OC help for my Athlon 3200+

[ryno252]

Wondering if someone could shed some light on exactly how I should overclock my system. I'm a little green to overclocking so I apologize. I would like to learn rather than have someone tell me but I will settle for either. I mainly do not know how the combinations really work and how they are represented in this type of BIOS.

ASRock Dual 939 SataII Rev. 1.30
Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Core Rev. DH-E3 (stock heatsink)
Rosewill Radeon X800XL 256 PCI-E
Kingston Hyper X PC3500 1gig (2x512mb)
Antec Truepower 550

Thanks

 

[interchange]

Basically follow the overclocking guide.

NOTE: overclocking-related errors can corrupt an OS, so make sure you have anything critical backed up.
NOTE2: voltage settings are kind of guesswork and can damage components. I wouldn't exceed 1.55V vcore or 2.7V vmem(unless spec'd for your RAM) as a first overclock.

To start:

1) Set HT to lowest multiplier (2x)
2) Set RAM to lowest divider
3) Keep increasing HTT until it fails to POST
4) Up voltage until it POSTs
5) Keep increasing HTT until it fails to POST
6) Decrease HTT by 5%
7) Increase HT to multiplier that keeps it closest to 1GHz without going over (overclocking it won't yield performance gains)
8) Increase RAM divider til it's closest to DDR400
9) Boot into windows and run Prime95 torture test (small FFT)
10) Keep fooling with HTT until it is Prime95 stable for at least an hour (test overnight later)
11) Take note of max clock speed (HTT * 10x multi) reached

For the RAM:
1) Reload defaults
2) Make a memtest86 bootable CD
3) Back down HT to 2x as before
4) Keep your memory divider at 1:1
5) Up your HTT until it fails to POST
6) Up your RAM voltage until it POSTs at this HTT
7) Keep upping your HTT until it fails to POST again
8) Back down 5% HTT
9) Run memtest86 and fool with HTT until all tests pass at highest speed
10) Take note of max memory overclock

From there, try and work out the numbers so that you can keep your processor and memory closest to max overclock. Your processor clock is more important than memory clock.

You could also try faster latencies for the RAM.

 

[Leper Messiah]

IIRC, hyper X is BH-5, and that stuff shines with the uber volts. After 3.2vdimm or so, I'd say you need a fan blowing on it though.

Other than that, what the guy before me said is a good general OC guide.

 

[ryno252]

Great answers and I appreciate the quick response. One question though. In relation to my board specifically is there a guide to what the terms mean in my BIOS. I've got an idea of what the CPU-NB and SB are but I don't know how that even correllates to overclocking my board. One of the senior members (Lord Banshee) posted in this thread something that I was able to follow to a degree.

Thanks

 

[interchange]

I have no idea what settings the BIOS has as I do not have that board. If you could list the settings and their ranges we might be able to help decipher...

 

[ryno252]

Hopefully this will help. I am including the link to the manual also which contains some actual screens.


Overclock Mode
Use this to select Overclock Mode.
The default value is [Auto].
Configuration options: [Auto], [CPU, PCIE, Sync.] and [CPU, PCIE, Async.].

CPU Frequency (MHz)
Use this option to adjust CPU frequency.
The range is from 140MHz to 300MHz. The default value is [200].

PCIE Frequency (MHz)
Use this option to adjust PCIE frequency.
The range is from 70MHz to 150MHz. The default value is [100].

Boot Failure Guard
Enable or disable the feature of Boot Failure Guard.

Spread Spectrum
This feature will be set to [Auto] as default.

Cool ?n? Quiet
Use this item to enable or disable AMD?s Cool ?n? QuietTM technology.

Processor Maximum Multiplier
It will display Processor Maximum Multiplier for reference. (Currently 10x2000)

Processor Maximum Voltage
It will display Processor Maximum Voltage for reference. (Currently 1.45 I believe)

Multiplier/Voltage Change
This item is set to [Auto] by default. If it is set to [Manual], you may adjust the
value of Processor Multiplier and Processor Voltage.
However, it is recommended to keep the default value for system stability.

Processor Multiplier
This item will show when ?Multiplier/Voltage Change? is set to [Manual];
otherwise, it will be hidden.
You may set the value from [x8 1600 MHz] up to [x25 5000 MHz] but no higher than the value of ?Processor Maximum Multiplier?.
For example, if the value of ?Processor Maximum Multiplier? is
[x11 2200 MHz], the actual value of multiplier will be [x11 2200 MHz] even if
you set this item to a value higher than [x11 2200 MHz]. However, for
system stability, it is not recommended to adjust the value of this item.

Processor Voltage
This item will show when ?Multiplier/Voltage Change? is set to [Manual];
otherwise, it will be hidden. For safety and system stability, it is not recommended
to adjust the value of this item.

Memory Clock
This item can be set by the code using [Auto]. You can set one of the
standard values as listed: [133 MHz (DDR266)], [166 MHz (DDR333)],
[200 MHz (DDR400)].

Flexibility Option
The default value of this option is [Disabled]. It will allow better tolerance for
memory compatibility when it is set to [Enabled].

Burst Length
Burst length can be set to 8 or 4 beats. 64 Bit Dq must use the 4 beats.

CAS Latency (CL)
Use this item to adjust the means of memory accessing. Configuration
options: [Auto], [2.0], [3.0], and [2.5].

TRCD
Use this to adjust TRCD values. Configuration options: [Auto], [2CLK], [3CLK],
[4CLK], [5CLK], and [6CLK].

TRAS
Use this to adjust TRAS values. Configuration options: [Auto], [5CLK], [6CLK],
[7CLK], [8CLK], [9CLK], [10CLK], [11CLK], [12CLK], [13CLK], [14CLK], and
[15CLK].

TRP
Use this to adjust TRP values. Configuration options: [Auto], [2CLK], [3CLK],
[4CLK], [5CLK], and [6CLK].

MA Timing
Use this to adjust values for MA timing. Configuration options: [Auto], [2T],
[1T]. The default value is [Auto].

CPU - NB Link Speed
This feature allows you selecting CPU to NB link frequency. Configuration
options: [Auto], [200 MHz], [400 MHz], [600 MHz], [800 MHz], and [1000
MHz].

CPU - NB Link Width
This feature allows you selecting CPU to NB link width. Configuration options:
[Auto], [8 BIT], and [16 BIT].

NB - SB Link Speed
This feature allows you selecting NB to SB link frequency. Configuration
options: [Auto], [200 MHz], [400 MHz], [600 MHz], [800 MHz], and [1000
MHz].

NB - SB Width
This feature allows you selecting NB to SB link width. Configuration options:
[Auto], [8 BIT], and [16 BIT].

HTTtoPCI Bridge Decode Scheme
Use this to select HTT to PCI bridge decode scheme. Configuration options:
[Auto], [Positive], and [Subtractive].

DRAM Voltage
Use this to select DRAM voltage. Configuration options: [Auto], [High],
[Normal]. The default value is [Auto].

Gated Clock Function
You can enable or disable gated clock function. Configuration options:
[Enabled], [Disabled].


The link: ASROCK

 

[ryno252]

Wondering if anyone has an update.

Thanks.

 

[ryno252]

Do I need to resubmit this question somewhere else?