Mobile Athlons & Asus A7N8X-X

[serverlag]

I am a first time overclocker and am really hyped by what my mobile can do...
here is my rig:

Mainboard:Asus A7N8X-X, stock bios 1006, no mods
CPU: Athlon Mobile XP-M 2500+
RAM: 1x512MB Infineon PC2100 CL2
Cooling: Thermalright SLK-947U with 90mm Enermax fan + 3 case fans

OC:
FSB: 195
CPU: x12,5 = 2440 MHz (MDM5 reading)
RAM: 390MHz (1:1) @2,5-3-3-11
CPU voltage: 1,65 (MDM5 reading; 1,625 set in bios)
RAM voltage: 2,7
Temperatures: 37 C (case open) to 41 C (case closed) idle, 51 when tortured

Prime95 stable overnight;

from some reading here and at nforcershq.com I know the following:
Mainboard
-this motherboard is limited FSB-wise and there are no software-mods which could help it; the only way out is a vdd mod (which I am not willing to do)
-there are some stock bioses and modded bioses (uber) available, which help some people up their FSB moderately (I think 206 was the highest I saw), others have same limits after flashing. Bios v. 1004 was mentioned to be good for Ocing. The Uber Bios (current v. 1007) adds the possibility to up the Chip voltage, which is not the same as vdd though...

CPU
-I have a nice overclock for stock desktop voltage...
-there is room FSB- and temperature-wise (multiplier is at current max, I'd have to do the wire trick to go 13+, which is a pain in the a$$ with the hard-mounted cooling...

RAM
-hardly anyone overclocks their RAM seriously; it's rather seen as a factor to rule out; with the steep RAM prices, I found my good old PC2100 to be a great overclocker

What I'd like to know:
Is there a no-fuss method of upping the FSB with this board? Maybe some special modded bios or more experience with the ones I mentioned above; I'd like to know for sure before I start flashing for nothing...

Your overclock specifics with this board and a Athlon mobile processor!

Cheers & Good Luck OCing, it's fun!
serverlag

 

[serverlag]

nobody?

 

[SneakyStuff]

I wouldn't consider 50' C "torture" when i've palyed unreal 2k4 for a few hours, on the same mobo as you, but with an athlon XP 2800+, I can hit upwards of 56' C and everythings peachy keen, if temperatures are a factor for you, I would say that you have a little more room to overclock before things get too toasty. And perhaps invest in some faster RAM? Mabye get a dual channel pack, the mobo supports it.

 

[JeffreyY]

I think he just meant that it reads 51C when running prime95 "torture" test.

 

[serverlag]

yeah, that was Prime95 Torture testing temperatures...
anyways, I was pretty sure the mobo didn't support dual channel RAM; thats what the clerk at the store I bought it at told me.... something like "the a7n8x-x with the nforce2 400 chipset is single channel only, the a7n8x-e deluxe with the nforce2 ultra 400 chipset supports dual channel"; that's why I got a single 512MB RAM module (for my thoroughbred back then). So are you sure this mobo supports dual channel, maybe with a bios upgrade, or maybe you have the -e version?

You know, I had a TwinMos PC3700 module in there and my FSB wouldn't go one notch higher, so I figured, save the dough and see what else gives...

Thanks for your comments

 

[lebe0024]

I found that I can't hit 200FSB either. That's good to know that I'm not unique. What are you using to cool it?

Here's mine:
A7n8x-x bios 1009 (stock)
mobile 2400 45W
512MB Muskin lvl2 black 3500 (good old stuff)
Speeze Falcoln Rock from newegg (probably my biggest limiter in OCing)
Right now (without trying higher yet) I'm at 190*11.5=2185 @ 1.6V 41 idle 55load (diode)

 

[serverlag]

I use a Thermalright SLK 947u and suggest you get something like that, too, preferrably a SP-97, so your (not yet) cool mobile doesn't have to lie idle :beer: