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O/C A64 3000 Venice w/ DFI

L

lifeguard1999

Platinum Member
My new rig is:

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Processor (Venice) 1.8 GHz
DFI LANPARTY nF4 SLI-DR
XFX GeForce 6600 GT PCI Express 128MB
Enermax EG565P-VE FMA 535W Power Supply
OCZ 2x512MB; Model #: OCZ400512WV3

I am using the above guide to o/c this system. Setting my CPU multiplier to 6x, HTT ratio to 3x, and memory ratio to 100, I find that the system performs as follows:

250 HTT - Runs fine. Prime 95 passes.
260 HTT - Runs fine. Prime 95 passes.
265 HTT - Boots to Windows login. Fails to get any farther.
270 HTT - Boots to Windows login. Fails to get any farther.
275 HTT - Boots to Windows login. Fails to get any farther.
300 HTT - Boots to Windows login. Fails to get any farther.

So I set my HTT to 250, HTT ration to 4x (giving a speed of 1000 which is good I understand), and and memory ratio to 100. CPU voltage = 1.55V.

8.0x CPU multiplier - Runs fine. Prime 95 passes. Speed = 2.0 GHz
8.5x CPU multiplier - Runs fine. Prime 95 passes. Speed = 2.125 GHz
9.0x CPU multiplier - Boots to Windows login. Fails to get any farther. Speed = 2.2 GHz
EDIT:
9.0x CPU & 250 HTT - Runs fine. Prime 95 passes. Speed = 2.25 GHz with memory voltage at 2.9V
9.0x CPU & 260 HTT - Runs fine. Prime 95 passes. Speed = 2.34 GHz with memory voltage at 2.9V
/EDIT


At 8.0x CPU multiplier (2.0 GHz) running Prime 95, my temps are 49C.
At 8.5x CPU multiplier (2.1 GHz) running Prime 95, my temps are 55C.
At 9.0x CPU multiplier (2.34 GHz) running Prime 95, my temps are 58C.
My question is this:

Is there something I am missing about setting the HTT speed? AT's Wesely Fink was able to get it to 318. I am at least able to get it to 300. I have not tried any higher. However, it is nowhere near stable. My CPU and memory have both been taken out of the equation. Even at 300, my CPU would only be at 1.8 GHz, which is its default anyway.
 
That CPU should work fine at 250 to 260MHz FSB with 3x LDT and DDR333 memory divider. Pushing the CPU past 260MHz depends on the quality of your particular CPU.
 
The average Venice core OC with stock HSF is about 2.5GHz
The average Venice core OC using all forms of cooling is about 2.6GHz
source overclockers.com overclock database.

You have to make sure that you use the memory dividers and HT multipliers so that the memory & Hypertransport don't exceed their limits as you increase the HTT(FSB) to overclock the CPU.

http://math.gogar.com/athlon64.cgi

You can use this website to find out what settings you need to use to achieve a level of CPU overclock.

Set the max as follows:
CPU=2700
RAM=200
HT=1000
HTT/FSB=300
Multi=9x

This will ensure that the results dont exceed the capabilities of the RAM & Hypertransport.
 
Those who frequent those websites tend to have "souped-up" system. For most users, it's between 2.3 and 2.4GHz at 1.5Vcore with a 3000 CPU.

CPU core speed alone does not translate to good performance. A 2.60GHz system running at DDR200 will be slower than a 2.49GHz system at DDR333.
 
If you don't believe me you can lookup the results yourself. I dumped the results into Excel and sorted those using stock, amd or retail HSF and then averaged the overclocks.

Anyway, you do bring up a good point about the RAM playing a big part in performance. I compaired my old systems:

P4 1.8GHz & even 2.4GHz if OC
1.5GB PC133 RAM

AthlonXP 1900+ 1.6GHz
512MB DDR266

Using tomshardware CPU comparison it was obvious that the RAM was the sole reason that the AthlonXP 1800+ (1.5GHz) & DDR 266 could beat the P4 2.8GHz & PC133 RAM.

http://www23.tomshardware.com/index.html
 
Update:

It seems that it is the memory that is holding me back. I am using OCZ 2x512MB; Model #: OCZ400512WV3. The memory itself is good memory, it just needs two things:

1. Voltage. Lots of Voltage.
2. A strong DRAM Drive Strength set to 6 or 8 in the BIOS

With Default Voltage (2.6V), I am limited to 260 HTT when the CPU multiplier <= 8.5.
With Default Voltage (2.6V), I am limited to 250 HTT when the CPU multiplier = 9.0.
With 2.9V, I am limited to 260 HTT when the CPU multiplier = 9.0 (2.34 GHz).
With 2.9V and DRAM Drive Strength = 6, I am able to get to 300MHz HTT.

According to the DFI NF4 BIOS Memory Guide, TCCD memory modules need to have the DRAM Drive Strength set to 3 or 5 or 7, which are weak settings. OCZ VX or OCZ BH modules like a strong DRAM Drive Strength of either 6 or 8.

I am still working off an old BIOS, looking for the max o/c on the A64 3000 Venice core, and testing for stability. So I still have a ways to go and more tricks to try. Back to work.
 
Update:

Upping the memory voltage to 3.2V and DRAM Drive strength to 8 does not seem to help anymore.
Thus I seem to be CPU limited. So I backed off on the memory voltage (for now).

9.0x CPU & 265 HTT - Runs fine. Prime 95 passes. Speed = 2.385 GHz with memory voltage at 2.9V
8.0x CPU & 298 HTT - Runs fine. Prime 95 passes. Speed = 2.384 GHz with memory voltage at 2.9V

It looks like a BIOS update may be next.
 
Use 9x CPU multiplier and 5:6 memory divider. My Kingston Value RAM can hit 284MHz FSB speed (or 236MHz RAM speed with 5:6 memory divider). Timing is 2.5-3-3-8-1T.

A quality Value RAM should be able to do 270MHz FSB with 5:6 divider. The RAMs are good, then you may have a so so CPU or a bad motherboard.
 
I don't know what DRAM Drive Strength settings are, however Memory dividers are critical in ensuring that the RAM isn't being overclocked (unless of course you intend to overclock your RAM)

If RAM dividers are not being used then the CPU overclock will be limited by the RAM.
If HT Mulitpliers are not being used then the CPU overclock will be limited by the HT.

Maybe DRAM Drive Strength is infact DFI's name for memory dividers.
 
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