I need some help with overclocking

[mikef208]

I am building a new system, I want it to be fast and cheap. I was thinking of doing a major overclocking project. I have only overclocked one system before, and that was by multiplier. I was wondering what the affects on the system are if you increase the FSB. Most of the stuff I am looking to get is form www.overclockerz.com. I am looking at there enhanced memory as well as CPU's and video cards. I should tell you I want this to be a duron or thunderbird system. I need to know your opinions on this, as well as what motherboard to get. I like the Abit KT7 Raid, but I have heard that it doesn't have a very high fsb speed. Let me know what you think as well as the effects of this. Thanks

 

[compuwiz1]

Not bad choices, but I'd go with the MSI K7T Pro 2A. A Duron 600 @ 1000 is going to be the best bang for the buck. You don't need to go all out on Ram because you won't be running at 133MHz fsb or beyond. Take a look at the stuff John here on the forums sells. It's Mosel Rev2 and it's good to about 150MHz, under $100.
BTW, I wish you luck if you decide to do business with Overclockerz.

 

[mikef208]

Why won't I be able run at higher then 133 FSB? Is that all the KT's can do? What boards can take advantage of the higher FSB, cause I have heard this memory can do 170mhz, so there has to be a board to use it. Thanks, for your help.

 

[mikef208]

Also what is wrong with overclockerz.com, never had a problem with them before. I was looking at getting a bit more out of the processor too. At least I hope. I have a 650 Duron that has already done 1000mhz, I was hoping to go farther with the fsb. Thanks

 

[paulip88]

If you really want to do FSB OCing that bad, get an Intel system. Most of the AMD OCs are done by multiplier. However, if you just want to run your RAM at 170MHz, you can try the AMD chips. To get your RAM to 170, you'll need to jack up a KT133's FSB up to only 128MHz (which is near impossible, but if you really want to try...).

 

[mikef208]

So the memory that is made to go to 170 is more for intel systems? Also how does a 128mhz FSB make your RAM run at 170mhz? Just wondering. So you suggest just cranking up the multiplier? That is how i overclocked my last system? Why is it that the motherboards can't handle the higher FSB speeds. Thanks

 

[paulip88]

Is the 170MHz RAM for intels systems?:
No. They can't be expected to run that fast either. Some people can crack it up to 150 or a little more on an Intel platform, but rarely farther. (More on that later) Dr. Tom has been able to crank a CUSL to 166MHz FSB though. Look here
for article.

How does 128FSB mean 170MHz RAM?:
On the KT133 chipset, the RAM can be run at FSB + PCI. Since the PCI divider is 1/3, that means the RAM runs at 4/3 of the FSB. 4/3 of 127.5 is 170MHz.

Multiplier?:
Yes, if you get an AMD system, I advise doing it by mutliplier, and then seeing how far you can get with the FSB. If you want, you can down the multiplier a notch and see if you can get still further with the FSB. Most people can't get the FSB past 110 though.

Why can't MB's handle higher FSBs?:
They weren't designed to. The fastest FSB any current chipset officially handles is 133MHz. This would give it a PCI divider of 1/4 (PCI clock should be 33) and a AGP divider of 1/2 (AGP default at 66). With this in mind, you come to several limitations when you OC the FSB. Potential points of failure:
1. Chipset
2. Memory
3. PCI cards
4. AGP cards
5. Pretty much anything else.
So lets say that the chipset can handle it, and the memory can handle it. But when you jack up the FSB to 150MHz, the PCI devices are running at 37MHz. Some cards can handle this. Fine. How about 170MHz? Here the PCI cards are running at 42MHz, and the video card is running at a nice 85MHz. This is more than most cards can handle.

 

[Technonut]

The best system performance that you can have is running at a combination FSB/multiplier overclock. I run mine at a 900 multiplier with the FSB at 109 (105/35 + 4) That gives me a RAM speed of 144MHz (Host CLK + PCI CLK = 135MHz + 9 = 144) set at CAS2 Turbo with 4 way interleave set. The memory benchmarks at 511/612, and gives a noticable performance boost. If I lower the multiplier, I can run the memory at 149MHz CAS2. That is with good quality RAM (Mosel Vitelic PC133) There was another thread about what people were running their FSB at awhile back with T-Birds & Durons, and many were doing 110-115. If I lower the multiplier on mine I can be stable at 115. I have tested many different settings and found what I am at now to be the "sweet spot" in my system. Unless you wait for a DDR system, the faster that you can run your RAM the better. You will still need good quality RAM to run it at 145-150MHz CAS2 though, so if you want good performance, don't skimp on the RAM.

EDIT: Things are looking exciting concerning the VIA KT133A boards. I just saw this: The link to the article is Here


The VIA KT133A board I had from DFI had FSB options in the +150 range, but I was limited to only a +.1 voltage bump. With these options in hand, the highest I was able to stably overclock was to a 140/280 Front Side Bus. This resulted in a Duron 600MHz. x 140 FSB = 840MHz. To compare how the FSB compared to other chipsets, I used a Duron 600@850 on a KT133 board along with an Intel Celeron 566@850.

Remember as we start to see more KT133A boards with more overclocking options such as a wider voltage range, I suspect we can see AMD Athlon/Durons hitting the 150+ FSB stage