OCing clarification: Opty 170, A8R32-MVP, GSkill 2GBHZ

[PSUPef2k]

So I've gone through the guide on here and several others. They all base on the isolate and consolidate theory. However, it seems to me, and please correct me if I am wrong, that I shouldn't have a difficult time overclocking my new system at all.

Since my memory is DDR500 (250mhz) rated, should I not just be able to go into the BIOS, change the memory timings and speed to the rated 250mhz (it is running at 200mhz right now, as everything is still bone stock) and up the FSB to 250Mhz as well?

If I am understanding this correctly, and it is quite possible that I am not, then current multiplier of 10 x 250mhz FSB(HTT) = 2500mhz = 2.5ghz? Is that all I need to do to get my machine from 2.0ghz to 2.5? It has to be harder than that, doesn't it? Obviously to run it at 2.5ghz with those adjustments, I wouldn't need to worry about memory dividers either. My goal is 2.4-2.6ghz on air cooling, so I think this is very obtainable, even for my OCing n00b self.

Also, CPU-Z says that my memory is currently running at a command rate of 2T. I know I have read that the A64 chips suffer bigtime in performance with the 2T setting.

I think the hardest part of all this will be configuring the memory timings. If it helps, here is what CPU-Z displays currently.

CPU-Z

 

[Tweakin]

Nope, your pretty much correct!!! A couple of things to remember on that board is that you need to "creap" your way up to 250Mhz, say in 5-7hz increments. As for the 2T command rate, in the BIOS there should be a setting in the advanced section (I think...it's been a while since I had this board) to change the setting. Hope this helps...

 

[PSUPef2k]

Originally posted by: Tweakin
Nope, your pretty much correct!!! A couple of things to remember on that board is that you need to "creap" your way up to 250Mhz, say in 5-7hz increments. As for the 2T command rate, in the BIOS there should be a setting in the advanced section (I think...it's been a while since I had this board) to change the setting. Hope this helps...

I've posted this in several other places and was told this is not a wise move and I should go through the process of isolating the max for HTT, CPU, & memory.

I know I would want to do that to get a max OC, but for 2.5ghz I figured this would be safe due to the memory I selected. I'm sooooooo confused.

I'll go ahead and change the command rate to 1T, as apparently 2T impacts performance significantly in a negative manner. Hopefully changing it to 1T will improve my performance significantly.

 

[Mogadon]

You should be able to hit 2.5GHz fine. Although the best and most scientific way to overclock is to isolate and consolidate as per the guides, you can probably do exactly as you said and then 'isolate and consolidate' from there, if you get what I mean. You may need to add a little more VCore to hit 2.5GHz and make sure you specify your RAM settings in the BIOS as opposed to leaving them at SPD. Also you don't actually need to specify the RAM to run at 250MHz, with your RAM currently running at 1:1 with the CPU (ie. no divider) when you raise the HTT the speed the RAM is running at will rise too.

Note - I said the best way to overclock is as per the guides. When I got the CPU I have in I stuck it straight in at 2.75GHz, it booted up fine but wasn't stable so I raised the VCore incrementally until I got it stable at 2.75GHz, then I continued overclocking the CPU from there until I hit the limit. Then I refined my RAM settings.

 

[PSUPef2k]

Originally posted by: Mogadon
You should be able to hit 2.5GHz fine. Although the best and most scientific way to overclock is to isolate and consolidate as per the guides, you can probably do exactly as you said and then 'isolate and consolidate' from there, if you get what I mean. You may need to add a little more VCore to hit 2.5GHz and make sure you specify your RAM settings in the BIOS as opposed to leaving them at SPD. Also you don't actually need to specify the RAM to run at 250MHz, with your RAM currently running at 1:1 with the CPU (ie. no divider) when you raise the HTT the speed the RAM is running at will rise too.

Note - I said the best way to overclock is as per the guides. When I got the CPU I have in I stuck it straight in at 2.75GHz, it booted up fine but wasn't stable so I raised the VCore incrementally until I got it stable at 2.75GHz, then I continued overclocking the CPU from there until I hit the limit. Then I refined my RAM settings.

What Vcore is safe for the opteron 170? It is currently at 1.4V I think. I have also read that I should go no higher than 1.45v for a 90nm chip. I assume this holds true for opteron dual core?

 

[PSUPef2k]

Originally posted by: Tweakin
Nope, your pretty much correct!!! A couple of things to remember on that board is that you need to "creap" your way up to 250Mhz, say in 5-7hz increments.

I planned on doing that as well. However, do I need to do a full 6+ hour stability test through prime95 after each "creep" of 5-7mhz? Would I also need to do memtest after each adjustment as well?

 

[Mogadon]

No, 5 minutes is fine for each increment. If it fails 5 minutes then you know you need to up the VCore a bit.

1.45V is totally safe for dual core chips.

1.55V is totally safe for single core chips.

From Zebos quick and dirty overclocking guide:

X2 is not any different than a single processor overclocking but for volts and when prime testing CPU(s) for stability:

Volts should not exceed 1.45 for safe operation!

Prime95
1. Make two folders with Prime95
http://mersenne.org/gimps/p95v2413.zip

2. Starting two instances: Launch both instances from each folder and choose: torture test > small FFT's > click OK.

3. Next, launch taskmanager and set affinity of the first instance of prime to CPU 0 only. The other instance of prime to CPU 1 only.

 

[PSUPef2k]

Originally posted by: Mogadon
No, 5 minutes is fine for each increment. If it fails 5 minutes then you know you need to up the VCore a bit.

1.45V is totally safe for dual core chips.

1.55V is totally safe for single core chips.

From Zebos quick and dirty overclocking guide:

X2 is not any different than a single processor overclocking but for volts and when prime testing CPU(s) for stability:

Volts should not exceed 1.45 for safe operation!

Prime95
1. Make two folders with Prime95
http://mersenne.org/gimps/p95v2413.zip

2. Starting two instances: Launch both instances from each folder and choose: torture test > small FFT's > click OK.

3. Next, launch taskmanager and set affinity of the first instance of prime to CPU 0 only. The other instance of prime to CPU 1 only.

Allright, now the question is, should I start at the stock HTT and creep up at about 5-10mhz increments, or start at 230HTT and creep up to 250 from there?

As for memory adjustments, I am going to change the memory to the 1T setting, and reconfigure the RAM settings to match the following:

These are good up to 270mhz @ 2.6V. I got these from someone else with the same memory and motherboard, so I assume they'll work for me as well.

CAS 3.0
TRAS 8.0
TRP 4.0
TRCD 4.0
TRRD 2T
TRC 8T
TRFC 16T
TRWT 4 CLK

MCT Extra Timing mode Auto
User Config Manual
Read Preamble 5.5ns
Async Latency 7.0ns
CMD-ADDR Timing 1T
Bank Interleaving Auto
Burst Length 4 Beats
Hardware Memory Hole Disabled

Set DDR voltage to be 2.6V

 

[PSUPef2k]

In regards to the memory timings above, I guess I will try them out and run memtest on them. If it passes memtest at those timings, maybe eventually I can bump up the HTT further to 270 and achieve 2.7ghz on my chip? I guess i will see how stable my CPU is at 2.5 first, before I worry about that.

 

[PSUPef2k]

Almost time to give this a shot.

At this point my plan is to go into the bios and do the following:

-reconfigure the memory timings to above posted settings
-initially move HTT to 230
-boot to windows to see if that works ok
-reboot and run memtest86 tests 5&6 on the memory to make sure it is ok at 230mhz (it should be since it is rated 250mhz stock)
-boot windows and run prime 95 ~6 hours (2 instances, 1 per core)

If it is fine then I will prob bump it up to 235 or 240 and repeat.

Anything faulty about this plan I should revise?

Thanks in advance.

I have also ran 3DMark05 & 06 to get my stock scores.

3Dmark05 - 10019
3Dmark06 - 5503 (HDR - 2543, CPU - 1417)

 

[PSUPef2k]

is the above process safe? Getting a bit nervous as go-time nears this evening.

 

[PSUPef2k]

Ok, so here is the update. I figured I would give this a whirl. Right now I am at 2.5ghz, but the memory seems to be somewhat of an issue. Windows boots fine. However, CPU-Z still displays the memory in a divider situation.

When I tried to specify the memory clock to 250Mhz in the BIOS, the machine won't boot, and the ASUS bios says that the Overclock is not successfull and I must re-enter the bios to adjust settings. Why won't my memory run at the 250mhz it is designed to? Do I need to give the memory more voltage? It was at first at 2.6v, so I upped it to 2.7 thinking that may help (it is rated 2.6-2.8v) and that didn't either. I have not tried 2.8 yet, but is that what I should try next? Any other thoughts? Should I allow overvolting of the north and southbridge chips?

1) I have a dual core opty, and the asus pc probe is reading the voltage at 1.44, with flucuations at times to 1.46. Is this bad since it goes over the safe operating Voltage for dual core opterons?

2) When I raised the HTT in the BIOS and went in at 2.3ghz, it changed several things. It enabled Northbridge and southbridge overvolting.

Northbridge:
Core: +1.4v
Hypertransport Bus: +1.4v
PCI-E: +1.4v

Is this normal? Should I allow the overvolt? Also, should I enable a vcore overvolt of +100mV? I don't currently have that configuration listed, but the way asus probe read it, I am already at the 1.45V threshhold for this chip.

Here is a screen shot of CPU-Z for memory and CPU, as well as temp/voltage readings.

CPU-Z @ 2.5ghz

 

[OvErHeAtInG]

Hmmmm..... random thought: make sure you're setting your memory to DDR400 (200MHz) when you're running HTT250. -- don't know what the Asus bios looks like, but if there's an option for 250MHz memory, don't use it if you're overclocking...

Edit: in order to get get this memory up to spec on some motherboards, you really have to finesse timings. I've heard some people having stability issues at default speeds, since some of the SPD timings were a bit too aggressive on some modules.

What's the highest you can go (at 1:1) before it won't POST?

 

[PSUPef2k]

Originally posted by: OvErHeAtInG
Hmmmm..... random thought: make sure you're setting your memory to DDR400 (200MHz) when you're running HTT250. -- don't know what the Asus bios looks like, but if there's an option for 250MHz memory, don't use it if you're overclocking...

Edit: in order to get get this memory up to spec on some motherboards, you really have to finesse timings. I've heard some people having stability issues at default speeds, since some of the SPD timings were a bit too aggressive on some modules.

What's the highest you can go (at 1:1) before it won't POST?

that did it. I was not running it at 200mhz as I should. Thanks. So now I am running at 2.5ghz and the memory is correct at 250mhz. I haven't tried any higher HTT yet, so I am not sure. Why do you ask? I eventually will need to look into this because I would like to try and reach 2.7, but I am not sure that is going to be easy with this processor.

Unfortunately, now when I go to run prime95 (on both cores), it causes an error within 5 minutes on one core. I stopped prime on the other core after that. It says to reference stress.txt, but that doesn't say what the specific error is. Why would my opteron crap out on prime so quick at only 2.5ghz, when other opterons can do 2.7 on air pretty easily? Do I need to overvolt my north/southbridge and/or the vcore?

 

[OvErHeAtInG]

No biggie--it's just not stable yet. You need to figure out what is causing the crash--the CPU or the RAM.... How are your CPU temps? What vcore are you running?

 

[PSUPef2k]

Originally posted by: OvErHeAtInG
No biggie--it's just not stable yet. You need to figure out what is causing the crash--the CPU or the RAM.... How are your CPU temps? What vcore are you running?

(All info obtained from ASUS PC Probe)

Vcore is 1.4V in the bios, but asus pc prob is picking it up at 1.44-1.46 fluctuating. That is another of my concerns because 1.45 is the safe operating frequency for the opteron chips. Someone said it might be failing prime due to not enough voltage, but according the the probe and speedfan, it has the max for this chip.

As for temps, idle is ~32C. Under load when running 3dmark 05 and 06 they got to around 47C. Mobo temp is ~37C. When I did run prime95 the cpu temp climbed to about 48C as well, but no higher before it failed.

Nothing is overvolted at this point.

I'm on stock cooling now but I have an SI-120 and 120mm Delta fan to put on it this week, with a fresh tube of AS5. It could be the ram causing the crash. I am going to run a few passes of memtest on it to see if it has any problems. Might need to adjust the timings.

Also, what should I have the HT link speed at? ATI's overclocking guide for this chipset said 1000mhz is fine, but I just wanted to verify that.

 

[Figure]

set the HTT @ x4,and bump up the vcore ever so slightly...then boot up and test in prime95...also check memtest to make sure the RAM isnt causing the problem...

if so loosen timings or put RAM voltage to the rccomended 2.8v's

give that ago

 

[PSUPef2k]

Originally posted by: Figure
set the HTT @ x4,and bump up the vcore ever so slightly...then boot up and test in prime95...also check memtest to make sure the RAM isnt causing the problem...

if so loosen timings or put RAM voltage to the rccomended 2.8v's

give that ago

HTT x4 = 800mhz?

Also, I have the vcore set to 1.4 in the bios, but asus probe reads it as 1.44. Is ASUS probe wrong? I know there is always discrepancy between software programs and actual readings, so is it ok to bump my vcore +100mV? The only options I have on this board for raising the vcore is +100mV and +200mV. Regardless, I didn't know if this is safe due to readings I am getting from pc probe/speedfan.

 

[OvErHeAtInG]

Asus boards frequently overvolt. I think what you're at right now us just about right. Also this memory operates better at 2.5 or 2.6 volts.

 

[PSUPef2k]

Originally posted by: OvErHeAtInG
Asus boards frequently overvolt. I think what you're at right now us just about right. Also this memory operates better at 2.5 or 2.6 volts.

Mine is currently set to 2.6v for memory and 1.4 for vcore. No adjustments to that?

As a side note, my board also squeals/whines when the cpu is under heavy-moderate load (most noticable during 3dmark cpu tests). I am going to take a look at the capacitors tonight to see if they are bubbling and/or leaking. If not, then why is the board whining? If so, I will undoubtedly have to RMA.

 

[OvErHeAtInG]

Whoah--not good. And pulling your mobo is a PITA... Let us know how that goes. And yeah I run my gskill UCCC mem at 2.5 volts and it's rock stable at 250. Does the whining happen even when nothing's overclocked?

 

[PSUPef2k]

Originally posted by: OvErHeAtInG
Whoah--not good. And pulling your mobo is a PITA... Let us know how that goes. And yeah I run my gskill UCCC mem at 2.5 volts and it's rock stable at 250. Does the whining happen even when nothing's overclocked?

yup. Has happened from the beginning, bone stock.

 

[PSUPef2k]

I have narrowed the sound down to 2 possibilities. It is either the video card, or the set of capacitors that sit under the video card on the mother board. I wish I had a spare x1900xtx around to test this with. However, since I don't, to see which it is, i am going to move my 1900xtx to the 2nd PCIe video card slot and try again. However, I think it is infact the capacitors on the mother board. Has anyone else heard of a 1900xtx making the little squeaking noise?

 

[PSUPef2k]

Update:

I think my board is fine, and the squealing/whining seems to be coming from the video card. Many people over at rage3d are having the same noises at the same time (3dmark 05 cpu tests), exactly as I described it.

As for my OCing stability...

I lowered my HT link speed to 800mhz. This helped, but only a bit. Prime95 will now run for 20 minutes, and then halts on core 0 with a rounding error. Besides raising the voltage (1.4 currently in the BIOS, although ASUS probe reads 1.44-1.46) since I am already at the safe voltage for the opteron chips, what else can I do? memtest ran 3 passes on the memory and passed every time, so I don't think that is it.

Should I lower my Vcore and then overvolt it +200mV? Should I overvolt my north/south bridge a bit?

Also, when I figured I don't need to RMA my motherboard, I also installed the SI-120 & Delta fan. Since doing so, IDLE is ~32C (asus probe) and load during the prime 95 testing before it failed was 47C. Motherboard idle is 38C and load during prime 95 was 39C. I figured the SI-120 would have helped the MB temps more, but it seems to have had an adverse effect and actually raised them a bit. Is it normal for this board to idle so high? It definitely wasn't this high at stock speeds, but I didn't expect the OC to raise the MB temps that much. This is why I am hesitant to overvolt the north and/or southbridge.

The Delta fan is only running at ~2000RPM. I know that is normal, but is there anyway to get it to go faster?

 

[PSUPef2k]

Ok, so apparently rounding errors in prime 95 are a dead giveaway that more voltage is needed. However, I am currently at Vcore 1.4V. I need to know if it would be safe to overvolt at this point. I have options for +100 mV or +200mV. However, I am afraid to do this as I've read 1.45V is as high as you want to go for opteron chips. I am afraid of 2 things over volting past 1.45V will do.

1-temperature increase
2-impact on life of the chip

Any thoughts or advice? After the extensive research I did, I know this chip should be able to handle 2.5ghz, probably 2.6 as well. If it is safe to add voltage to the CPU, I think I may be able to get to 2.6 at HTT260, x10 multiplier, HT Link 800mhz, memory 260mhz 1:1. The voltage just concerns me.

Help!