OC Help

R

runt

2[H]4U
2FA
Joined
Mar 16, 2000
Messages
2,443
Ok, I finally stepped up to an Athlon 64 based computer and am completely lost when it comes to overclocking it. I had no problem when it came to overclocking older computers but I am lost right now :(

I have an ASUS A8R32-MVP Deluxe Mobo (wanted Socket AM2 but needed a quick upgrade due old mobo problems). A nice fairly simple to follow guide that explains most things would be great..........
 
hopefully someone will point you to one of the numerous guides available as this question has been asked a lot ;)

the basics:

First find the max speed of the motherboard so you know where your ultimate limit lies.
To do this, the ram and cpu need to run much slower and then the motherboard speed increased until it becomes unstable.

Set the HT multiplier to 2 or 3x (you need to leave it this low when overclocking a lot)
Reduce the cpu multiplier a lot (say half of what it was).
Invoke the PCI / PCI-E lock by setting it to 33MHz or 100MHz, whichever option you get.
Set your memory speed to DDR266 or lower if you can. Some DDR400 wont work when set lower.
(I havent looked up your mobo so if you use DDR2, just set it low and follow the method I have used in this mini guide)
Run a program which maxes the cpu like prime 2004.
Starting at say 220MHz, boost the HTT 5 or 3 MHZ at a time every 30 seconds and make sure prime hasnt failed.
Once prime fails, back off a bit and you have the max motherboard speed.

Now you need to find the max memory speed
set it to its default speed or higher if its DDR2 and the HTT to 200MHz.
Run prime 2004 set to test memory.
Boost the HTT as before until it fails.
Backoff a bit and you have approximately the max speed of your ram.
You need to run prime 2004 for a lot longer to make sure of this but at least you can get going with this quick and dirty test.

Now to find the max speed of the CPU
set the ram speed low again, put the cpu multiplier back to its default.
Run Prime 2004 on CPU test and wait for the cpu to warm up for about 10 mins before continuing.
Starting at say 220MHz HTT, boost it as before and watch for prime 2004 failing.
Once it does, back off a bit and you have approx your max CPU.

Now you know the max memory, motherboard and cpu speeds, setup the memory to run as fast as possible while allowing the cpu to be close to its max.

you may get higher speeds by boosting the motherboard chipset, memory and cpu voltages.
I suggest you read a guide/the forums to see what the safe maximums are for your specific motherboard chipset, memory and cpu are.
As there isnt a big gain from making the memory run faster on my PC, I have left it at more or less default speed (when everything else is overclocked) so the only voltage I ever boost is my CPU.
If your memory is holding you back from getting the max speed from your cpu or you simply want to go for max blast, then you will need to increase the memory voltage at least.
You can then tweak the memory timings to improve performance further.
go slow!


To be sure of absolute stability, run prime 2004 for 3 to 8 hours with everything overclocked.
If it fails, reduce either the cpu multiplier or memory speed to see which is at fault then set it a bit slower before testing again.

If you cant be asked with testing for absolute max, perform the initial quick tests and back off 10 or 15MHz on the HTT and you should be pretty stable.

I dont think I've forgotten anything, hopefully someone will mention if so.
 
Here's what I do.

Lock the PCIe bus at 101mhz
Lock the PCI bus at 33mhz

Set the HT link speed to 3x
Set your Voltage to 1.4v
Set your RAM divider to DDR333
Set your FSB (or HTT) to ~225, with whatever multiplier you have stock.

test for stability.

Kick up the FSB in 5mhz incriments until you're unstable... This depends on the stock multiplier of your chip. Enjoy!
 
I am in the same boat. I had some sucess OCing a AMD XP 2800+ M from 1.8 to around 2.43 But am rather clueless on where to start on these new A64's. I recently purchased an FX-55 and a ASUS A8R32-MVP and am trying to get some results. I have read eclips's guide to OCing A64 and it was helpful, but the problem is that this Board uses the Award BIOS - not the Phenix BIOS most all other boards use. So the HT link multiiplier that you reference is not an option in this BIOS. Can anyone help with some of discrepencies between the BIOS's ?

I've done some tinkering and got 2.95 or so out of the FX-55 (stock 2.6), but it is water cooled and I'm looking for better yet.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top