Questions for experienced OC'ers

Hi,

I'm new to these forums today (as a member) but I haven't seen any better anywhere on the Internet, so hopefully someone will be able to give me some insight.

I have a very cool-running chipset (A7N8X Deluxe, first version), watercooled by a pretty good setup using mostly Danger Den stuff that I finally got up and running last night. In my bios, my MB temperature reads 18 degrees Celsius. This is a lot lower than when I just had my passive cooling on there (somewhere between 25-40 I think). Before I got the watercooling system, my best FSB speed was 191 MHz (x2), but I believe this was CPU limited (at the time my CPU temp was 60 degrees =( ). Now I have a Prometia (CPU temp = 100 degrees lower than before =) ). However, I tried to bump my chipset up to 210 MHz, which seems reasonably low (keeping my CPU multiplier low of course to ensure that CPU does not affect anything) and while Windows will usually boot, it will always crash. I know about voltage mods, but I am too scared to try them. Does anyone have any ideas how I can improve my FSB overclock, or alter something I am doing to increase it in any way? My RAM is running in sync with my FSB, but even when I bump the voltage from 2.6 to 2.7 or 2.8 on the RAM, stability seems just as bad. I don't believe my RAM is the problem, but I guess it's possible.

My final question is this: Sometimes when I was testing my overclocked FSB speeds in WarCraft 3 and 3DMark 2001SE, instead of a blue screen of death I would just get a sudden interruption in any signal to my monitor. Would this be a power supply issue? I am running 4 fans, plus the small heating element on the Prometia, plus all my drives, video card, etc. Does overclocking significantly increase the power consumption? Or can those sudden monitor blackouts (sometimes my screen returns, sometimes it doesn't, and in 3DMark it sometimes tries to repeat the test it was on before the blackout) be attributed to errors caused by my unstable FSB overclock?

I am fairly new to this, and while I have done a lot of research, I am a bit stumped here. I didn't have TOO much time to play with it last night so there is obviously more to be done. However, any help or suggestions from anyone who has had experience in these areas would be very appreciated to me.

Thanks for reading this!

Try running your CPU and memory async to find your memory's upper limit. I see you're running XMS3200 which overclocks pretty well; mine does 215 Also, try setting CPU Interface to Optimal instead of Aggressive as this loosens the "timings" of the northbridge.

You'll also want to set your tras to 10 or 11 or some other value in that ballpark as it seems to work really well with nforce2 boards.

As for your PSU being a problem, an overclocked machine should have a 3.3 and 5v combined output of at least 240w to rule out the PSU as a problem. Additionally, check to make sure your 12v isn't running low as CPUs are drawing power from that rail now.

And here's a run of the mill question: did you lock your AGP bus to 66MHz?

~THT

Yes, my AGP is at 66 MHz =)

I have a feeling it's my chipset voltage (I posted this thread in AMD CPU's as well, got a lot more replies), but that's a good idea to find out my RAM's max overclock first. Also, I have been told many times now that I need a new power supply, so I'm buying an Antec 550W tonight. I'm going to try the pencil trick for vmodding my chipset, hopefully i will have success, and hopefully I can do it without removing my MB or unplugging anything (watercooling + Prometia + lots of power cables = gigantic pain in the *** to move ANYTHING).

I would hope my RAM does at least 215, though, I've heard lots of people getting 230+. To be honest I didn't even consider that in determining my limit. But I'll check it.

Thanks for the reply, if you have any more thoughts let me know!

Just a question, are u benchmarking and playing with gfx card OCed or on default?

Nothing is OC'ed right now, even my CPU multiplier is reduced to ensure it's not affecting anything.

My vid card is at stock speeds. That will be the last thing I tweak.

Fine
So, try to know what´s the limit of your RAM (prob isn´t RAM, though, anyway test it)
I guess the problem is voltage needed on chipset, the cpu isn´t blocking the OC, though, since u r trying it with low mult.
190 MHz with stock voltage on chipset, isn´t that bad...
So since you r WCing NB, u should Vmod it, a Vmod for Vcore would help too on your final speed, but it´s up to you
wich rev. is your board, btw?

My board is whatever Rev it was when they first hit the market, unfortunately.

For now I will try to see what I can get without V-modding it, since I spent 25+ hours on the entire project (case modding, building a small table, assembling/filling/bleeding watercooling system, sealing everything from leaks/condensation, installing Prometia vapor chilling unit, etc.) so I don't think I want to rip it apart quite yet. I am also a bit nervous about the pencil chipset voltage mod, as the resistor is incredibly tiny and I have shaky hands, and I don't want there to be graphite where there isn't (=poof). I wonder if someone in town would V-mod it for me. Hmmm. With a moneyback guarantee...that could be tough. Hehe. Oh well, I am now on my home PC (was at work before) and I have my Antec 550 PS installed, running like a charm. Quiet too. So much better than my old 8-fan system w/ full speed Volcano 9....

Thanks again for info, keep the posts coming if you have anything else.

Wicked set up. 1st your not going to get very far with out a vcore mod on that chip 2nd buy a real overclocking chip 3rd if you spent that much money what harm will it be if you do mess up ? By the look of your specs i would not think that issue of volt moding the board should cost you much (vcore, vdimm, vdd, 5voltrail,). Use micro grappers and you should be fine. Buy another board if your not going to voltage mod it that has that higher voltage everything(abit, epox) if not then really all your hardware is a waste sense most are hitting alot higher 2400+mhz on air with high fSB as well (2100+ 1700+ 2500+) Its safe with your set up to throw a nice 2.1volts into that chip you have. Don't be so concern with the high FSB its not worth it in terms of higher MHZ on the chip. Go for extreme overclock thats the ticket say a nice 2600mhz or better. What i see as your limiting factors are the chip you have and vdd mod atleast that. CHANGE THAT CHIP!

Here is a thread that might help you out (incase you haven't seen it already)...you can use super glue instead of soldering...and will definetly be worth it once it is done...I know you said you didn't want to mod it yet...but when you do...excellent thread to follow up on...and much better then the pencil VDD mod...

A7N8X VDD Mod Thread

hangten said:

Don't be so concern with the high FSB its not worth it in terms of higher MHZ on the chip. Go for extreme overclock thats the ticket say a nice 2600mhz or better.

Click to expand...

Mhz is one thing...High memory bandwidth is another thing...what you want to do is try to get both as high as you can stable...not just the extreme Mhz...High stable FSB and high Ghz is the thing to achieve when OCing correctly...a CPU with a 2.5Ghz OC but with higher memory bandwidth will beat a 2.6Ghz OC with medium memory bandwidth in 2001se and most other benchmarks...

Hey guys,

My chip is actually a decent overclocker. I am at 2413 MHz (I know that's not incredibly great) but thats at 1.825 V and perfectly stable. My FSB is currently the limiting factor, and sadly, I was under the impression that the multiplier was completely unlocked (i.e. I could go above 12.5, which is my chip's default, however I found out AFTER all this crap that 12.5 is a magic limit that most boards have). So right now my FSB IS my limiting factor, you are correct. When I feel like once again being without a PC for a few days (this project took a while, and if you're a PC geek -- oh wait, you're in this forum, you are -- it's annoying to not have a PC for a while) I will decide to either get an ABIT board (the NF7-S I think is good, what voltages does it go up to? anyone know? Also, I heard it can raise multiplier higher than 12.5, is this true? If so, what mult. can it go up to?) or attempt a voltage mod (although my hands are shaky, so I'm hesitant).

On a side note, I spent some time tweaking my VC last night, and I can only seem to get 365/350-ish numbers for my GPU/RAM. It is very well cooled, but let me guess -- voltage is my limiting factor, right? How difficult are those things to mod?

The reason I am skeptical about voltage modding is that I really do not have steady hands and I am slightly paranoid, after spending all this cash, that I'll have to spend a lot more if I screw up. You may think, you spent all that cash, what's an extra $200? Well an 'extra $200' hurts a lot more when you blew most of your cash on your box already, and you don't have a whole lot left =). I'm in a few stocks right now so hopefully they'll do well and I can go buy whatever I want.

P.S. I realize no one lives in Calgary (I think), but is there anyone where you live (PC outfits) that do voltage modding for a fee? I was thinking if this is significantly cheaper than a new mobo it may be feasible.

Once again, thank you to everyone who is responding to my ill-researched and very expensive PC mod in progress =).

One more thing I forgot to mention:

While I realize I probably could have researched this better, my main goal was a learning experience, and a cooling solution that will be transferrable to a new PC. I know the Prometia is transferrable (only have to purchase a new chip kit for ~$50) and my NB waterblock hopefully is, and my Maze4 GPU block hopefully will be as well. So even at 2413 MHz, I'm not horribly disappointed (a little disappointed, but not "insanely angry" disappoined). The ABIT board (NF7-S) is $170 CDN plus like $10 for shipping if I want it, but first I'd like to hear some experiences/voltage limitations of this board. Also from some reviews I've read it's performance (at default settings at least) is lower than my A7N8X Dlx. Any thoughts?

What most people are trying to tell you, is...
if you have a good cooling system, u should go ahead with a Vmod, good cooling helps you reaching more speed, but, to get more speed u need more voltage, so WC isn´t = more speed.
WC = more safety with higher voltage = more speed.
You have to understand that, there isn´t much you can do, with default voltages. You have to take the next step, or u won´t hit more speed.
My advice is, read carefully all that reviews about Vmoding a7n8x, practive you soldering in old electric components and then try the 5V mod, wich is the easier...
Good Luck

I understand completely that cooling != more speed =), but I appreciate you making sure I'm not a fool.

Instead of V-modding everything and giving myself a huge headache, I'm thinking of getting that ABIT board (it's cheaper than I thought). Does anyone know if they will be coming out with a newer board as that one is a bit aged? I also would like to know the voltages. Thanks.

Yep ABIT NF7-S 2.0 ULTRA 400 is a good option, I´m shure u can hit 220 FSB without V-mods, if u can buy it, that´s the a good option.
Voltages will be the same that u have on a7n8x, I mean on BIOS, I´m not shure, never had a Abit, but almost shure, maybe someone could clear this up...
btw, what´s your BIOS version on a7n8x?
Good Luck again

My BIOS rev. is 1004.

Someone has to know about the multiplier/voltage options on the ABIT board!!!

Voltage should be:
Vcore: 1,65 - 1,85V
Vdimm: 2,6 - 2,8V
and Vdd about: 1,65V

After changing motherboard, try the Uber BIOS for a7n8x...

Hey Bugs, the info you gave me is for my ASUS board, I know the ABIT NF7-S does higher than that. I know Vcore can go over 2.0V, Vdd 1.70V, Vdimm 2.9 or 3.0V I think (I actually found out myself, so don't worry about posting that stuff).

abit goes to 2.2 on the vcore, 1.7 on the vdd, 2.9 on the vdimm, 1.8? on the agp.
ive had a couple of these boards. they simply rock. no lower than 210 ouuta the box. and VERY easy to voltmod the chipset. way easier than a a7n8-x, which ive had too. you will like the abit. its more user friendly by far,.. at least for me. bios is a bit more straight forward and has lotsa options.

U mean u can choose 2.2 V for Vcore on BIOS on a NF7-S? :|

Sorry

2.2=2.0

2.0V is what I meant to type