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NokiaDude

Diamond Member
I'm practically your run of the mill n00b. I know how to change a CPU and change BIOS setting but basically screw something up because I stupid. Right now I'm running this:
ABIT KT7A-RAID
AMD Duron 1.2Ghz w/200mhz FSB (Morgan Core)
1024mb of SDRAM 2x512mb@133mhz
40gb WD HDD UDMA 66mb/s
ATI Radeon 7500 AGP 64DDR
Sound Blaster PCI512
SMC EZ-Card 10/100
TDK 24/10/40x CD-RW
Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM
Mitsumi Floppy Drive
300w Generic PSU
AOC Socket A Cooler (SVC GC68)
What I ask of my fellow members is how I should tweak this thing to the maximum. I mean like the fastest bios settings, taking control of Windows XP settings and making my computer a speed demon WITHOUT unlocking the core. E-mail me or post here.

Update 11/20/02: I got the 512mb stick of RAM and also bought a Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM. I think I'll buy a 7500 Radeon and change the FSB setting next. My RAM timings are set @ Normal, I'll reboot and run Memtest86 w/ Turbo timings and see how that goes.
Update:11/21/02 I up'd the timings to Turbo, lot of errors in Memtest86, down to Fast, still errors, down to Medium, ok but kinda slow. So I set them to Normal w/ no errors, and seems a bit more faster than Medium.
Update 11/24/02: I cleaned out my case + mobo, I'm such a clean freak. For some reason with third party programs I can't monitor CPU usage no matter what. When I use TaskManager by keying Ctrl+Alt+Del I can monitor CPU usage. Hmmmm . . .
Update 11/27/02: I updated the BIOS to revision A9.
Update 11/29/02: I changed the memory clock to Host Clk + PCI Clk in the BIOS.
Update 12/06/02: I got a Radeon 7500 WOOT WOOT!!!
 
You won't get a 33% overclock with a 1.2GHz Duron ,they tend to top out at around the low 1300's ,as do most Morgan Durons.

Nokia Dude
I know you said you don't want to unlock your cpu but that is the best way to get more performance out of that chip without overclocking it.
By lowering the multilpier from x12 to x9 & upping the FSB to 133MHz that alone will give you quite a boost🙂.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the Durons are much easier to unlock than the Athlon XP's because there are no pits to fill ,you just join up the L1 bridges🙂
Another tweak you can try is to run the RAM at CAS 2-2-2 with 4way interleave,this will boost performance by about 5+%🙂 not a huge increase but still worth having,BUT be aware that your RAM might not be able to handle those faster settings.No big deal if it can't ,it'll just lock up or cause errors ,no damage to the RAM will be caused,& you can set it back to default afterwards.
 
Spend $90 for a XP2100+. That will fly compared to your 200MHz fsb Duron. The GC68 will keep it cool enough too -- I have my XP at 1.80v and 1680MHz with a GC68. I also have a KT7a and you can forget about fsb overclocking -- 140 is about the max. Anyway, if you get the 2100+ that will be a nice system for some time.

jaybee
 
Assimilator, to unlock my CPU could I use a no.2 pencil? I dont have any place round here tha offer conductive ink or such.

Jaybee, I unfortunately don't have $90 to whip out a xp2100+. I still have about $250 to go to pay this off to my dad!

To all, keep the advice coming!
 
A pencil will work just as well on these Durons as it did the earlier ones🙂 ,which is to say it won't be a permanent job! ,sooner or latter the graphite degrades & you start losing multipliers.Though I have heard a few people say it can last upto 6mths or longer if done very well.

Btw re the conductive paint ,don't you have any motor car spare shops near you? ,if so look out for a rear heated window repair kit (known as defogger in the USA😛) ,they contain a little pot of conductive silver🙂 ,that's what I used.

jaybee
I also have a KT7a and you can forget about fsb overclocking -- 140 is about the max.

Huh? why do you say that?,I have an Abit KT7a too ,its running an XP1500 set to x10.5 ,its running at 145MHz FSB (1524 MHz 🙂)
 
Originally posted by: Assimilator1
jaybee
I also have a KT7a and you can forget about fsb overclocking -- 140 is about the max.

Huh? why do you say that?,I have an Abit KT7a too ,its running an XP1500 set to x10.5 ,its running at 145MHz FSB (1524 MHz 🙂)
Click to expand...

That's one of the better overclocks I've seen on that board, and it's still less than 10%. Mine is running at 141. What I meant was you can forget about grabbing an XP1600+ and running it up to 150-160+ fsb on that board. To get a significant cpu overclock, you need to unlock. Which reminds me-- NokiaDude, if you are open to the defogger unlocking, you can spend $50 on an XP1600+ which should run up to 1.7GHz or so... I've got mine set at 141x12 on a GC68.

jaybee
 
Yeah but XP's are harder to unlock & he said he couldn't afford to spend more $$😛

Re FSB ,true ,I did try 150MHz & it does run in windows but isn't totally stable ,I think the RAM is the limit here as I am running PC133 CAS2 Crucial RAM at 145MHz CAS2! ,I know this RAM will do 147MHz CAS2 because I have it in a VIA PIII rig at that speed 🙂.Pitty the KT7a doesn't have 147MHz🙁............maybe I should try more tweaking at 150MHz?,in fact I'll give it a go in a few mins😉

What RAM have you got btw?
 
Assimilator1: I'll try and pick up some conductive silver this weekend and see if I'm bold enough to unlock my Duron.

Right now I have 67.80 in my paypal account and $45 coming in the mail. I'll use the $45 to pay off the DVD-ROM drive and search for a cheap XP cpu.
 
Are you well informed on how to unlock Durons?
If not I'm sure 1 of us can dig a link out🙂
The 1 thing you must be really careful on is not to crosslink the L1 bridges (connect across ,not downwards)
 
Originally posted by: Assimilator1
Yeah but XP's are harder to unlock & he said he couldn't afford to spend more $$😛

Re FSB ,true ,I did try 150MHz & it does run in windows but isn't totally stable ,I think the RAM is the limit here as I am running PC133 CAS2 Crucial RAM at 145MHz CAS2! ,I know this RAM will do 147MHz CAS2 because I have it in a VIA PIII rig at that speed 🙂.Pitty the KT7a doesn't have 147MHz🙁............maybe I should try more tweaking at 150MHz?,in fact I'll give it a go in a few mins😉

What RAM have you got btw?
Click to expand...

I've got 3 sticks of PC150. One I've had at 155-160, the others I haven't tested for max oc. But I'm running at CAS2, and going to 3 doesn't get me a single mhz on the fsb, so I'm assuming the problem is northbridge overheating -- I've heard that's often the case.

NokiaDude, good luck with the XP unlocking. Mine wasn't too much trouble. Just make sure to use scotch tape to mask where you want to paint. Check out Tom's Hardware (cp section) for a good walkthrough.

jaybee
 
Yeah THG has a good unlocking guide ,1 thing though (for XP's) ,don't use super glue to fill in the pits ,this is very hard to remove ,instead use Silicon sealant which is a good insulator & easy to remove if you mess up.

jaybee
Have you tried with just 1 stick? ,having a greater number of sticks will lower the FSB ceiling compared to a single stick.
I have 1 stick of PC133 CL2 256Mb RAM

How about removing the HSF on the Northbridge & applie a HS compound?
(btw I've also heard that the Northbridge gets hot at high FSB too now that you mention it)
 
I tried AS3 on the northbridge. Maybe it needs to be lapped, because I don't think I had two flat surfaces. I might give it another shot if I get bored. I don't think I ever tried with one stick, but as I said, changing the latency didn't help so I figured mem wasn't the problem. I'm debating a GB or nForce2 upgrade now tho... get some good memory and run that fsb as close to 200 as I can get. Hmmm... 2 512MB sticks, cpu, mobo... $800? ow.

jaybee

PS A credit card works great for scraping away excess (gel-based) superglue from the unlocking.
 
I would just use a pencil to unlock it, the HB works the best from what I hear. make sure it is sharp so you dont make one big mark🙂

I have unlocked durons and early athlons this way. Very easy to do, and if you ever want to lock it, just take some goof off to it🙂

The reason your ram is reporting errors could be cuz they are differant sticks/brands, but I am not an expert on ram😛
 
Originally posted by: NokiaDude
jaybee, how do you remove the northbride hs so you can apply AS3?
Click to expand...

There are pushpin connectors holding it in. Take a pair of needlenose pliars, turn the mobo over, pinch the pins, and push them through.

jaybee
 
Well I updated the BIOS to A9. I also removed the HS for the video card and applied AS3. I can't believe how anal I am about keeping the mobo clean, every week I find my self brushing off the components and cleaning all the dust. Also I'll try appling AS3 to the northbridge is I feel lucky.
 
Becuase I'm using 2 512mb RAM made by 2 different manufactures they will not run nicely under CAS 2. I would trade any one my 2 512mb for 2 512mb @ CAS 2. Like anynone is going to do that.
 
Oh well it was worth a try.Aside from unlocking your cpu ,you have only 1 option left ,overlcock via raising the FSB

Depending upon how high your RAM will go you may need to reduce the FSB/RAM ratio to 'Host Clk'
I'm guessing you RAM won't go very high ,maybe 138-140MHz?

Remember that at the default setting of '+ PCI clock' ,std FSB of 100MHz gives 133MHz for the RAM ,at 110MHz FSB(PCI is 36.3MHz) gives a RAM clock of 146MHz!.
Heck with it!😉 ,just set your RAM clock to 'host clk' if you're gonna try FSB overclocking 🙂 ,then at 110-120 odd MHz your RAM could probably do CAS2 too.

Forgot to say ,avoid PCI speeds above 38MHz
 
Hi,
The KT7A series of mobos dont officially support above XP1900(rev1.02 anyway, prob the same for rev 1.3)
It is possible to overclock however to get faster speeds, i managed to OC my XP1800 to XP2000 on this board(ut2003 wouldnt run right so i put it to XP1900 for stability & slightly more speed)
 
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