Picked up used ep-8k5a2+, need oc advice.

[bupkus]

Are the pci and agp buses locked like my 8rda+?

I see 2 ways to oc the pc in the bios,
1. through the multiplier and
2. through the fsb
Will both up the agp and pci buses, or just one?

Do I need a special unlocked cpu to use the multiplier?

I oc'd this mobo a while ago and did it by simply uping the fsb to 166. Now I need more flexibility. Please advise.

 

[lbmcleod]

I have one of these boards and if i remember rightly the PCI/AGP ratios are locked, or are set as percentages of the bus. I'm not a huge overclocker though so i couldn't tel u if you need an unlocked cpu or not.

 

[deadseasquirrel]

Originally posted by: bupkus
Are the pci and agp buses locked like my 8rda+?

they're only locked at 166 and 133. anything between 133-166 puts agp/pci outta spec, as well as anything above 166. however, depending on your ram and other peripherals, as well as CPU, you might be able to hit 200fsb like others have, but, yes, agp/pci will be outta spec.

I see 2 ways to oc the pc in the bios,
1. through the multiplier and
2. through the fsb
Will both up the agp and pci buses, or just one?

the agp/pci will only change when fsb is changed. and, as mentioned above, it resets back to default ratio at 133 and 166 only.

Do I need a special unlocked cpu to use the multiplier?

yes. palomino's will need to be unlocked manually to change the multi. tbreds come unlocked for this board, however, depending on the tbred, you will only get *some* of the multis. for example, a 1700+ tbred B will give you all multis up to 12.5 (choose 13 to get 12.5). if you have a CPU with a default multi of 15x (a 2400), you'll get all multis above 12.5.

there are tricks you can do to unlock either the lower, or upper, multis. see here and here

using the wire pins in the socket, i was able to run my DUT3C 1700+ at 166 x 14. it wanted too much voltage to remain stable, so i took it back down to 12.5x166. it can do more, but i like default voltages and default agp/pci.

I oc'd this mobo a while ago and did it by simply uping the fsb to 166. Now I need more flexibility. Please advise.

unfortunately, without a 1/6 divider at 200fsb (or agp/pci lock), there isn't a huge deal of flexibility with this board. don't get me wrong, i love mine (have the non +), but I'm seeing myself locked in for future upgrades.

deadseasquirrel

 

[bupkus]

I'm trying to match the right cpu with the right motherboard.

I have one of the famous 1700+ DLT3C. I currently have it in an epox 8k5a2+ with the fsb set to 166 or 1.83Ghz. I haven't tried to change the multiplier yet, but if 12.5X is the best this mobo can do, then the cpu is limited to 2.07Ghz.

I also have an epox 8rda+ with pc3500 mem with a 2100+ oc'd to fsb 200 and multi set to 10.5 which means the cpu max's out to 2.1GHz.

If I swap these two CPUs I can place the 2100+ into the 8k5a2+, bump the fsb to 166 pushing the cpu to 2.16Ghz (probably it's best).

With the 1700+ in the 8rda+ I can set the fsb to 200 pushing the cpu to 2.2Ghz with the default multiplier. It sounds like a no brainer, but did I overlook something other than the obvious fact that the 1700+ may not push that far?

 

[deadseasquirrel]

Originally posted by: bupkus
I'm trying to match the right cpu with the right motherboard.

i think you could get more out of that DLT3C in the 8rda+, rather than the 8k5a2+. I think it's a better chip than the 2100+. you may have trouble getting the 2100+ to run at 166 x 13 (default)... i dunno. and the problem then is, if it won't run at default 13x, you'll have to do one of those mods i linked to in order to obtain access to 12.5 and lower on the 8k5a2+. not that it can't be done, it's easy.

but the only way to know is to give it a go.

deadseasquirrel
/wishes he had an 8rda+ and some pc3500 ram to match with his 1700+ :brokenheart: