Overclocking AMD XP chips....How-to?

[x3ro]

Guys,

I gotta play stupid here...I'm just getting back into computers and o/c'ing.....Where the heck should I begin with all this AMD XP overclocking stuff???? I want to learn! Any good write ups out there? Can you guys explain it to me?

Luke

 

[Sean453]

I just did my first overclock with an XP 1600 just by changing the FSB. It was pretty simple really. Just change the frequency and voltage settings in the bios and BAM you have a brand new 2200+. But unlocking the multiplier on these processors is kinda tricky. I guess the pencil trick from the Thunderbird Athlons doesn't work anymore. I downloaded a how-to video from tomshardware.com on how to unlock the Athlon XP but I'm kinda nervous about actually trying it on my CPU.

 

[x3ro]

Anyone else?

 

[Necrolezbeast]

I just upped the FSB to 166 on my 1600+ also. hehe, I never thought I could get this much performance out of a cheap CPU, I would recommend it for anyone in need of something cheap and easy to overclock.

 

[cubanx]

I bought the XP unlocking kit from

Highspeedpc

1600+ running @ 2000+

13FSBx133mhz (older MSI K7T board so FSB overclock is not an option)

 

[MatthewF01]

Well, depends on how your board is with overclocking. see if it supports multiplier and fsb adjustments. If youve got a 1600+, its ALMOST pointless to unlock it, but with anything else, take the risk.

Drop the multiplier until you can hit a FSB of at least 166. Increasing the FSB instead of the multiplier is gonna yeild much better performance. If your board has a 1/5 pci divider that kicks in at 166, dropping the PCI/AGP speeds back to 33/66 then youre ready to rawk, and go up past 166 (as long as your RAM can handle it).

Also, at that point, might wanna up the voltage from 1.75 to 1.85, however make sure youve got some good cooling on the processor



good luck

 

[tracerbullet]

I just got a new Gigabyte RAID board, comes with an "EasyTune" software. Basically just click on what you want to adjust - voltage, FSB, etc. and then "go". Appears to work, and 100% software based, extremely easy. (XP 2000 BTW).

 

[MatthewF01]

Yes apparently software overclockers are becoming quite popular for the 'novice overclocker'... if ya think you know what youre doing, might wanna give the ol' BIOS a try. Sometimes theres just more you can tune there (such as memory settings: VERY IMPORTANT).
Also some software tuners are very buggy hehehe.... but if it seems to be workin ok then thats cool.

Also, you might miss out on signs of a bad overclock. For example, when you set say, a higher fsb, in BIOS, and you boot up, but the machine doesnt make it past the Windows loading screen, ive seen most of the time its the memory's fault. On the other hand, when you use a software tuner, most people just pump everything up until the PC freezes.


Just take it up a lil bit at a time, increase the voltage if need be, WATCH YOUR TEMPS, and watch your PCI/AGP speeds. If you have good memory, chances are that any PCI or AGP devices will be the first to crap out on you.


Best of luck

 

[kingbob]

What's a software tuner thingy and where can I get one?

 

[MatthewF01]

Software tuners sometimes come with motherboards, for overclocking. Ive heard of Gigabyte boards having them, as well as the Chaintech 7VJL.

The software has to be able to read the PLL output from your board, and the PLL has to support changing of FSBs.

You might want to try a program like SpeedFan if youre interested in BASIC FSB overclocking within windows. Set a FSB setting, put a load on the CPU, and see if the machine can handle it. If you set it too high, the PC freezes right after you apply the new FSB.

These programs will NOT allow you to control voltage and all those other good things that these board-specific utilities will.