Trying to OC 3500+ 90nm A8N-Sli DX...have issues.

[chevas]

Here's my specs:

A8N-SLI Deluxe motherboard
A64 3500+ 90nm Winchester
2 sticks of 512MB OCZ DDR500 memory (headroom for OC)
I have the gigabyte rocket 3D cooler...very big cooler (air).
My PSU is an older 20 pin Thermaltake 420 watt.

Currently I only have an 6600 GT PCIE card of which I will be changing to the BFG 6800 GT PCIE as soon as stock arrives. So, I'd like to have enough wattage to handle one of those cards and overclock the system. When I eventually get 2 6800 GT cards down the road I will upgrade PSU, so for now that's what I got.

I read the basic OC article and it made sense a lot and I've read other people's similar overclocks on their similar systems. I went ahead and tried an OC myself, but I start to get confused when dealing with changing voltage.

For my first OC, I changed the "system clock" I believe is the language my bios uses to 237mhz instead of 200mhz and I left the multiplier at x11. I was trying to achieve that 2.6ghz mark. Well, windows booted and the graphics were "leaking" as windows would remain on screen and it was all on crack. So I backed it off to 220mhz and the same multiplier. Then I realized I didn't change the HTT so I changed that to 4x and left the clock at 220mhz and windows didn't boot. Then I tried to adjust the voltage for the memory and the main system to match what I saw in some posts....like 1.5 for system and 2.6 for memory or something like that. When I had the voltage changed, 220mhz, HTT 4x, multiplier 11x, CPUz said I was running at around 1ghz instead of 2.4ghz. The bios said 2.4 ghz approx too...so I was like, wtf?

Somewhere in there windows stopped booting and chkdsk said he needed to delete some corrupted files (including files belonging to CPUz). This was probably because i ran CPuz when Windows was freaking out. Once chkdsk ran, windows failed to boot, even in safe mode.

Back to default overclock settings and a reformatted HD and fresh install, computer is working and I'm afraid to overclock again, but I really want to!

 

[JBDan]

You MUST do some more research. Read, read, read, then test, test, test. There is a plethora of info here at Anand and all over the web on oc'ing your system. Then you can confidently ask questions and get quality replies. TAKE IT SLOW and be patient for all systems act different from one another.

 

[chevas]

There's about 50 posts I can find in a matter of two minutes where people are doing the same thing as I am...I suppose they all need to do their reading too? Sometimes the terms used by people / manufactuers / websites are inconsistent, so I thought I'd try and run some things by a forum.

 

[JBDan]

Hopefully someone with your mobo/BIOS can help ya out its tough when I'm runnin an Asus A8V. I could tell ya my settings, but they would differ from yours. You using stock cpu cooler? You should be able to get close to 2.6 and maybe beyond with good cooling. Read Zebos post on memory. Its a good read. And check this out http://www.insanetek.com/index.php?page=overclocka64 Again you will have to test for stability after each increase in speed both cpu and RAM. Its time consuming but the safe way to go. Send me a PM and I will be glad to give you some "general" ocing settings. Sorry if I sounded rude earlier I didn't mean to. You came to the right place this forum for your questions.

 

[chevas]

Sorry, I got a little defensive too. I appreciate the help. I posted that while at work, so I didn't do quite all the homework I could have. I am using a "Gigabyte 3D rocket cooler" which I showed in my specs...definitely not stock cooler, meant for OC. I will read that article and post updates later and I will take it in slow increments.

 

[JBDan]

Originally posted by: chevas
Sorry, I got a little defensive too. I appreciate the help. I posted that while at work, so I didn't do quite all the homework I could have. I am using a "Gigabyte 3D rocket cooler" which I showed in my specs...definitely not stock cooler, meant for OC. I will read that article and post updates later and I will take it in slow increments.

G-Luck and yea! that cooler is meant for oc'ing. When you "up" things (mem,fsb,htt) and you crash or are unstable bump up your voltages. This will increase stability at the cost of HEAT! Especially the vcore (cpu voltage). Just watch your temps and I would stay below 57C if you can. Also make sure your RAM can handle 2.7/2.8 etc.. Update us when you can - I'm interested in how you do. Again, send me a PM when you get flustered or stuck and I will be glad to help any way I can.

 

[chevas]

This statement helps a lot:

"When you "up" things (mem,fsb,htt) and you crash or are unstable bump up your voltages. This will increase stability at the cost of HEAT!"

Also, when you are referring to this:

"Also make sure your RAM can handle 2.7/2.8 etc"

Are you referring to the actual clock speed 2.7/2.8 ghz, or are you talking about the voltage? I will send PM once I get home and give this a try...probably not til tomorrow, but in the meantime, I don't mind getting things squared away.

 

[JBDan]

Originally posted by: chevas
This statement helps a lot:

"When you "up" things (mem,fsb,htt) and you crash or are unstable bump up your voltages. This will increase stability at the cost of HEAT!"

Also, when you are referring to this:

"Also make sure your RAM can handle 2.7/2.8 etc"

Are you referring to the actual clock speed 2.7/2.8 ghz, or are you talking about the voltage? I will send PM once I get home and give this a try...probably not til tomorrow, but in the meantime, I don't mind getting things squared away.

I mean voltage on the RAM yea. Take a look at ocz's website and see what your modules are rated for as far as voltage specs. It took me about 1&1/2 hours per day, 3 days a week, for about 1 month to figure out my overclock. I'm sure some ppl have more time to spend on their pc and figure this out much quicker than me, but I have learned its quite a long process and not many shortcuts unfortunately lol. Hear from ya soon!

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Baby steps! You are trying to get to much to quick. Start off with stock voltages and increase HTT 3-5mhz at a time, and at the first signs of instability increase voltages. Overclocking is very much trial and error.

 

[vidguru83]

HTT is the cpu frequency in the BIOS right?

 

[JBDan]

Originally posted by: vidguru83
HTT is the cpu frequency in the BIOS right?

HTT (FSB) frequency x LDT multiplier = Hypertransport Bus
HTT (FSB) frequency x cpu multiplier = cpu speed

 

[vidguru83]

where is this LDT multiplier in the BIOS?

 

[JBDan]

On my Asus A8V it is listed as " Hypertransport Frequency" and you can select either 1000 (x5) 800 (x4) 600 (x3) etc you get the idea. The (x5), (x4), (x3), is not there just the MHz values. Don't know why Asus has made this board so confusing. Its a stable board though.

 

[vidguru83]

okay, i barely set my HTT at 203 and it crashed, it goes all the way up to 400 though. I dont get it. maybe incrase voltage, its set at 1.525 right now at 201 HTT.

but on the Ai booster i see FSB of 804. is this something else?

 

[JBDan]

I turn all Ai stuff off. I use manual settings for all my oc'ing. Dont know what Ai booster is srry. You have a Winchester?

 

[vidguru83]

yes, im new to this stuff so i don't know what i'm doing.

 

[JBDan]

Your vcore (cpu voltage should be @ 1.450)(asus older mobo/bios's undervolt quite badly and is a known issue-I dont know about the sli boards though) you see private messages at top left corner of this page? Check it in 5 minutes and PM me back.