AMD Overclocking Guide

Hello Psychlone...

Well I was up until 4 in the morning (without coffee I might add) just trying to play the 'balancing act' with all these settings and I'm afraid I'm just not able to get what I'm looking for. I think early on I figured my original goal of 3.6 was not possble. So I settled for what I thought would be a realistic 3.2. I was able to hit almost 3.3 in the first excercises you gave me, however, as you said those were not really for getting a correct overclock. THey were more for finding the limits. I want to do it so the voltages are equal to or slightly higher than stock.

A couple things that did really jump out at me was the cpu voltage and memory settings. In the bios, I had the cpu voltage set for 1.4V, but in Probe, CPUID, and AI Suite, the voltage was being reported anywhere from 1.49 to 1.59. Is this because a different setting in the bios is incorrect? Why would it be operating so much higher than the setting I assigned? As for the memory settings, they are still set to their minimums because after I got the cpu overclocked, I couldn't get windows to boot with higher settings.

Anyways, after I woke up this morning, I got into the bios again and copied all the pertinent info minus all the irrelevant info so you can see whats going on. I also generated a cpuid report. If there is anything I left out, or anything you'd like to see... just let me know!

So here they are:

JUMPERFREE CONFIGURATION

AI TUNING - AUTO
OVERCLOCK OPTION - DISABLED
VDDA VOLTAGE - AUTO
MEMORY VOLTAGE - AUTO
NF200 CHIP VOLTAGE - AUTO
1.2 HT VOLTAGE - AUTO
NB CHIP VOLTAGE - AUTO
CPU-NB VOLTAGE - AUTO
CPU-NB MULTIPLIER - AUTO
CPU VOLTAGE - 1.4OOOV
CPU MULTIPLIER - 13x
CPU FREQUENCY - 235
PCIE CLOCK - 100

DRAM CONIGURATION

MEMORY CLOCK FREQUENCY - DDR2 400
TCL - AUTO
TRCD - AUTO
TRP - AUTO
TRAS - AUTO
1T/2T MEMORY TIMING - AUTO
DRAM GANGED MODE - AUTO (currently unganged)
MEMORY HOLE REMAPPING - ENABLED
AI CLOCK SKEW - AUTO

ADVANCE MEMORY SETTINGS

TRC - AUTO
TWR - AUTO
TRRD - AUTO
TRWT - AUTO
TWTR - AUTO
TRTP - AUTO
TWRRD - AUTO
TWRWR - AUTO
TRDRD - AUTO
TREF - AUTO
TRFC - AUTO
DRAM TERMINATION - AUTO
DYNAMIC IDLE CYCLE COUNTER - AUTO
IDLE CYCLE LIMIT - AUTO
DCQ BYPASS MAXIMUM - AUTO
DRAM BURST LENGTH - AUTO
DRAM BANK INTERLEAVING - ENABLED
BANK SWIZZLE MODE - ENABLED

DRAM TIMING CONTROL

CKE FINE DELAY - AUTO
CKE SETUP TIME - AUTO
CS/ODT FINE DELAY - AUTO
CS/ODT SETUP TIME - AUTO
ADDRESS/COMMAND FINE DELAY - AUTO
ADDRESS/COMMAND SETUP TIME - AUTO
READ DQS TIMING CONTROL - AUTO
WRITE DATA TIMING CONTROL - AUTO
DQS RECEIVER ENABLE TIMING - AUTO

CPU CONFIGURATION

AMD VIRTUALIZATION - DISABLED
AMD CPU C1E SUPPORT - ENABLED
AMD LIVE! - DISABLED
AND COOL 'n' FUNCTION - DISABLED
CPU INSTRUCTION FETCH - AUTO
CPU TWEAK CONTROL - AUTO
PROCESSOR DOWNCORE - DISABLED

CHIPSET

HYBRID SUPPORT - DISABLED
ONBOARD GPU - AUTO
iGPU CLOCK - 500
iGPU SHADER CLOCK - 1200
K8<->NB HT SPEED - 200MHz
K8<->NB HT WIDTH - AUTO
CPU SPREAD SPECTRUM - DISABLED
PCIE SPREAD SPECTRUM - DISABLED
SATA SPREAD SPECTRUM - DOWNSPREAD
PRIMARY DISPLAY ADAPTER - PCI-E

-------------------------
CPU-Z version 1.48
-------------------------​

Processors Information
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 1 (ID = 0)
Number of cores 4 (max 4)
Number of threads 4 (max 4)
Name AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition
Codename Agena
Specification AMD Phenom(tm) 9950 Quad-Core Processor
Package Socket AM2+ (940)
CPUID F.2.3
Extended CPUID 10.2
Brand ID 11
Core Stepping DR-B3
Technology 65 nm
Core Speed 3046.8 MHz (13.0 x 234.4 MHz)
HT Link speed 234.4 MHz
Instructions sets MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A, x86-64
L1 Data cache 4 x 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 4 x 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 4 x 512 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L3 cache 2 MBytes, 32-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes
min FID 5.0x
Features XD, VT
Package Type 0x1
Model 99
String 1 0x2
String 2 0x3
Page 0x0
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 0
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 1
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 2
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 3
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 4

Chipset
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Northbridge NVIDIA nForce 780a SLI SPP rev. A2
Southbridge NVIDIA nForce 780a SLI MCP rev. A2
Graphic Interface PCI-Express
PCI-E Link Width x16
PCI-E Max Link Width x16
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 4096 MBytes
Channels Dual (Unganged)
Memory Frequency 234.4 MHz (1:1)
CAS# 6.0
RAS# to CAS# 3
RAS# Precharge 3
Cycle Time (tRAS) 9
Bank Cycle Time (tRC) 13
Command Rate 1T
NB Frequency 2343.7 MHz

Memory SPD
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIMM #1

General
Memory type DDR2
Module format Regular UDIMM
Manufacturer (ID) Kingston (7F98000000000000)
Size 2048 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
Part number 9905316-173.A00LF
Serial number D9140279
Manufacturing date Week 25/Year 08

Attributes
Number of banks 2
Data width 64 bits
Correction None
Nominal Voltage 1.80 Volts
EPP no
XMP no

Timings table
Frequency (MHz) 266 333 400
CAS# 4.0 5.0 6.0
RAS# to CAS# delay 4 5 6
RAS# Precharge 4 5 6
TRAS 12 15 18
TRC 16 20 24

DIMM #2

General
Memory type DDR2
Module format Regular UDIMM
Manufacturer (ID) Kingston (7F98000000000000)
Size 2048 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
Part number 9905316-173.A00LF
Serial number C4144216
Manufacturing date Week 25/Year 08

Attributes
Number of banks 2
Data width 64 bits
Correction None
Nominal Voltage 1.80 Volts
EPP no
XMP no

Timings table
Frequency (MHz) 266 333 400
CAS# 4.0 5.0 6.0
RAS# to CAS# delay 4 5 6
RAS# Precharge 4 5 6
TRAS 12 15 18
TRC 16 20 24

Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

ITE IT87 hardware monitor

Voltage sensor 0 1.50 Volts [0x5E] (CPU VCORE)
Voltage sensor 1 3.28 Volts [0xCD] (VIN1)
Voltage sensor 3 5.00 Volts [0xBA] (+5V)
Voltage sensor 4 11.84 Volts [0xB9] (+12V)
Voltage sensor 7 4.87 Volts [0xB5] (+5V VCCH)
Voltage sensor 8 3.14 Volts [0xC4] (VBAT)
Temperature sensor 0 31°C (87°F) [0x1F] (TMPIN0)
Temperature sensor 1 27°C (80°F) [0x1B] (TMPIN1)
Temperature sensor 2 81°C (177°F) [0x51] (TMPIN2)
Fan sensor 0 2700 RPM [0xFA] (FANIN0)
Fan sensor 1 1337 RPM [0x1F9] (FANIN1)


Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 25°C (76°F) [0xC8] (Core #0)
Temperature sensor 1 25°C (76°F) [0xC8] (Core #1)
Temperature sensor 2 23°C (73°F) [0xB8] (Core #2)
Temperature sensor 3 23°C (73°F) [0xB8] (Core #3)

Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

GeForce 9800 GTX/9800 GTX+ hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 41°C (105°F) [0x29] (GPU Core)


PCI Device List
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RAM Memory Controller
bus 0 (0x00), device 0 (0x00), function 0 (0x00)
Common header
Vendor ID 0x10DE
Model ID 0x0754
Revision ID 0xA2
PI 0x00
SubClass 0x00
BaseClass 0x05
Cache Line 0x00
Latency 0x00
Header 0x00
PCI header
Subvendor ID 0x1043
Subsystem ID 0x82E7
Int. Line 0xFF
Int. Pin 0x00
Capabilities
HyperTransport Capability
Offset 94h
Interface type Gen3
HyperTransport Capability
Offset 60h
Interface type Retry Mode
HyperTransport Capability
Offset 44h
Revision 3.00
Interface type Slave/Primary
Link 0 width (in/out) 16 bits/16 bits
Link 0 frequency 200MHz
Link 1 width (in/out) 8 bits/8 bits
Link 1 frequency 200MHz
HyperTransport Capability
Offset D0h
Interface type Power Management


DMI
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DMI BIOS
--------
vendor Phoenix Technologies, LTD
version ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe ACPI BIOS Revision 1502
date 10/08/2008


DMI System Information
----------------------
manufacturer System manufacturer
product System Product Name
version System Version
serial System Serial Number
UUID A01B001E-8C00017D-0EA00022-15FA1E49


DMI Baseboard
-------------
vendor ASUSTeK Computer INC.
model M3N-HT DELUXE
revision 1.XX
serial MS1C88B87S00211


DMI System Enclosure
--------------------
manufacturer Chassis Manufacture
chassis type Desktop
chassis serial EVAL


DMI Processor
-------------
manufacturer AMD
model AMD Phenom(tm) 9950 Quad-Core Processor
clock speed 3055.0 MHz
FSB speed 235.0 MHz
multiplier 13.0x



Like I said... If there's anything else that might help.... let me know. I'm not asking for you to solve the puzzle FOR me, I want to learn as much about this as possible. I learned more from reading your Guide than I have from combing all the forums I've browsed in the last 4 years.

On a differnet note... I'm thinking that I'm gonna definately getting the DenebBE when it comes out in '09. My question is.... should I get the borad you're using? Or is there another board out (or coming out) that looks like an awesome or (dare I say it) better board for overclocking than yours? what about the Crosshair II Formula? I'll use my board first since it will support it, then get the new board later.

Another question.... Other than generating more heat which can be solved with a more efficient cooling setup, is there any other reason to stay away from the 140W versions of the Phenoms... present or future models?


Hope you have a good weekend
Benjamin

 

JUMPERFREE CONFIGURATION

AI TUNING - [MANUAL]
OVERCLOCK OPTION - DISABLED (??what options do you have here?)
VDDA VOLTAGE - AUTO (just try not to take this any higher than 1.3V - lower is better unless needed for stability - affects NB/SB PLL)
MEMORY VOLTAGE - AUTO (this should be set manually to what your RAM is rated at - probably anywhere from 1.8V to 2.2V and you can bump it a *little* higher than stock if needed)
NF200 CHIP VOLTAGE - AUTO (this is your Southbridge Voltage and probably shouldn't be set any higher than 1.22 or 1.24V)
1.2 HT VOLTAGE - AUTO (HT Voltage - this can stay at 1.2 to 1.22 since you're probably not going to raise your HT beyond 2.2GHz)
NB CHIP VOLTAGE - AUTO (Voltage for the Northbridge - I've found that 1.3V does well with my board - but if you raise this, pay attention to your mobo's temp!!)
CPU-NB VOLTAGE - AUTO (CPU to Northbridge Voltage - the lower the better, but increase by .1 to .2V for stablity)
CPU-NB MULTIPLIER - AUTO (this ALWAYS has to be equal or HIGHER than your HT speed! Set to [11X] for 2200MHz)
CPU VOLTAGE - 1.4OOOV (never try to go higher than 1.4V unless you're on a suicide mission!)
CPU MULTIPLIER - 13x (you can change this one at will to whatever you want - changing the CPU multi can't hurt anything, worst case scenario is you bluescreen and have to reset your BIOS)
CPU FREQUENCY - 235 (same for this one, but raising this value also raises the HT, the NB as well as the RAM frequencies. You can probably safely take this to 240 (if it will do it anyway) without having to divide your RAM and drop your HT/NB multipliers)
PCIE CLOCK - 100 (don't never, ever, ever change this one - overclocking your PCI-E lanes will do nothing but blow your card up! - some people have said that they've found a *little* bit of performance increase by finding the 'sweet spot' for their board and card, but I definitely suggest against this!)

DRAM CONFIGURATION

MEMORY CLOCK FREQUENCY - DDR2 400 (You should be able to set this to 533 (or 1066) without any problems as long as your FSB is at 200 to 220)
TCL - AUTO (this, along with all 4 of the main latencies should be manually entered! - this one should probably be [5])
TRCD - AUTO [5]
TRP - AUTO [5]
TRAS - AUTO [18]
1T/2T MEMORY TIMING - AUTO (manually set this to 2T)
DRAM GANGED MODE - AUTO (currently unganged) (unganged is faster than ganged)
MEMORY HOLE REMAPPING - ENABLED (this is fine)
AI CLOCK SKEW - AUTO (Until you know how your RAM behaves, leave this alone - you should be able to see what the BIOS sets it to after a couple successful reboots while stabily overclocked...you can tweak these skew values to your liking, only BSOD or reboots are the worst that can happen here)


ADVANCED MEMORY SETTINGS

(leaving these on AUTO won't be a bad thing until you know more about how your memory reacts to overclocking)
TRC - AUTO
TWR - AUTO
TRRD - AUTO
TRWT - AUTO
TWTR - AUTO
TRTP - AUTO
TWRRD - AUTO
TWRWR - AUTO
TRDRD - AUTO
TREF - AUTO
TRFC - AUTO
DRAM TERMINATION - AUTO
DYNAMIC IDLE CYCLE COUNTER - AUTO
IDLE CYCLE LIMIT - AUTO
DCQ BYPASS MAXIMUM - AUTO
DRAM BURST LENGTH - AUTO
DRAM BANK INTERLEAVING - ENABLED
BANK SWIZZLE MODE - ENABLED

DRAM TIMING CONTROL

CKE FINE DELAY - AUTO
CKE SETUP TIME - AUTO
CS/ODT FINE DELAY - AUTO
CS/ODT SETUP TIME - AUTO
ADDRESS/COMMAND FINE DELAY - AUTO
ADDRESS/COMMAND SETUP TIME - AUTO
READ DQS TIMING CONTROL - AUTO
WRITE DATA TIMING CONTROL - AUTO
DQS RECEIVER ENABLE TIMING - AUTO

CPU CONFIGURATION

AMD VIRTUALIZATION - DISABLED
AMD CPU C1E SUPPORT - ENABLED (turn this off - this hinders performance but decreases temperature...better performance with it disabled)
AMD LIVE! - DISABLED
AND COOL 'n' FUNCTION - DISABLED
CPU INSTRUCTION FETCH - AUTO (You can turn this off - I believe this is your board's version of TLB fix, which your BE doesn't experience)
CPU TWEAK CONTROL - AUTO (leave this to auto - it will auto-shutdown if it needs to, but will increase performance while it's on, entering S1 to S3 states also decreases performance and temperatures)
PROCESSOR DOWNCORE - DISABLED (this disables individual cores of your CPU - useful if you want to run a Kuma tri-core setup for less power usage and temps!)

CHIPSET

HYBRID SUPPORT - DISABLED
ONBOARD GPU - AUTO (I have *no* experience with nVidia - I can't stand 'em, so hopefully someone with experience with onboard AND a PCI-E card will chime in)
iGPU CLOCK - 500
iGPU SHADER CLOCK - 1200
K8<->NB HT SPEED - 200MHz
K8<->NB HT WIDTH - AUTO
CPU SPREAD SPECTRUM - DISABLED
PCIE SPREAD SPECTRUM - DISABLED
SATA SPREAD SPECTRUM - DOWNSPREAD
PRIMARY DISPLAY ADAPTER - PCI-E

If you're thinking about the jump to the Deneb when it comes out, don't. The newer and faster Deneb architecture will come out at the same time as the AM3 sockets (Q2-Q4 '09) and will trump the (almost) current architecture on delivery day. To my knowledge, the AM2+ version of the Deneb is backward compatible to AM2 socket, but will not work in the newer AM3 socket, whereas the AM3 Deneb will no be backward compatible to AM2/AM2+ sockets - so best to wait this one out until the newer socket becomes available.
(the AM3 socket is the one that the 'manufacturing example' Deneb is hitting 6.3GHz currently, so believe me when I say it's in progress and it won't be long)

Unless you're building a server where heat and power consumption have to be at a minimum, or unless you're worried about what your electric bill is going to be from month to month, there's no reason to worry about the 140W CPUs. In fact, just because they say they can use up to 140W doesn't mean they're going to, even when stressed. We did tons of testing and found that AMD/ATi has overrated these CPUs.

Good luck with all that!!!

Psychlone

 

DUDE, you are the man! Thank you so much for your help... Makes me want to beat your OC just to make you proud haha. After I eat dinner i'll start fussing with these and let you know the results.

this option is grayed out when AI TUNING is set to manual. When it is set to auto, it will un-gray and give the option to do 'auto overclocking' at 1%, 2%, 5%, 7%, and 10%. I did the 10% when i first got it. I think it got up to about 2800 or something like that.

I believe the AM3 you're referring to is the PhenomII X4 "945" Black Edition, not the "940" correct?

 

Overclock Option - yeah...I was wondering if that was your board's version of Ai Tuning...leave that off forever and ever!

The P2X4 945 is exactly what I was referring to, and it's going to be a killllller!

Good luck with your OC Bro!

Psychlone

 

not FSB but FTW

Psychlone! Oh worshipful master, oh great culinary, computing, communicator, please sir, at a time that suits your good self can you pass your omnipotent eye upon my problem?

In my M3A32 Deluxe with 9850.
Following your most sagely advice I have dropped the
CPU Multiplier
HT Link Speed
RAM Divider

Thinking oh goody my adventure in O/C land will start out with a hay and a ho and a hay nonny no. Only to find I couldn't even get the FSB past 210 before the Horned Ones servants turned my plans to a yellow milky dessert. :cry:

Also I wanted to have a gander at the stepping until I reminded myself that I had installed a TRUE and the idea of pulling the mobo out didn't appeal so I tried the advice you gave earlier to XRaptorX and kept dropping the voltage on the CPU to the point of no reboot and I got right down to 1.150.
But if what I understand is correct then it's the mobo that won't let me go past a measley 210 on the FSB not the CPU?

With a bit of my own tootling around I get the beast stable @ 2.8 @ 1.325 Volts and RAM @ 1066. So either my blond hair is showing and I have missed something or there is a greebly in some component, methinks the former.

Anyhoo regardless of any reply or advice I think I speak of behalf of everyone here, in issuing a big hoorah for your guide and help

 

Psychlone Jumpfree Config

Psychlone,

This is my first time trying to do a overclock. I just went out and spent money on my first good computer and was looking through the jumpfree config you did for xRaptorx it was great. My question is could you do the same layout for me with my board? My specs are as follow.

board--- M3a79-T

memory 2x2 Dominator 8500 ---- this I dont understand the whole 5 5 5 15 or how to set it or whatever mine is suppose to be. I did however get this from 800 to 1066 in bios.

AMD Phenom X4 9950 BE processor 2.6 ghz.

crossfire 4870x2

Also should I do all these changes right in Bios or just use AMD overdrive? Any info on what is best way would be great.

 

lol

This guide was written using the M3A32-MVP Deluxe, so simply following the BIOS template in my first post should get you pretty close to where you're going to cap out. (but be aware that even though it's the same board, the both won't handle the same)

If that CPU really is solid at 1.15V at stock speed, then you're pretty sure to get 3GHz + without any problems...
As for the FSB not going past 210, that is entirely reliant on the motherboard - is it a revision2 of the M3A32 or the first ones that came out? (just curious, really it won't change anything) - my revision one board seems like it hit it's max real early too...

You may get a better yield by increasing the CPU Multiplier instead of decreasing everything and pumping up the FSB since the motherboard isn't going to let you go that route anyway. Plus, where everything is linked to the FSB, but unlinked via they're own multiplier, you can raise everything else up around it anyway. (i.e. CPU Multi to 15.5, NB to 11X and HT to 2400MHz - this would give the same affect as the normal way of overclocking - WITH THE EXCEPTION of your RAM, it would still be running at 1066 and no higher)

Changing your latencies manually is located under Memory Configuration in your BIOS. First time you go in there, they'll all be on [Auto]. You'll only want to change the first 4 or 5 to what you know the sticks are rated at (i.e. 5,5,5,15,6 - or whatever they're supposed to be)
Setting your RAM timings manually is REQUIRED on the M3A32 and M3A79 boards, otherwise, you'll never get anywhere with an overclock...so that's the first area that I would address before moving on to raising the CPU Multi (and others)

So, just so I'm clear, you can raise the CPU Multiplier to where your CPU maxes out with NO MORE than 1.4V (and that really depends on your cooling - the lower the voltage to get where you want to be, the better!) - and then you can raise the NB Multiplier to 11X or maybe even 12X without any voltage increase at all, then raise the HT MHz to 2400MHz and you should be golden.
Some of the minor voltages can be pumped up a bit, like:

..Northbridge Voltage [Manual]
..Hyper Transport Volatge [1.30v]
..Core/PCIe Voltage [1.22] - Voltage supplied to the NB chip itself
..NB PCIE PLL [1.8v]
..Southbridge Voltage [1.24]

That should give you the boost that you're looking for!

About the JumperFree Config that I did for Raptor, I've already done it for the M3A32-MVP Deluxe *AND* the M3A79-T Deluxe (they have identical BIOS') - that's what I used to actually write up this guide in the first place. Raptor's motherboard was an M3N...quite a bit different than what we're working with, so that's why I did that for him.
All of the same or similar BIOS adjustments on his board that our boards share, have exactly the same function on our boards, so all that applies to us as well, but if there's still something that you don't understand after going back and reading my very first post in this thread, please do ask and I'll elaborate more.

Changing your latencies manually is located under Memory Configuration in your BIOS. First time you go in there, they'll all be on [Auto]. You'll only want to change the first 4 or 5 to what you know the sticks are rated at (i.e. 5,5,5,15,6 - or whatever they're supposed to be)
Setting your RAM timings manually is REQUIRED on the M3A32 and M3A79 boards, otherwise, you'll never get anywhere with an overclock...so that's the first area that I would address before moving on to raising the CPU Multi (and others)

Everything that you do for an overclock *should* be done in BIOS rather than in a Windows environment...always.

Psychlone

 

jumpfree

Psychlone thank you for the info. I checked my ram and it seems to be 5 5 5 15 so I will change that I was able to get 1066 on my ram without that once I change to 5 5 5 15 will that perform better? I was told by some people to use the AMD overdrive to overclock but thx for clearing that up and letting know to just use bios.

 

If your RAM is supposed to be at 5,5,5,15 and you set it manually to those spex, then you'll be able to have a successful overclock - I believe that it's actually a motherboard limitation...leaving them on Auto makes it really hard to overclock for some unknown reason (call it a bug)

As for AOD, the people that are telling you to use that to overclock are GROSSLY mistaken. It's a good tool to check what can and can't be done, but any and all overclocking should *always* be done in the BIOS where it always has been done. Anything done in a Windows environment won't 'stick' unless you add registry values to the Windows registry, which isn't reliable anyway.

Good luck!

Psychlone

 

Hi
I just set up Asrock K10N780SLIX3-WiFi M\B woth 125 W 9950BE my page for advancing my multi is set up funny, im at 31 to achieve 3.11 OC, there is a frequency setting below this ,its set at 1 ,im thinking if i change it to 2 i would see multi numbers go to 15.5, also there is a NB frequency setting , i havnt changed that either,
i havnt changed my voltage on cpu or my NB (1.25-cpu\1.3- NB) but i did see you mention setting my ram settings manually rather than using auto to aid the O\C great as 3.1 is the limit i can reach stabily so far.
I have Kingston HyperX KHX85002K2/2GNR its 2.2 volts which i set manually i believe my setting are 5,5,5,15.
i have like 25 settings for ram which ones should i set to 5,5,5,,15 please im also set at 2t which i believe is the better setting is that true as well.
this is nice M\B but the documentation for the Bios setting is not there in the manual at all. this article you have is really great we need to keep AMD in the Game i have 2 5000 BE a 5600 windsor and a 5800 brisbane i wont buy intel cpus any more

 

The first 4 latencies usually go in this order in most BIOS', but where yours is weird, I'm not sure how it's going to look.

CAS...5
tRCD..5
tRP....5
tRAS..15

Unless you know what all the others are supposed to be set at, leave them on Auto...it's usually just the first four that cause instability on the newer architecture.

2T is the only thing that's going to be stable on any board (so far) - with DDR2, the latencies are much higher than they were with DDR RAM, and 1T isn't even possible for most anymore (they should just remove that option from the BIOS altogether)

On that note, I really wish that motherboard manufacturers would all band together and create a BIOS standard that everyone would follow - this would alleviate the problems trying to translate one BIOS option to another board like what you're experiencing with this strange 'frequency setting' and 'multi'...if all motherboards read it like CPU Multiplier and FSB, it would be super-easy!

As per your last statement, you just wait for the second round of Deneb CPUs - they're poised to take the overclocking crown again and it's already pissing off a lot of Intel people...which I don't understand - competition is good for them and us, it advances technology, keeps prices cheap and keeps THEM honest! (well, as honest as they can be)

Psychlone

 

Question

I just want to be at 2.9ghz so this is what I have so far. Any changes that you can think of?


AI overcloclking (manual)
FSB (200)
PCIE (100)
Processor Frequency (14.5)
Processor voltage (auto) which seems to come out to 1.3
Processor-NB Frequency(auto)???????
CPU-NB HT Link speed(auto)??????

Have my ram set 5 5 5 15 at 1066 with 2.1volt.

The rest of the overclocking is still pretty much on auto for now until I figure out the first 6 things. Thank you. Bare with this noob I'm trying to learn!!

 

So let's do some math:

(14.5) * (200) = (2900)
(14.5) / (2.66) = (5.451)
(2900) / (5.451) = (532.01) * (2) = (1064.02 DDR2 MHz)

Your NB on Auto and the HT on Auto are probably running at an even 2000MHz and you could gain a bit of performance increase there by putting the NB on an 11X or possibly even a 12X multi, and then raising the HT to 2200MHz or maybe even 2400MHz (just remember that your NB *must* be equal to or higher than the HT)

Other than that, everything else looks great!

Psychlone

 

Man your awesome! thanks for the quick reply! yeah i wish M\B nomenclature was standardized too, i have been running MSI boards for a few years now and i found the asrock set up much deeper but a little confusing at the same time. ive got the 125 W 9950 BE i have to update my equipment display in here under my avatar.
ill fiddle with my fsb settings i have the asrock O\C tool and i think this actually works ,unlike the MSI tool which simply crashed the system everytime i tried it. Guru3d is really awesome living data base.

 

hi as you responded so quickly i thought i better check the bios for my Asrock K10N780SLIX3 wifi M\B ( as i think its lowest priced 780 chipset M\B i found on Newegg and may get popular, i hope this info helps anyone trying to O\C this very nice M\B)and relay the info as its shown for my bios settings as follows:
CPU freqency multiplier :31
CPU frequency divider :1
NB frequency Multiplier :5
Im achiving an O\C of 3.11 with these settings with no voltage changes i have Zaleman 9700 cooler and good ventilation
I applied the ram timings and will try to boost my fsb from my Asrock O\C'ing tool keep you advised, Happy Thanksgiving to all

 

Question

Psychlone,


Thank you for your help I will try changing the NB and HT tomorrow when I get home from work!!

When I first did some steps in your guide I messed something up and lossed my video feed and was getting nothing so I had to do bios reset. I'm just curious what it might have been that caused it. Here is the 6 things I did before I had to reset is there anything that catches your eye that would have caused that for me so I dont do it again?

1) On my ram I was doing the 5 5 5 15 but I also did 5 on on CAS Latency so I ended up with 5 5 5 5 15.

2) I also disabled GFX2 dual slot and enabled GFX dual slot from auto.

3) I upped the slot power limit from 25 to 75 since I have crossfire 4870x2.

4) I enabled USB 2.0 controller and changed 2.0 controller to Hi speed.

5) ACPI 2.0 support and ACPI APIC support I enabled both

6) I disabled Auto Express and CPU Tweak.


I have a feeling it had something to do with #2 in my list any info on this would be great so I dont make the same mistake again and then I can change the other things in the list back to concur with your guide! Thank you.

 

I'd change the slot power limit to 200W for your X2, then I'd enable the Auto Express and CPU Tweak - both of those options will help with performance a bit, and since you're not running an xx00 Phenom, the TLB fix isn't used.

That should help a bit...

Psychlone

 

Psychlone!! Masterful, compassionate, teacher!
Much gratitude and salutations for your reply.
I prostrate myself at your feet once more for further council.

is it a revision2 of the M3A32? - I can't see any documentation hard or soft to indicate that.

Those magic words of;

"Setting your RAM timings manually is REQUIRED on the M3A32 and M3A79 boards, otherwise, you'll never get anywhere with an overclock"

set me on the path to the glittery, heady world of full computing illumination.
However like all good journeys of the soul, a few more monsters still have to be slain.
The first manifesting in the form of;

DRAM Ganged Mode [Disabled] If I do this, a poohload of new options appear in the DRAM Timing Configuration.
Most looking like what is in the guide, but a few new ones appeared.
So after trying to duplicate the stuff from the first part, and AUTO anything I wasn't sure of - it didn't POST and I didn't get any joy till I went back and set the DRAM Ganged Mode to AUTO.

Then it all went well, and I had my <gruff_voice>Dominators</gruff_voice> running as per SPD
5,5,5,5,15.

The next Devils spawn to trip me up was the;

TCWL [5 CLK] - lower values equal faster writes, but will cause instability at high MHz

If I try to manually set them on any value (5 thru 8) the pooter won't POST, so back to the dreaded AUTO.

It leads me to suspect it's the RAM that's not coming to the party.
Dominator CM2X2048-8500C5D is what I have, but you say with some elation you have D9s
Perhaps mine are the Mexican Dominators aranoid:

BUT for a while last night after tightening the timing to the 5,5,5,15, and upping the NB to 11X and HT to 2400MHz, I got things running shweeeeeet on 2.9, I even did a mild O/C on the 3870x2 and
did a couple of hours of gnarly power hungry Clear Sky.
Which ran ultra smooth and I was feeling like;
1) Gordon Freeman after waking up and seeing the lovely Alyx Vance. :nerd:
2) Nomad after meeting the lovely Helena Rosenthal.

This morning however the tide has gone out. The Combine have nuked my happyness, the Aliens escaped the Matrix and have lain to waste my 3 GhZ dreams. It won't even do 2.9??
I had to go back to 2.8, and it would seem without any Psychlonic/Devine intervention that might be it.

If it is that's fine, as you pointed out - we paid for a 2.5. Don't worry be happy.

As always sandshoe veddy mush.

 

Question

When I change the slot power limit to 200W does that change all slots?

 

@neeeksta: [summons best God-like voice] Quit Groveling!! [/summon]

You know, if you haven't found your CPU's max value yet (sounds like it), you should probably start there. Begin by dropping everything (NB, HT, RAM - all to their default values but still input manually) and then begin raising the CPU Multiplier in half-step increments, rebooting in between each change, and then begin stress testing inside a Windows environment after you get to 14X. Once you run Orthos or wPrime for a few minutes (maybe 5 or so), reboot and up it another half-step...repeating this process until it won't pass POST or won't boot all the way into Windows. When you reach that point, go into BIOS and increase your VCORE (CPU Voltage) up by .01V and try again. Keep doing this until either you find your CPU's maximum, or you're not comfortable with how much heat its pushing out. DO NOT go over 1.4V unless you're under water or phase! (besides, these Phenoms don't really like high voltage)

Now on to the RAM:
The DRAM Ganged Mode *needs* to be set to Disabled and I'll explain why:
You've got 16 lanes divided up into coming and going traffic. Now if you have all 16 lanes going one direction with a faster speed, but then stop them and open the lanes up for travel in the other direction, you've just created the most ineffective form of travel - but if you can split those 16 lanes into 8 lanes in each direction, both running a constant speed, all the drivers are going to get there at their allotted times. (seriously, I can't even imagine why they would even have Ganged as an option! - 1 X 128bit vs. 2 X 64bit...hmmm...)
But, like you said, when you enable it, it also opens up new adjustments for your RAM. And, since you believe that your RAM is the culprit (and it's seeming like that to me as well) - then the only thing to do is leave the first 5 set like below, then leave all the rest on [Auto] (there's ways around stuff like this even if the RAM didn't show to the party!)

..Memory Clock Value [1066 MHz]
..2T Mode [Enabled]
..DRAM Timing Mode [Both]
..CAS Latency (CL) [5 CLK]
..TCWL [Auto]
..TRCD [5 CLK]
..TRP [5 CLK]
..TRAS [18 CLK]
..tWR [Auto]
..tRFC0 [Auto]
..tRFC1 [Auto]
..tRFC2 [Auto]
..tRFC3 [Auto]
...TRC [Auto]
..TRRD [Auto]
..tWTR [Auto]
..tRTP [Auto]
..tRWTTO [Auto]
..tWRRD [Auto]
..tWRWR [Auto]
..tRDRD [Auto]

Make sure the sticks are getting 2.0 to 2.1V and try again. Failing that, you could try to raise a couple of the latencies to higher values, but definitely save that as a last resort, we want to get you overclocked and stable in an few steps as it really takes.

D9's are equivalent to the Holy Grail - the D9 sticks have Micron ICs on them, and they'll overclock like no other chip on the market. But, there's a catch - you have to know what version (or revision) of each manufacturer's sticks actually carry the D9 ICs. Fortunately, there's a database that's been compiled to inform those in the know. Only problem is, if you want D9 ICs, you're going to have to hand-pick them from a store yourself...otherwise, you have an almost 0% chance of receiving them via e-tailer.

I wouldn't worry about the D9s right now - we can certainly work with what you've got.


@jruss: No, you have to change it under both GPP Slots Power Limit *and* Port #2 and #3 Features > Slot Power Limit. Unless you're using Crossfire - then you've got to set it manually in Port #11 Features > Slot Power Limit

Good luck guys!!

Psychlone