New to overclocking AMDs, help req'd

[siNk]

I've got an Athlon K-7 800Mhz, running on a jumperless board. It's using 128MB RAM (133MHz) and the board itself is using the VIA chipset (KT-133A).

What is the easiest way to bump up the speed and the most speed I can bump it without requiring additional cooling?

I use to have a PIII 450 which I could easily get up and running (without any hang-ups) at 504Mhz by upping the FSB to 112MHz on my previous board (Chaintech).

Can I achieve similar results on this board?

The reason why I ask is becasue K-7 chips are like gold dust - recently a 1GHz went for £200 ($240) and i don't want to upgrade the board and processor yet if I can get any life out of this baby!

Many thanks,
siNk

[GERRY136]

i too am new to overclocking, but one thing i have learned from these good folks here is that cooling is EVERYTHING, so spend $30.00 or so and get a couple good fans at least! its gotta be cheaper than frying something!
happy trails.

[kat]

siNk

please list your system specs.. ;D

this wil help all of use help you

[FRANK]

Like Kat said, you're going to have to post more system information. Motherboard specifically.


As it is, we can only speculate as to your setup.
Socket A T-BIRD?
Second generation motherboard with 133FSB support.

If that's the case, then your prospects could be pretty good. Look into the CPU database (front page of this site), to see what others have gotten from similar setups.

Research, the key to a successful overclocking experience!

.

[siNk]

My apologies chaps. I was having trouble remembering (I don't have the PC in front of me, so I'm relying on memory):

The motherboard is a Lucky Star K7VA133. It is a Slot A processor (AMD Athlon 800MHz) and has an FSB of 133MHz. 128MB RAM (133MHz). It uses the VIA Chipset (KT-133a).

Here's a link to the manufacturers page:

http://www.lucky-star.com.tw/products/mainboard/k7va133.htm

The motherboard is currently set at it's BIOS defaults (although I changed the AGP aperture from 128MB to 64MB).

Rest of PC specs are:

GeForce 2 GTS G-card
8.6GB IDE HDD
SB Live!
48X CD-ROM (IDE)
2X4X16 CD-RW (IDE)
1.44 FDD


Thanks,
siNk

[David]

Try upping the mult. if u r at 133, take the mult up to 7 for 933, 7.5 for 1Gig or 8 for 1.13GHz. u might hit 1.2 or 1.3gig if u r lucky.
ALWAYS HAVE ADEQUATE COOLING.
You need at least a good HSF, two 80mm case fans and always check the temps. Test it at each speed carefully.

OC ing might be easier if you remove any SCSI cards or modems. You'll need brand name memory probably to take the FSB above 140.

[siNk]

nelly (May 18, 2001 04:22 a.m.):
Try upping the mult. if u r at 133, take the mult up to 7 for 933, 7.5 for 1Gig or 8 for 1.13GHz. u might hit 1.2 or 1.3gig if u r lucky.
.

Thanks for the tip - I have a problem though! Having only ever upped a bus speed before, how do I up the multiplier speed? I thought the K-7 was clock locked?

On my last Intel Mobo (as I mentioned earlier), I just upped the bus speed to take it from 450 to 504 (bus speed was 100MHz, upped it to 112MHz). This was done easily through the BIOS.

Sorry! Like I said, I've not overclocked an AMD before...

[David]

Is it slot or Socket? If it is slot you need a goldfinger device - I don't know much about these.

If its socket you're in luck. Open up your PC and take the proc out. Look closely at the CPU surface, near the core. You will see little gold dots, with L1 - L7 next to them. Look at the L1 bridges. If they are all connected you are lucky, if not you will need to join them. Use a conductive pen or something (ask if u r not sure) to join the bridges. Pencil should work, but it is unreliable. Stick your proc back in and put everything back together. Boot up your machine. If it doesn't boot, you have made a mistake. ONLY JOIN THE L1 BRIDGES LENGTHWAYS OR YOUR CHIP WILL NOT WORK. Boot up your machine and look in the BIOS for the multiplier setting. If it isn't there you haven't done it properly or your BIOs doesn't support it. If it is there - happy Overclocking

If you can, look on your mobo for little switches. If they aren't there then you can only cahnge the multiplier using two methods.
1. change it in the bios
2. connect the L1 -L7 bridges in the correct way (see a suitable web site)

If the DIP switches are there, you will need to find out the settings - usually from overclockers.com or your mobo maufacturer.

I understand that Mult changing isn't possible with Intel procs, but it is with AMD ones.

post something when you hit 1GHz, and let us know how you got on.

[David]

looks like i didn't read the info properly - you said it was slot a nad i went on about socket a. Ooops!.
For a Slot A Athlon you will need t buy a Goldfinger device to insert into your CPU. this has little switches to change the mult, voltage and FSB.