Need help with FSB vs. Multiplier

[94transam]

check you messages up at the top of the screen
You seem to be the man to talk to about OCing my system. We have very similar setups.

 

[chizow]

erm, this isn't an appropriate use of the forums; I already replied to your PM and would be glad to offer suggestions, as I do with anyone else that PMs me. You should probably edit your post and title to n/m before it gets locked and the mods get mad at ya

Chiz

 

[94transam]

 

[chizow]

I meant that PMs are the preferred method of asking for specific advice, posting a new thread asking me to e-mail you isn't. Just edit your post to ask for general opinions from the general public and it'll take off from there. Its better to get questions and answers in the public forums anyways, as they can benefit any that read them.

Chiz

 

[94transam]

How did you get to 2400mhz. What did you set your multiplier and FSB to. My multiplier is 13 and my FSB is 166/33 right now

 

[chizow]

Edit your thread title to "Need Advice OC'ing a 2100+" or something.

Anyways, I did reply to your PM, but looks like it got lost

I don't have an A7V8X, but I'm pretty sure its a KT400 mobo right? If it is, then you should have adjustable PCI/AGP bus settings. Go ahead and lock them at 33/66mhz respectively for now, to isolate your potential OC.

Everything else in your rig looks like its ready to rumble:

Temps look very good, but I'm not sure where the KT400 boards take their readings. Also, I'm guessing that's stock voltage, the 2100+ runs very cool @ defaults, but heats up very quickly once you overvolt.

I'd go ahead and try something like 200FSB (synchronized) x 11 multiplier = 2200mhz. Run Prime95 for 15 minutes while websurfing, and then try 11.5 x 200mhz. If at any point you don't POST, up your Vcore by .025 and try again. I would try not to exceed 1.80V though, as the OC you would get on air probably doesn't justify the possible harm you can do to your CPU (not short-term, but long-term). Keep your Vdimm at 2.7V, as XMS 3200 shouldn't need more than that at 200FSB (as stated on Corsair's tech forums and per their RMA requirements). Get MBM or use Asus Probe to keep an eye on your temps and your voltages, particularly under load (Prime95/CPUburn running, or 3mark2k1 looping).

11.5 x 200mhz should be nice and comfortable. From there you can try 12 x 200mhz, which will be tougher to keep stable than say maybe 11.5 x 2XX FSB. This is where good memory really shines, as it'll give you more flexibility. Its a lot of trial and error, if you can't get 200mhz, then lower your FSB; I've heard of issues with the 9700pro not being able to run stably on FSB speeds greater than ~190mhz. My own results have been mixed, but I'll know more when my XMS 1024TwinX arrives tomorrow or Weds. Bust out a calculator and DO THE MATH before you go pokin around in your BIOS. Once you've found a multiplier that'll put you in the ballpark of where you want to end up (2300-2400mhz range), start playing with the FSB. At some point, you may want to drop your multi to say 9 or so to max out the range on your XMS to give you an idea of where you can push it.

I would use Prime95 to test stability first, as its faster in identifying errors and allows you to do other things on your comp (unlike 3dmark) and will give you a better idea of loaded temps. If your OC is unstable, Prime will usually let you know in about 15 minutes 3dmark might run flawlessly all night and all day, but Prime will error in seconds if the OC is unstable.

Chiz

My current settings are 14 x 174; with this RAM I'd ideally like to run 14.5 x 166mhz (not an option in my BIOS); My goal is to run 12 x 200mhz or 11.5 x ~210 with my TwinX PC3200.

 

[94transam]

I dont really understand the multiplier thing.
I left the fsb at 166/33 and bumped the multiplier to 13.5. no post
so i reset the multiplier to 13 and bumped the fsb to 170/37 and now i'm running at 2210mhz at 30-31c
I have sisoftware sandra for checking speeds and stats and the asus probe in the background for monitoring

So its ok to have my fsb higher? I wasnt sure because my mobo "supports new 333fsb" but i can go over that huh?

 

[chizow]

Hmm we've got a 16 year old who just got his license and a brand new Porsche here

J/K.

The reason its not posting is b/c you need to feed it more juice. I'm gonna dig up some old posts to help explain the multi/FSB relationship as well as dividers. Its late here, so no time to go into detail.

Chiz

 

[94transam]

ok, I am new to the OC thing.
I got a lockup during 3dmark, but i got one earlier when i installed that stupid ragetweak program. So i uninstalled it and still got one. But before i installed it i didnt get one with the same settingd in bios. So i tried running a norton registry check which found 43 problems after the uninstall! and then i reinstalled the radeon drivers again.
I'm gonna run another 3dmark and see if its ok now.

 

[94transam]

ok, i seem to be ok at 13.5 and 165fsb. But any higher and i lockup during 3d. Can i safely up my AGP voltage? i heard 1.7 helps? is that ok? I also found out the hard way that the radeon 9700 would not work at all at 200fsb. I had to get an old sis video card out that luckily let me see my screen so i could drop it back down. It seems the higher my fsb the quicker i get 3d lockups. Any suggestions?

 

[Technonut]

Lower your multiplier and raise the FSB...

EDIT: Try 10x200 and see if it is stable.....

 

[94transam]

my video card wouldnt take 200. it wouldnt even give me a picture

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: 94transam
my video card wouldnt take 200. it wouldnt even give me a picture

the 9700pro has issues with a high FSB, but try raising your Vdimm to 2.7V first. If that doesn't work, you can either try 2.8V or you can back your FSB down to 185 or so and try again. Once you find a FSB speed that seems stable, you can mess with increasing the multi some to increase your total clock. Make sure you do the math though.

Chiz

 

[94transam]

i'll use my other post to continue this chizow.
meet me there.