AGOIA, AROIA... how to be certain which stepping is best

[GBR]

I keep reading about the AGOIA and AROIA steppings on the Palomino cores..... and I find it is very confusing.

There are AGOIA in Y, 4, 9, K, W, and Z....and most posts rate them from best OC to worst in that order. Some posts reverse 4 and 9, some rate K high, some say Z is the best, newest, or worst.

AROIA is rated nigher than AGOIA by most.

Some say the newer the chip the better and like the newest week, while others favor certain weeks like 0213. But for these people week trumps the 1st letter in the 3rd line....or the 3rd line doesn't get a mention.

And many people like an exact chip....like an AGOIA 0213 Y.

Is there a source to read about this subject? Both amdmb.com and overclockers.com seem to have more opinion or personal experience OC'ing a single, or small sample of chips, than fact.

[Yodums]

Edit: Where are my manners? Welcome to the forums.

AGOIA Is a good stepping in general, so is AROIA, but we haven't seen too much of those. Anyways, AGOIA is a good stepping and the opinion given on those codes are just personal experience. I seen a Z hit 1.81gigs whereas I saw one stuck at stock and can only go by FSB. I've seen "Y" really suceeded whereas some failed. Some people may hit a wall because they don't have good components but don't know that some went sky high because they had good ones. I think Fishy has an AGOIA 9 and he's at 1.95gigs, and everyone said "Y" is the best? Just a backup to what I'm saying.

It's based on personal experience and how well your hardware takes it.

Yodums

[Exar Jun]

First off....Welcome to the Forums!!:D

Factoid - XP1600+ Agoia Y 0213 gets you 1800 plus with the right set up you can hit 2 gigs. Agoia z does not oc very good for most.

Aroias are almost as good as the agoias even though they are a newer stepping.

Ermerica has a good thread on steppings a little down on the first page of amd cpu forum.

As far as a "fact" link. I am not sure that you will find one. You really got to go off of personal experience as chip makers really don't want us to oc them.

[maxima88]

I have to agree w/ yodums. It's all based on luck and your individual cpu..
Not 2 chips are created equal and not all systems are created equal either. Even the different hardware (memory, psu, vid cards) aren't created equal. They will not all respond/run the same same way. I got lucky w/ my agoia k.

[GBR]

Originally posted by maxima88
I have to agree w/ yodums. It's all based on luck and your individual cpu..
Not 2 chips are created equal and not all systems are created equal either. Even the different hardware (memory, psu, vid cards) aren't created equal. They will not all respond/run the same same way. I got lucky w/ my agoia k.


Yodums, Thanks for the welcome!

As much as I was hesitant to OC, or questioned whether it was worthwhile....the bug has bitten me.

The last Gigabyte GA-7VRXP rev 2.0 I built has an 1800 XP AGOGA 4 and I run it locked at 141Mhz FSB with the Gainward MX460gs turned up to 341Mhz/ 630Mhz, and most aggressive memory timimgs in modded F9 bios [ haven't used wpcredit].

The current project is another GA-7VRXP rev 2.0 and a 1600 XP....[hoping for an Agoia Y]

I will run it locked and see if the 7VRXP will allow 166Mhz FSB x 10.5.

[ And I know I should have a MSI KT3, Epox, or Abit for the 1/5 divider]

I agree with the posts above and it does seem that the steppings are another good indicator, and may really improve the odds but there is apparently a bit of good fortune involved in OC'ing