Socket A Barton XP 3200+ at 1.616v?? It's an Emachines PC

[starwars7]

I've got a POS Emachines PC, but I'd like to make it ok. I started up CPU-Z and the AMD Athlon XP 3200+ Barton Socket A is running at 1.616v. The core speed is 2205 MHz with a FSB of 200 MHZ and a Bus of 400.

I figure the MOBO is probably the heart of the problem, its a:

FIC (First International Computer)
Model:AU31 PCB 1.x
Chipset nForce2 IGP
Southbridge nForce2 MCP

Its got 1 GIG of DDR-SDRAM running at 167 MHz (one 512 chip is PC2700 one 512 is PC3200)

FSBRAM = 6:5
CAS = 2.5
RAS to CAS# Delay = 3
RAS# Precharge = 3
Cycle Time = 7

Any advice on how bring down the volts (or do I even need to worry about it, I thought that 1.4v was the safe zone.) or OC this guy, or am I out of luck?

 

[Trippytiger]

I believe that voltage should be fine for stock. I'm not on my AXP right right now, so I can't check (or accurately recall) what the voltage is, but I'm pretty sure it's 1.6-something.

EDIT: Something you might want to consider is ditching the PC2700 stuff and putting in
another stick of PC3200 - these chips don't perform well running asynchronous to the RAM.

EDIT again: Looks like the stock core voltage is 1.65V, so you're fine.

 

[starwars7]

Well that is good to know, it seemed high compared to the 64's and Opterons, but I guess its a different ballgame.

So I guess as far as overclocking, I should just follow this advice: http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20823

Or is there a nice A Socket OC thread somewhere?

From looking at my post does anyone have a guess as to wheather or not I'll be able to OC?

Thanks!

 

[Trippytiger]

Well, one thing you really need to keep in mind is that the AXP 3200+ was made on the 130nm fabrication process, so it takes higher voltages than the newer A64 and Opteron chips, which are made on the 90nm process (which results in lower voltage requirements). Definitely a different ballgame.

As for overclocking, that depends on if your BIOS gives you options for that, which seems unlikely. There may be some programs that will allow you to do this from Windows; you'll have to check that out. Odds are you won't see a huge improvement, though; it's my understanding that the 3200+ is a relatively poor overclocker, since it's pretty close to the top speed for that range of processors.

 

[jiffylube1024]

You definitely don't want to bring down the volts as that would cause your CPU to crash from not enough voltage.

The Athlon XP's from 2500+ to 3200+ all run at a stock voltage of 1.65V, so your mobo/PSU are actually undervolting the CPU.

You won't be able to get much of an overclock with that CPU (if any); 2.4 Ghz at that voltage is most likely not feasible. Athlon XP's love voltage and in order to get 2.4 Ghz they usually need around 1.72V-1.74V of actual voltage, meaning the CPU needs to be often set to 1.75 or 1.775V in the BIOS and better than stock cooling used.

Since the 3200+ is the fastest non-overclocked XP anyways, it doesn't have much headroom on normal cooling/voltage.

---------

Still, a 3200+ is a quick CPU by today's standards, just not in the same league as a dual core Athlon64 ... If the computer is noticably slow (especially if you're a gamer) then start saving your pennies because an upgrade in mobo/CPU/PSU/etc will be necessary to reach the next level in performance.

 

[A554SS1N]

I'd definately try other tricks for increasing speed - like making sure all your RAM is PC3200 (i.e. 400Mhz DDR). An overclock on an AthlonXP isn't going to helpt too much.

As said by other's, the core voltage you have is fine at stock speed.

 

[starwars7]

Thank you guys for all the help! Good to know the volts are ok, not so good to know that OCing will not do much, but I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to do too much with it

 

[Mogadon]

You want to get another stick of PC3200 RAM and see how you can overclock the FSB. Don't bother running any dividers as the AXP's will see a marked decrease in performance from this.

Your voltage is fine, I have my 3000+ running at around 2.03V.

Like you said though, even if you do get decent RAM your mobo will probably hinder your overclock.

 

[Trippytiger]

Originally posted by: Mogadon
Your voltage is fine, I have my 3000+ running at around 2.03V.

:Q

What kind of temperatures does that get you?