read zebo's guide to oc'ing but still confused on some parts

[themajorrager]

right im a noob i'll admit it staightup but i have used the search function a dozen times and still cant find what im looking for...
anyway, with regards to Zebo's guide to oc'ing im stuck on a few issues (well most of it to be honest):
HTT - closest option i have is HTF (hyper transport frequency) settings of Auto, x1, x2, x3, x4, x5

Set Memory to SPD - i believe that means Auto on my mobo?

Locking SATA's - no idea what this means or how its done i have one 200g hdd using the SATA 1 port and one IDE drive?

please help and please excuse my ignorance

 

[DrMrLordX]

Some answers:

HTT: this is the Athlon 64's equivelent to FSB on other systems. The default HTT is 200 mhz on socket 939.

Set Memory to SPD: Yes, SPD = auto

Locking SATAs: This probably refers to locking the operating frequency of the SATA ports. They should be locked automatically on most boards with decent overclocking features. If you'd tell us which board you have, perhaps someone can tell you whether or not your SATA ports are locked and if you need to go through any special procedures to make sure they're locked.

 

[Amaroque]

HTF? Well ok, That *should* be the same thing as HTT, considering the values you gave.

Auto is "Serial Presence Detect" 'By SPD' in the BIOS .

SATA 3&4 ports are locked, and they are the ones you want to use fo any overclocking.

 

[BlueWeasel]

You want to set the HTF that gives you a combination of HTF x HTT/FSB closest to 1000Mhz. Going higher than 1000Mhz may result in a unstable overclock and there is little or no performance gain of 700Mhz vs 1000Mhz.

For example, if you're overclocked using a 300Mhz FSB/HTT, then you'd want to set the HTF to 3x (3x300=900Mhz). Leaving it on Auto will probably handle it for you, but there's nothing wrong with setting it manual.

Using memory to SPD is the same setting as Auto in the BIOS.

Some boards may lock specific SATA ports which can limit the overclock. I'm not an expert on SATA on the A8N board, but generally, SATA ports 3 and 4 are locked, while SATA ports 1 and 2 may be unlocked. If your overclocked FSB/HTT seems to crap out around 230-240Mhz, then using a locked SATA port might help.

 

[DrMrLordX]

um
HTF != HTT

HTF = LDT

 

[themajorrager]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX
Some answers:

HTT: this is the Athlon 64's equivelent to FSB on other systems. The default HTT is 200 mhz on socket 939.

Set Memory to SPD: Yes, SPD = auto

Locking SATAs: This probably refers to locking the operating frequency of the SATA ports. They should be locked automatically on most boards with decent overclocking features. If you'd tell us which board you have, perhaps someone can tell you whether or not your SATA ports are locked and if you need to go through any special procedures to make sure they're locked.

sorry i mentioned it in the topic but just to clear it up i have a A8N-SLI mobo. i think amaroque cleared up which sata ports are locked though thanks

sorry but how do i know what my FSB is?

thanks for the help so far

 

[Amaroque]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX
um
HTF != HTT

HTF = LDT

I can only assume that HTF would be the total frequency.

4*250=1000 HTF. 5*200=1000 HTF.

 

[themajorrager]

i still dont understand what my FSB is or how i find out? thanks for your help im just new to all this

 

[Amaroque]

There is really no 'FSB' with an A64. The closest thing to a FSB frequency would be your total HTT frequency. This is usually supposed to be 1000MHz (5*200). So 1000MHz would normally be your FSB,

 

[DrMrLordX]

No offense, but if you don't know what a FSB (Front Side Bus) is, you need to do some reading. That being said, Athlon 64s don't have a FSB . . . they have something called a HTT which is, for our purposes, the same thing.

HTT x CPU multiplier = CPU speed. For example, a 2 ghz Athlon 64 has a multiplier of 10x and a default HTT speed of 200 mhz.

Your HTT speed is, by default, 200 mhz. I don't know what the HTT is called in your BIOS, but if you poke around you should find it.

You really don't need to worry about the HTF setting on your motherboard, though if you do some overclocking, set it to 3x or 4x and you'll be fine. 5x is the default. Most people call this setting your LDT. A combination of your LDT and HTT control your overall Hyperstansport (HT) speed. The default for s939 boards, like yours, is 1000 mhz (LDT of 5 x HTT of 200). Calling the HT speed your FSB is uh, a bit misleading.

 

[themajorrager]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX
No offense, but if you don't know what a FSB (Front Side Bus) is, you need to do some reading. That being said, Athlon 64s don't have a FSB . . . they have something called a HTT which is, for our purposes, the same thing.

HTT x CPU multiplier = CPU speed. For example, a 2 ghz Athlon 64 has a multiplier of 10x and a default HTT speed of 200 mhz.

Your HTT speed is, by default, 200 mhz. I don't know what the HTT is called in your BIOS, but if you poke around you should find it.

You really don't need to worry about the HTF setting on your motherboard, though if you do some overclocking, set it to 3x or 4x and you'll be fine. 5x is the default. Most people call this setting your LDT. A combination of your LDT and HTT control your overall Hyperstansport (HT) speed. The default for s939 boards, like yours, is 1000 mhz (LDT of 5 x HTT of 200). Calling the HT speed your FSB is uh, a bit misleading.

no offense taken. HTT in the A8N-SLI bios seems to be called CPU Frequency and like you said is set to default of 200mhz.

in regards to overclocking, when i increase the CPU frequency it changes the speed of my RAM and then the RAM starts failing during MemTest. if i knock the RAM back to 333 manually it works fine but if i leave it on 400 (which is what it is) then i have problems.
any ideas?

 

[DrMrLordX]

Okay, here's the deal: knocking the RAM back to 333 manually doesn't actually set it to 333 mhz (166 x 2) unless your HTT is at 200 mhz. Modern motherboards use a divider to determine the speed of the RAM based on your HTT (CPU frequency) speed. For example, the default setting of 400 mhz (200 x 2) is 1 to 1, or 1:1. This means that if your set your HTT (CPU frequency in your BIOS) higher than 200 mhz, it'll start moving your RAM speed up as well.

CPU frequency 210 = 210 mhz RAM (420, 210 x 2)

etc etc

By setting your RAM to 333 mhz, what you're actually doing is setting your RAM To run at 5/6 the speed of your CPU frequency (approximately, it's actually a bit different than that). If you set your CPU frequency speed to 240 mhz and your RAM speed to 333 in your BIOS, your RAM would be running at 200 mhz which is probably what it's specced to do. Dividers are a good way to overclock while using value RAM.

This is what Zebo meant by "isolate and consolidate" in his overclocking article. If you set your RAM to 200 manually in your BIOS, this should run your memory at 1/2 the speed of your CPU frequency. That will allow you to "top out" your CPU frequency without your RAM limiting you. You can tweak your RAM settings later to get your RAM running as fast as it will allow, or just get it running close to 200 mhz (400, 200x2) as possible.

To clarify, your RAM isn't actually running at 400 mhz when your CPU frequency is 200 mhz. It's actually running at 200 mhz. However, DDR RAM is often said to be running at twice its actual speed. For example, DDR400 RAM (aka PC3200) runs at 200 mhz default, but is said to be running at 400 mhz by some BIOSes. Don't be fooled by this. If you want your actual RAM speed, run a utility such as CPU-Z while booted into Windows.

 

[themajorrager]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX
Okay, here's the deal: knocking the RAM back to 333 manually doesn't actually set it to 333 mhz (166 x 2) unless your HTT is at 200 mhz. Modern motherboards use a divider to determine the speed of the RAM based on your HTT (CPU frequency) speed. For example, the default setting of 400 mhz (200 x 2) is 1 to 1, or 1:1. This means that if your set your HTT (CPU frequency in your BIOS) higher than 200 mhz, it'll start moving your RAM speed up as well.

CPU frequency 210 = 210 mhz RAM (420, 210 x 2)

etc etc

By setting your RAM to 333 mhz, what you're actually doing is setting your RAM To run at 5/6 the speed of your CPU frequency (approximately, it's actually a bit different than that). If you set your CPU frequency speed to 240 mhz and your RAM speed to 333 in your BIOS, your RAM would be running at 200 mhz which is probably what it's specced to do. Dividers are a good way to overclock while using value RAM.

This is what Zebo meant by "isolate and consolidate" in his overclocking article. If you set your RAM to 200 manually in your BIOS, this should run your memory at 1/2 the speed of your CPU frequency. That will allow you to "top out" your CPU frequency without your RAM limiting you. You can tweak your RAM settings later to get your RAM running as fast as it will allow, or just get it running close to 200 mhz (400, 200x2) as possible.

To clarify, your RAM isn't actually running at 400 mhz when your CPU frequency is 200 mhz. It's actually running at 200 mhz. However, DDR RAM is often said to be running at twice its actual speed. For example, DDR400 RAM (aka PC3200) runs at 200 mhz default, but is said to be running at 400 mhz by some BIOSes. Don't be fooled by this. If you want your actual RAM speed, run a utility such as CPU-Z while booted into Windows.

wow thanks man for the detailed info -very helpful and enlightening! i had a play round yesterday and wasnt able to do much with the RAM (2.5-3-3-6 @201.9Mhz) but the CPU is now running at 2.625Ghz @1.52V with no probs. i put the cpu under load for 15 mins with super pi and max temp was 47C so seems cool enough.

 

[DrMrLordX]

The best way for you to test stability on the CPU is to run Prime95, Torture Test, small ffts for 24 hours. If you can do that with no crashes, you're good to go.

You'll have to run two instances of Prime if you've got a dual-core CPU, but I'm guessing you don't have one.