Newbie requesting help! (Abit NF7S v2.0)

I am curious how I should go about overclocking my system. Without overclocking (and using an ASUS A7V8X motherboard) I got a 3DMark '01 score of 12,357. I have yet loaded any software onto my system since I want to do my overclocking first. A user on Rage3d recommended that I set the RAM setting to 6/6, jack up the FSB to 200 MHz, and then up the Vcore to 1.8. However, the system would not post when I tried that (had continuous beeps, all equal in length) and ended up clearing my CMOS. Now I just want to take it a little bit at a time. I am a bit curious why I was unable to use such settings though when his system is worse than mine and he is able to run his Athlon XP 1700+ at 2450 MHz(10.5x233) 1.85v.

Here is my system:

Mobo: Abit NF7S v2.0
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Barton
HSF: Thermalright SLK947U w/ 92mm Comair Rotron FN12K6X (pushing 60+ CFM)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver Ceramique
RAM: Corsair Memory XMS 512 MB pc3200 DDR400
PSU: Antec True Control 550 Watt Power Supply With 2 Fans 5.25 Control Panel
Video Card: ATi Radeon 9700 Pro (about to remove shim and replace HSF with Cooljag & Cooler Master Thin 60)
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum
TV Card: LEADTEK WINFAST "DELUXE" TV2000XP TV/FM MULTIMEDIA CARD
Primary HDD: MAXTOR 160GB 7200RPM Serial ATA Hard Drive Model 6Y160M0 8MB
Secondary HDD: Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive Cuda 7200 ST380013AS
3rd & 4th HDD's: WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE
DVD ROM Drive: Aopen Internal EIDE 16X DVD ROM / 40X Max CD-ROM (slot-loading)
CD Writer: Lite On 52x24x52 CDRW Model LTR-52246S
Case: Chieftec Server Chasis w/ Custom Side from Voyeurmods.com (Silver ASW-16); I intend on getting a top panel as well so that I can exhaust some of the rising heat using a 120mm fan
Extra cooling: 7 80mm case fans (Sanyo Denki 109P0812S4011)
Fan Speed Controller: Sunbeam Rheobus Easy Fan Speed Controller
Peripherals: Logitech MX700, Logitech Cordless Elite Duo (had to have the keyboard before the Logitech Cordless MX Duo surfaced), Logitech QuickCam 4000 Pro, Logitech Cordless RumblePad, ViewSonic 19" Professional Series P95f+B
Mousepad: RatPadz GS

ok you say you go to 200mhz FSB with the default mult. right? try with a lower mult. like 11x200 and 1.65vcore. im sure itll work

If you are runnning into problems running a high FSB, try changing your memory/FSB ratio to lower your memory speed. It is not the best way to go for performance, but allows you to see if it your chip or your memory limiting your OC. That way you can see how far your chip will go, and if your memory id holding you back. Not that your memory should have any problem running at least a 200 FSB, but ya never know, it may not run any faster thatn that.

The best way to find the limit of your memory is to lower your multi to somthin really low (8?) and start rasing your FSB a bit at a time until you run into instability. Back it off to a stable speed and start rasing your multi until you get to instability again. Then, raise your Vcore a bit and start all over. Eventually you will find the limit of your current system. Remember, lots of things affect OC- memory, memory voltage, NB voltage, power supply quality, colling ability.... it goes on and on.
Good luck, and welcome to the forums.
B.

First, I set my Memory Timings to 2-3-2-6-T1. After that I was able to overclock.

Then I ultimately changed the CPU FSB/DRAM ratio to 6/6, the External Clock to 200 MHz, the Multiplier Factor to x11.5, and the CPU Core Voltage to 1.675v. As I raised my settings I ran Prime95 to test the stability. My pc3200 RAM is now running at 400 MHz, which is nice to me as my CPU is at 400 FSB as well.

Anyways, now do you have any other tips so that I can get every other possible MHz out of my CPU/RAM?

I am not sure if I should change the External Clock. I am sure that the RAM is very overclockable, but at the same time I am not so sure that I should go beyond 400 FSB for my CPU as it is a 333 FSB processor.

you don't need to worry about running the high FSB for your processor. most NF7-S don't go much higher than 220Mhz on the FSB anyway, as it is limited by the chipset.

just remember to lock your AGP down to 66Mhz, and then you can increase your FSB without problems.

if your RAM does not like running higher, you might try slowing down the timings. Try to keep the 6:6 setting though, and overclock using the multiplier as well.

what speed is your Barton running at?

Oh yes, don't forget to turn on CPU interface, and turn off spread spectrum.

My Barton is running at 2.3 GHz (200 MHz x11.5) now. At default it is 1.826 GHz (166 MHz x11.0).

that's actually not bad at all, especially if you're just feeding it 1.675v.

most Bartons don't go much faster than 2.3Ghz.

I am a little surprised about my minimal improvement in 3DMark '01 though. My score only improved by 123 points. I expected quite a bit more improvement. Would increasing the Vcore or doing something else possibly help?

I would think an extra 474 MHz would improve the gaming performance quite a bit. My original score was 12,357 and my latest score is 12,480.

Note: my next project will be to remove this shim from my Radeon 9700 Pro and to replace the HSF with my Cooljag HS and Cooler Master Slim 60 fan. I think I already listed that in my first post since I expected to do it sooner.

Quick note:

When I ran Prime 95 and gave my system that hell test or whatever it is called my system was at 25 C and my CPU was at 44 C (at the highest).

At idle the CPU is at approximately 22 C and my CPU is at 32 C.

Lower your multiplier and raise the fsb. My system which is very similar to yours is running 217fsb. The higher fsb will give more performance than a higher multiplier. Once you find your top stable fsb, you can raise your multiplier to find the top stable overall speed. I'm running 11x217 with a 1.8V vcore.

Thanks for the tip. I am going to try that out now.

With an 11.0 multipler factor I am only able to raise my External Clock to 207 MHz. With an 11.5 multiplier factor I am able to raise it to 203 MHz.

Would raising the DDR SDRAM Voltage or Chipset Voltage help me overclock further?

Right now my Vcore is at 1.725v, the DDR SDRAM Voltage is at 2.6v, and the Chipset Voltage is at 1.6v.

I really want every MHz that I can get and more so by increasing the external clock than by raising the multiplier factor.

I am HAPPY!!! I decided to run 3DMark2001 SE, and my overall score was 17,038! I actually went back to 200 MHz x11.5 again. The RAM settings were the same, and I believe that my Vcore is set at 1.7. I'll have to double check that. Anyways, I am thrilled!

I cannot wait to see what my score will be like after I do further modifications.

wow the 3d mark score is really low with that card
im almost at 18000 with my 9700 pro