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n00b with p4b266

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hunor_nam

Registered
Joined
Oct 10, 2004
Hi all,

I'm really new to ocing... so please bear with me.
First of, my specs:

p4b266 rev 2 bios 1010
1.6a Willamante
stock cooling - i guess :)
256 DDR 2700 - no name i guess
inno gf3 ti 200

i got this buil recently, from components bought second hand :)
of courese i started documenting for ocing....
what i doo is i try to run defalut volt and going up on fsb

i'm stabel on 123 fsb (prime95 torture, pcmarck, 3dmark) but nothing above...
on 125 i get bsod in plain windows...

i use motherbord monitor 5:
idle cpu temp: arround 25c
prime torture test cpu temp gets up to 42-43c
cpu fan always betven 4150 - 4250
video fan around 5600

problems:
in jumper free mode, when ocing from bios, i cant set agp/pci frec. ? is it locked? how can i check it?

if i use switches, than i can set agp/pci bus but can't give more vcore.... :(

so i'm afraid doing it from bios till i cant check agp\pci bus... have anny idea?

would it be a good idea to get a nortwood cpu? (i would get something at the same speed) i read some bad reviews...

how could i find out specs for the ram.

Thanks in advance, and keep up the good job :)
 
Is your CPU a Willamette? Maybe check CPU-Z to make sure. The 1.6A is Northwood... if it's a Willamette it's a 1.6 (no "A"). The Northwood will O/C much better.

I'm not 100% positive, but I don't think that mobo has a PCI lock. If there is anyway you can run at 133 FSB, then the 1/4 PCI divider automatically kicks in. But, if that is a Willamette CPU, you might not be able to run at 133 FSB.

Your temps look good, so try increasing the vcore a notch or two and try 133 FSB. Cross your fingers for luck.
 
Yep is a Willy :) sorry for the "a"...
I found out that the "turbo 1" seting locks the agp and pci... (why can't u asus name it normally?! :) )
so now i'm on 125 fsb stable... nothing more :(
I have a feelin' it's my ram... but i can't (donno how) find any info... isn't there some soft that reads my mem info...?
and a funny thing... i was thinking to uper my fsb and lover the mem fsb but i only have 1:1 and 3:4... 3:4 is more to the ram... isn't? (devide by 3 multi by 4 and multi by 2... right?) and the funny thing if i set 133 fsb i loose the 3:4 and get only 1:1 :|

by the way... so you say northwood is more oc.eable... hm :) i think i'll switch :)

i wanna test it's limits, it was so cheap anyways :)))
 
For software to see what your CPU and RAM is running at, download a free program called CPU-Z.

At 125 FSB, your PC2700 RAM is exactly in spec (DDR333) using the 3:4 ratio (yes that runs the RAM faster). If you have the memory set to the default "auto" in the BIOS, then going above 125 FSB will drop down to the 1:1 ratio.

At 125 FSB, that's 2 gig and that's about as high as a lot of those Willamettes would go, so that's a pretty good overclock. A few went 2.1 gig or a little more, but that's about all. What vcore are you running? As long as you have decent cooling and the temps aren't too high, those Willamettes will handle 1.85v.

If you can find an older cheap Northwood 1.8A, they will usually hit 2.4 to 2.7 gig. Some of the exceptional later steppings would do lots more. If you find something and before you spend your cash, check back here to see if we think it's a good overclocker.
 
Thanks batboy :)
So i should setle down at this point... yes 25% is preaty decent i think. yey! first overclock done (almoust) right :bday:
So i think i'll try, and hunt down an old northwood, what should i look for? i mean steaping wise. (i will defenetly check with you guy's first anyway ;) )

I raised my vcore only one step. default is 1.75 now is on 1.775...
and i also raised the memory voltage one step... (by jumper) but i think i should put that back...
my cooling is stock (as i konw) as i said the fan is always above 4100 and the temp always look good (my friends 3.0 Prescot is always on 50C an above :eek: )

but if i have no smaller option then 1:1, if i'll get an overclockeable northwood i'll be stock at max 133 fsb? :confused:

by the way... maybe i'm not so stable afterall... last night i was playing warcraft 3 in lan, 3 players + 3 computers. i had evry option maxed out (my gf3 has 128mb video mem) and after about an hour i got a BSOD... :eek:
i couldn't catch the error (where do i set auto reboot???) but i know it said it was nv4disp.dll ... so... this means my vid card has problems? i have no overclock on the agp... and have the latest drivers...
i'll try and google today for issues on my card and the drivers... hm... any idea?
 
update:
mu PS died :attn: :bang head LOL it was the only new component in my sistem...
I hope i'll change it today...
Funny thing it still gives the appropiate Ves but i guess it's not giving enough W... i can get to the bios only if i remove all consumers (hdds and cdrom) if i put only one back it will start but wont get into bios...
it was a 300W codagen... should i get a better brand or should i go for a bigger power... (and despite what evryone says i think that 300w should be ebough - suposed that it is not defect)

On the other hand i now know my RAM is MOSEL 333... :clap: (is that good ?)
I still know to little about RAM settings... something like 2-2-2-5 is good?
and the last option (some delay) is on "infinite"... :eek:
and from default 2.5Vmem i use it on 2.6 (333 defaults on this, right?)
 
Your RAM is good. At 1:1 ratio it will be in spec all the way up to 166 FSB. Timings of 2-2-2-5 are the best, but they can also be unstable. Just use the SPD settings for now until you find the limits of your system. You can fine tune the timings later. Vdimm of 2.6v is ok, you might try 2.65v or maybe even 2.7v to help stability.

Look for a C1 stepping Northwood if you can find one cheap enough. They will have a default vcore of 1.525v compared to the older 1.5v default B0 steppings.

Don't skimp on a cheap power supply. Get a 350w to 400w unit that is rated at least +12v/18A.
 
Hi batboy,
I'll go today to get my PS switched, i'll try to get something better, i have read on the forum that 3.3+5v output should come near or above 200W but some PS only displays A on the outputs... so I should look for a PS that has more A on (posibly) all outputs, right?

i can only set ddrvoltage to 2.5 - 2.6 - 2.7 so if i'll have problems i'll switch to 2.7 (i hope it's not to much for the 333)

anyways thanks alot for the (alot :D ) info provided :thup:
 
Correct, the more amps on the outputs the better, especailly on the +12v rail. I've seen good quality 350w PS units with more output amps than generic crappy 450w units.

Vdimm of 2.6v is probably ok until you start overclocking the RAM and/or trying to tighten the timings. I run 2.7v on lots of my RAM. As long as you have decent case ventilation, your RAM will be fine.
 
hm... then i have a problem... at the moment i can choose from 2 PSs...
one is Codagen (of wich i already have read some bad reviews) other is a jnc (no idea :-/ )
the codagen is 350 W BUT on the 3.3+5 has only 130W and on the 12 has 16A
on the other hand the jnc has 180W on the 3.3+5 but only 15A on the 12V
(as refrence i putt al date of the jnc: 3.3 28A; 5 30A; 12 15A; 5vsb 2A
- i dont have the codagen with me as the jnc seemed to me the better choise)

i'm really :confused: at the moment... i'll be at my friend till tomorow morning (6-7AM GMT) which should i bring home??? (it could be on a temp basis till i get something better)
:(

***************************update*******************
codagen is something around: 3.3 14A; 5 30A; 12 16A; 5vsb 1A
 
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They may both be junk but the codegen is dangerous junk. Its numbers don't matter a bit.

The other supply has reasonable specs, but there is no guarantee that because you have limited yourself to these two supplies that either of them is actually any good. I am unfamiliar with the JNC name, but I know you don't want codegen.
 
No way codagen :) the one i killed was codagen aswell.
Anyways at time being i took the jnc, but we agreed that as soon as he gets his stock renewed with something better we will switch.

Thanks for the info :)
 
At the moment it's up an' running, but i'm on defaults... i'm a bit afraid of ocing till i get a good supply :-/
 
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