n00b OC Question

[Corey0808]

I'm a n00b to overclocking and I got a quick question. I'm running an ABIT NF7-S V2.0, with a Barton 2500+ and 2x256Mb of Mushkin PC3500 RAM. For the hell of it I tried to go to 200 FSB in my BIOS on stock voltages. The system posted but I couldn't get into windows. It woudl either say one of my system files was corrupted or my computer would just restart over and over again. What do I do next and how do I tell what is causing it.

Just as a note when I change it back to stock I don't get a windows error on start up

 

[Sid59]

that happens to me but at FSB 210 ..

before you crap your filesystem or corrupt windows .. i'd clone / backup / ghost your OS partition and try again.

first, i'd try

vcore bump by 0.5 > 1.70 - that's all i needed to hit 200 FSB STABLE. i would boot and load windows. but if i tried to encode large files, it would fail.
-- if vcore doesn't work ..
try a vdimm bump by 0.1
-- if that doesn't work ..
might be a PSU problem

have fun.

 

[L1FE]

It could be a number of reasons that may or may not be related to your processor/and or voltages.

First, what is your ram running at? Depending on the percentage of the fsb it's running at, the ram may be the bottleneck. Additionally, make sure the ram timings are ok also. My suggestion is to see what your CPU can overclock to by setting the RAM timings to the loosest settings and making sure that the frequency is very low. In this way, you can be assured (for the most part) that the RAM is not holding you back. If you do find the RAM to be holding you back, try raising the voltages for just the RAM. You may also want to try burning in your memory for a few hours with Sandra. After burning in, my Corsair 333mhz dimms are running at 446 with 2-3-3-11 timings.

After you make sure your RAM isn't holding you back, if your processor is unlocked, lower your multiplier by 1 or .5 and bump up your FSB. This way you can increase your MHZ with a far greater precision to see what the maximum speed you can reach will be. When you max out on a fsb number, you should then lower your FSB and raise your multiplier. You can raise your voltages when you reach a speed barrier to try to get higher stable speeds.

On stock, I was able to get 223 fsb with a 10x multiplier, stock voltages, stock cooling, and ram rated at DDR2700.

 

[JustStarting]

NF7-S guide to OC'ing here. It's the best I've seen. Followit methodically and find your limiting component. L12 mod got me to 11 x 227FSB with my XP2100+ (2497mhz).

Bump the voltages right up to:

vcore= 1.85v
vdimm= 2.9v (NF7 overvolts vdimm. it will read 3.0- 3.1v in bios PC Health)
vdd= 1.6v
vagp= 1.6v

Set memory timings to 11-3-3-3 to start with.

Watch temps in bios PC Health screen when you reboot with these settings. If CPU temp stays under 60C with the default d10 bios, you're OK- it reads 8- 10c higher than old "normal" temps. Any higher than 60C get a better heatsink combo.

Try 200 FSB there and see if you make it. If all is OK, try 210FSB..... 220FSB....225FSB...etc.... When you hit a wall, back the FSB down a notch, then lower the vcore 0.05v at a time and see where it falls on it's face again. You'll end up somewhere close to where I have it listed.

 

[Fern]

Those are symptoms that ur vcore needs bumped up.

Your ram s/b fine (pc3500). Set timings to "optimal" and start uping FSB. I've found it better to go up in increments. After I increase fsb, I go right into memtest to make ram sure is ok (no need to overvolt unneccessarily) if ram is a go, then run Prime95.

If memtest fails (again ram timings on optimal) then increase voltage til it passes. If prime 95 fails, then increase vcore.

EDIT: Recap, start at 174, after saving and exiting bios, insert memtest86 and boot right into it. Run memtest a couple hrs

If pass memtest, go into prime95. If fail memtest, increase ram voltage till it does pass.

When ram passes, go into prime95. i run it 20-24hrs. If no go then up cpu voltage (vcore by .025 or .05)

If all passes, increase fsb by 4 (i.e., ->178) go right into memtest etc. Keep repeating till ur happy or hit the wall.

BTW< d/l and install mbm5 to keep an eye on temps and vcore (ensure it's steady for a stable oc).

Go here for bios settings (ex. run cpu/ram ratio at 6:6)

link1

link2

link3

Good Luck