Oc'ing a GA-7VAX witth a athalon xp 2100

I was wanting to know if I could overclock this board with this processor. I have a VA-7VAX revision 1.1, athalon XP 2100, and
Samsung DDR 400. I have never done this but would like to try it. I will be getting a Thermalright slk 800 regardless, but heard it is the best air cooled sink. If anyone has any help with this (links would be great), LMK! Thanks!!! The CPU is rather new and I do not know how to tell what type it is, if that matters or not. Thanks again!!!

If its fairly new then it should be a T/Bred B core and your chances of getting a superb OC are hgh. If you download CPUz then tell us the Family, model and stepping we will be able to advise better.
Hood

I have a Palamino chip, family 6 with stepping being 2!

OK with a Palomino the best you can normally hope for is 1800MHz, some exceptional ones will hit 2000MHz but they are not common.
Also because its a Palomino you will have to UNLOCK IT and also because its a 2100 Palomino you will have to do The Wire Trick Once you have done that then you can set the multi to 10.5x and set SW1 to 166 and then you should be able to boot into windows easily. If you are not stable then you can try increasing the VCore a bit, but keep an eye on the temps as a small increase in VCore makes a big diff to the temps. Once you are running stable then start increasing the FSB in small steps until you find your max, possibly about the 180 mark.
Need any more info or help post back.
Hood

Also OCing does carry risks, although small they are still real.

If I were to buy a TB, which one should I go for? I need another CPU for daughters computer, so I can swap out mine for the newer one, if I buy one. I guess I want to know which of the xp's seem to be the better OC'er?


P.S. I have a star now, and still have not overclocked anything. I need to do it and stop putting it off. LOL, just a thought to myself!

Well, you would want a Thoroughbred B (TBred for short) and you'd want to get an AIUHB core with a good week stepping. I've heard 0250 was good, and I've heard 0302 was good. I have a 0301 and I'm currently at 2275. http://www.excaliberpc.com lets you choose your core/week stepping. Might I suggest another board for overclocking? The 7VAX does not have the option to go higher than 12.5x multi or your default multi, whichever is higher. The 2100s have a default multi of 13, and I believe the TBred Bs have the higher multis unlocked (provided your motherboard can select them). I can't get the lower multis so I know those are definitely locked. However, I still love my 7VAX...even though I can't change my multi unless I connect some bridges (I'm not brave enough to do that, yet). I am still trying to run for somewhere between 180-200 FSB.

As nerdlogic says for a 2100, infact just about any week after 0250, but make sure its an AIUHB. The other to go for is a 1700 JIUHB DLT3C, but make sure its a DLT3C as the DUT3C are not quite as good.
Hood

I have another question on this subject. Should I use a different Mobo to overclock with? I have not read alot of good things on OC'ing the VA-7VAX in here. I am going to build another for my daughter like I said, and I could actually upgrade mine and then piece hers together. Hers would be for School, Chatting, and getting her off of mine!!! If so, any suggestions on mobo that will OC good with the XP 2100 TB? Thanks again!!!

Really any of the NForce2 mobos would be a good choice, but especially the ones with the C1 stepping. By this I mean the newest revision of them, a few are Asus A7N8X Rev2, Abit NF7-S V2 and Epox 8RD3A+. Gigabyte are about to release a very nice looking and well specified one also but think it will be quite expensive as it has a lot onboard and if you dont need it all its probably overkill.
BTW the reasons I suggest an NForce2 mobo for OCing is that the PCI and AGP are locked (well actually adjustable) so no matter what the FSB is they are always in spec, and also all multis from 5x to 22x are available for the TBreds without any mods.
Hood

Thanks Hood! you have helped me out alot. Now I just need to order the pieces and put together a cool puzzle!!!

No problem.
Let us know how it goes.
Hood