What's the best way to overclock a 1333 thunderbird?

[snidy]

I want to see what this thing can do, without being to risky, what would be the best settings?
CPU clock multiplier?
CPU Frequency?
Dram Frequency?
and also, how much better is 266 fsb compaired to 200?

 

[MCS]

Assuming the chip is unlocked, I usually start off with the 133Mhz FSB increments, by just raising the multiplier. So right now you are at 10x133=1333Mhz. Your next stop would be 10.5x133=1400Mhz, then 11x133=1466Mhz. Check stability at each new speed and raise the core voltage if necessary. Once you have an approximate idea of how far it will go, you can start playing with the Front Side Bus speed. eg lets say you were stable at 1400Mhz but not 1466 - you could keep the lower multiplier and raise the FSB from 133, 1Mhz at a time to fine tune the point in between 1400 and 1466 where your CPU is stable.

BTW - these numbers are just examples and your chip may be more than capable of reaching 1500Mhz+.

 

[sad]

I'd play around with the FSB.

First download and install prime95 if you haven't already. IMO it's a must for oc. Go into bios and write down/memorize all your settings just in case you have to go back. Make sure you know where the clear cmos jumper is on your MB! After that we can begin. Increase your core voltage to 1.85 and your VIO to at least 3.4v. Make sure your memory settings in bios are at their most aggressive. Then raise your FSB to 139. Try to boot. If you can get in(very likely) start prime95 selftest and let it complete at least 10 iterations. If successful, reboot, and raise your fsb by 1, and test again. Keep on going until you get an error message. After that, reboot and set back your fsb by 2. That'll give you a nice margin of safety. How far you are able to OC depends heavily on your cooling setup. If you have a POS volcanoII or some kind of *orb..you're pretty much screwed.

If you find your self unable to boot utilize the clear cmos jumper. It'll reset everything to default.

 

[chainbolt]

I am using my 1333 now on 3 different boards and with 2 different memeory brands, and it's always the same. The multiplier 11 gives the highest end frequency, it's 1605 on the 7DXR. It's funny, becuase the maximumn FSB is very different on all 3 boards : around 156 at the A7M266, 165 at the 8K7A and 170 at the 7DXR. But the best and stable mutli x FSB combination is always with the multiplier 11.

The 1333 gets very hot when over 1500Mhz, very good cooling is essential. Anything below a MC426 or a HS like the huge bimetal Taisol with a 92 mm alu adaptor and 90 mm Delta fan (100 CFM) will not do the job, unless your bring down your room temp to 10C. On all boards I have to put the core voltage to the maximum to get the 1333 up to 1600. Of course with water or water+Peltier 1600 Mhz are guarenateed. The have the 1333 at 2100 at the A7M266 liquid cooled.

The best stability test is 3DMark 2001 1600x1200 ( if you have GF3) or 2000 of you have a GF2 or GF1.



See more at the review below>

 

[MCS]

No, it is not necessary to raise your vcore to 1.85V and your vio to 3.4V right off the bat. You raise this as and when you need to reach stability. Having the voltage higher than you need will just cause excess heat.

Ten iterations of Prime95 is probably not enough either - I have seen CPUs do a coupld of hours before they error. Looping 3DMark2000 in 640x480x16 (removes fill rate limitations) overnight is another good stability test.

 

[sad]

Raising the voltage directly to max may be hamfisted, but if you are any bit serious about overclocking, you'll end up at max voltage anyway. IMO.

 

[baldy]

if you don't raise the vre, then registry resets can occur, very frustrating, especially if you put tweaks and lost of proggies in, means an overinstall of the OS and reinstall of many of your other proggies to get them to work right.

if clocking, get a registry proggie and save the registry settings FIRST. i don't know how many time this has happened to me, in fact. i didn't back up mine and am presently in the middle of ANOTHER restore. obviously, i got the internet working first, then i will bore myself to death rebuilding everything else, again even if you save the registry, some of your proggies will have, hehe, strange errors anyway, even after a restore of said registry.

burn it in at a higher vre for awhile, it will help with the unltimate clock.

baldy