Need help with Athlon shopping

[Vassandra]

Hi everyone,

I’m new to this forum and I’ve been asking for some help on what to buy (and overclock) in the Intel section this past week. Now that it took a turn towards buying an AMD system instead, I’m continuing this plead for help in the AMD section where it belongs. If you’d like to read the whole story follow this link (hope this works) :
http://forums.overclockers.ws/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34006&perpage=20&pagenumber=1
If not, look for a post named “Need help on Dual Celeron shopping” in the Intel section.

Thank you Jay for the Athlon stepping chart, it will be most useful to me. I just hope I can sweet talk the store personel into letting me rummage through their CPU stock. You also mention the importance of heatsinks and an “OEM heatsink” not being a good choice when overclocking. I recently learned that “OEM” is sort of a version without nice giftwrapping. How does this apply to a piece of metal like a heatsink? How can I tell them apart? The store also has an “orb” available as cooling, I will of course stay away from this one as you’ve suggested. May I ask why? I’m just curious because I happened to see one on a webpage - it was really pretty and was accompanied by pep-texts like “state-of-the-art cooling” and “scientifically engineered”.

And thank you Dappel for your humorous post about “the overclockers life”, makes me feel a lot better about asking questions here. I feel like a leech here since this is a take-take situation for me. It’s not likely I’ll be able to help any of you one day.

As I see it, all I need is a new CPU with heatsink, motherboard and memory. Making the remains of my old computer very useful. I did, however, read about the Intel Pentium 4 needing a special powerunit, sure hope this doesn’t apply to Athlons.

Regarding budget, I’m afraid that all I can afford to spend on these components is about $300-350. That might sound pathetic and cheap to some of you, but I’m not rich and I’m giving most of my hard-earned money to a Swedish firm so they’ll have some new skis made for me. Winter is coming! Yay!

Thank you Stompah for going to the trouble of using one retailer as you assumed I live abroad. Although my permanent residence is the US and I’ll be shopping there when I return, so prices below are in USD.

It’s really nice that you all give me links and addresses to computer stores with good prices, but I’d feel better shopping at my two local stores as I can return there quickly and get some hands-on help if there’s something I need assistance with.

Below is a list of what’s available (in stock at the moment) at the two stores.

An AMD Athlon 1400MHz Socket A 266 CPU will cost me about $110.

Available motherboards :

A-Bit ATX KG7-RAID Socket A AMD761 DDR
A-Bit ATX KG7 Socket A AMD761 DDR
A-Bit ATX KG7-LITE Socket A AMD761 DDR
A-Bit ATX KT7A Socket A KT133A ATA-100
A-Bit ATX KT7A-RAID Socket A KT133A

AOpen AK73 Pro(A) ATX KT133A Socket A
AOpen AK73 Pro(A) ATX KT133A Socket A
AOpen MK7A mATX AMD760 Socket A DDR

Asus A7M266 AMD-761 & VIA 686B Chipset, Socket A
Asus A7A266 AliM1647 chipset,FSB 266Mhz

Microstar ATX AMD760 Socket A DDR
Microstar ATX K7T266Pro w/ 128MB DDR
Microstar ATX KT266A Socket A DDR RAID
Microstar ATX Via KT133A Socket A
Microstar ATX Via KT133A Socket A RAID
Microstar ATX Via KT266 Socket A DDR
Microstar ATX Via KT266A Socket A

Soltek SL75-MIV Socket A,VIA Apollo KM133A;FSB 266Mhz

Via CUV266 Via VT8633 & VT8233 ;FSB 266 Mhz


Available memory :

Acer 256MB PC266 DDRAM MaJOR/Acer
Hyundai orig. 256MB PC266 DDRAM


Available heatsinks :

Silverado for all PIII and AMD Socket A CPUs
VOLCANO II For AMD Socket A (462)
Mini Copper Orb for AMD Socket A (462)


This list is about 14 days old, so perhaps they have newer components, I’m not sure.

It would be really interesting to hear your comments on the hardware available for me and feel free to elaborate (might make me understand why one thing is better then the other).


/Vassandra

[cyberey66]

I'm upgrading too and I have about the same amount of money to spend, I too am preparing for winter and buying a snowboard. If you really want to go get a budget setup just get an AMD setup. I read that DDR memory doesn't give much more performace, about 5% more. If I find that later I'll post it. As for your orb question, it's because the orb itself has very little metal and can't hold as much heat as a big heatsink. Also orbs have a reputation of breaking those clips on the sockets off, it happened to me. I don't know what cooler would be good for AMD, I have a celeron now and that runs cool even with an orb. AMDs gerenate alot more heat, so invest in a good cooler, from alpha, vantec or themalright. I heard great stuff about the sk6 cooler from thermalright but that might be overkill if you aren't going to OC it.

For me my upgrade I might just be a Tbird setup without DDR, would rather have P3 but to costly. Possible a good upgrade for you too.

[el]

Well I am a deal guy and I can tell you that your 350 will go a lot further on the web. check out the prices at newegg.com adn also at www.crucial.com/webpromo for your ram requirements.

get this setup Epox 8k7a 127 newegg
1.4 266 tbird 117 shipped newegg
256 ddr 35 shipped crucial go thru webpromo free shipping end tommorrow ! hurry
heatsinks check out svcompucycle and the golden gate is nice and cheap(delta is loud as hell) also pick up some ddr coolers for another 8.99 by thermaltake.

total cost about 320 if you need a case and hard drive well check newegg.com for the 7237 for 65 shipped.

also the cyberdeals area is good for low prices on items.

[TRANCER24]

Hello. From that list you have what i would go with if your on a budget is A-Bit ATX KG7 Socket A AMD761 DDR ,VOLCANO II For AMD Socket A (462) , and as far as the CPU goes i would try to get one that is 1.2 and above that way when you overclock it you wont have to close the bridges, and out of those 2 types of memory ive never tried them but i think if i had to choose those 2 only i would go with Acer. Just my 4 cents :)

[stompah]

Vassandra, On the HS you should definitely check out www.svcompucycle.com trust me here you do not want to run a AMD system without a very good heatsink. Seeing that they are such a good deal I would definitely order from that e-tailer (I have ordered 2 times from there very good!)

www.newegg.com is loved by everyone! They have the best price to cusomer service ratio anywhere. While you may have convience by buying local you have price and good customer servicec in newegg. Many people here have had problems with local shops. I personally learn from other's mistakes and have stuck with newegg, www.multiwave.com , svcompucycle, and a few more taht dont come to mind yet. I have never been burned by any online store yet.

I do shop at local chain stores (bestbuy, microcenter, staples and others) when I know what I want or have no clue and want to window shop. I never take any advice from any of their employees, NEVER!!! I advise you do the same.

If you post an exact list of what components you need I will be more than happy to help you find good deals on the net and local too using a certain forum that I have mentioned way too much here.

For example I have a 16x yamaha CD-R for only $35 after rebates. beat that! lol Deals can be found all over locally if you can wait for rebates.

Anymore? lol I cant think of anything to type. Well where are you moving to in USA? if its the west coast and you are cunning you can go to a Fry's local store and pick up a good cpu/mb combo deal! But you have to search for non-returned items. Their returned merchandise policy isnt quite ethical due to the fact taht they seem to restock without testing the merchandise.

Good Luck

[CrystalMethod]

Stay away from the Aopen products. Although the AK73Pro(a), and MK7Aare solid boards, I wouldn't recommend them for graphics applications. By all means stay away from the AK73Pro (no "a", just "PRO"). I've had problems with the Asus A7A 266, but the Asus A7M 266 ran beautifully. I've only built about 2 of each of the Microstar boards that you've listed, so I can't really can't give an opinion on any of them them yet. The rest I've never even seen, but I hear the A-Bit boards are really good, but you'd have to ask someone who's worked with them.

[el]

epox 8hka is cheap and good also.

[Vassandra]

Interesting information satan, "I read that DDR memory doesn't give much more performace, about 5% more". This is new to me. Can someone verify this?

Thank you TRANCER24 for the information regarding AMD Athlons 1200 and up. But what does "close the bridges" mean? Is it a hands-on operation?

You're probably right Stompah, I should probably get one of the better cooling solutions. I will check svcompucycle. As for your question, I already live in the US, in Colorado. So the Fry's combo deal is probably not for me seing how it's west coast.
About cooling, I see most kits are up to 1500MHz. I'm kind of hoping on overclocking the Athlon 1400 past that level. Perhaps I will have to build my own, like with the Golden Gate do-it-yourself option. I guess I'll ask around in the cooling section. But if anyone has any ideas, please post.

Thank you so much CrystalMethod for the heads-up on the AOpen series and Asus A7A 266 board. Exactly the kind of information I was hoping for.
Just hope someone has some thoughts on the rest of the motherboards. Anyone out there with some experience with the ABit ones?


/Vassandra

[el]

ddr is better and if you push teh fsb up it gets a lot better I would say a 5% increase in system performance is well worth it since it is the same price.

the bridges are the L1's that need to be closed if you are to change the multiplier all 1.2s and up are unlocked/L1 already closed so you don't have to worry about unlocking them.


don't know about the abit mobos :(

[cyberey66]

I'll go find that link about drr having a 5% increase. I saw it on an Iwill kk266 review I believe. I'll post it tonight when I find it.

[Uther]

OK first of all the bog question is , what you want to do with the system ? you want 3D graphics and stuff or just internet and word ?if you want the first i would suggest a DDR system with AMD's chipset and kingston memory (VIA's chips are good also but AMD's chips are fully optimized for AMD processors) also Hard disks from IBM and Quantum are very fast and they are very durable a good coole is needed....i suggest the Millenium Glaciator but its heavy (made out of copper) and GeForce3 or Kyro II based VGA card . As for the second option i would recomend the AMD duron , its cheap , fast , and has low temperature emission. also a system with VIA's KT133A chipset or 266 if you want to use DDR mem and an ATI radeon based card .
every motherboard and any other card has a comon point the chipset that it is based...only the BIOS and the design changes

I hope I helped ...

[oc jason]

Well just off the top of my head i have to say, that if that is you in your sig picture then im sure you can "sweetalk" the puter store to do whateer you want.

On a serious note, seeing as you are on a budget. For a good board to OC id go for the Abit KG-7 lite. Its about $103 if i am not mistaken, and with a $110 chip. That puts you at $213. $ 137 left. If you have to ge one on your list then go with the Volcano II (figure its $37 or so). That leaves you $100 for 265 or even $512 for some serious DDR Ram. Yes an OEM heatsink is the way to go. It just comes in a white box and no manuals and extra gear that you dont need.

If you plan to get that 1400chip above 1500 it will be close with that HS. Athlon chips run HOTTER than u think. Some can OC becuase of they are SO HOT at default speed. With just an OK heatsink. Id have to say the Volcano 2 is just an "OK" HS. Get a Swiftec mc462a for $55 with no fan then add a fan later to save money. It is THE BEST HS to OC with. And as far as DDR Ram,it does only offer a 5-10 percent improvement. But it costs the same or less than SDRAM, so why not get it, ya its only 5-10% but still its an improvement

[Sonny]

Welcome to the Forums. First off, don't be in a rush to buy your hardware. Prices always drop every time something new comes out. ABIT Motherboards will be my personal choice & if you don't plan on going RAID then you don't need to buy a board with it & save some. CPUs are kinda tricky in that the choices out there will be dictated by the FSB(200 or 266) & stepping but remember not all chips are created equal. TranceBear is one guy that has taken his 1GHz chip all the way to 1.6GHz with the proper cooling "system". What some people mean when they say OEM HSF are the cheap & unreliable AMD Approved coolers & you must avoid them at all cost(exag!). You were right in understanding that OEM means that they are basically in plain boxes & stuff so you can get a good cooler even if it were a OEM. DDR vs. SDR RAM is really up to you just try not to plan ahead too much that you get a system that the world decides not to support because of some bug. One last thing, Stability comes at a price when you start to O/C just because of the changes in you hardware so buy smart & read all the articles you can find on this site & if your going ABIT with VIA chipset then you must also read the stuff from here (www.viahardware.com). Hope you get things going & let me know how it goes, always glad to help. Before I forget these Forums are here for all of us interested in O/C so don't feel like your just taking & taking 'cause sooner or later you will be able to help someone out.

[warlok]

i use an 8kta3pro...with athlon1.4... i can get it to 1533 if mem serves right with merley a thermaltake volcano 6cu...and stable too...no other fans except the psu fan...of course side pannels are off box...and my basement is also relatively cold

[Mr. $T$]

Amd makes some of the best chips money can buy. my 1.2 can waste a 1.4 p4 on an Aopen ak73pro(a). With a 64Mb Geforce 2 video card it looks BETTER than a Playstation 2. The only problem I have is how hot the proessor gets, up to 60c or 135f. despite the heat it runs flawless @ 1356Mhz. I have heard some good reviews about asus. It is true that SDRAM is gust as good as DDR.

Ps: Hope you dont mind the grammer problems.

[Vassandra]

Hi again,

I haven't been here for some time. This whole WTC crisis made me unable to concentrate on anything else. I even got stuck in Europe during it all as no flights to the US were available. But this isn't the right place for this discussion.

About my computer, I finally bought one. Here are the parts.

A-Bit KG7 Lite
AMD Athlon 1400Mhz (266)
Hyundai 256MB DDR RAM

The CPU's stepping is : AYHJA 0131BPGW Y6674231214

That's good... right? Well, I followed the chart given to me before, and it was the best I could find. I recently saw someone with an "AYHJA-Y" stepping? What is that? What does the extra "Y" mean? Is this the same stepping as my CPU? Or is a "Y"-version better than the one I have?

I'm still waiting for the heatsink, which is guaranteed to handle speeds up to 1700MHz.

Once I get it, I'll need some help on how to overclock it.
Jay, are you still out there? Anyone's input will be grately appreciated.


/Vassandra

[foxmulder]

Welcome to the Forum, congradulations on getting yourself ready to overclock. There aren't very many women out there with enough interest in computers to do something like that.

Have you read the many How To articles on the front page? Once you have you should be ready to give it a try.

If you have any specific questions I'm sure you'll get PLENTY of answers around here. Not that that pretty picture has anything to do with it. :D

[el]

what hsf did you get?

[mbigna]

---------
Thank you Jay for the Athlon stepping chart, it will be most useful to me. I just hope I can sweet talk the store personel into letting me rummage through their CPU stock.
---------

Hey Jay, could you get that stepping chart for me too?

Vassandra--I couldn't help but notice in your list of mobo's that a couple from Microstar might be based upon VIA's KT266A chipset. Where did you find this list? I'll go look up their website to check the availability for these mobo's, for if they are VIA's new chipset, it's the first I've seen for sale at retail.
---------
Available motherboards :

A-Bit ATX KG7-RAID Socket A AMD761 DDR
A-Bit ATX KG7 Socket A AMD761 DDR
A-Bit ATX KG7-LITE Socket A AMD761 DDR
A-Bit ATX KT7A Socket A KT133A ATA-100
A-Bit ATX KT7A-RAID Socket A KT133A

AOpen AK73 Pro(A) ATX KT133A Socket A
AOpen AK73 Pro(A) ATX KT133A Socket A
AOpen MK7A mATX AMD760 Socket A DDR

Asus A7M266 AMD-761 & VIA 686B Chipset, Socket A
Asus A7A266 AliM1647 chipset,FSB 266Mhz

Microstar ATX AMD760 Socket A DDR
Microstar ATX K7T266Pro w/ 128MB DDR
Microstar ATX KT266A Socket A DDR RAID
Microstar ATX Via KT133A Socket A
Microstar ATX Via KT133A Socket A RAID
Microstar ATX Via KT266 Socket A DDR
Microstar ATX Via KT266A Socket A
---------

[cowanrg]

Vassandra,

I too am a colorado resident, and I was wondering if you are in Boulder, Denver, Ft. Collins, etc? I really dont know of any good stores here in Boulder, but there are a few i know of in Denver. Let me know where you are looking at buying stuff. Some places around here charge WAY too much.

And if you need help installing, or modifying stuff, let me know, i can give you some tips.

p.s. - winter is almost here, its supposed to snow tommorrow! just got some new vans snowboarding boots and got my stuff out, im SO ready for snow!

[cowanrg]

oh, i was reading the other thread about the celerons, and i noticed something. you mentioned movie converting. is this something you are into? becuase this is THE reason i have my system, its pretty much converting movies ALL day EVERY day. and i strongly suggest amd over intel, but it really depends on what program you are using.

if you want specific advice about chips regarding movie conversion, let me know, i know which setup works with each chip, it gets really confusing.

[plague]

Originally posted by Vassandra
Hi again,

The CPU's stepping is : AYHJA 0131BPGW Y6674231214

...What does the extra "Y" mean? Is this the same stepping as my CPU? Or is a "Y"-version better than the one I have?

/Vassandra

the extra Y is in the third line. You have an AYHJA Y, and you better make that thing scream, as it is one of the best out there. Good luck.

[Vassandra]

Regarding heatsink, I got the ThermoSonic ThermoEngine V60-4225 Turbo. Specifications for it are located here : http://www.thermosonic.com.tw/cd/owa/siw_template6.navigator?in_org_id=8802822919&in_current_page=specs&in_sou_prod_id=8815593168

It's supposed to handle speeds up to +1700Mhz. I'll most likely receive it tomorrow.


As for the list of motherboards, mbigna, they are comprised from two seperate stores in Denver, CO. I got two printed lists, I'm not sure they have websites. I know Microstar's website is www.msi.com.tw if that helps. I don't believe those motherboards to be rare in any way, I remember seing them in Lafayette, CO as well as in Miami, FL. As for the stepping chart provided by Jay, it is available if you follow my link at the top of this thread, it leads to my first post in the Intel section. You'll find a link to the chart in Jay's first or second reply.

That's quite a coincidence, cowanrg, I too live in Boulder. I actually never even tried to look for the needed parts in Boulder since I work in Denver and the firm gets a discount at one of the stores there, and I sort of know the manager at another store. I'm sure some Boulder stores charge extra, but I'm all done shopping now, thank you for the heads up anyway.

As for my movie converting hobby, I use TMPGEnc. I'm so excited to see how this new system will behave. I'm sort of hoping to get the conversion time down to realtime. That's asking alot, but it would be nice. The overclocked Athlon 1000 I described earlier came pretty close, so I'm quite hopeful about this 1400 CPU. Especially after the overclocking.

Yes, the snow is definately coming, whereas me and my new Swedish skis are heading for Aspen.

Thank you Plague for the explanation on the "Y" issue. I'm so happy I got a good one. Yay!


Any thoughts or tips on overclocking my new computer are most welcome.


/Vassandra

[cowanrg]

wow, quite the coincedence!

i use FU for video converting, but i do all DVD > avi (DiVX). FU takes around 18 hours for a normal movie on my 800 tbird. getting that down to realtime would be pretty much impossible. TMPGEnc is pretty fast, i can do it almost realtime. (23fps for a 29fps source). if you hit the 1.4GHZ mark, you could get realtime.

have fun, let me know how it all works, i would like to see your system once you get it done! (maybe even check out your movie collection...).

[Sonny]

Watch out with the Thermoengine. It's not as good as they claim & since they don't center the CPU you might chip the core.

[el]

so you ready to overclock? I would start out by see if the chip will handle a higher multiplier. so try 11x133 if that works try 11.5x133 and if it post at 12x133 then you better send teh chip to me ;) okay so lets say you can't post at 12x133 press insert and or clear cmos. then start pushing up the vcore but keep an eye on the temps. keep trying for the multiplier then once it is stable at that multiplier start increasing the fsb by about 2 mhz at a time. read teh articles on teh front page too.

[warlok]

you should be able to get that clock speed at 13...14 mine reset and 13.5 was semi stable

[el]

13x133 for 1729 that is a nice overclock! what is the stepping of your chip!?

[Random Nonsense]

WOW lotsa replies to this.... wonder why:rolleyes:

anyway welcome to the forums vassandra and its good to see a newbie really doing some homework for a change! (i didnt really when i was a real newbie) Like everyone has said if you get stuck just ask around here people are always willing to help!

[warlok]

Originally posted by el
13x133 for 1729 that is a nice overclock! what is the stepping of your chip!?
it starts by .5's...then at 12 goes up by 1..til 14...the bus speed...increments of 1..til 180

[tbirdkiri]

ok well good call overall,
a decent choice on the heatsink,
but remamber that just because it says itll run a 1.7 pali that doesnt mean it cools well,
the pali runs cooler than a 1.33 tbird,
but it was a logical mistake,
generally for each level increase on stock chips the average temp will be abouy 1 to 1 degrees C more.
so a 950 tbird may idle @ 35c and a 1.4 may idle @ 42
but a 950 @ 1.4 will run @ 62c
just my 1 and 99/99 cents

[Vassandra]

Ew! The noise… I hadn’t expected this ThermoEngine to be so loud. It’s like having a small airplane in the room. Not fun at all.

Regarding this heatsink, I just recently saw some valuable information on it, a bit too late, seing how I had already ordered it, but that’s what I get for not reading up enough on it. Apparently the version sent ot all review sites (where I saw it and decided to get one) is different from the retail version that you actually buy. If anyone is wondering mine is a solid core version. I’ll be removing the PCM from replacing it with ASII, this on the advise of an overclocker who had a bad run with the PCM. Thank you for the information, RangerJoe34.

I thought I would read up on how to overclock my computer before I start asking really stupid questions. I began by reading the AMDMB Cooling guide located here : http://www.amdmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID=105
Then I read my motherboard’s manual along with some general overclocking notes on the internet, links too numerous to show here. Finally I read most of the relevant beginner's guides on the frontpage. I understand this watercooling business is quite effective, by the way. I wish I could afford it.

Anyways, I've read alot, but I haven't understood all of it. It's really tricky when the language gets technical on me. I actually have to look up alot of words at technical dictionaries on the internet. I don't have to tell you how hard it gets when some of the people that write the articles start to use abbreviations. Also I found the beginner’s guides to be kind of hard to get a grip on, seing how they all discuss overclocking in a general manner rather than showing beginners how to overclock, or at least that's how I view them. I was sort of hoping on a step-by-step guide.

Much like :
“Step 1 : Do this, then reboot”
Did the computer post?
If yes – go to Step 2, if no – see step 1.1
Did the computer start Windows?
If yes – go to Step 3, if no – see step 1.2
Are the temperatures acceptable?
If yes – go to Step 4, if no – se step 1.3
Step 2 : Change this value to the next step, then reboot”
Etc, etc.

But perhaps that would be too hard to do seeing the number of motherboards and processors available. But I couldn’t even find anything close to this. It’s not that I’m complaining, not at all, this information is free for me to look through so I can hardly start complaining about it. I just expected the guides to look differently. But enough on that.


I've included a chart below of how my BIOS is currently setup. If someone new to this topic is joining in and doesn't want to read the whole history, my computer has an ABit KG7 motherboard, an AMD Athlon 1400 (266) AYHJA-Y processor with a ThermoSonic ThermoEngine V-60 4225 Turbo heatsink.


My ABit KG7 motherboard has an Award BIOS.

Under the "SoftMenu III Setup" menu I have the folllowing items :
CPU Operating Speed @ 1400 (133)
Multiplier factor @ x10.5
CPU FSB Clock (MHz) @ 133
FSB rate (CPU:SDRAM:PCI) @ 4:4:1
Speed Error Hold @ Disabled

Power Supply Controller @ Default
VCore voltage @ 1.750v
I/O voltage @ 3.50v
DDR Vcc Voltage 2.65v

All of these values can be altered, I checked.


PREPARATIONS
One article suggested I remove all cards and extra hardware, leaving only graphics card, harddrive, floppy and CD-ROM. Is this necessary? I also managed to get ahold of SiSoft Sandra, ShutDown NOW! and the Motherboard Monitor program. But I haven’t found the WCPUID program. Is it a must have?
About keeping an eye on the various temperatures throughout the overclocking process, is this something that is done initially through the “Health status” section in the BIOS, or should I just boot Windows and look at the temperatures through the Motherboard Monitor program?
Any preparation I have forgotten?

STARTING TO OVERLOCK
If I understand it correctly, I should start by seeing what multipliers the chip will handle. This would mean changing the "Multiplier factor" value from x10.5 to x11.0, right? And if this works I should enter the BIOS again and change it to 11.5 and after that to 12. I read that if the computer is able to "post", it means that the chip is able to handle the selected multiplier factor. Is this correct?

So if my computer can't post at a selected multiplier, I should clear the BIOS memory by removing the battery? I read that the BIOS isn't always accessible when a faulty multiplier value has been selected, causing the screen to go blank. But if it is accessible, I just change the multiplier back to the last working value, right?

El gives me impression that a multiplier value of 12 is very desirable, so I'm guessing it's sort of rare.

During all of this multiplier testing, I never change my "CPU FSB Clock (MHz)" value to anything but 133, I just leave it alone, right?

About this word "post", I looked it up and am I correct in assuming it's just the sequence of grey text being displayed against the black background at startup? The place where my harddrive and CD-ROM are displayed, just before Windows starts. If not, please tell me how I recognise a "post".

So say that I end up being able to post at 11.5x133.
The next step would be to increase the "VCore voltage" value by increments of 1 at a time. Correct?
I reboot and it still posts, starts Windows and is able to run 3D Benchmark or similar program. When do I stop upping these VCore increments of 1 ata time? When the computer no longer is able to post?

I’ve seen some overclockers that have altered the “I/O voltage” value as well. When do I do this? And how much?



Warlok, you say you are able to keep your clock speed at 13. By that you meant the "Multiplier Factor", correct? The word "clock" made me unsure what you meant, seing how one item in the BIOS is called "CPU FSB Clock". Am I correct in assuming that you also own an ABit KG7 motherboard?

As for your question El, I was informed by Plague that my CPU is an "AYHJA-Y" stepping. Or wait, what do you mean by chip? Are you referring to something on my motherboard perhaps? I see Warlok has addressed you question. I'm guessing he answered it for you, if not, just ask me again.Yes, 1729MHz would be very nice. I'm not hoping on that though.

Now I've written alot about a subject I know little about, not a good combination. I can feel the laughter coming any second. But that's OK.

I’d really appreciate some feedback on his being the right overclocking procedure and also if this is the correct order to overclock. I feel like there are alot of blanks that need to be filled. If it looks like I’ve misunderstood something, I no doubt have. Please set me straight, I’d hate to break something because of ignorance. If you would go about this in an entirely different way, please tell me how. Also, try and be precise, as a step like re-booting before the next step will be self-explanatory to you all, it most likely will not be obvious to me. Just tell it to me like I’m a child. And if someone feels they have the time to give me a little step-by-step map, similar to the one I described earlier, that would be super.

Hoping for some help. Any help at all.



/Vassandra

[tyPo_negitive]

I am building a very similar system for a friend, however it got put on hold, due to his lack of monies. :confused:

Sofar, i got the KG7-raid MB, which is basically yours with a few extra toys, an AMD 1400 (AYHJA0131GLW Y6712830173) with a SK6 heatsink and fan, and 3 case fans that could also be used to blowdry your hair.

Anyhow, im going to be overclocking it as soon as i get some cash for the ram, and have a lot of the same questions. Feel kinda guilty letting you ask them all for me. :p

Anyhow, I can help you on this. Post is Power On Self Test. Its the black bootup part before windows. You know when post is done by the beep the system speaker makes. (Hopefully) Post will also let you know whats wrong, by different sets of beeps. You should get 1 beep. If you get something other than that, somethings amiss.

And yes, I too have ski fever.

[mbigna]

I realize that you may have already gotten further along than this, but it may include some things not considered.

OK-here's some advice from someone who has built hundreds of systems (but overclocked relatively few):

Step 1: READ THE MOTHERBOARD MANUAL!

Step 2: RE-READ THE MOTHERBOARD MANUAL.

Step 3: READ ALL THE OTHER MANUALS FOR ALL THE OTHER PERIPHERALS.

Now that I have that out of my system...

I have found that 9 out of 10 times all problems can be solved just by reading the manual and making double sure you have jumpers set correctly and things plugged into the right place. Knowing what beeps you should hear and knowing how to correctly set up your bios can move things along much more quickly.

When I build from scratch, I begin with only the basics attached. This means CPU and memory and graphics card only. Make sure to start the CPU with the HSF fan correctly set up. If you are overclocking (which is why you are here, right?) I would make sure that your heat sink and fan are set up right to begin with. This includes removing any existing PCM from the heat sink and polishing the heat sink ahead of time. Apply your ASII correctly the first time. Hopefully, once you install your CPU and HSF, you won't have to ever remove them from the motherboard (it's such a pain to replace without damaging the fan clips on the mobo).

Also, make sure that you have all the necessary tools, lighting and magnifying tools at hand. Nothing gets me off-track more quickly than having to search for my needle nose pliers while trying to set jumpers.

Have all necessary cables and screws on hand. Actually, it's better to have EXTRA cables and screws and jumpers and stand-offs (and whatever) on hand. I don't think this statement requires any extra explanation.

HAVE A PENCIL AND PAPER HANDY. You should be writing things down like model numbers, serial numbers and codes from your motherboard, CPU, graphics card, all peripherals, etc. Once these things are installed, it can be quite difficult to find them again without dismantling your entire system. If one of these items is causing you problems, it can be invaluable to know a serial number as different fixes may be available to you depending upon such. You will also need to write down bios settings from time to time, especially when changing things that may cause your system to hang on boot.



Once you have all of this together, start by grounding yourself properly. There are threads here and other places for proper grounding procedures, so I won't elaborate more than this: Static kills expensive electronic parts.

Now you must make some decisions about how to physically put your machine together. Many of these questions are going to be answered by READING THE MANUALS, but some are going to require you to look at the motherboard, your CASE, and your other peripherals. You may even need a ruler and/or tape measure.

Mounting the CPU and memory: I usually always mount the CPU and heat sink and fan to the motherboard before installing it into the case. This is mainly because of the pressure required to clip on the HSF. Keep in mind that you may have to pop the memory in before the CPU due to the size of the HSF. You will be P/O'ed if you mount the CPU and HSF only to find that you have to remove them to install memory and then remount the CPU.

Newer motherboards have a temperature probe in the middle of the CPU socket. I usually bend the probe slightly upward (ever SO gently) so that when the CPU is in place, the probe is in physical contact with the CPU.

I highly recommend that, even though you are overclocking, that while setting up initializing the O/S, you set your motherboard to run your CPU at its rated speed and not above or below. Some mobo's still have jumpers to set this, but most will do it automatically. You will know what to do here because YOU HAVE ALREADY READ THE MOTHERBOARD MANUAL.

[Note: They say that "experience is the best teacher". This is a lie. The best teacher is [I]someone else's experience.]

Keep in mind that, depending on your mobo and case, you may want to mount the mobo in the case first. This may be true if you have a nice big case with a hinged or removable motherboard tray. If you plan to do a lot of upgrading and modding, I recommend a nice case like that. However, if you have a jumperless mobo and plan on never changing anything in your system after it is set up correctly, these perks could be superfluous.

Another consideration is when to mount drives and other peripherals. Depending on your case and motherboard configuration, it may be easier to mount drives before installing the mobo on the chassis. In some cases (unintended, but perfectly appropriate pun), it may be impossible to mount the mobo after the drives are in place.

Another note on cables: Make sure that the drive ports are within range of those drives you wish to connect to them. Generic cables that may come with your drives (floppy and IDE) are usually about two feet with connectors on either end and the secondary port about six inches from one end. Usually, the two ports closest (6") together are the ones to which the drives are attached and the other end goes into the mobo. MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE ENOUGH CLEARANCE TO MOUNT ALL THE NECESSARY CABLES BEFORE MOUNTING DRIVES. If you are not careful, you may find that you may not be able to mount your drives right where you want them. Consider buying longer cables (with more than 6" between drive connections), as you might have to fold and twist them around more than you expect. Remember, there is a correct header pin (pin 1) that is marked with a triangle on the plug (hopefully) and usually red (or other colored) line on the cable. A notch that makes incorrect plugging mostly impossible could mean twisting the cable around and upside down to correctly install. Longer cables can also be folded out of the way to help facilitate airflow through the case. CHECK ALL THIS OUT BEFORE MOUNTING IN THE CASE.

OK. The CPU, HSF, and memory are installed on the mobo. Other peripherals (drives) may be mounted in the case, but are NOT plugged in--even though you may have plugged them in temporarily to check clearances to make sure you have the correct cables.

The next thing to add is the video card (assuming that video isn't built into the mobo). I usually wait until the mobo is secured in the case before adding cards, but it isn't necessary--especially if you have one of those nice cases with the adjustable mobo tray. Most video cards no longer have jumpers, but if yours does, it is much easier to adjust them before plugging the card in the slot.
Make sure that you have a working monitor. A multi-sync is best (most monitors are) because they can usually adjust to different video output automatically.

Now you should be about ready to begin pluggin in the power. No other peripherals should be attached yet, though personally, I sometimes cheat and plug in the floppy now as well.

Plug the front panel connectors into their respective ports on the mobo (Power led, HD activity led, soft power on/off, speaker, reset switch, etc.)
Plug the power supply cable into the mobo power recepticle.
Plug the monitor into the video card output.
Plug in the keyboard and mouse into their respective ports.
Plug the monitor to the wall outlet or power strip and turn it on to warm up.
Plug the AC power supply cable into the power supply first, then plug the other end into the wall.
Turn on the power supply switch in the back of the machine.
GET YOUR PENCIL AND PAPER READY AND KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE SCREEN.
Turn on the computer with the front power switch.

The first thing you should see is the video card information. If you don't see anything at all, you have some troubleshooting to do.

The bios screen should appear next. It usually appears as a formatted table telling you what all has been detected. Pause it now. This is usually done with the Pause/Break key, but if you READ YOUR MANUAL, you will know how to pause yours. Once paused, make sure that your CPU, speed, memory and other on-board peripherals are detected correctly. WRITE THIS ALL DOWN.

Once you see that bios screen and everything is detected correctly, you are mostly home free. Your next step is to go to your bios setup and take care of things like setting date/time and boot sequence and setting up on-board peripherals and ports. WRITE DOWN CHANGES YOU MADE IN THE BIOS.

Turn the machine off and on again to make sure that your bios changes still boot. If you are successful, you may shut down and begin adding your drives. Many adhere to the safe and prudent one-at-a-time strategy of pluggin in drives, but personally, I'm in a hurry at this point and add the floppy, HD, and CD-ROM drives together. Upon next boot, make sure that everything is detected in the bios screen for each drive(s). You already set any jumpers on the drives correctly BECAUSE YOU HAVE READ THE MANUALS.

I don't bother plugging in anything more, because you now have the minimum drives installed to load your O/S.

I'm going to end this post here, because installing O/S's from scratch is an entirely separate subject.

Also, even though there wasn't much about overclocking in this post, one must get this far to begin. I'll leave you with this, once you have the O/S installed and stable, THEN the overclocking fun begins.

[hmmm]

1 thing i dont get, why increase vcore voltage if it works at lower voltage ?? i thought lower voltage = better, i am now running at 1480 mhz (11 * 134.3 or something) with 1.65 volts (i want to use as low voltage as possible even if i cant overclock so much then) and next i will try 1.625....

[el]

Originally posted by hmmm
1 thing i dont get, why increase vcore voltage if it works at lower voltage ?? i thought lower voltage = better, i am now running at 1480 mhz (11 * 134.3 or something) with 1.65 volts (i want to use as low voltage as possible even if i cant overclock so much then) and next i will try 1.625....

yes of course you do but if you want to try for 11.5x134 then you might have to up the vcore a little or if it isn't rock stableat x11. as vcore goes up so will temps so don't just up the vcore for the hell of it.

V you had tons of question but I think you have the basic ideas down so I would go ahead and see how it works at 11x133 for 1.46ghz and go from there. I would then start a new post talking about making it to 1.46 and 1.53 and hell maybe even higher. I'll answer one question the i/o increase may help your ram run better at higher fsb. Also don't up the vcore until everything else has been tried cuz it will cause more heat.

[warlok]

vassandra my appologies for "decieving" you...i dont keep my cpu multiplier at 13 not enuff cooling...it is a really good way to fry it...:mad:however when i tested it after setting optimal settings...i got to that mark...the "cpu fsb clock" is for increasing your front side bus speed...the topside of your motherboard if you like:)...as far as a "dead boot"...there may be a jp on your mobo to reset bios...your manual will tell you that...the remove battery plan will work...but id recomend a static strap for that task...and id also like to say i dont think you give yourself enuff credit...you got it pretty much figured out...:):)ohh and i dont have an abit board either...good luck i hope you get 2.0 out of that system

[Kendan]

Just in case you haven't seen this site. It has alot of info on the KG7-R.
http://www.viahardware.com/faq/kg7kr7/kg7kr7faq.htm