Trying to overclock A8R-MVP

[lanielf]

Hi, I've been trying to overclock a8r-mvp but nothing will do. here's my specs

a8r-mvp with 0402 BIOS
3700+ San Diego
2x512 Corsair XMS c2 rated at 200mhz-2.5-3-3-6 / 1T
7800gt
p160 with ocz powerstream 420watts

Can someone tell me what settings to use for ram, voltage, HTT and cpu.

when i try to overclock CPU, computer wont post.

Anybody overclocked 3700+ on the a8r-mvp ? I need help !

thanks in advance for your advices.

 

[n7]

Welcome to the forums

Read: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=28&threadid=1497607&enterthread=y

Now with the A8R-MVP, you gotta overclock gradually.
It doesn't seem to like being cranked up all at once, but gradually moving up worked well for me.

You can leave vcore alone for now.

I'd start with lowering the RAM divider to 166, & lowering the HT multiplier from 5x down to 4x.

Then you can slowly raise the HTT up; i'd suggest increments of five to start.

I'm off to bed for now, but if i get time tomorrow, i'll try to help you with any other questions you have.

Also, check this thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=28&threadid=1759901&enterthread=y
Lots of handy appz for testing stability, etc.
Grab SuperPI, as it's great for quickly checking if an OC is stable.
SP2004 or Prime95 would also be worth downloading.
My personal fave for overall testing is S&M; quick, but determines stability very well.

 

[lanielf]

Thanks, I'll come here tomorrow If I have anymore questions.

 

[lanielf]

N7 ! I can't see the ram divider in the bios ! can u please tell me where it is ! thanks, and should I touch voltages on ram ?

 

[n7]

Okay.

Everything you'll need to change is in the advanced menu.

First, go to Advanced. Pic.
Then CPU Configuration. Pic.
Second to the bottom, you'll see i've brought up the HT Link Speed menu. Set that to 800 aka 4x, or later, if you raise your HTT (FSB) to over 250, then set to 600.
800 for now though.

Now go to the last item in the CPU Configuration menu, Memory Configuration (right below HT Link Speed). Pic.

See how i've set Memclock Mode to Limit?
Set it like that, & then select Memclock Value like i have in that pic, & select the 166 divider.
Later on, you can try different dividers, etc., when you find out your RAM's maximum overclock.

To make sure RAM is set to 1T, see this part of the Memory Configuration menu: Pic.
Go to User Config Mode & set that to manual, & you will then be able to go down to CMD-ADDR Timing Mode & select 1T.

Above that you see MCT Timing Mode, which are all the timings for your RAM.
I'd suggest leaving those settings at auto for now, but if you wish, you can set your CAS, TRAS, TRP, & TRCD to what your RAM is rated for.

Now, to actually overclock the CPU.
Go back to the main advanced menu, & select JumperFree Configuration.
That takes you here: Pic.

Since you now have set up your HT Link speed & RAM divider, you can now begin to gradually raise the HTT, or as its worded there, CPU frequency.
Unlike the other selections, you have to select CPU frequency, & then manually key in the speed you want.
Start off slow. 205, then if that's successful back in Windows, 210, etc.
For now, i'd suggest setting Vcore to 1.4V, & leaving overvoltage off.
For Ram, 2.65-2.8 is safe for now. Use whatever yours is rated for.

With each increase, check the stability with those programs i mentioned earlier.

CPU-Z is a great program for telling you what speed your CPU & RAM are running at, if you don't have that already.

Good luck!

 

[Shimmishim]

try a different bios as well. 0402 was pulled from the asus webpage a while ago.

try the 0309 one first.

 

[n7]

Update?

 

[lanielf]

thanks guys ! wow ..... 2.93 Ghz OVerclocked

265 fsb, 166mhz memory in bios(really running at 208mhz) that's insane ! I'm gonna to get higher when I receive my new cooler. bye bye

 

[lanielf]

 

[lanielf]

with extensive test, I think that 2.81 ghz is safer

260 fsb, 166memory in bios ( really 204) thats good for the moment, should I put HTT multiplier to X4 .. should I try it or X3 is enough.

And would X4 at 250 be better than X3 at 265 ??

 

[chibislick]

hey n7,

thanks for your guide, I'm following it as we speak. I seem to be stuck at 2.66 with an AMD64 4000+.

specs:
a8r-mvp
amd64 4000+

settings:
htt multiplier: 3x (600)
265 fsb
166mhz memory (running at 220.7, thanks to cpu-z)
1.65 memory volt
1.400 cpu volt (the proc voltage is fluctuating from 1.408 to 1.472 in cpu-z)
cpu multiplier is set to 10x (motherboard says max is 12x, but setting it to that won't boot)

I would like to know if you have any ideas...

Thank,

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: lanielf
with extensive test, I think that 2.81 ghz is safer

260 fsb, 166memory in bios ( really 204) thats good for the moment, should I put HTT multiplier to X4 .. should I try it or X3 is enough.

And would X4 at 250 be better than X3 at 265 ??

The HT Link has almost no effect on performance, though theoretically, the higher, the better.
If your system seems stable with it @ 4x (800), you don't have to lower it to 3x (600).
From what i recall of AT's review, this mobo can hangle higher HT speeds than the nForce 4 mobos usually, so 4x (260) = 1040
That's barely over the 1000 it's normally at, so i'm sure it'll be fine

Glad to see it's working well for you

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: chibislick
hey n7,

thanks for your guide, I'm following it as we speak. I seem to be stuck at 2.66 with an AMD64 4000+.

specs:
a8r-mvp
amd64 4000+

settings:
htt multiplier: 3x (600)
265 fsb
166mhz memory (running at 220.7, thanks to cpu-z)
1.65 memory volt
1.400 cpu volt (the proc voltage is fluctuating from 1.408 to 1.472 in cpu-z)
cpu multiplier is set to 10x (motherboard says max is 12x, but setting it to that won't boot)

I would like to know if you have any ideas...

Thank,

Hmm, what RAM do you have?

I have a feeling it could be limiting things, since if it's DDR400, running DDR440 might not work.

I'd suggest lowering the RAM divider to the 133 one if you wish you continue using the 10x multiplier.

You say the 12x multi doesn't work, even at stock ?
Or just for OCing?

Why don't try try it @ 12x215, for example, using the 183 divider?
Then increase the HTT from there to see how high you can go.

Really, in your situation, you have a lot of options, since you should be able to use any combination of RAM dividers (if you need them) along with the CPU using a 9x, 10x, 11x, or 12x multi.


You can also try using the over-voltage if you're not already.

Keep in mind that 2.65 GHz is very respectable too...it's possible that's all your chip has in her.

 

[chibislick]

I have that ram: ocz ram linky

12x stock works, I started all over again, this time with 12x. I got it to 2.71 running stable. I wasn't sure at first if I could use 12x since in your bios pictures above you had 10x setting... being new at OCing and all

I'm running at 12x216 right now (1.65ghz) 166mhz for the ram, and it's running pretty fine. No overvoltage at all: I'm happy

The memory is running at 174.4 (clocked at 166), you think I could up it to 200? Or is there a value between the two?

thanks,

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: chibislick
I have that ram: ocz ram linky

12x stock works, I started all over again, this time with 12x. I got it to 2.71 running stable. I wasn't sure at first if I could use 12x since in your bios pictures above you had 10x setting... being new at OCing and all

I'm running at 12x216 right now (1.65ghz) 166mhz for the ram, and it's running pretty fine. No overvoltage at all: I'm happy

The memory is running at 174.4 (clocked at 166), you think I could up it to 200? Or is there a value between the two?

thanks,

Yeah, my picture just shows the 10x multi because that's the highest my CPU can do.

You should have an option for the 183 divider, which would put your RAM closer to 200, rather than much below its speed.

If you don't have that option, you may want to update your bios.

Make sure you set the bios settings back to stock before you flash your bios though.

Asus has the auto-update utility so you can do it in Windows, nice & easily, if you don't like the floppy method.

In your case, i suspect your RAM might just be able to run @ 216 (DDR432), so you could always try settings it to 200, & see what happens.
If that doesn't work, you can either loosen the timings to try to run it at 216, or set it the 183 divider with its normal timings.