Help me with my FIC AN19E m/b, techies!

[pspada]

Where can I find information on what all of things mean in my DRAM control section, as well as the Frequency/Control Section?

For example, my FIC AN19E, with an Athlon XP 2100+, 1 gig of PC2100 CL2, and a GF4 Ti 4500 w/128DDR has these changeable settings in various areas

Video BIOS Shadow
System BIOS Cacheable
Video RAM Cacjheable
Dram CAS Latency
Bank Interleave
Precharge to Active (Trp)
Active to Precharge (Tras)
DCLK1 Timing
DCLK0 Timing
Active to CMD (Tcrd)
DRAM Burst Length
DRAM Queue Depth
DRAM Command Rate
Write Recovery Time
DRAM tWTR
Current CPU Frequency
Current DRAM Frequency
Spread Spectrum
PCI1/2 Master 0 WS Write
PCI1/2 Post Write
Vlink 8X Support
PCI Delay Transation

Then, in the AGP area, these:

AGP Aperture (MB)
AGP Driving Control
AGP Fast Writes
AGP Master 1 WS Write
AGP Master 1 WS Read
DBI Output for AFP Trans

Basically I want to find out what kind of overclocking I can do, and the preformance gains therein. But more importantly, I want to understand these features, so I can sit at any machine and determine it's best settings. As you can see from my rigs page, I've got so many different machines to screw with, and I figure I can't keep my Alpha Nerd title without this info.

Am I asking for the Moon, or the other end of the spectrum, asking for something I should have been able to find here on my own?

Thanks, you dewds (and dewdettes?) are the best

 

[o1die]

Start by disabling "spread spectrum". Increase cpu clock (fsb) to 145. Set dram command rate at 2.5 with the default settings for manual, not "spd". 4 bank interleaving may or may not cause problems; try it both ways. Set agp aperature at 128; enable fast writes. Enable video ram cachable and bios cachable, but check sandra scores for memory and cpu. Sisoft sandra is a free download, and gives you readouts for your system. But some readings may not be accurate, so don't take them as gospel. Locate the "clear cmos" jumper in case you change something that causes your system not to post. You can also unplug the power supply, then reboot holding down the "insert" key. You may have to use the reset switch if it doesn't work and hold down the insert key again. Or you can leave your case cover off until you finish tweaking your system to access the cmos jumper. Once you find your optimum cpu fsb, you might want to increase the voltage to 1.77 or 1.8, but monitor temps. Keep them under 60 celcius. As for the rest of the settings, you can leave them at default, or check one of the overclockers forums or "official threads" for more advice. The 2100 isn't a great overclocker, but have fun.

 

[pspada]

Without overclocking anything it's over 60c inside my machine. I should probably add yet another fan, I guess, but I'm lazy as hell.

I've been able to move the FSB up to 166 without many problems - and those probly heat related, but if I try telling it that it's PC2700 or PC3200 ram, the machine boots, but winblows fails to load properly.

Any on-line references you know of that will explain what these items are for and do? I'd really like to know, 'cause I'm sufferring from dorkus interuptus. Of course, if you'd care to go into detail....but only if you suffer from a complete lack of a life, like myself. Thanks for the advice.

 

[mechBgon]

So you're saying you have a $300+ video card, 1Gb of RAM, and haven't bothered fixing a ventilation problem that keeps your case around 60C? Interesting set of priorities... maybe you should put a Type-R sticker on it!

Ok, sorry for the teasing, but you should do something about that case temperature right away and back up any important data from your hard drives, because they are probably going to die young after being subjected to that kind of environment. What case do you have, perhaps we can suggest some easy optomizations for it...?

 

[pspada]

Hell no! I can leave the cover off, with a strong non-computer fan blowing into the case, and it still runs hot. It's not a ventilation issue, it's high end parts running at spec. And while it does run hot, it is a steller performer. I just want to see how high up I can "turbo" it the various components, thus the questions about these particular settings.

So, you are saying my main box is not too shabby? How about's my other listed rigs?

 

[pspada]

Er, I thought this was the Overclocker forum?

 

[mechBgon]

Here's just the thing you've been looking for: BIOS Optomization Guide

If your case's air temperature is over 35C inside, that should be addressed. It usually doesn't take heroic measures to improve the ventilation. Put a real thermometer inside for about 30 minutes, play a few games to warm the system up, then open the case and see what the thermometer says.

 

[pspada]

Thanks, this BIOS Optomization Guide is exactly the type of thing I'm looking for. Anyone got any others? I get hard reading this type of stuff.

But I must explain, I were stoopid. :disgust: The actual temps are:

62C/143f = CPU temp
36C/96f = internal case temp

Admittedly a bit high, I do need to add a fan or two (to the 4 already in there), but am the laziest bastid on earth. Still beats a case temp of 60C+ :Q

 

[pspada]

I added a standard 2 inch fan on the back of the case, mounted up high near the CPU.

Original heat:

62C/143f = CPU temp
36C/96f = internal case temp

New heat

56C/132f = CPU temp
35C/95f = internal case temp

Next, they have an alum heatsink over the KT400 system chip, no fan. I'm going to add another heatsink with big fins, or perhaps a fan on top of that and see how much that helps.

I an stick that on with duct tape, right?

 

[o1die]

It's also possible your heatsink isn't making good contact with the cpu core. If those temp readings are from the bios hardware monitor, I would take off the cpu heatsink, scrap off the thermal pad, and use thermal paste on just the cpu core. I lap it with a single edge razor blade to get as thin a coating of thermal grease as possible. Any brand of thermal grease should work fine. Radio shack has carried a white tube for only $2 that works fine for me. I've also used arctic silver II, and noticed little difference in temps. But the arctic silver website will instruct you on how to apply it. I suggest you read it first.