Help Me Overclock My P4

[Z55_Dan]

I've got an Intel p4 Prescott 3.0E and I'd like to overclock it. I need help with the basics because this is my first experience with this.

 

Here are my key parts

 

Proccessor

 

RAM

 

Motherboard

 

CPU cooler

 

and a 400watt Thermaltake Power Supply.

 

I have the programs Prime95 and MBM5

 

I talked to a friend that said I could get 3.6 or so if I relax the RAM timings. Could someone please explain this to me?

 

Thanks

Dan

[Hyper Threaded]

Not sure how well that Thermaltake PSU would do for overclocking, given how much power the prescott uses at just stock speed.

 

You could try overclocking it just a little bit, go into the BIOS under advanced options, you should see some overclocking options. Start with raising the FSB by a few (5), if it isn't stable in windows or won't boot, go back into the BIOS and bump the voltage up one notch, just keep adjusting the FSB and voltage until you're happy with the speed.

 

Once you've done all that, you get to download Prime95 (google it) and run it overnight to see if the overclock is stable, if it crashed during that time, bump the CPU voltage one more notch and run Prime95 for several hours, or until it crashes.

 

 

Your Prescott shouldn't be too hard to overclock, they're usually easily overclocked, but I'm not sure since your PSU is underpowered. I'm not a proper overclocking expert, you'll probably want more people to reply and tell you more before you actually jump into O/C'ing. You can seriously damage your computer if you mess up here.

Edited May 2, 2005 by Hyper Threaded

[bishop245]

like Hyper said go slow you really shouldnt need to up the voltage until you hit about a 10% oc but since i havent messed with a prescot core before i could be wrong

 

and one thing to watch out for is the temp pressies run hot as it is so keep your eye on the temps closely

[Z55_Dan]

Ok, so I did some more research and tried some overclocking.

 

First, using the Ai overclock tuner in BIOS, 10% overclock, no problems.

 

Then, I manually changed FSB to 227, and 227x15=3.409GHz and bumped VCore from 1.375 to 1.475.

 

I ran Prime 95's 'Torture Test' for about 2 and a half hours with no errors. CPU temp never got higher than 52.

 

So, what next?? I've read about relaxing ram timings, but not sure what to change them to?

 

Should I just keep bumping the speed until it's too high or becomes unstable?

 

How do I know it's unstable? through Prime95?

 

What's the highest I should safely take my Vcore?

 

Thanks guys

 

Dan

[mantonr]

i would leave prime 95 running for longer than that to test the stability of your machine. The longer it runs the more stable your machine is. It is normal to leave it on overnight for about 12-15 hours, some people leave it on for 30 just to make double sure that their machine is stable.

 

As for more overclocking try continuing to increase the FSB and changing the Vcore until the machine becomes unstable then just reduce them down to the last point where it was working.

 

Maybe after this point you can try looking at the RAM timings to increase the speed some more, but i would stick with the FSB and Vcore for now.

[ICON57]

dan, if you want to play with your mem timings, go into "advanced chipset features" in your bios. From there you can set it from "spd" to "manual"

you might see something like 2.5.7.4.4 you could make them tighter to 2.5.7.3.3

(just as an example)

but make sure your agp/pci is locked or fixed!

otherwise you are oc'ing your hard drives and everything else.

 

you just want to have your ram and cpu oc'ed! you also might need to bump up the volts on your ram

 

good luck

[martymcfly]

dan, if you want to play with your mem timings, go into "advanced chipset features" in your bios. From there you can set it from "spd" to "manual"

you might see something like 2.5.7.4.4 you could make them tighter to 2.5.7.3.3

(just as an example)

but make sure your agp/pci is locked or fixed!

otherwise you are oc'ing your hard drives and everything else.

 

you just want to have your ram and cpu oc'ed! you also might need to bump up the volts on your ram

 

good luck

474448[/snapback]

why would you tighten latencies on an intel machine. Loosen them! But first, see if an unstable OC becomes stable with a divider. If so, put it back at 1q:1 and play with latencies.

[ICON57]

why would you tighten latencies on an intel machine.  Loosen them!  But first, see if an unstable OC becomes stable with a divider.  If so, put it back at 1q:1 and play with latencies.

474453[/snapback]

 

are tighter timing not better? <_<

i always try to keep my timings as tight as possible, if my oc becomes unstable, is when i use looser timings and play with the divider and/or ddr voltage

[CPU_Cooker]

I have the same chip on an Abit IC7-G.

 

I started out with Corsair Value Select PC3200 Memory. The memory was good up to 228 FSB. At that point I would get errors running memtest. So, to go faster I got some Gel PC4000, DDR500

 

Here are some numbers you may find helpful.

--- At stock Vcore, 1.3625

Stable up to 228 regardless of memory or memory voltage, but is pretty much my chips limit at stock Vcore.

 

Don't know what your memory can do, but there are lots of PC3200 memory parts that are screaming. I knew my memory was holding me back, so got the lowest cost PC4000 I could find figuring if I can get 10% out of the memory, that would probably be more than the rest of my system can handle.

 

Not Stable simply means that at some point I got at least 1 random re-start for no particular reason I can pinpoint.

 

These are all with PCI/AGP Locked at 33/66 & With the PC4000 memory 2.7V @ 2.5-4-4-7

 

Vcore @ 1.4375 FSB 243 == 3652.1 MHz -- very stable and not very hot either

Vcore @ 1.4375 FSB 244 == 3664.2 MHZ -- Almost stable, but still restarts every once in a while, not necessairly under heavy load.

Vcore @ 1.4625 FSB 244 == 3664.2 MHz -- Stable, FAH 24 hrs +, no long combined test for more than 1 hour, but worked on it all day at this config.

Vcore @ 1.4375 FSB 245 == 3679.1 MHz -- Not stable, Prime95 + FAH combined failed thinking voltage sag is problem

Vcore @ 1.4625 FSB 246 == 3636.9 MHz -- Appears stable, FAH 12 hrs+, No long combined test yet. Vcore opperating range ~ 1.37 to 1.45

Vcore @ 1.4625 FSB 248 == 3721.3 MHz -- Not Stable

Vcore @ 1.4625 FSB 250 == 3675.1 MHz -- Not Stable

Vcore @ 1.4825 FSB 250 == 3675.1 MHz -- Not Stable

Vcore @ 1.5125 FSB 250 == 3675.1 MHz -- Stable I think, Prime95+FAH for like 15 min, then I went to 252.

Vcore @ 1.5125 FSB 252 == 3787.4 MHZ -- Stable, but very hot. combined Prime95 + FAH Temp ~59.5 - 62.5 Throttle Watch, showed TM1 Throttling, With the Throttling kicking in I only stayed here under load for like 15 min.

 

So, that is some of the higher end OC history with the same chip, different mobo, ram, & PSU. But I have heard stories about this chip running higher than 1.5125 and being stable, but that is with much better cooling, think H2O, than my XP-90 and case with very poor airflow.

 

It was interesting to see the TM1 Throttling kick in using Throttlewatch. That was late Saturday night. I was tired and not thinking clearly, but knowing that TM1 Throttling kicks in is somewhat cumforting, or really dangerous. Makes me think I won't cook the chip even if I push it a little too hard. But, with that confidence, I might push it too hard.

 

Note on TM1 Throttling. Throttle watch only showed throttling with 1.5125 Vcore. With 1.4825 I turned all the fans down, let it get up to 62.5-63C, but there was no TM1 throttling, which I also thought was intereting. Thermal Spec for the chip is 69.5C

 

 

I hope all of this helps. Be sure to write down what works and what is not stable, I am real curious to see what others can do with this chip on Air.

 

CPU_Cooker

[Z55_Dan]

Well, I ran Prime95's 'torture test' over night, no errors and the CPU temp when I woke up, with Prime95 running, was only 49. Although, with the size of my CPU cooler, it is blocking airflow to the rear fan. My case temps were getting up to 42. Looks like I'm going to put another case fan in somewhere. Any suggestions with this case?

 

My Case

 

I was thinking I could just cut a precision circle in the side panel and put another 120mm in there, since all my fans are 120mm already and it is insanely quiet.

 

So, now should I just bump up the FSB a little bit until it becomes unstable?

Then, ram timings?

A divider? If anyone could point me to a link or explain ram timings and dividers a little more clear that would be great.

 

I know that this cooler I have is very new, and I'm one of the first to have it, and I think it is incredible and I'll be able to hit some very high numbers with it.

 

Thanks everyone

 

Dan

 

EDIT: My AGP/PCI is on an "AUTO" setting in BIOS. There are 3 other options that are something like 66/33 72/36 and 80/40. Not sure about that last one, but the first two are right. Should I pick one of these or leave it at "AUTO"? Thanks again.

Edited May 8, 2005 by Z55_Dan

[CPU_Cooker]

EDIT: My AGP/PCI is on an "AUTO" setting in BIOS.  There are 3 other options that are something like 66/33 72/36 and 80/40.  Not sure about that last one, but the first two are right.  Should I pick one of these or leave it at "AUTO"?  Thanks again.

474537[/snapback]

 

You should set it to fixed 33/66. That will provide greater stability

[Shadowfactor]

just watch your temps those presshott's are very hot