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Cool&Quiet
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Posted by: P0nix
Should it be turned on or off? Reading on article about an am2 chip:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/02...left/page3.html
They advise that it be turned on but I've read reviews that said it caused bugs in windows. Any bug-free way to implement it? Anyone else use it?
Posted by: goranpaa
Cool n' quiet is pretty o.k. But should'nt be used during overclocking.
On the other hand, "CrystalCPUID" is better.
Guide for Cool n' quiet and CrystalCPUID:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article231-page1.html
CrystalCPUID download:
http://crystalmark.info/download/index-e.html
Posted by: P0nix
I'm getting the impression you can overclock a bit with this utility? Great article, good find, ty goranpaa. I am looking to overlock as well. I have a loud fan I bought some wd-40, I might just lube them all and clean out my case. Spring cleaning. Then I want to overclock, reading the reviews from NewEgg about the Athlon x2 3800+ 2.0 ghz and my OCZ memory people are getting it to 2.5 ghz on air cooling! I had it clocked at 2.2ghz stable before. I think the cpu voltage needs to be adjusted to achieve higher stable clock speeds. Any advice on voltage oc'ing?
Posted by: goranpaa
Yeah, you probably can oc with cool n' quiet. But it may be a slightly unstable one.
Just run Prime 95 and Memtest afterwards. Keeping an eye at the temps with a temp monitor.
But you could also under Volt the cpu slightly. To 1.28 or 1.30V. That would give you the same temps about as the C&Q.
But if you have good airfllow in the case, and decent room temps? Then you would manage a 400 to 500MHz oc with the stock cooler / stock voltage, with decent temps. The X2 3800+ is a good overclocker and runs fairly cool.
If you think the load temps is too high? There's always the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 to get for a cheap price.
This is a good, silent cooler with compability for all known AMD mobos.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16835185125
It's also unidirectional. So you can turn the back of the Freezer 64 towards the closest exhaust fan in the rear of the case.
Posted by: P0nix
any idea about changing voltages in BIOS to achieve a stable 500 mhz overclock? My Biostar mobo is very overclockable but I have no idea about incrementing cpu voltage or changing RAM timings. The options are there in BIOS but I don't want to burn out the chip or damage the RAM. I've got prime 95 and cpuz and crystal ready for the job. I'm thinking I might have to increase the voltage on the cpu and maybe adjust the RAM timings?
Posted by: verAx781
I would also recommend downloading this program,
http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php which allows you to controll your fan speeds
heres are some screen shots:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d.../Untitled-1.jpg
also i HIGHLY recommend this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16835888112 it dropped my gpu to settings from around 42c on full to 38c on idle
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d15/verax781/fan.jpg
Posted by: goranpaa
 Quote:
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Originally Posted by P0nix
any idea about changing voltages in BIOS to achieve a stable 500 mhz overclock? My Biostar mobo is very overclockable but I have no idea about incrementing cpu voltage or changing RAM timings. The options are there in BIOS but I don't want to burn out the chip or damage the RAM. I've got prime 95 and cpuz and crystal ready for the job. I'm thinking I might have to increase the voltage on the cpu and maybe adjust the RAM timings?
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The most challenging aspect of overclocking is understanding where the various clock speeds come from, so I'll start there. In a nutshell, here is how the AM2 clock settings work.
You start with the HT base clock, which by default is 200MHz. To get the HT link clock, you take the HT base clock times an integer multiplier. You should try to keep this number around 1GHz for stability reasons. Stock speed is 200MHz * 5 = 1GHz.
To get your CPU rated speed, you multiply the HT base clock by the CPU multiplier. For the 3800+ this is 200MHz * 10 = 2GHz. Since the 3800+ has locked multipliers, you can only reduce this number, so it would be best to just leave it at 10.
To get your memory speed, you divide the CPU speed by the respective memory divider. For a stock 3800+ with DDR2-800 memory, this is 2GHz / 5 = 400MHz. In the BIOS there is an option to specify what type of memory you have, which ideally will cause the automatic selection of an appropriate integer divider. You will want to choose DDR2-800 for this setting.
In addition to memory clock speed, there are options to set memory latency. In this area I would just use the stock timings (listed on your memory) with the command rate set to auto (options of 1T and 2T). The timings are given in the format "a-b-c-d" (for example, 4-4-4-15). These numbers represent the following characteristics:
a) Cas# Latency
b) Ras# to Cas# Delay
c) Row Precharge Time
d) Min Ras Active Time
In your case, I believe the timings probably are like 5-5-5-15...
Other clock speeds to take note of would be your PCI and SATA buses. Usually the SATA speed is derived from the PCI clock by some integer scalar. On good motherboards, the PCI bus has it's own clock generator, which prevents instability due to overclocking of the PCI and SATA buses. On low to mid range boards, and on older boards, this may not be the case.
When it comes to actually performing the overclock, there are two possible strategies that you could take. The first and most advisable method would be to patiently increase your speeds a little bit at a time. With stability tests in between. Takes longer to explain so I will come back to it momentarily. The second method is too find the average expected overclock for your parts online and jump right to those settings. For the 3800+, 2.4GHz to 2.5GHz is a typical overclock. To achieve this, you will need to leave the CPU multiplier at 10, increase the HT base by 40MHz to 50MHz, and drop the HT multiplier to 4. You system's ability to work at these clocks with stock voltage or even elevated voltage is not guaranteed. You may have to raise the CPU voltage by up to .1V, but I do not recommend going higher than this voltage.
Also be aware of, that by increasing the voltage. The temperature of the cpu also will go up.
Now, for the safer method. In order to get the most from your overclock, you will want to have your slowest link operating at capacity, so you need to find the max HT speed and max CPU speed separately. You can accomplish this by doing the following.
1. Drop your CPU multiplier to something low like 5 and increase your HT base clock in small increments until you find the maximum stable setting. A typical value for an nforce5 system is around 315+MHz. You will need to adjust the HT multiplier at the same time to keep the HT link below 1GHz.
2. Put your CPU multiplier back to 10 and start increasing your HT base clock in small increments in order to find your highest stable CPU speed.
In some rare cases, the CPU may actually be able to handle a higher speed than the max HT clock of the motherboard can facilitate. This is unlikely in your case since the 3800+ has a multiplier of only 10. If your overclock is actually CPU limited, and the max HT clock is substantially higher than the max HT clock for the CPU, it may be advantageous to run at a reduced CPU multiplier and elevated HT clock. This is something that will be determined through stability tests with Memtest and Prime 95 tests after you have found your maximum speeds.
Let Memtest run for at least 30 minutes and prime 95 for a minimum of 1 1 /2 hour.
When you start playing around with the speed settings, it is highly probably that you will go beyond what some component in your system can handle. Depending on your motherboard, chipset, and BIOS, this could be handled in a variety of ways. The most likely event is that the system will fail to post, meaning that it never gets to the familiar BIOS startup/check screen. It may also get to the BIOS screen, but alert you that some settings are incompatible and instruct you to fix your BIOS settings accordingly. A third possibility is that it will hang at the BIOS splash screen (fullscreen image). The last type of post failure I have seen is when the system fails to post, reboots automatically, fails again, and shuts down.
In all of the above cases, the BIOS settings can be reset to defaults by means of a push button or pin jumper on the motherboard. The location of these mechanisms will be mentioned somewhere in your motherboard manual. On some systems, you can automatically reset the BIOS by simply holding down the Insert key as the system posts. Regardless of how you go about resetting the BIOS, rest assured that you will be doing so more than once.
This is all that I can think of for now.
Posted by: P0nix
Quote:
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Originally Posted by goranpaa
To get your memory speed, you divide the CPU speed by the respective memory divider. For a stock 3800+ with DDR2-800 memory, this is 2GHz / 5 = 400MHz. In the BIOS there is an option to specify what type of memory you have, which ideally will cause the automatic selection of an appropriate integer divider. You will want to choose DDR2-800 for this setting.
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Actually it's a socket 939. 2 GB DDR400 Dual channel. You're saying to just stick with the stock timings? OK
What about CPU Voltage, i think that is going to give me the OC. I can't OC past 2 @ 2.2 ghz without the board failing to post until a CMOS reset.
Just increase the voltage little by little?
I'm familiar with speedfan, this biostar board actually has software with it that does essentially the same things and even allows for a slight software OC.
Posted by: goranpaa
Ahh! I thought it whas an AM2. As you talked about that in the first post.
Yeah, raise the cpu voltage. But not more than I said before.
Your stock voltage is 1.30 or 1.35V. Well, raise it to 1.40 V. And see what happends?
But as said, you will have to take the RAM down to PC 2700 first. If you keep the multi at 10X Just raise the fsb to 240MHz. Then, your RAM is back at PC 3200. And the cpu runs at 2.4GHz. A 2.5 GHz overclock is'nt really worth the minimal performance gain, compaired to 2.4 GHz. You must up to 2.8 GHz, next step to make a real difference. This, as the noticeable performance gains is in 400MHz increments. And if you can reach 2.8GHz at all? Then you will need really good cooling!
IF you still decide to go higher than 2.4Ghz? You may have to loosen up the timings. If your RAM is 2.0-3-3-6 for ex? Then try 2.5-3-3-6.
Or 3.0-3-3-8 for ex.
Also test to raise the RAM voltage a notch or 2 if you get instability problems.
Posted by: P0nix
Being St Patrick's Day and all and there are 6 kids running around my house and my bro is coming home from korea tonite after 3 years of service I think I will make this a *tommorow project. I appreciate the input, so its in agreement, since I know I can't oc past 2.2 with the current voltage that I can get to 2.4 by increasing it a notch or two? Sweet. I appreciate the advice and will advise the results.
Posted by: goranpaa
Yepp!
Providing your RAM is'nt giving you trouble that is.
You're welcome.
Posted by: goranpaa
Edit:
By saying #Providing your RAM is'nt giving you trouble that is#
I mean that eventually, you have to raise the RAM voltage too.
Depends on what Prime 95 and Memtest tells you?
Posted by: P0nix
will let you know shortly...
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