New overclock

[Sparkius]

Hello everyone.

I've been reading the boards for some time, and just started getting into overclocking with the purchase of a Tbred B 1700+ JIUHB0310XPMW cooled by a Thermalright SLK-800a with a TT Smartfan II (running at full speed all the time). BIOS shows a start-up temp of around 32 C. The motherboard is a MSI KT3 Ultra, with the latest BIOS revision. I'll probably change this out for one based on the NF-2 chipset. My RAM is DDR400-spec Corsair XMS, two 512 sticks. 350 watt power supply, voltages seem pretty stable.

Right now, the system is running at 190 FSB x 10, RAM timings at 2-2-5-2. It seems stable enough, although the Prime95 stress test has reported errors. I plan on running Memtest overnight tonight, since I haven't yet with this particular RAM.

Two questions:

1. It won't boot into Windows at 200x10 - it POSTs and the BIOS screen comes up, but the screen is distorted by graphical artifacts. This happens up to 1.6v, the highest allowed by my BIOS. What is the most likely cause of this problem?

2. Regarding the voltages posted previously, does my CPU need to be "unlocked" to allow voltages higher than 1.6v or is that a BIOS limitation?

Thanks in advance!

[altec]

I think that you are going to need a better board to reach the 200Mhz FSB mark, and some higher voltages. Sounds like you are getting artifacts because the PCI/AGP frequency is too far out of spec. You definatley want to avoid this, as it can lead to HD corruption and data loss. Up your divider to 1/5, and set the FSB to the point where the PCI bus is running at 38Mhz. This is the highest that your PCI bus should ever go. If you are only allowed voltages up to 1.6v, you will need to find a guide to volt mod your board and gain access to higher voltages to reach higher CPU speeds. If you have any more questions, post away!

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!

[sandman001]

yea, it is your motherboard holding you back.

If you want to take the overclock further your going to wnt either an Epox 8RDA(+), and Abit Nf7(-S), or maybe a soltek which I can't remember the name of.

[JungleMan]

Originally posted by altec
Up your divider to 1/5, and set the FSB to the point where the PCI bus is running at 38Mhz. This is the highest that your PCI bus should ever go.
"Me disagreeing with altec #53243"

PCI bus can go way higher than 38Mhz, as long as your components support it. You won't fry anything :D

But in many cases they won't, especially if you have a Radeon R300 based card. (well, actually that would be AGP speed...but still, that is also a limitation.)

[altec]

You may not fry anything, but for a newbie that is a good "highest speed" due to their limited knowledge of all of this and the risk of HD corruption and other bad PCI/AGP problems...you can't disagree with me on that JungleMan.

[Edward2]

I agree with Altec that 38 MHz is a good safe limit for your PCI bus speed. You can certainly go higher, but you do start increasing the risk of having problems. If you are getting artifacts at 200 MHz FSB speed that is a definite sign that your AGP bus speed is getting too high. I would stay at 190 MHz and try increasing the multiplier.

As for the voltage, you might be able to use the motherboard socket jumper technique to change your default CPU voltage from 1.50 volts to 1.70 volts (or other voltages). This technique involves putting small wires into the motherboard socket holes to trick the motherboard into thinking that your default CPU voltage is higher than it really is.

[Wiz4rd]

I seen one of you guys say he needs a 8rda+ ..... I have a 8rda and it tops out at 194 fsb, is the + version supposed to go higher or what.

[killer7]

On most of the new boards like the A7N8X, for example, have their PCI/AGP bus locked. They are getting cheap so if you get one of these you will 1) get a better overclock and 2) not risk data corruption.

[Sparkius]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm going to try increasing the multiplier now, and I'll probably order up a NF7-S tomorrow or Monday.

[killer7]

<Looking at JungleMan's stars>...<Looks at altec's stars>...<smacks Jungleman>:rolleyes:

[altec]

Stars dont mean anything man. JungleMan a.k.a. ZeroWing has been around for a long time, and corrects me a lot on things that i blatantly post that are wrong. Don't judge people by their star count, judge them by the quality of help that they offer.

[JungleMan]

Nah Altec I just like picking on you some, in general you know your stuff. Generally 38Mhz is a good limit, but 42Mhz or even more will NOT harm most equipment, you'll know if it's too high when your system doesn't boot and you have to back down!

And F.Y.I i have about 11,000 posts at AMDForums and I was a mod and reviewer over there. I know my stuff, trust me :D

Thanks though, altec. :)

[altec]

No need to thank me, you are definatley one of the people I look up to on the forums do to your knowledge. Thank you for teaching me so much. :D

[arnoldma]

can any1 actually explain this pci/agp speed thing? i know its locked on boards like mine, but it sound interesting enough.

or a guide would be helpful also :)

[altec]

When you have a non-nForce board or even some of the nForce boards (MSI) you have a divider that regulates the PCI/AGP bus. Everything from you PCI cards to your harddrive are controlled by this bus, and you have to use the divider to make sure they are not too far out of spec. The stock PCI bus is 33Mhz, and the stock AGP bus is 66Mhz, and most people go by the rul of thumb that you shouldn't exceed a 38Mhz PCI bus. When you are running a 190 FSB, and you set your divider to 1\5, then you will have a 38Mhz PCI bus, and therefore this is the highest that a lot of people will go without a PCI lock. As Jungleman pointed out, you can go above 38Mhz, but all of your components on that bus have to be happy with that kind of speed, and if they aren't your harddrive can get corrupted, or you can have other problems with your sound card and such. Im not too sure where to get a guide, or if it is even needed, since all you need is a calculator to figure out what your PCI/AGP busses are. On a side note, the AGP is always double the PCI. Hope this helps. :D

[arnoldma]

ohh, nice one! thats actually cleared this thing out for me, thnx!

one mroe thing thou, with nforce 2, like nf7-s, its already locked i know, but would it be better if i uped the AGP or PCI bus?

[SiliconX]

Increasing the multi is not really gonna do nothing. If Prime95 is generating errors, it means you're not stable. Just because it can boot into Windows, doesn't mean it's stable.

Just wait for the NF7-S to arrive imo =)