Newbie Overclocker Questions...

[Brad]

Hey folks,

Great forum here. I'm fairly new to overclocking so I've got a few questions that I was hoping someone might be good enough to assist me with.

I'm running with an old Shuttle AV30 motherboard (Via 694x chipset) and a PIII-750E and have a few questions regarding overclocking this puppy.

I understand the basics, that getting the fsb up there is the key. However, with this motherboard, I can't seem to get it to post past 112 FSB, and the motherboard manual does indicate that 112 fsb is intended for overclocking a 100fsb processor like my Pentium.

Here are the jumpers I am toying with:

CPU Host Frequency Setting

- This one I'm able to put up to 112 MHz and still get a post (Pentium 840). but I want it to run at 133 FSB. I can confirm that the MB DOES work with 133 FSB as I had it running at that with my last chip, a 733EB. I'm worried though that it's possible that this board only allows a 100 MHz chip to go up to 112.

CPU Clock Rate Setting

I assume this is the "multiplier" that everyone refers to and no matter what I change it to, I'm not going to get any change.

Now here's where I get confused, with THIS jumper, as it seems to contradict the first one I listed above:

"Over-Clocking The CPU"

This can be set to default, overclock to 100MHz, or overlock to 133MHz. I did not get the Pentium chip to even post past 750 until I moved this to 133MHz. But it's obvious I'm only getting 112.

Other jumpers I have not played with that I want to question: CPU Vcore Fine tune, and ICH Voltage setting. Should I be changing these as well to get 133 MHz to work?

Also, I am using the retail fan on the chip. I do have a triple fan I can switch to if that would help, though I assume if it won't post a new fan isn't gonna make a difference.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or advice would be most appreciated! If it's possible that this is just a limitation of this motherboard, I can accept that as well, I'd just like to know.

Thanks again!

Brad

[Jon]

Motherboard wouldn't necessarily hinder hitting 133MHz more than the processor itself. The 100MHz 750 is not a very good overclocking chip overall, not to say some haven't made it. Not very knowledgeable about your motherboard so I can't really comment on any of the jumper settings. You should check the website for any tech manuals or jumper descriptions because a few of them sound as if they may be useful in your attempts...I just don't want to assume anything with someone elses hardware.

[[Oc]acaridans]

have you tryed to research your board? you whould always know what your dealing with before you try anyting......you might not have the multiplyer abbility or its set wrong, if your using the switches you have to set them to the specific CPU....you really should get all the info on your board before you go any further

[Newbie_Doo]

Brad (May 29, 2001 07:10 p.m.):
Hey folks,

Great forum here. I'm fairly new to overclocking so I've got a few questions that I was hoping someone might be good enough to assist me with.

I'm running with an old Shuttle AV30 motherboard (Via 694x chipset) and a PIII-750E and have a few questions regarding overclocking this puppy.

I understand the basics, that getting the fsb up there is the key. However, with this motherboard, I can't seem to get it to post past 112 FSB, and the motherboard manual does indicate that 112 fsb is intended for overclocking a 100fsb processor like my Pentium.

Here are the jumpers I am toying with:

CPU Host Frequency Setting

- This one I'm able to put up to 112 MHz and still get a post (Pentium 840). but I want it to run at 133 FSB. I can confirm that the MB DOES work with 133 FSB as I had it running at that with my last chip, a 733EB. I'm worried though that it's possible that this board only allows a 100 MHz chip to go up to 112.

CPU Clock Rate Setting

I assume this is the "multiplier" that everyone refers to and no matter what I change it to, I'm not going to get any change.

Now here's where I get confused, with THIS jumper, as it seems to contradict the first one I listed above:

"Over-Clocking The CPU"

This can be set to default, overclock to 100MHz, or overlock to 133MHz. I did not get the Pentium chip to even post past 750 until I moved this to 133MHz. But it's obvious I'm only getting 112.

Other jumpers I have not played with that I want to question: CPU Vcore Fine tune, and ICH Voltage setting. Should I be changing these as well to get 133 MHz to work?

Also, I am using the retail fan on the chip. I do have a triple fan I can switch to if that would help, though I assume if it won't post a new fan isn't gonna make a difference.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or advice would be most appreciated! If it's possible that this is just a limitation of this motherboard, I can accept that as well, I'd just like to know.

Thanks again!

Brad

Hi Brad! Welcome to the Overclockers.com forum!

Let's start with a few basics. I see you are using a stock Intel HSF. Have you changed from the tape that came with it to some thermal compound, such as Arctic Silver, or the stuff from the Shack? The few dollars invested in good thermal compound will help even the retail HSF do its job better.

You said Shuttle AV30, Shuttle lists this board as a DDR-DRAM board, is this true? Could it be a different model? Is it Slot-1 or Socket 370? Shuttle lists quite a few Via Pro133A boards, narrowing it down might help. Regardless, once you have a decent thermal interface with your HSF, you will likely find that your processor needs a bit of a Vcore voltage boost in order to be stable at higher speeds. Increase the voltage in small steps until it runs stably.

I hate to say this, but RTFM to find out what the jumpers really do, and in what combinations. The manual is a valuable tool too often overlooked in our quest for answers.

You will ultimately find out what the limits of the chip are only through trial and error. If you take it slowly, pay attention to the temps, and don't overvolt the chip (do NOT exceed 2.05V), you should be fine.

I hope that this helps. Feel free to ask ANY question you feel is pertinent. i would highly recommend the "Beginner's Guides" on the main page. They aren't just for beginners, so the name is kind of misleading, but there is some EXCELLENT information there for your perusal. I still refer to them myself at times.

I hope you find this forum an enjoyable place to spend some time.

Anthony

[Brad]

Okay, hopefully you guys come back and read replies to these threads. ;)

Thanks for all the fast responses, I'm impressed!

First of all, I made a mistake on the motherboard. It's a Shuttle AV64, not a Shuttle AV30. It's a Slot 1 board. You can find the specs here:

http://www.shuttleonline.com/spec.php3?model=av64

I have now gotten the Pentium 750E coppermine up to 900 but hope to go further. I am able to move the FSB up to 120 via the BIOS without losing any stability. Once I move it up to 124, it POSTs, but when I try to run an application under Win98 (Visual Pinball, in this case), it crashes. At 120, no crash.

At 133 FSB (again via the BIOS), I can't even get the machine to post.

I have played with the CPU Vcore fine tune setting, since I read here that pushing this up might increase stability at higher FSBs, but had no success.

So, my question is this: Can you folks suggest anything else I can do, either via the BIOS, jumpers, or physically to the chip itself, or does this sound like I've pushed it as far as I can go? Are there any other BIOS settings I might be able to change to allow the FSB to creep up?

Thanks again!

[Slake]

Welcome Brad
Basically I just want to "BUMP" this topic to the top of the list so others will see and read. I think this thread is an excellent example of overclockers.com at it's best. Excellent questions and great answers.

If you don't have a program to monitor your Temperatures go to http://www.tweakfiles.com and get "Motherboard monitor" ver. 5.something. Post your temps to this thread. You may want to try that tripple fan thingie (tech term) to get it stable.
Good Luck

[Newbie_Doo]

BahBUMP

Brad,

Temperature control is as important as voltage control in successfully overclocking an Intel CPU. The P3 and C2 are more sensitive to high temps than the AMD chips are and you need to know what your temps are in order to see what the problems are.

See my earlier post regarding thermal compound. It really DOES make a difference. Being able to report the temps and voltages at a given speed will help in determining what area will net you the most benefit.

You may have a chip that doesn't respond as well to voltage increases because the thermal issues are more of a problem right now.

Let us know these three things for starters, it will help us help you.