** A64 Overclocking Guide **

[Bitgod]

I think maybe the voltage questions regarding VID, VID Startup and VID Special should be added and clarified. My main question is regarding the Startup value and what it should be at. Looking at the database thread, I see a lot of people leaving the startup at auto, and some having it set for the same value as the VID (meaning in my case, 1.325). Or maybe should it even be set for 1.45 if that's what the VID+special is going to come out to?

 

Another thing to possibly add, I saw AG mention in another thread that the LDT multiplier can be left at Auto now, instead of say moving it to 3x in my case, because of changes by Wu to the bios. Is that right AG?

[THunDA]

I think maybe the voltage questions regarding VID, VID Startup and VID Special should be added and clarified. My main question is regarding the Startup value and what it should be at. Looking at the database thread, I see a lot of people leaving the startup at auto, and some having it set for the same value as the VID (meaning in my case, 1.325). Or maybe should it even be set for 1.45 if that's what the VID+special is going to come out to?

Ill add something in the guide for this.. Thanks for the suggestion..

 

Another thing to possibly add, I saw AG mention in another thread that the LDT multiplier can be left at Auto now, instead of say moving it to 3x in my case, because of changes by Wu to the bios. Is that right AG?

Its true that you can use auto ( I do on my rig once im stable with everything else ).. But for testing an overclock I still suggest to use a manual setting..

 

When your using auto it still might overclock the HTT..

 

For example : When I set my HTT to 255 and leave the LDT @ auto, the auto setting is actually 4x.. So 4x255=1020HTT.. Which isnt overclocking it alot but in the initial testing you would want to underclock it to make sure its not holding you back..

[Logger]

Good job Thanks. A Big shout out of Appreciation to WildStyle and THunda. I just put my rig in the box today after 3 days of various stabilty tests. It passed with flying colors. So as soon as I get My spare Bios chip from Tmod, I will be off to the races. I hope :nod: Lots of good reading in your guide Thunda.

 

The only problem I had was a wee bit of Impatince. I borrowed a 500 watt no name PSO. Hooked up all Four connectors, powered up and nothing happened, no diagnotic lights, no fan spinning. I only tried it once. Nothing happened. I think I dodged a bullet. Cleared CMOS the DFI way for 3 Days. Decided to wait for my OCZ 520. Was very glad I didn't fry something.

 

PS: Sorry to hear about the Death of your beloved Sandy, THunda. :angel:

[THunDA]

PS: Sorry to hear about the Death of your beloved Sandy, THunda. :angel:

 

 

Oh my poor sandy.. Funny thing is it still runs 2900mhz prime stable but I think the mem controller is dead so I have to run the ram @ 200mhz..

 

The next victim is on its way... 3200 venice..

 

Thanks for all the kind words ..

 

Just remember when you think you've read alot about overclocking READ MORE !!!

 

[THunDA]

UPDATE.. I just added a little something about the VID StartUp Value option in bios.

 

CPU VID StartUp Value

This is the voltage that is applied to your cpu before the Vid and special are applied during post.. I havent found this to be a very important setting but normally I just leave it at 1.5v .. I also ran this using the Startup setting and it didnt seem to effect anything in a bad or good way.. So from my personal experience its not really a vital setting..

[Bitgod]

So in other words, "Mostly Harmless".

[faheyd]

I read this guide like 6 times, twice I had to go to sleep because I was so damn confused. However, after using the 'initial M/B setup' guide elsewhere, I jumped in.

Set the LDT to 1.4v and CPU vid to 1.425 w/110% to 1.52v w/LDT multi to 3.

Was able to get 235Mhz HTT at 11 multi for 2585Mhz (wow all the way from 2200 X 10m).

Then did the memory 200Mhz/2.5-4-4-8 and was able to top out at 225Mhz/2.5-3-3-7.

The CPU temps floated in the range 55 to 60c with the retail sink/fan.

With your guide in hand, the best I could come up with (to not overrun the memory) was 258Mhz with a 10multi for 2580Mhz and and a 5/06 memory devider for a mem speed of 215Mhz.

(Note: My memory was finicky, if I pushed the 3-3-7 down too much, It would not post, I had to take the battery out and short the connectors to get the beast to reboot.)

(Second Note: My kingston hyperX would not boot windows safely at all in this machine, I had to switch to the geils I had laying around).

My monster kicked in a 5959 mark score on the 3Dmark05 test. No one came close unless they were running SLI and then they got 9000's.

 

Thanks to 'RGone' for the help with the bios chip! I'm happy. And thanks for the guide 'ThunDa' and all who contribute to it. All the questions people asked helped my figure out my own situation. I also have been mostly an intel guy with some athlon experience, but never O/C'd anything like this. Having a cpu fan run at 6000 rpms has its downside, I think I'll be exploring water cooling soon.

 

One question, do I put the LDT back to 4 or leave it at 3? My brain kinda froze at that point.

 

Thanks,

Dylan

[Freezer26]

I read this guide like 6 times, twice I had to go to sleep because I was so damn confused. However, after using the 'initial M/B setup' guide elsewhere, I jumped in.

Set the LDT to 1.4v and CPU vid to 1.425 w/110% to 1.52v w/LDT multi to 3.

Was able to get 235Mhz HTT at 11 multi for 2585Mhz (wow all the way from 2200 X 11m).

Then did the memory 200Mhz/2.5-4-4-8 and was able to top out at 225Mhz/2.5-3-3-7.

The CPU temps floated in the range 55 to 60c with the retail sink/fan.

With your guide in hand, the best I could come up with (to not overrun the memory) was 258Mhz with a 10multi for 2580Mhz and and a 5/06 memory devider for a mem speed of 215Mhz.

(Note: My memory was finicky, if I pushed the 3-3-7 down too much, It would not post, I had to take the battery out and short the connectors to get the beast to reboot.)

(Second Note: My kingston hyperX would not boot windows safely at all in this machine, I had to switch to the geils I had laying around).

My monster kicked in a 5959 mark score on the 3Dmark05 test. No one came close unless they were running SLI and then they got 9000's.

 

Thanks to 'RGone' for the help with the bios chip! I'm happy. And thanks for the guide 'ThunDa' and all who contribute to it. All the questions people asked helped my figure out my own situation. I also have been mostly an intel guy with some athlon experience, but never O/C'd anything like this. Having a cpu fan run at 6000 rpms has its downside, I think I'll be exploring water cooling soon.

 

One question, do I put the LDT back to 4 or leave it at 3? My brain kinda froze at that point.

 

Thanks,

Dylan

 

I would try your LDT on Auto and run some benchs and see what happens, I prefer it on Auto as do a few others on here. Another thought would be to go buy an Aftermarket HSF which will lower those temps by about 10-15C or so. Anything aftermakrket is going to be a HUGE jump from Stock. Even if it is just for now until you get water, because you will be lengthening the life of your CPU dramatically.

 

I bet turning the LDT to Auto will increase some of those benches. I have gotten 6289 on '05 with my Leadtek btw. Does that AOpen card really have 512MB of RAM on it? if so what is stock memory speed?? just curious.

 

-Freez

[faheyd]

I would try your LDT on Auto and run some benchs and see what happens, I prefer it on Auto as do a few others on here. Another thought would be to go buy an Aftermarket HSF which will lower those temps by about 10-15C or so. Anything aftermakrket is going to be a HUGE jump from Stock. Even if it is just for now until you get water, because you will be lengthening the life of your CPU dramatically.

 

I bet turning the LDT to Auto will increase some of those benches. I have gotten 6289 on '05 with my Leadtek btw. Does that AOpen card really have 512MB of RAM on it? if so what is stock memory speed?? just curious.

 

-Freez

Stock speed for the vid is 400/1100, http://global.aopen.com.tw/products/vga/Ae...ltra-DVD512.htm , I've got it at 436Mhz/1.12GHz right now at 52C, I need to work on that too. Yes, it does have 512MB and my BF2 is beautiful! Worth the money, hmm, I don't think so, I'm sure all the 256MB 6800U/GT owners are perfectly happy.

 

I've since lowered the voltage to 1.4 on the CPU w/110% (1.52v) percent to cool off a little. I've ordered up the Freezer 64 (I saw your sig) for $35.40 including UPS shipping at http://epowerhousepc.com/product_info.php?...01e384c65c81330 , which was the best Out The Door price. We'll see what happens after it gets here. I didn't mess with the LDT, it's on 4 right now, I'll try 'auto' after the cooler get's here. Plus, MBM was showing the wrong CPU fan speed, (it's actually around 3000rpms), the wrong power fan speed, and chipset fan speed. Oh well, I adjusted them, all are now close to correct, but the chipset fan speed is off by about a 1000.

 

So, right now, I'm putting things on hold until then. I really wish I could have gotten the HyperX memory to work, I'll try it now that I've got a 'working' knowledge of memory settings (I'll bring the CPC to disable first) and use RGones basic (lax) mem setttings prior to installation of them. (The hyperx i have is a slightly lesser model of what is on this site, Kingston-KHX3200AK2_1G,

Thanks for the help.

[Freezer26]

I've gotten my Leadtek to 461/1.22, and yes I am very happy with it. I don't think I'll ever buy anything other than Leadtek from now on, very good card, and very stable. I mean rock solid stable, I have never had any problems with this card. Going to do a voltmod soon see if I can't get a little higher. Be nice to hit 500/1.3 but don't know if it'll happen. Good Luck with your rig.

 

-Freez

[THunDA]

I updated this part because before it just mentioned winnies and clawhammers..

 

CPU VID (Voltage Identification) Control (CPU Vcore)

This is a tricky one.. Its gonna depend on how good your temps are and how far your willing to take it. For 90nm cores (i.e. Sandiego, Venice, x2, Winnies) its best to stick around 1.6v-1.65v MAX, For 130nm cores (i.e. Clawhammer, newcastles) you can go a little higher to 1.7v-1.75v but always make sure temps are good. If you have extreme cooling like water or phase then you can take the voltages higher. You could also try to see how far you will get on stock vcore first or just bump it up from the start. This is totally up to you and what you feel comfortable with. Some A64 CPU’s actually overclock better with less voltage that’s why its good to start off lower to find the max of that and if your unhappy or want more then you up it from there.

[EdLSmith]

I have been in this thread for last 5 days and most of nights reading, applying and testing. Thanks ThunDa, It has been an enlightning experience. Wow, I've gotten a 22.5% OC on my first try. I'm running very hot on my 8 hour stability test for X2 with Prime95. With set to both cores it doesn't get warm but test both simultaneously, whew. I was hitting 59C a lot. I am going to try backing off on Vcore some more. I've backed off to 1.488 and I'm going to step back some more this try. I was able to keep my memory frequency stable OC'd until I passed 240 and then I had to start using Divider to maintain stability. I got under 27 minutes on Super Pi before I lost control and had to start using divider. The pre-OC time was 41 Minutes Plus. I'm getting 28 plus now. Somehow I thought the memory DDR533 would be stable up to 266. I ran many variations with memtest86+ and found the memory to be stable as long as I held the memory frequency at or below 200 with the dividor.

 

I will go back through the OC guide again for learning purposes-and there are a lot of side issues to spend more time on.

 

Again Thanks for a superior guide. If I'm out of order, you can delete this.