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Real Answer to "Light" OC'ing

S

sullivbt

n00b
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Messages
9
Gents;

I am new to overclocking and I am looking for your opinion on the real "answer" to what gives better performance when OC'ing. I have Google'd this question and it seems everybody has a different opinion. My question is, simply: is it better to crank up the FSB to the highest OC you can get with the memory timings at a "default" value or is it better to accept a slower FSB and very aggressive memory timings?

Details: I am currently running (on a Chaintech 7NJS Ultra mobo and a Vantec Aeroflow HSF) an Athlon XP 2500+ at an FSB of 180 MHz (stock Vcore) with 512 MB (2X256MB) of Corsair 3200 LL memory set to aggressive timings (2-2-2-5). A these settings, the system is rock steady stable - note, that I have been unable to get the FSB over 190 MHz (using a Vcore of 1.75 and the aggressive memeory timings) and even at 190, it was unstable as sh*t. Do aggressive memory timings hamper efforts to OC (stably) the FSB?

Would I get better overall system performance if I reset the memory timings to "Optimal" (the Chaintech board has memory timing setting called "optimal" in the BIOS that puts the memory back to its "stock" timings) and then tried to OC the FSB to 200 MHz?

Either I got a dog of a CPU or I am doing something wrong, as it seems that most people on this forum have no problem getting an OC of 200 MHz on an air-cooled Athlon 2500+. Please let me know your opinion and your experiences. Thanks a lot.

Brian
 
Vcore is your CPU's voltage and has no effect on your memory. Vdimm is your memory's voltage, and will be a value between 2.5v and 3.3v (the DFI LP/Infinity is probably the only board that does 3.3 though).

the only boards from the past five years i have any experience with are the A7N8X and this Infinity im running now, so i couldnt tell you what you can expect to do with the Chaintech.

but i did have that very same memory before i got XMS 3500, and it was able to do 237MHz FSB with 2-2-2-5 at 3.3v. i would guess the max memory voltage on your board is 2.8 or 2.9 right? you could expect 215 to 220MHz 2-2-2-5 at those voltages.

to answer your question, youll just have to run benches to determine what kind of setup is fastest. i just got my memory to a 250 FSB with CL2.5, but it gives the no more bandwidth than 240 with CL2. that might be a hint. the rest of the timings will have less performance impact than CAS latency, but can definately stablize your FSB with looser settings. for example, if youre trying for a certain speed and cant do 2-2-2-5, try 2-3-3-5, then 2-3-3-7, then 2.5-2-2-7, then 2.5-3-3-7 etc.

oh btw, forget about using the "Optimal/Aggressive/Turbo/Leet" settings. do everything manually by "Expert" or you wont learn anything. memory timings "By SPD" will let the memory use its own timings based on the speed you select and might give you an idea about what its designed to do (not necessarily what it can do).
 
Sometimes, a board will limit your OC. My FIC refuses to go over 200 fsb. My Epox refuses to go over a 215 fsb. So, I could increase my memory timings to their tightest.

Otherwise, I find that it's a little better on the FIC to have tight timings. On the Epox, it likes higher FSB. It depends on the board itself.
 
Dobbs;

Thanks for the replies, guys. So, CAS Latency is the real critical setting for speed, huh? I did not realize that. So, if I go to something like a 2-2-3-5 or 2-3-3-6, I would have the speed advantage of a high CAS latency, but it might possibly help me to keep the system stable at 190 MHz or 200 MHz FSB?

Its good you mentioned the "By SPD" setting, b/c I wasn't really sure what that meant either- but I did notice that when I set the memory to "By SPD", it shjows up as being 218Mhz in the Frequency column!! I thought that that must have been some kind of mistake and I just ignored it. Silly me, huh :) I'm beginning to get the feeling that it is not my Corsair that is the problem, but that I either got a CPU w/o a lot of headroom or else my board is refusing to cooperate. Any way to tell what part of a system is causing the instablity when I go over 185 MHz FSB?

Brian
 
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