My system, does it make sense???

Hi,

I was wondering if my system and its specs makes sense to you guys:

-AMD XP2500+ oc ot 3200+ (just by increasing the cpu fsb to 200 MHz - other settings - CL, RAS, voltage, etc. left at default)
-Apacer PC2700 DDR 512MB RAM (I think with Samsung chips)
-MSI KT6 Delta mobo
-Western Digital 80GB 8MB 7200 RPM

Ran it for 13 hours non stop and worked flawlessly. Btw, I just bought the processor in the beginning of december.

Comments please. Thanks.

makes sense to me, I think that 2500 (at least one version, B's I think) are notoriously good OCers.

check the temp tho-

You'd benefit from faster Memory too

Welcome to the Forums!

Like plbowler said, check your temps, especially if you're using the stock hsf. And some pc3200 or better ram wouldn't hurt.

Welcome
I would suggest a better hsf , possibly the SLK 900u . I use a 92mm Panaflo on mine and I got my 1700 @ 2200 with 38c full load ( F@H 24/7) I dont know what idle temp is ?? Do you?? FOLD

PC2700 usually can't overclock well into the 190s FSB, Samsung can break 200 mark so you lucked out there since you would need a PC3200 RAM to do 200 FSB.

I assume you have a /6 divider kick in at 200 with that VIA mobo. nForce2 mobos have a PCI lock so this is not an issue them but VIA mobo like yours does not. Careful when you overclock, /5 divider kicks in at 166 FSB and /6 divider at 200.

166/5 = 200/6
I don't know when the /6 divider exactly kicks in but if it's at 200, it would be dangerous to run your system between 190 and 199 FSB.

Above 190/5 would be entering hard drive scrambling risky territory.

You did not list one of the most important parts of the system for overclocking: the power supply brand.

Also, "Ran it for 13 hours non stop and worked flawlessly," is not the same as passing Prime95 Torture Test for 13 hours without the program displayng any errors whatsoever.

Hit the Prime95 stability tests to make sure your overclock is stable, good luck.

makes sense to me

hi guys,

really appreciate the replies.

1)what's a /6 or /5 divider? care to explain? all i did was upon starting up my system, went into setup, changed the cpu fsb to 200 MHz (coz i thought the mobo and Barton core should run at that speed by default), set to CL 2.5, RAS at 3, and the vcore and the rest of the voltages set to auto. btw, i'm using a RAM stick with Infineon chips.

2)my heatsink fan is a cooler master ....something .... copper block with freon gas i think which protrudes from the fins out into the base of the heatsink (or the other way round). the fan runs at 7000+ rpm so there's a distinctive whinning sound. unloaded at 49/50 c and around 53 when playing games. is this too hot? btw i'm in a temperate zone without air conditioning system.

3)if the Barton processor is multiplier locked but not the cpu fsb, can i just buy any Barton and then just upped the fsb so that it runs at 2.2G (3200+MHz)?

thanks guys.

If the barton is locked then you cant change the multiplier. But you can set the fsb to 200 and you will get 2.2gig or 3200+. Which looks like you did that. If it was unlocked then you could up the multi and go even higher.

But buy faster ram and you cant go higher than 200mhz and gt more than 2.2ghz.

There is something called a PCI lock and nForce2s have it and VIA mobos do not.

Increasing the FSB changes the speed of the whole motherboard and everything connected to it unless the mobo has a PCI lock. PCI lock is good because it saves your other components from the negative effects of overclocking.

VIA mobos use a divider.

First of all FSB is more important than MHz.
MHz is FSB x multiplier but the idea is to have the highest FSB possible. Without a PCI lock, that may not be an option. This is why:
Lets’ say VIA mobo has a /4 divider for 133 FSB and up, then a /5 divider kicks in for 166 FSB and up.

That means 166 / 5 is about 33.2 default.

That also means with overclocking to say, 180 FSB: 180 /5 = 36
...and then overclocking even more: 190 /5=38. .

38. That’s 15% out of specs your hard drive and sound cards and everything connected to the mobo is running out of specs.

You go further than that and you’ll be entering into hard drive scrambling territory... unless you have a PCI lock which nForce2 does and VIA does not.

So you see while a particular VIA mobo may have nice features, you would have to give up hitting well over 220 FSB with fine RAM sticks





Next, to test the stability of overclocked CPU, download the latest bug fixed version of Prime95:
http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

Double click on PRIME95.EXE to start the program.

Just Stress Testing (if prompted) > OK >
Options > Torture Test > Blend (if prompted) > OK


The program should not give any errors.
It may be necessary to run the program 12-24 hours to make sure an overclocked system is stable (no program errors displayed).


If you get errors only after several hours, this is a result of slight instability because the system is running with little or no margin. It's stable enough to boot and to be moderately stressed, but as soon as the system is under enough load to go over that critical point, it will freeze. To be 100% stable, Prime95 should run 12-24 hours without any errors.

The point of testing is to see if you get errors or not thus testing the stability. The meaning of errors themselves is not as important.


Running Prime95 Torture Test for 5 to 30 minutes is enough to get a feeling about general stability. If it seems to be stable, increase the FSB (with 0.025V Vcore increase if needed), or increase the multiplier by 0.5.

Reboot and run Prime95 Torture Test for 5 to 30 minutes and repeat this until the Program displays errors.
It's then time to back down and repeat the Torture Test until there are no errors for at least 12 hours.

It's OK to use the computer while Prime95 Torture Test is running in the background.



After finding your stable point you may want to then retest using Hoot's advice:
http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=248225


Your temperatures seem OK, note that you need to have your system stable at high overclocks, that means it needs to for starters pass Prime95 Torture Test. Also note that most PC2700 RAM sticks cannot reach a stable 200 FSB overclock.