XP-M 2500+ overclocking... A7N8X Deluxe 2.0

[imported_harlanpepper]

I picked up an A7N8X Deluxe Rev2 board to play around with overclocking... but I can't seem to break 2350MHz. Apologies if this belongs in "Overclocking 101, An Idiot's Guide", but here's my issue:

I'm running Trats 1008mod3 BIOS after playing with 1008 and finding that I couldn't exceed about 205 FSB. With Trats BIOS I can hit >210, so that's good. However, any combination of multi and FSB that exceeds about 2350MHz will cause the BIOS to revert to 600MHz on restart/shutdown. So, I can run 213x11 (needs 1.725v) and prime95 all day, but as soon as I go up to 214x11 (it's still stable in windows and prime) the next time I shut down and restart, it goes back to 600MHz (6x100MHz). Same issues at 200x12.

Memtest shows the RAM can do up to 220 or so (and the 600MHz thing happens with 200x12, which is within spec for the RAM), so I think that's OK. I've tried bumping the vcore to the max (1.825) but that doesn't make any difference. Same with RAM voltage... up to 2.8. Anytime I pass the magic number of 2350MHz, can't restart without going into the BIOS and re-saving.

Must be a basic limitation of my motherboard or CPU. Anyone know what I can do to get some more headroom? Mobo mod? CPU bottleneck? Temps are 51c under load in a hot room (85F).

Thanks for any info or suggestions!

A7N8X Deluxe Rev 2.0 1008mod3 BIOS
XP-M 2500+ CPU @ 213x11
Corsair Value Select 2x512MB 2.5-3-3-7
XFX 6600GT
Seasonic Super Silencer 400W

 

[maluckey]

harlanpepper

213 x 11 is not a bad OC...

Disregard half of the claims for OC on these boards. If they post, they claim it. In the heydays of XP-M OC some pretty outrageous claims were made, most couldn't be backed up.

A fairly good OC is what you have. I barely did better with my NF7-S ver 2.0 and a 35w 2400+.

 

[TheRyuu]

Maby a bad bios? Is it updated?

Little wierd but it's actually a nice OC. It would be nice if you could get 12.5x200 (or even more), but still, it's pretty nice for an older XP

 

[imported_Sincity]

Yeah....that is a nice OC. Like the previous poster stated, a lot of OC could not be backed up. Perhaps they were able to POST but couldn't last longer than a minute on Prime 95. I still use my 1700+ for my MAME cabinet. Along with my 6800 and OC to 200 x 10, it can run BF2 med/low settings at 1280.

 

[Lonyo]

BIOS can be a bit funky.
I had issues underclocking my 2500+, 1.2v/1000MHz or so, and it wouldn't boot every time, and sometimes it reset to 600/800MHz.
Setting it to 1333MHz made it work fine every time, but clocking it too low sometimes made it reset or just refuse to boot every know and then.

But, have you tried going for a jump above 2350MHz? Maybe try something like 200x12.5? (Although it may not like that speed at all)

 

[maluckey]

There are a few points that were made that are very interesting, mainly regarding 200 mHz FSB...

Has 200 x 12 been tried? This is a favorite and known good OC for the 2500+ Bartons. If you can't do 200 x 12 then you may have hardware related issues somewhere.

 

[imported_harlanpepper]

Thanks for the ideas, all. I am fairly happy with the current overclock, but you always want more

I have run 12x200, 12x210, 12.5x200, and various combinations using the 11.5 multi and it's just like anything I try to do over 2350MHz... Windows runs fine, I can run Prime95 without errors (with enough volts) but when I try to shut down, resets to 600MHz.

It just seems like I need to turn off the feature in the BIOS that's checking my overclock at startup and regulating on me.

I'm going to fool around with some older BIOS versions and see if I can get around this somehow. Any other ideas out there, bring 'em!

 

[Assimilator1]

Just to make you jealous ,I've got my XPM 2500 @2.5GHz @1.66v & yes I can backup that claim ,btw it can do 2.63GHz @ ~1.75v but it gets rather hot!.
My mbrd though is the earlier A7N8X r1.04 which isn't rated to 200FSB ,so mine runs at 14x178MHz.I had to join 2 pins to get over x12.5 multi.

Re 200FSB & your mbrd I seem to recall there was some info going around saying that at 200FSB these mbrds had some problems with certain multipliers ,unfortnatley I can't remember anything more useful & last i looked I couldn't find that info again.

I would say that if you need 1.72v to get 2.35GHz stable then your near the limit of the CPU ,or maybe the cooler? what cooler have you got?
Mine's a Global Win CAK88T

You mentioned your P95 tested 'all day' ,how long's that?

 

[imported_harlanpepper]

Way to rub it in

I primed 11 hours before I stopped it, which I assumed close enough to be stable. I usually run it 24 hours to be sure (it'll be folding full time, like my 1.04 did) but I was still making a bunch of BIOS changes so it was just my first test.

I thought maybe the cooler could use improvement, but my load temps are 52c. I have a Vantec Aeroflow, which is a decent (but not great) cooler. Still, 52c seems relatively cool to me, considering my 1.04 board was folding with loads between 55 and 61c at 190x12 (2280) for months using the same CPU, PSU, and RAM. I needed 1.75v in that configuration.

I haven't heard of the problem with certain multipliers... I'll see what I can find out about that. Maybe I'll try the 13x and see if I can do 13x200. In testing, I haven't tried anything but 11, 11.5, and 12x But I probably don't have the volts for it, and I bet I'd be in the 60's if I did. Just burns me when my overclock is windows/prime stable but I can't restart the thing without the 600MHz BIOS problem.

In the end, I'm probably going to end up giving this machine to my parents, so it's not a big deal. They're currently working with a stock Athlon 1.3 and 256mb RAM. I just wanted to see how extreme I could be while I had it. Anything over 2GHz will blow their minds.

 

[Assimilator1]

With the voltage you need for 2.35Ghz I would think you'd have no chance of hitting 2.6GHz.
However if you can select higher multi's then you could try x14 starting at 166FSB & see what you can get it up to (purely for experimental sake).

11hrs should be ok ,naturally 24hrs is best ,especially if your gonna be folding ,btw are you in TA?

I'll check the specs of your Vantec & see how they compare to my cooler.
Are the CPU temps your quoting from the external mbrd (CPU) sensor or the internal thermal diode?.The latter gives much higher readings.
Atm running SETI I'm getting 42C ext ,57-60C diode (with +5C compensation) ,with a case temp of 32C (ambient about 25C).

[edit] ok I've read the specs on your cooler ,seems its slightly bigger but is mostly aluminium where as mine is all copper.
However 1 review I saw reckoned it cooled as well as the GW CAK86-T! (which has a bigger fan than mine),I can't see how unless the aeroflows design is a lot more efficient.
Anyway ,seems like its a decent enough cooler but being alli might be holding you back a little bit.

Btw I'll being fitting another XPM 2500 to my sons rig with a Thermalright SLK800U ,I'll let you know what that hits when Im done