System stable? Ready to OC..

[magnux]

Well, I spent time make sure my system was stable in it's current state:

I ran Prime95 for 9 hour 50 minutes, with 0 warnings and 0 errors. System temperature did not exceed 52C. My idle temperature, is 45C-46C. Is this acceptable to begin overclocking now?

My system:

AMD XP 2200+ (AIRDA) *unlocked*
Abit KX7-333 Rev. v1.1
Crucial PC2100 DDR 256MBx2
Antec SmartPower 400W PSU

VCORE: 1.65V
+3.3V: 3.47V
+5V: 4.84V
+12V: 11.92V
-12V: -7.34V
+5V: 0.33V
+5VSB: 5.32V
VBAT: 3.01V

Where should I begin? Should I start w/ my RAM, and get that stable OC'd first?

 

[Duvie]

I think the temps look fine for an AMD system...

With AMD system as soon as you touch the fsb of the cpu you will be ocing the ram...that is just the way it is. Do not tweak the ram yet use very conservative settings until you find where the system will be stable

Since 2200+ cpus are rev a's I still believe and did not oc well I am wondering why you are running pc2100 ddr...You should be dropping the multiplier and taking the thing up to 166fsb to run the system at a 333mhz bus. However I think you will need pc2700 to do it, but you couls try to see if it even boots with the pc2100 being overclocked 66mhz. Some have done it.

If you can't do that then there really isn't any point messing with multiplier and I doubt you will get very far ion fsb alone with that chip....Many couldn't get up to 2ghz with that and you temps are definitely not good enough for that IMO....I doubt you can get much past 145fsb let alone to 150fsb....

 

[magnux]

Heh, I bumped the FSB to 140 and Windows booted.. but I ran Prime95, and the system froze.

 

[magnux]

Ok, I did some testing.

Here's the details:

Prime95, 5min @ 135FSB - Passed
Prime95, 3min @ 137FSB - Failed (Hard lockup)
Prime95, 5min @ 136FSB - Passed

So, it looks like 2200+@1839MHz is the best I can get on FSB alone. What should I try next?

 

[EKAtBzboyz]

raise core voltage lol

unless you have already done that

then if its unlocked lower the multiplier and try more fsb

if still nogo, raise voltage to ram

 

[Duvie]

Also you better test it for a minimum of 1 hour!!! As fast as 136 and 137 failed 135 isn't stable either....

Rasie vcore is an option but those temps are not good enough to raise it too high without thinking about better cooling...short term you are likely fine but long term is the question....I wouldn't go much higher then +.1v right now with that cooling and temps....

 

[magnux]

Originally posted by: Duvie
Also you better test it for a minimum of 1 hour!!! As fast as 136 and 137 failed 135 isn't stable either....

Rasie vcore is an option but those temps are not good enough to raise it too high without thinking about better cooling...short term you are likely fine but long term is the question....I wouldn't go much higher then +.1v right now with that cooling and temps....

I think I kinda worded it wrong, 136FSB I tested for 5 minutes and it worked. 137 Kind of failed right away, I set it back to 136FSB and it's working fine (retested for 20 minutes). I'm going to try and get 137 to at least past it's old mark, and see where that takes me. Thanks for the tip, I'll be sure to not pass .1v

How about my DDR or I/O voltage? should I be messing with that?

 

[Duvie]

NO vdimm (ram) voltage adjustments should be needed until you get to like 150fsb and that would be maybe as my old crucial pc2100 actually did 333mhz ddr (pc2700) with 2.7v....Leave youras at 2.5v for now....


What is the vcore on your tbred 2200+??? I am trying to see whether you have a rev A or B tbred....Rev A's if you remeber in anandtech's review didn't even get 100mhz of oc...Sounds like 4 mhz into it you may already need to boost .05v-.1v and then likely may only get another 3-5 more fsb...I think the Oc may only produce 1900-1930mhz....

 

[Duvie]

That +5v rail seems alittle low...For amd system the 5v is very critical....Was that the voltage at idle and default 2200+ speed???

 

[magnux]

The default Vcore was 1.650. In all honestly, I would be happy with a 100Mhz increase. 1900-1950MHz is better than 1800MHz.

I bumped the Vcore to 1.675, and my FSB to 137. Prime95 is chugging away, looks like the .25 voltage increase did it.

I/O Voltage is 3.50 (default) and DDR Voltage is 2.55 (default).

I haven't fiddled with the Multiplier Factor at all, yet.

 

[magnux]

Yes, all those voltages were according to SpeedFan at default settings.

 

[Duvie]

Run prime for about 1hr then bump it up another 1fsb and try prime95 again...Baby steps on this one....

Watch temps and report high temps in prime95 and +3.3 and +5v readings....

I am concerned if that +5v gets any lower cause it likely drops when loaded. In my stable AMD Oc's my +5v rails usually never got below 4.9 under extreme load.

 

[magnux]

Well, it's been running for about 20 minutes now at around 51-52C at 100%, the +5V is holding at 4.78V.

 

[Duvie]

Well that temp still seems fine so far...give it an hour though...Push it up and only start to be concern about temps when you get into the 60's a bit. I think you have some room to play...

 

[CrazySaint]

With an Athlon system, your aim should always be 166MHz FSB, so you need to lower your multiplier so you can crank up the FSB and hope the RAM can take it.

 

[Duvie]

Crazy is right!! Lets rule this 166fsb probability out first....

Drop the multiplier to 11 or 10.5 and set fsb to 166....I would boost vdimm voltage to 2.7v and leave vcore at the +.025 you have it now especially if you use 11 multiplier

10.5x166.66 = 1750mhz ram will be 333mhz ddr
11 x166.66 = 1833mhz (or about where you are at 136fsb)


Set the ram to the most conservative settings cas2.5,3,3,7 if they have this setup...or safe mode...

If it post then that is great run some prime985 but also run memtest86 program to see if the ram is getting errors...

 

[magnux]

Hrm, system won't post.

10.5x166
Vdimm: 2.75
Vcore +0.25
Cas: 2.5

 

[Duvie]

Try it with only one stick and make sure the lowest most conservative settings...If no go then it just was too much for the pc2100 to do....I wouldn't go higher then 2.7v for that memory...Go back to work on the fsb alone...

10.5x166 amounted to an underclock so it is either the system can't handle 166fsb or the ram can't handle it....I would go with the ram...

 

[magnux]

Nope, that didn't work either. Heh. I'm thinking, is it possible that maybe my processor isn't correctly unlocked? I mean, it's the first time I tried it.. and being as it booted, I figured it was done correctly. But, being as whenever I change the multiplier the system won't post.. makes me wonder.

 

[Duvie]

definitely take a look at that, but it may just be the memory can't handle the speed!!!

well you know it runs fine at 133fsb for 266mhz ddr right??? Go ahead and drop muliplier to 13 right now and leave the fsb at 133...That is only 1733mhz so it will be underclocking the cpu for you...If it boots fine then the unlocking is fine...

 

[magnux]

I don't have a "13" option, just ">=13" which is what it's set to by default. So, setting it to >=13@133FSB will simply be default which is 1800MHz.

>=13, 12.5, 12, etc.. are my Multiplier settings.

 

[Duvie]

Try anything lower then the default to test it...ie 12.5 is fine!!! This should at least rule out if the chip is in fact not unlocked....

 

[magnux]

Hrm, apparently my unlock didn't work. x12.5 doesn't work. ARGH! I guess we know the culprit now, it's a shame the 2200+'s can be unlocked via the pencil method. I'll just order the unlocking kit this time around, instead of using the defogger.

 

[Duvie]

Arhhh...There is some hope left!!! Good luck and let us know when it arrives and we can start again!!! Drop me a PM if I don't respond.

 

[magnux]

Well, the system in unlocked and overclocking.. here's where I'm at now:

168FSB@x11 (1852Mhz)

Vcore: 1.675V
Vdimm: 2.85V

Idle: 46C
Load: 50C

(I have a real HS/Fan on it's way.. so what I have now is temporary..)

I'm finally running @ DDR333, and I must say -- wow! -- the system is very much more responsive in certain tasks, and especially in games.

The system doesn't seem to be very stable over 168, regardless if I increase Vcore or not. Should I attempt to lower the multi and click the FSB up? Where should I go from here?