Athlon XP Overclocking Guide

Jesus, thanks WildStyle, you are the best. Ok, now I can relax and get back to this when it's time. I think about that PSU thing, and ram a will change. Thanks again, now I stop bothering you.

Whoops, one more thing. My bios is pretty old (2001 I think ) , should I update it before or after install of my new processor? I heard that someone had problems with newest MSI bios but he also said that the site has all bios since 2001 so I can try which works if newest doesn't.

 

Depending on your default BIOS setup, it might well do. But just to make sure, check for an option to set the RAM Frequency to "100%" or "1:1" or "6:6" or possibly even "auto" will do it... something along those lines.
What you don't want is it set to "SPD" because this will set it to the RAM's default speed - in your case this will be PC3200 or 200MHz. This would mean your RAM frequency would be faster than your FSB and thus you'd lose performance.
Hope that answered your question okay. GL.

 

No worries.

With your BIOS, it probably would be worth updating it if it's 3 years old.
So I would suggest just having a look through MSI's FTP and finding a fairly recent one to use... perhaps look for one which adds Barton support so the CPU ID string shows correctly? I'm not sure what BIOS' they have available, from what dates.
I don't know if MSI has a BIOS update program that you can use from within Windows to flash your BIOS? (Like Abit FlashMenu.) Also, I don't know if you're confident with flashing BIOS', but I know a lot of people who aren't and would find the method from within windows a lot easier than typing commands into the DOS prompt at bootup.

 

Wow, this is stunning, if there isn't a big mistake. With newest BIOS for KT3V, I could use AMD Semprons (max 2800+) and Max 3000+ Athlon, says their site. Is it even possible to make board support other CPU:s than it was designed for? yeah but anyway, it doesn't help me because I don't believe that I can reach even 2800+ speeds because I can't use FSB. Just informed you guys, if this is new thing, atleast I haven't heard of anything like this. i'll try LiveUpdate, the MSI:s own updating software soon.

But hey, that sounds scary, MSI is talking about updating bios and you about flashing, I've always thought that word was only used in Graphic cards to get another cards bios for better OC. Amazing what you learn (Now You think that i'm a complete n00b).

And this one thing came to my mind (it doesn't belong here but I ask it anyway), SL2, the another guru from UK told me this:your 133Mhz is DDR266. If the default CAS is 2.0, try switching it to CAS 2.5 with timings as 4-4-8 @ 166Mhz [DDR333].
Run Memtest86 to test for stability.
That doesn't sound too safe. He's saying me to OC my pc2100 to 2700? He didn't even tell me how I could do those things, but I think it's too dangerous anyway.


I promised to stop asking, I didn't keep on that, now I'll try harder. I hate that when I break my promises.

 

Yeah SL2 is right, you can OC RAM also, and you won't fry anything at all... just the system will be unstable or not boot and you'll need to clear the CMOS (no big problem.)
However, 2.5/3-4-4-8 is rediculously slow, and chances are your RAM won't make it that far anyway, but you know never - it's worth a try. The best option would be to sell your PC2100 to a friend or something and buy some PC2700 to replace it though... but it all depends on your situation.
To OC the RAM is very simple, set it in sync with your FSB, and up the FSB (starting at 133MHz in this case because it's PC2100 RAM) so it brings up the RAM frequency at the same time. If you get instability, chances are the RAM can't handle it (hence why you run memtest86+ to check.)

Oh and yes your board will be able to support all 166FSB Socket A CPU's.. so that's why the Semprons and upto the 3000+ 333FSB models all are compatible.

You can ask as many questions as you like... the only stupid questions are the ones which you don't ask.

 

Yeah, this forums is just awesome, thank you very much.
Now I leave you in peace, I'll do something to that pc2100 and buy new stick, maybe little later, they are so expensive now (75€ cheapest in here, not sure about €-£). and for that PSU, I'll buy never if needed. I've learned so much more in these days, more than I have at everything together at this year. Farewell.

 

I should mention that my bios has some presets in it as well.
"optimal-aggressive-turbo-expert"
The expert part allows user setting of FSB and Ram timings. I have been using Turbo witch gives me the highest performance. I locked up the computer messing with the expert settings and it wouldn't boot. I cleared cmos to get it going again.
If I am thinking correctly, clearing cmos always brings it back to default? So not to worry about playing in the bios?

 

Yep. Clearing the CMOS will revert the BIOS back to defaults. So if you ever get a problem where you set something incorrectly, as long as you haven't done anything completely outrageous and damaging, clearing the CMOS should resolve the issue.

 

Whoa, tks for the quick reply. I am getting the hang of it.
Let the games begin

 

I have a question regarding overclocking...I've been told by at least 5 people now tha the issue I am having with my computer (see the Videocards- NVIDIA Drivers section) is a pcu problem/overclocking...so how do I stop from overclocking? I'm not a computer whiz like most people here

 

First of all, download CPU-Z ( http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php ), and type here what it says on the CPU tab and the memory tab. (A screenshot may be easier, you can upload to www.imageshack.us and put the image here).
As you have a 2800+ (Barton) you should see 2080MHz (or 2090 because the clock generator won't be perfectly accurate) under the core speed part, but still screenshot the rest so I can take a look at vcore (CPU voltage) too.
If you see that figure then you are not overclocking.
As for temps, is there any software that came with your mobo for monitoring temps? If not, download MBM5 or SpeedFan (G3D download section) and let me know the temps you are getting.

 

Downloaded CPU-Z, here you go...



As for the temps, gimme just a sec. The program didn't come with my motherboard, so I downloaded one that my friend suggested.

 

Temperatures:



Voltage:

 

CPU-Z looks to be in order.

What about voltages/temps under load? Can you run Prime95/CPU Burn-In/or similar for a few mins and note the PSU rails/temps?
Which test did you use on Prime95 BTW? Small FFT's, Large FFT's or Blend? I would use Large FFT's as it consumes the most power and produces the most heat. And since you have used memtest on the RAM you don't need to run blend IMO.

Usually hardware failure is pushing the CPU too far in terms of MHz/pushing the FSB too far, or having such high temps that it's causing instability. At the moment it appears you have neither of those, though...

 

Hello WS,
I've read through the sticky and began to OC my 2700+. So far all is stable. I ran into something I was a little curious about in my BIOS. right know my mult. is at 14 and Vcore at 1.7 (Temps 41idle/45 load - stock cooling). The next mult. listed is 7.5/15. Choosing that gives me a 1500+. All of the other multipliers listed that are higher than 14 give two choices. Is this due to the second part of the process you mention? (increasing FSB) I'm not sure I'll get too far on FSB with the memory I have. This was my first build. Unfortunately excitement overcame reason and I didn't learn enough before spending my money. It seems like I would buy an upgrade and then learn about something I hadn't taken into consideration(ie. PC3200 and dual channel memory mb's- doh!) Oh well - theres always next time. On my old, OC unfriendly MB, I was able to get the FSB up to 175 without any type of Voltage adjustment, so I should be able to squeeze out some more on this mobo.

Can you give any other recomendations regarding OC'ing my setup? (I found the AGP freq lock, but couldn't find the PCI lock)

Thanks,
matt.

 

Hey

For the multiplier thing, there was a thread about that a little while ago. It didn't really conclude if I was right though.. as it mainly focused on the guy's upgrade choices but AFAIK that's what the 7x/15x etc means - http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=124102

Yeah I know what you're sayin about buying stuff. Personally I research stuff really well before I buy (not saying that you don't) but the thing that always gets me is how one week later the component(s) I really wanted are listed cheaper than the component I just bought.

BTW your A7N8X-X doesn't support DC 'cause it's a nforce2 400 not the Ultra variant... not that it makes much difference but just so you know.

The PCI frequency lock is set to 33MHz as standard. There is no BIOS option to adjust it, which is cool because there's no reason to adjust it anyway and it saves the hassle.

Any other recommendations.. hmm, make sure you have spread spectrums and cacheables disabled, they are unnecessary and can hinder an OC. Aside from that I think I'll just let you give it a go. Remember to up the vdimm to your PC2700 as that will limit you, though your A7N8X only goes to 2.8v so I don't know if that will help a whole lot, but you can try. Also ensure you have CPU Interface set to Aggressive for better bandwidth, but if you're pushing the FSB you may need to set it back to Optimal to continue with that. You will just have to experiment with what gives you best performance, but I would see how far you can get with it set to Aggressive.

If you need help/advice post back here again and I'll get back to you.

 

I just have one question... I have my DRAM Burst set at 8 and my DRAM Queue set at 4 level, because I remember reading somewhere that was the best. But the above imformation contradicts. Is it better to do the above or to keep it at what I am running at now?

 

Yeah you're right. Having the burst set at 8 (enabled) will allow more data to be read or written with less delay than with it set to 4 (disabled).
And with the queue that should be a value of 4, yes.

Hmm.. thanks for bringing that to my attention. I guess I didn't check it properly before it was posted (funny how I haven't noticed it since but hey). It's fixed up now.

 

Cool, I was just checking.

 

No idea what you just said...

EDIT: Ran Prime95 wioth 'Large FFT's' and...



EDIT: Ran Prime95 agaiun and I got something different? ( still with large FFT's)