OCing an AMD A64 3500+

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I might be ordering my 3500+ today and of course I plan on OCing it. I've been doing a little bit of research and I think I know what I am trying to get at. Here are the components I will be using:

AMD Athlon 64 3500+(duh)
ABIT AV8 rev. 1.1
Kingston PC3200 BH-5 memory with 2-2-2-10 timings
SLK948U w/ Zalman 92mm fan

After all the research I've done I'm still a little confused about the HTT, could someone please elaborate on it? Like if the FSB is 200mhz the HTT is 1000mhz? I heard you set the HTT multiplier so it is a multiple of your memory speed.

If it is a multiplier would a 250mhz FSB with a 4x HTT multiplier instead of the standard 200mhz FSB, 5x HTT be the same?

I plan on trying to get 10x250, would I be able to reach that with my setup? Would I have to set it down to a 800mhz HTT? Or would 11x220 be faster if I have a 1000mhz HTT?
 
Best to just leave it alone. If I touch mine I lock. Leave it on auto. I have done great on this 3400..is at 2.76
 
I have my 3500 at 2.5GHz but want to hit 2.6GHz. What do you suggest I do to be able to hit this? My FSB is at 227MHz right now, my CAS is at 2,a nd HTT speed at 800MHz. What should I tweak to be able to OC to 2.6 without upping the voltage to the processor?
 
Here are 10 tip for overclocking A64

1. upping the voltage is a must for overclocking.
2. Leave HTT @ 4x.
3. Relax memory timings My timings are 2.5, 3, 3, 7
4. Set Vcore to to 1.6v (no more than 1.7v)
5. Set Vdimm to 2.8 (no more than 3.0v)
6. Set memory to 166mhz instead of 200mhz. When you overclock HTT memory is automatically oced. You are probably reaching the memory's limit. That processor should go much higher than that.
7. Set HTT/FSB to 200mhz. Only overclock using Clockgen.
8. Set AGP/PCI to 66 or 67 Mhz depending on which one engages lock. Can be confirmed in Clockgen
9. Get Prime95 and stress test each overclock change for stability.
10. Get adequate Cooling. I built a watercooled system for mine. I'm running 38c idle and upto 49c load @ 1.7v Vcore and 2.41Ghz. I hesitate to use air given these temps on water.

Try this and call me in the morning :) I'm running a Clawhammer 3000+ with CO stepping at 2.41Ghz. You should get way high overclock with a Newcastle CG chip. Overclock at your own risk.
 
Thanks for the info, but I still have a few questions remaining.

With my BH-5 shouldn't I be able to hit a high FSB with 2-2-2-10 timings with 3v? I heard BH-5 can easily take voltages up to 3.2v. I think some people can hit 260mhz FSB with BH-5 at 2-2-2-11.

If I set the FSB to 166mhz and the HTT at 200mhz do they share a direct relationship? Like if I clock the HTT at 244 would the memory clock in at 200mhz?
 
1. upping the voltage is a must for overclocking.
-> not necessarily. Stock volt, mine went from 2200->2400. Of course, beyond that I had to. (A64 3200+ newcastle)

2. Leave HTT @ 4x.
-> Well, if the mobo can handle the high of HTT. Most of people will tweak around FID thus having to reduce LDT.

3. Relax memory timings My timings are 2.5, 3, 3, 7
-> Depends on menory. Besides, A64 mobo likes 2.5-3-3-(9,10,11) over 7 you mentioned. Test it and see. Also, just to get top CPU, I would go with relaxed timing with mode 2 instead of 1 to make sure RAM is not the stopping point. Than tighten things up one at a time.

4. Set Vcore to to 1.6v (no more than 1.7v)
-> I am running 1.65v 24x7. You only up v-core when you have enough cooling handy. Check temp and than use common sense on upping v-core.

5. Set Vdimm to 2.8 (no more than 3.0v)
-> Again, the common sense applies. There are plenty of people running with Vdimm up to 3.4-3.5 all the time. Some memory do better with voltage, some just stops around 2.8ish.

9. Get Prime95 and stress test each overclock change for stability.
-> Also 3dmarks etc to test total stability.

10. Get adequate Cooling. I built a watercooled system for mine. I'm running 38c idle and upto 49c load @ 1.7v Vcore and 2.41Ghz. I hesitate to use air given these temps on water.
-> Gotta agree :)

Try this and call me in the morning :) I'm running a Clawhammer 3000+ with CO stepping at 2.41Ghz. You should get way high overclock with a Newcastle CG chip. Overclock at your own risk
-> Not sure, some CG's aren't as good as some C0 I've seen. The temporary one in my box (newcastle 3200+ only goes up to 2.5ghz or so on water loop). I think you got damned good C0 core with 1MB cache (right?) Probably comparible to my 512MB cache running at 2.5ghz or slightly faster.
 
I just sent out my order for the parts above, I'm still confused about the HTT thing though...

Could I run my memory at 11x230 and have the HTT at 1000mhz? Ugh so confusing, I guess I won't get it until I actually *get* it.

I want to reach 2.5ghz and call it done, how could I go about doing that? All of my AthlonXP OCing experience seems to not carry over at all to the Athlon 64 :(
 
Not sure on those 939 pin mobos, but on my rig, I had to lower the LDT multiplier down from the stock setting. Not sure if your mobo locks it or what.

If you set memory to 166 and then have ~244 HTT your memory will run at ~200.

Your BH5 will run at some decent mhz and tight timings or even higher with a little relaxed. But some people have commented on having VDimm over 3v that it kills the on-die memory controller. I personally have not seen or heard the threads, but enough people have said it that I believe there might be some truth to it.
 
I thought that it would be seperate from the HTT, the vdimm is the voltage to the memory, not the CPU.

I think I got it though, I set the FSB to 11x230 and the HTT at x4 and I get 920mhz total HTT. Could the system run stable with a 1150mhz HTT?
 
I think I know what I am going to try with this thing.

With an HTT of 5x could I do 11x230? Would the HTT be stable at 1150mhz?

If not I might try 10x250 with a 4x HTT. With BH-5 would I be able to hit 250mhz with 2.5-3-3-10 timings at 3v or would I most likely need more voltage or would I have to lax the timings to something crappy like 3-4-4-10? I've heard BH-5 is godlike when it comes to timings so maybe I can get something tight.
 
Sounds like you have it under control.

I really wouldnt worry to much about the LDT multiplier.

I have run mine as low as ~400 and I didnt see any differences in benchmarks or performance in any games I play with a lower HTT.

I do know that my board starts to get instable when the HTT is over 100 stock. This might be different for each board or whatever. But like I said I never saw a difference even with a really low HTT.
 
Ok, great. I heard the newcastle cores are great OCers so maybe I can get my HTT past 1100, but if there is barely any difference at all then I'll just go for the 250mhz FSB with the 4x HTT if my memory can handle it. If not then either 220 or 230mhz.

Thanks for the help.
 
jinu117 said:
I think you got damned good C0 core with 1MB cache (right?) Probably comparible to my 512MB cache running at 2.5ghz or slightly faster.
Click to expand...


My CPU is 512MB cache 2Ghz stock. This CPU was a replacement from AMD. I fried my first one. That was back when I didn't understand AGP lock, or rather lack there of. That was with my MSI NEO board. I just put in the Chaintech VNF3-250 for better ocing.
 
funbun said:
My CPU is 512MB cache 2Ghz stock. This CPU was a replacement from AMD. I fried my first one. That was back when I didn't understand AGP lock, or rather lack there of. That was with my MSI NEO board. I just put in the Chaintech VNF3-250 for better ocing.
Click to expand...


Your sig says the 3000+ is a clawhammer, that isnt possible ?!
 
Can someone please explain the memory voltage thing? I hear people saying that a high memory voltage will screw up the HTT, but isn't the HTT on the CPU and doesn't the vdimm only supply voltage to the RAM itself?
 
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