Brand 2500XP Barton

[daigster]

So i just took this thing out of the box and ditched my old 1800 Paly. So now this new barton runs at 1833/FSB333mhz with 512k of L2Cache. I like it already.

And with it i bought 2X256 sticks of Kingston PC2700 Value Ram. What the heck it value ram? Is that like the Celerons? Duron? Hmmm...

So anyway, at stock speed I was sitting at 34C/idle, 37C/load, then i thought, i should up the FSB, but then i wondered if the Value ram would prevent that. So I just boosted the multiplier from the stock 11 to 11.5, then finally 12 and didnt fiddle around with the FSB.

So now i'm sittin at 1996Mhz, guess thats not exactly part of the 2Ghz club huh? But now, my idle temp is 35C/idle, 39C/load.

So is this a good thing? I'm somewhat weary bout overclocking, but here, the FSB of 166 stays at 166, so thats not really gonna stress the Value ram that I'm using, right? Also, so these new Bartons are unlocked I assume, or did my A7N8X unlock it for me? I'm kinda wondering...Thanks in advance.

[Krishna]

Keep going up :)

My Barton 2500+ (and others) is currently running at 13.5x166 (2249Mhz) with a Vantec Aeroflow, temps in my sig.

As long as you stay under 50°C under full load (Prime95, Folding or something similarly stressful), and test with memtest86/Prime95 you're fine.

These 2500+ Bartons (AQUCA stepping) seem to top out at 2.2 to 2.4Ghz on air.

My setup is rock solid stable @ my current settings (on stock Vcore too) but won't go higher without more Vcore (which I don't want to pump up with just air-cooling.)

Krishna.

[daigster]

well, i tried 13 on the bios, but when she booted, she was running at lik 833mhz...haha....my duron was faster then that...

So why is this? Theres 13 and up for the multiplier in the bios. Have i topped out at 12.5X166? Its not bad though i'm at 35C/idle and 41C/load. Tried Prime95 for bout 30mins. I had those temps with my paly1800 at stock speed.

Is the ram really being stressed with this overclock? I'm just wondering if my ram will ever crash because i've pushed the cpu up this far...

PS. what kind of steppin info would this cpu have?
AXDA2500DKV4D

[Krishna]

If your just pushing up the multiplier, rather than the FSB then your memory will be fine, it's once you start pumping up the FSB speed that your memory will start to get overstretched.

The reason you can't get higher than 12.5x multis is down to your mobo not handling the 5th multiplier bit, when you set yours at 13x your mobo remapped the multi to the lowest, 5x - Your choice is to either:

1. Stick at 12.5x and be happy at getting a little extra.
2. Use the "wire trick" or do some bridge mods on the chip to set the multi's over 12.5x
3. Get a mobo that supports the 5th multiplier bit (Some KT400 and all NF2-based boards IIRC)

I can't stress enough how important getting a stable OC is via using Prime95, if you can run Prime95 for 2-3hours straight without error you've a rock solid system (Some say overnight, set your own limits :))

The stepping/production run details will look something like this:

AQUCA 0309MPM (or possibly AQXCA).

HTH
Krishna.

[daigster]

Alright, well, I guess i'll just stay with the 12.5 multiplier, its stable so far. Gonna run Prime for a few hours later and see. So far I'm happy with just the idle temps so far. I've cleaned up the wiring in the case also.

You can all see and tell me if i need improvement. Thanks again.

My system is here. (http://users.accesscomm.ca/daigsplace/System%20&%20Pics.htm)

[daigster]

Small update. Left the system on running Prime 95, while i checked what was on tv, and ended up watching Cheech & Chongs Up In Smoke, still love that flick.

So I monitored my temps and after 1.5 hours, it never went above 41C/cpu, 16/sys. At idle it goes back down to 35-36, depending on what time of day. All this with 12.5X166=2800XP. woohoo... Its a warm afternoon here, and i'm idle at 36. I think its time to consider tryin the SLK800 and maybe an aluminum case.

Do you think I'd benefit from a smaller case, LianLi, or one of the new Antec Lanboy? Sonata? Anyone using these cases yet?

[sandman001]

no, your case is a great one for airflow, your memory will handle a bit on the fsb, just give it a bit more voltage, and maybe relax the timings if needed.

That memory will probably do 180x2= 360fsb.

[Yuriman]

Ya, that memory is rated at 166(333) so you maybe able to get over 180 with it. I have the same stuff(or 1 chip of it at least) that i got a few years back, 80$!. Anyway dont be afraid to up the fsb. If anything, set the multi to 10 and see how high the fsb will go. Then start upping the multi.

[SpliT71]

i've got the same ram, im topping out at 181 fsb :( anyway WOW your case is clean!!!!!! GJ :D

[daigster]

Thanks man...some questions, the 80gb WD, how do you like it? I was lookin into gettin a new drive?

Also, the Lanboy case, i know its smaller, but is she a bit more quiet, cool? Whats your case setup and temps? I'm also lookin at that case.