that there is no 1:1 ram divider. Is that an artifact of the G31 chipset, or is it a poor BIOS implementation by Gigabyte?

 

[Spikesoldier]

i think when you BSEL the cpu then maybe it will default to a more friendly ram divider.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I want to overclock without a BSEL mod, that's why I'm asking about the G31 chipset. Can it do that?

 

[SkipDaShu]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128078

From a newegg review: "Other Thoughts: FOR OVERCLOCKERS: As of writing this, the lowest RAM multiplier available is 2.66x. That is fine unless you have a CPU with a low multiplier. I got the E2140 expecting it to OC easily to 3.0 gHZ. To do this I would have to have the FSB at around 375 mHZ because the multiplier on the CPU is 8x. With a RAM multiplier at 2.66, that would push my 800 mHZ ram to like 1000 mHZ. My ram could not handle it. So I was stuck at 2.5 gHZ. DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID! If you are looking at pairing this board with a budget Intel processor, at least get the E2160, I believe that has a 9x multiplier. You should be able to get to 3.0 gHZ with that one if you have some decent RAM. Overall, I was very happy with this board though."

That sounds strange that there is no 1:1 ram divider. Is that an artifact of the G31 chipset, or is it a poor BIOS implementation by Gigabyte?

Neither. The GA-G31M-S2L (and now the GA-G31M-ES2L) have 3 memory multipliers (FSB to RAM) but the ratios available depend on the CPU... with a Q6x00 (I assume any that default to FSB 266) it'll give you 2.0x , a 2.5x and a 3.0x (w/o doing the math... 1:1, 4:5 & 2:3) with a Q9300 (I assume any that default to FSB 333) you'll get 1.6x, 2.0x and 2.4x.

I've used a pile of these mobos on 9x and 10x multiplier quads (Q66/Q67s) and they great for that. I am just now playing around with a Q93 in one of them and as of right now I have it at 7.5x400 (3.0GHz) and it looks good so far. So 375x8 should be a breeze.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
I want to overclock without a BSEL mod, that's why I'm asking about the G31 chipset. Can it do that?

The chipset can, but the BIOS can't. I recall the early Gigabyte P965 boards had that problem but they fixed it with a BIOS release. Typically motherboard manufacturers don't pay too much attention to the "enthusiast" micro ATX segment. The BIOS "fix" would be to implement a FSB strap system to "unlock" the extra multipliers.

You'll probably have to do a BSEL mod. It's pretty easy.