Step by step sempron 2500 to 355Mhz x 7 = 2485Mhz, but i need help on

[siome]

To all,

 

My stock setup is

 

DFI LanParty nF3 250 GB - bios date : 08/27/04

AMD Sempron 2500+ 90nm 64 bit @ 200 x 7 = 1400 MHz BOX version

AMD BOX version Stock HSF

1x Corsair Value VS512MB400 2,5-3-3-8

GeCube 9550XT

Enlight 400w PSU

Seagate Barracuda 7200

XP SP2

 

I am -well- quite happy to get 355MHz on this cheap us$65 sempron 2500+ which x7 means 2486MHz.

Sad is my OC techniques can only manage to get that MHz with 177MHz on RAM.

So maybe all the OC demimortals here can pick out the wrong i have made.

Here is what i did to OC my set:

 

1. I test how high my Sempron can go with stock set.

from windows XP SP2 i launch SysTool v0.1 Build 617 from Http://www.techpowerup.com and use the CPU overclocking tools in it

I simply use Start Find Max tool and set to test each increment with 1M test pattern test (i dunno what pattern *smile*)

Well it was ended saying found the max at 229Mhz.

I take it as my Sempron can go at least 229Mhz and my Corsair as well 229.

-- i havent decrease any LDT multi so at stock (auto) =double4x it go as far as 1829MHz perhaps this what stop the test (i havent checked again yet the same test with decreased LDT multi)

 

2. Test the cpu with memtest.exe dos boot.

So to speed up the OC process, i choose to use memtest that boot from dos so i can disconnect my harddrive to prevent data loss.

-- in all my test i use LDT multi to auto (not because i planned to, but i totally forget this setting lol)

 

so begin with 229 from windows i change the core speed from bios up to 245 where i start to find errors in memtest.exe and at 246 system wont even boot!

at this point the settings are all stock so LDT auto, ramFreq 1/1, vCPU 1,4V, vRAM 2,5, RAM timings auto 2,5-3-3-8

i start to tweak settings at 246MHz as follows :

 

+vCPU 1,4 to 1,5 -> noboot

+ram timing 2,5-3-3-8 to 3-4-4-10 -> noboot

+vRAM 2,5 to 2,7 -> noboot (i test 2,7 with my ram in this same setup before and it runs well)

soo.. i think theres nothing more i can do and go back to "last know good config"

244 - vCPU 1,4 - vRAM 2,5 - ram timing 2,5-3-3-8 -> okboot -> memtest -> ok

so i know that i still havent fried anything inside my case (ah yes.. i set this all inside a chinese made CPU case with open cover)

 

At this point, i conclude that my ram max MHz is 244 because the vRAM and timing were set to its most cooperative level (2,7 and 3-4-4-10) and it still wont boot

 

so i want to test if my CPU can go any higher by changing memdivider.

 

3. start using memdivider.

set 244 - 9/10 -> memtest -> ok

at this point the auto timing set the ram to 2,5-3-3-7

245 -> memtest -> failed

this is the point where i think i should increase vCPU a bit

+vCPU 1,4 to 1,5

245 -> memtest -> ok

upto 250 now it wont boot!

so.. i +vCPU 1,5 to 1,55 104% then loose timing to 3-4-4-10 then even +vRAM to 2,7 but all lead to no boot.

at 250 9/10 the ram should only work @ 218MHz

i solve the boot by changing the mem divider to 5/6

i dont understand why the RAM cant work at that speed because as you can see at result, the sempron can work at 355 so it wont be the cause, and then at 1/1 the RAM can work at 244 too..

 

and later in the test, i find that the solution to fix boot or error in memfailed.exe is by changing mem divider, as setting another value lead me nowhere to boot or passing the memtest.

 

250 - 9/10 ok

251 - 9/10 fail -- ram at 219

251 - 5/6 ok

255 - 5/6 fail -- ram at 198

255 - 3/4 ok

285 - 3/4 fail -- ram at 199

285 - 2/3 ok

310 - 2/3 fail -- ram at 197

310 - 3/5 ok

330 - 3/5 fail -- ram at 192

330 - 1/2 ok

at 345 i have to increase the vCPU 1,5 to 1,55 104%

356 - 1/2 fail -- ram at 177

i +vCPU to 1,55 110% but it still wont boot

i dont want to up the vCPU any further due to the cpuTemp is at 60C at my stock fan already, i only wish that at 356 i can use divider 2/3 so the ram can work at 226 instead of 177

355 - 1/2 ok

 

at 355 1:2 the ram work at 177

note that changing the divider makes the ram timing auto set to tighter settings

at 1:2 the timings are 2,5-3-2-5

changing the timing to 3-4-4-10 and or vRAM to 2,7 was not helping... anytime i have memtest fail or noboot, the only thing i can do is reduce the memdivider.

at 355 1/2 I have the LDT multi on auto, strange.. if i set to anything than auto it wont boot.

 

So.. i end up with it at FSB 355 - vCPU 1,55 - vRAM 2,6 - ramFreq 100 (1/2) - ramSpeed 177

 

I might do something wrong becuse i can not make the ram work at even 200MHz at memdivider set to other than 1/1 (except at 218 at 9/10)

 

PLease any OC guru out there send me your thoughs..

Thanks

 

-------

 

Motherboard ID 08/27/2004-nForce-CK8S-6A61CD49C-00

Motherboard Name DFI LANParty UT nF3 250Gb

 

Front Side Bus Properties

Bus Type AMD Hammer

Real Clock 355 MHz

Effective Clock 355 MHz

HyperTransport Clock 888 MHz

 

Memory Bus Properties

Bus Type DDR SDRAM

Bus Width 64-bit

Real Clock 177 MHz (DDR)

Effective Clock 355 MHz

Bandwidth 2840 MB/s

 

Motherboard Physical Info

CPU Sockets/Slots 1 Socket 754

Expansion Slots 5 PCI, 1 AGP

RAM Slots 3 DDR DIMM

Integrated Devices Audio, Gigabit LAN

Motherboard Chipset nForce3-250Gb

 

Motherboard Manufacturer

Company Name DFI Corporation

 

--------

 

CPU Type AMD Sempron, 2485 MHz (7 x 355)

CPU Alias Venice-256 S754

CPU Stepping DH-E6

Instruction Set x86, x86-64, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3

L1 Code Cache 64 KB (Parity)

L1 Data Cache 64 KB (ECC)

L2 Cache 256 KB (On-Die, ECC, Full-Speed)

 

CPU Physical Info

Package Type 754 Pin uOPGA

Package Size 4.00 cm x 4.00 cm

Transistors 68.5 million

Process Technology 11Mi, 90 nm, CMOS, Cu, SOI

Die Size 84 mm2

I/O Voltage 1.2 V + 2.5 V

Maximum Power 67.0 W

 

CPU Manufacturer

Company Name Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

 

--------

 

Memory Module Properties

Module Name Corsair VS512MB400

Serial Number None

Module Size 512 MB (2 ranks, 4 banks)

Module Type Unbuffered

Memory Type DDR SDRAM

Memory Speed PC3200 (200 MHz)

Module Width 64 bit

Module Voltage SSTL 2.5

Error Detection Method None

Refresh Rate Reduced (7.8 us), Self-Refresh

 

Memory Timings

@ 200 MHz 2.5-3-3-8 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)

 

 

Memory Module Manufacturer

Company Name Corsair Memory, Inc.

 

---------

 

Graphics Processor Properties

Video Adapter GeCube Radeon 9600 XT

GPU Code Name RV360

PCI Device 1002 / 4152

Transistors 76 million

Process Technology 0.13u

Bus Type AGP 8x @ 8x

Memory Size 128 MB

GPU Clock 486 MHz (original: 398 MHz, overclock: 22%)

RAMDAC Clock 400 MHz

Pixel Pipelines 4

TMU Per Pipeline 1

Vertex Shaders 2 (v2.0)

Pixel Shaders 1 (v2.0)

 

Memory Bus Properties

Bus Type DDR

Bus Width 128-bit

Real Clock 312 MHz (DDR) (original: 300 MHz, overclock: 4%)

Effective Clock 624 MHz

Bandwidth 9984 MB/s

 

Memory Timings

CAS Latency (CL) 4T

RAS To CAS Delay (tRCD) 5T

RAS Precharge (tRP) 5T

RAS Active Time (tRAS) 10T

Row Refresh Cycle Time (tRFC) 17T

RAS To RAS Delay (tRRD) 4T

Write Recovery Time (tWR) 5T

 

Graphics Processor Manufacturer

Company Name ATI Technologies Inc.

 

--------

 

Sensor Properties

Sensor Type ITE IT8712F (ISA 290h)

Motherboard Name DFI nF3 Series

 

Temperatures

Motherboard 41 °C (106 °F)

CPU 49 °C (120 °F)

PWM 36 °C (97 °F)

Seagate ST380011A 45 °C (113 °F)

 

Cooling Fans

CPU 1767 RPM

 

Voltage Values

CPU Core 1.66 V

+3.3 V 3.22 V

+5 V 4.95 V

+12 V 11.58 V

+5 V Standby 4.87 V

VBAT Battery 3.01 V

AGP 1.55 V

Debug Info F BF FF FF

Debug Info T 49 41 36

Debug Info V 68 61 C9 B8 B5 5C AE (F7)

[z3scott]

First thing to do is get the latest bios 5/4/05. I think that will help. The original bios isn't "aware" of the sempron processors. Meaning you'll likely have better results with the newest bios.

[siome]

Ive read some thread saying nF4 screwVp after bios update. Is there any issue with nF3?

[z3scott]

I'm not sure what issue/screwup you are referring to but people flash their bios without problems when done properly.

 

Don't flash at overclocked settings clear your cmos properly by shutting down your system pulling the power cable (let the light go out on your board or even push the reset to make sure all power is discharged remaing in the caps). Pull out the cmos battery then move the jumper to the clear position. Then reverse the procedure... replace the battery, replace the jumper back in the run position and plug your power cable back in then boot into your bios and load "optimized defaults" then reboot and flash. Flash it a couple times then shut the system off. Clear the cmos like before (this time on the newly flashed bios) then boot and load "optimized defaults" and check all the settings out.

 

This is a failsafe (belt and suspenders, lol) approach to ensuring a clean flash. You can get the bios at the DFI website in "Diamond Flash" image form just make a floppy with it and it will boot automatically ready to flash or just the bios separately and use winflash or make your own floppy and use awdflash from your cd.

 

People are also using TMOD's CD available here: http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread...&highlight=bios Use the "Factory" NF3LD504 which is number 2 (under the NF3 250Gb of course).

 

PS:make signature with your components listed like mine below. Go into the user cp and get it done or your posts may be ignored or deleted in the future.

[smolt]

I'm not sure what issue/screwup you are referring to but people flash their bios without problems when done properly.

 

Don't flash at overclocked settings clear your cmos properly by shutting down your system pulling the power cable (let the light go out on your board or even push the reset to make sure all power is discharged remaing in the caps). Pull out the cmos battery then move the jumper to the clear position. Then reverse the procedure... replace the battery, replace the jumper back in the run position and plug your power cable back in then boot into your bios and load "optimized defaults" then reboot and flash. Flash it a couple times then shut the system off. Clear the cmos like before (this time on the newly flashed bios) then boot and load "optimized defaults" and check all the settings out.

 

This is a failsafe (belt and suspenders, lol) approach to ensuring a clean flash. You can get the bios at the DFI website in "Diamond Flash" image form just make a floppy with it and it will boot automatically ready to flash or just the bios separately and use winflash or make your own floppy and use awdflash from your cd.

 

People are also using TMOD's CD available here: http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread...&highlight=bios Use the "Factory" NF3LD504 which is number 2 (under the NF3 250Gb of course).

 

PS:make signature with your components listed like mine below. Go into the user cp and get it done or your posts may be ignored or deleted in the future.

now all the so called tects on this site thats the smartest thing ive hear anyone say "push the reset to make sure all power is discharged remaing in the caps"

[siome]

Ive read some thread saying nF4 screwVp after bios update. Is there any issue with nF3?

 

z3..

i failed to read first to your post after this

i jumped to new bios and kill my OC settings

at overclocked settings i flashed the bios

i use the NF3LD504.zip with diamond flasher downloaded from DFI to flash my bios.

The flash process went ok (means that it goes uninterupted and finished)

BUt .. after the flash the setup could not make it higher than 280 3/4. It was from 355 1/2..

I dont know whats wrong with this bios or maybe it is because i do it on overclocked but i think i might want to go back to NF3LD827 or try one of the mod bios (any sugestion?)

 

I want to hear some thoughts of going back to previous bios would you and anyone please..

 

Note about this new BIOS: it still not have recognised the new sempron 2500+

it only said AMD HAmmer unknown version same as bios 827, and the temp reading for core are lower from 46C to 39C at idle.

[siome]

and for this bios version i think it have a bad reading on the fan speed..

it fluctuates from 6250 to 12000 in seconds..

before it was from 1700 to 2100

[z3scott]

The temp drop was common when people moved up from the 8/27 bios. Not sure about your fan speed issues. You know you can set the fan speeds to be constant by adjusting them in the bios?

 

Might be that the 5/4/05 still is missing sempy 2500 support. There is a 6/23 beta somewhere perhaps that would address the 2500 better (it's available on the TMOD CD I linked earlier). The 5/4 does list "4. Support New E0 Stepping Athlon64/Sempron"

 

As far as the flash at oc settings you could always start over and reflash the 5/4/05 properly.

 

In the year I've had my board and been reading posts here and elsewhere I haven't noticed too many people claiming to see much difference in overclock capabilities of the different bios releases but maybe your situation/components are different and only your testing is going to determine that. It's fine to return to the 8/27 if it gives you better performance. DON'T FLASH OVERCLOCKED lol

[siome]

Managed to bring back thee 827 bios.

Its all come back

now im back the problem of mem speed limit 177

shall i wait for the new bios then?

[Guest Blooz1]

The 6/23 bios won't give you any better O/C from everything I've seen. It will, as z3scott said, ID the Sempron better.

 

Tmod has a version on his CD that also has the latest Memtest built in, and adds 4V DRAM support if you have a compatible PSU with adjustable rails. Here's a link to much more info, along with the actual contents of the CD;

 

Tmod's BIOS and Utility CD

 

This is a great resource to have - well worth the time to D/L and burn!