O/C Settings for DDR500

I'm sorta new to the whole overclocking thing but i decided to give it a shot anyway. I'm purchasing a new computer and am wondering how to set up the motherboard to work with ddr500 ram. Without furthur hesitation... the components.

2 x 512mb Corsair DDR500 DIMMS (not sure the model)
ASUS P4C800-DLX Mobo
Pentium 4 2.8C Proc

I'm been looking at the manual (downloaded) and various posts on these boards and have come to these conclusions.

FSB must be 250mhz
Leading the proc to be running @ 3000mhz (250 x 12)... to start

Would I set the DRAM Frequency to 400mhz, Auto, or what? What about memory timings (anyone got a link so i can learn).

And while i'm asking questions a Thermaltake P4 Spark 7 should be able to keep it cool enough correct?

And is there anything else i'm missing?

Thanks a lot!

Ok, let me start cyphrin this info.

I thought what you said was kinda confusing so I'm just going to say this and I don't know if its what you need to know

At stock, your FSB for your CPU is at 200. If your divider is at 1:1 then your memory is also running at 200. If you for some strange reason set your divider at 1:1, your memory speed will drop. But if you OC your FSB, while keeping the divider at 1:1, and if you evnentually hit 250, then your PC4000 memory will be running at stock, at ddr500. I don't know where you got the 250 X 12 at but I think you mean X 4 because 250 X 4 is 1000, and if you have things at stock, it would be 200 X 4 which would make it 800mhz

About memory timmings, the higher you overclock the RAM, the less likely it will be that you can have low, tight timmings.

Also, make sure you turn up the Voltage on your ram when you overclock or else it won't go very far.

Some things that you said in your post were kinda confusing so I hope this answered them.

And I have a P4 Spark 7 and it works fine for me. But i would suggest you get a Zalman 7000Cu, and the zalman NB hs couldn't hurt, if you have some spare cash.

In case of 2.8C you are expecting 3.5GHz? That is 250x14 (14 is a multiplier for 2.8C). That is not going to happen, not likely. You need extreme cooling, in case of air cooling that would be Thermalright SLK-800 (U) or SLK-900 (U) with very fast fan, at least 5,000 RPM 80 mm one.

Memory is not a problem, you'll get to 250 with any DDR500, the problem is cooling. With air your chances are slim, with watercooling that is more likely.

I think 2.6C is better processor for an overclocker, plus it is cheaper.

whatever2003 said:

In case of 2.8C you are expecting 3.5GHz? That is 250x14 (14 is a multiplier for 2.8C). That is not going to happen, not likely. You need extreme cooling,

Click to expand...

While increased cooling is probably going to help to one degree or another, it is not mandatory for 3.5GHz. I am running 3.42Ghz (3.51 is benchmarkable, but not 100% stable) with nothing more exotic than an AX-478 with a 37cfm 2900rpm 80mm fan.

It does take a good chip though. Always better off the find a good chip than to twist the arm of an unwilling one. I agree that only the best 2.8c's (or anything else P4) reaches 3.5GHz on mild air. But if it doesn't only a prometia or something of the like is really going to make much a night and day difference.

It is however a good idea to fit a quality heatsink that accepts an 80 or 92mm fan for both cooling and noise reasons. Consider the SLK-800U Thermalright heatsink and a 39cfm Panaflow if you want the best for a reasonable sum. The Zalman 7000 AlCu is a very good performer and reasonably priced as well. It includes its own propriatary 92mm fan.

The 400MHz setting is more accurately the 1:1 memory:fsb ratio. Why Asus confuses the issue in this way I can't divine. It is only 400MHz when the fsb is 200, and will be 500 if the cpu will allow via running the fsb at 250 vs. the 2.8c default of 200. This will advance the cpu's clock rate to 3,5GHz, so I'd crank up the Vcore to 1.65 or so, and run the memory timings full slow (like 3-4-4-8 or whatever the largest values might be). Set the Vdimm to the max of 2.85V.

If it wont boot and run at 250, try 240, 230, etc etc. It normally works a lot better to work up from 200 towards 250 (and you may choose to go that route, I'm the impatient sort), but the Asus error recovery is very good so the machine will restart on defaults if 250 and the resultant 3.5GHz is too much. Do be aware that an overclocking mishap of any sort can corrupt the data on the hard drive, so have your important stuff backed up (I ghost to a second hard drive) before trying anything risky like this.

Larva's info is great as usual. Good to see you as a mod, Larva.

Important things to emphasize again:
The 2.8c's multi is 14, not 12. Big difference @ 250 FSB.
Get the Zalman CNPS7000-Cu cooler. It is very effective and very quiet.

Thanks so much for all the great responses. And now my attempt to put this all together. For a p4 2.8c.

Multiplier = 14 (Locked... any way to unlock this?)
FSB = 250 (If i want to actually use ddr500 to its specs)
Proc Speed = 3500
Memory Ratio = DDR400 (or 1:1)
Timing = 3-4-4-8
VCore = 1.65 (more or less if unstable?)
VDimm = 2.85 (more or less if unstable?)

Unfortunately my supplier doesn't carry the Zalman CNPS7000-Cu cooler, and i'd prefer not to order one and wait for it. Could anyone make a recommendation from my suppliers list of coolers? Preferably not a Thermo-electric or Water Cooling System.CPUs & Coolers @ Bestbyte (btw... the prices are canadian) I plan on also putting a front and rear case fan, and possible a blow hole on top, could i squeeze by with a lesser processor cooler if i do so? Or in this whole mess am i better off to pick up ddr466, ddr433 or just plain old ddr400 and skip the whole O/C?

For ****s and giggles i'll tell you the whole pile of stuff i'm planning on putting together.

Processor: p4 2.8c (unless a 2.6c seems to be the better option)
Motherboard: ASUS P4C800-DLX
Memory: 2x512MB Corsair DDR500 (i don't know the model, not listed on the site, found out via phone)
Video: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb
Case: Chen-Ming 601AE 420W
Plus a HDD and CDRW (maybe a floppy too )

And apparently the Thermaltake P4 Spark 7 pushes 49.17 CFM at 55° C. I'm also not too concerned about sound. If its too noisy, i'll turn it off at night, otherwise, on it stays.

Voltage: More increases stability. You don't want Vcore over 1.7 actual. Note the the P4C800 has a large load undervolt, so you can set the voltage higher than 1.7 in the BIOS and keep the processor constantly under load.

I like the P4 Spark 7 the best out of the ones available at that website. It has a Thermaltake SmartFan 2, which is very versatile. You could possibly get by with a lesser processor cooler and more case fans, but the Spark 7 is not exactly the best of the best (although it is decent), so I don't think you should skimp even more.

Skip the whole O/C? Hell no!

I understand the frustration of memory speeds and matching it to your processor. Memory choices are by far the toughest part of building a new Intel system. That's what the forums are for.

I think with a 2.8C DDR500 is not the best match. Why don't you shoot for DDR466. That will give you 233 FSB and a 3262 MHz CPU, a much more realistic goal. In the situation you can go with Buffalo PC3700 RAM which uses BH-5 chips, by far the best on the market currently.

Again my store doesn't have the buffalo ram... only Corsair is available:

256MB PC3700 466MHz CL2 CORSAIR 1 Yr $149.00
512MB PC3700 466MHz CL2 CORSAIR 1 Yr $259.00

And the DDR500 512mb are the same price as the DDR466 ones, and i figured that faster memory for an equal price seems like a good deal . Is it possible to run the p4 2.8c @ 3500 stable? It seems i have the following options that i find the best idea. (I thought of option 4 last night... seems the best to me)

1. Stick with p4 2.8c @ 3500 (and pray)
2. Drop to a p4 2.6c (or 2.4c)
3. Drop to DDR466
4. Stick with the DDR500 and if it doesn't run stabily run @ less then 250mhz. Costs the same as DDR466.

The benchmarks i saw @ Tomshardware for DDR500 mentioned that DDR466 didn't seem to perform as good as it should have.

For option 4, is there any harm in doing this, and will components eventually get used to the stress so i can try for 250mhz at a later date?

Damn I hate making decisions. But i appreciate all the help... its been very enlightening.

desecrate said:

For ****s and giggles i'll tell you the whole pile of stuff i'm planning on putting together.

Processor: p4 2.8c (unless a 2.6c seems to be the better option)
Motherboard: ASUS P4C800-DLX
Memory: 2x512MB Corsair DDR500 (i don't know the model, not listed on the site, found out via phone)
Video: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb
Case: Chen-Ming 601AE 420W
Plus a HDD and CDRW (maybe a floppy too )

And apparently the Thermaltake P4 Spark 7 pushes 49.17 CFM at 55° C. I'm also not too concerned about sound. If its too noisy, i'll turn it off at night, otherwise, on it stays.

Click to expand...

As far as a heatsink from that list, I'd get this:

Vantec VA4-C7040 socket 478

It's affordable and a good performer. This is the Vantec Aeroflow, you can read the test of it on the main page.

http://www.overclockers.com/articles644/

As far as the rest of the list, the only thing that really jumps out at me is the power supply. You need a real power supply for this venture, not the turbolink or Austin or some such that will come in the Chen Ming case. I would reccommend the Antec True Power 480 power supply for this venture, and it doesn't come cheap. It may affect your case choice if they have anything w/o power supply at a good price. You might also consider the Antec Sonata case as it is very nice and includes the Antec True Power 380. While not the equal of the 480 this is still a whole lot better power supply than what will come in the Chen Ming.

desecrate said:

Again my store doesn't have the buffalo ram... only Corsair is available:

256MB PC3700 466MHz CL2 CORSAIR 1 Yr $149.00
512MB PC3700 466MHz CL2 CORSAIR 1 Yr $259.00

And the DDR500 512mb are the same price as the DDR466 ones, and i figured that faster memory for an equal price seems like a good deal . Is it possible to run the p4 2.8c @ 3500 stable? It seems i have the following options that i find the best idea. (I thought of option 4 last night... seems the best to me)

1. Stick with p4 2.8c @ 3500 (and pray)
2. Drop to a p4 2.6c (or 2.4c)
3. Drop to DDR466
4. Stick with the DDR500 and if it doesn't run stabily run @ less then 250mhz. Costs the same as DDR466.

The benchmarks i saw @ Tomshardware for DDR500 mentioned that DDR466 didn't seem to perform as good as it should have.

For option 4, is there any harm in doing this, and will components eventually get used to the stress so i can try for 250mhz at a later date?

Damn I hate making decisions. But i appreciate all the help... its been very enlightening.

Click to expand...

As far as the memory type goes, I haven't tried either Corsair 3700 or 4000, so I can't say which I'd choose. Corsair is typically good stuff, but I don't know if there are any chips out there to be had that reallly support these kind of clock frequencies well.

I think your expectations are reasonable though, and I think it will result in a machine that is very fast. I really like running the 1:1 memory mode with 865 and 875, it helps more than people realize. The PAT functions ever so much more effectively at 1:1 and the realized latency is much better even if the raw bandwidth doesn't change. So having to run slack timings on the ram may not matter as much, or it may not allow PAT to function :/ Gotta roll the dice to find out.

Not all 2.8c's will reach 3.5GHz, and not all PC4000 ram will run 250/500MHz. But both should come close. So if 240fsb proves all that is stable you've still got good memory performance via the 1:1 ratio and resultant 480MHz memory clock as well as adequate cpu power at 3360MHz. And most 2.8c will do that much easily.

I'd probably buy the DDR500 and shoot for as much fsb as I could run at 1:1. 240, 250, whatever, it's going to be a fast machine. And if the memory does prove limiting return it for not running 500MHz and try something else.

Do get a real power supply though. Anything in excess of 3GHz on a P4 really stresses the 12V output of average power supplies.

Well, my local store has Antec TruePower 430W's in stock. Is this suitable enough for power? They can order 480W's and should only take a few days if their distributer has stock, but i loathe waiting. I think i may turn this whole adventure, when complete, into an article for overclockers.com... who do i email about this?

Hopefully i don't have anymore questions to ask you all.

Yeah, a TP430 will do allright. It used to be as much as I'd recommend, but recently power consumption has risen to the pint that the 480 is no overkill. But the 430 will do too, it's a good supply.