Looking for assistance on new NF7 w/ 2500+

[Dolemite69]

Hi All!

I was hoping to find some guidance on my new system. Here are the specs:

Fortron 350 Power supply
Abit NF7 (dont know if it's v1 or v2... just bought it from newegg though)
AMD|2500/333 ATHLON XP BARTON
DDR 512MB CL 2.0 PC2700 HYPERX -KINGSTON
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro

Does anyone know what important motherboard bios features i should enable/disable and what overclocking settings I should try out? Right now it's just running to spec.

Also, I tried to run the Abit uGuru program. It says that "AC2003 not detected. This utility is only for the motherboard with AC2003 on it." I thought I could run this. Any ideas?

Thanks for any help!

 

[SickBeast]

First of all, the uGuru won't work AFAIK.

Ok...important settings...where do I start?

-CPU interface should be "optimal"
-memory timings "optimal"

Wait wait hold on a second. You won't be able to overclock with your components, not much anyway. Some turd sold you PC2700 memory when PC3200 is the standard these days and costs the same. These computer shops never cease to amaze me.

Basically what most people do with your setup is this:

-set multiplier to 11 (default)
-set memory speed/fsb to 200mhz
-set core voltage to ~1.75v
-set memory voltage to ~2.75v

Plus the other stuff I mentionned above. You *could* try it with your components but I wouldn't reccomend it. Chances are your system would fail to post and you would have to clear CMOS which is a PITA.

There is a slim chance that your CPU is unlocked, in which case you could try something like 12.5x166. The problem is, if you test it and it doesn't work, again you will have to clear CMOS and waste your life away.

Good luck.

If you want my honest advice, do one of the following:

-sell your RAM and buy PC3200
-sell your CPU and buy a 2500+ mobile; they are unlocked and you would be able to clock them as high as you want pretty much

 

[Dolemite69]

Well, to be honest, i bought the cpu and ram almost a year ago. However, I just purchased the new motherboard, video card and power supply. I knew i would need new ram eventually.

 

[pelikan]

Then your cpu will be multiplier unlocked. So you could find the max speed of your ram and then up the multi until you max your cpu.

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: pelikan
Then your cpu will be multiplier unlocked. So you could find the max speed of your ram and then up the multi until you max your cpu.

Yep, I agree. The "New NF7-S..." title is very misleading and I thought he was dealing with brand new hardware.

Don't sell anything just overclock via multiplier. You should get very good results with 1.775v or so on the CPU.

 

[Dolemite69]

Originally posted by: pelikan
Then your cpu will be multiplier unlocked. So you could find the max speed of your ram and then up the multi until you max your cpu.

And how do i find the max speed of my ram?

 

[SickBeast]

Umm...it's actually somewhat dangerous. I actually prefer to run my memory at its rated speed and just lower the timings until they're as fast as I can possibly run them. If you really want to find out your top speed, though, you must do other more serious things. Before you do anything, back up your important data.

The problem with memory overclocking is that if you push it too far too fast you can corrupt your Windows installation. That said, you can run MemTest from DOS to avoid that problem.

The first thing you need to do is lower you multiplier. 10X should do it, go lower if you want to play it safe.

What you need to do is slowly increase your RAM speed (front-side bus) along with your RAM voltage. Most PC2700 stuff tops out at 185mhz or so, but some of the good stuff will actually hit 200mhz (PC3200 speed). Go up at 5mhz increments maximum and see what you can come up with. Use either memtest or Prime95 if you decide to chance it and test from within Windows. Be careful.

 

[pelikan]

Max your vdimm. Set the ram at 2.5-3-3-11. Raise the FSB by 5 MHz, but boot into memtest86 and run test 5. If that passes then its safe to go into windows and run prime95. If that's good for 20 minutes or so then repeat the process. Once prime fails then back it down by 5 MHz and run prime95 overnight.