BIOS settings and performance

First post to OC!

To be clear about things I just want to state the following: When it comes to Newbies... They don't come any greener than me!

Just finished building my first DIY-computer. I'm glad no one saw me when the thing booted to bios for the first time: here I come Idols! Now my intetion is to begin practising overclocking, running some test and then braging my friends how my box beats theirs in super pi... ...or maybe not..

Enough bullturd.. I have basicly very-very litle ideas where to start. I know that if I increase the FSB the total clock increases. I can also play with the multiplier to increase speed, and if I put 1,9 in the Vcore section in bios I can probably cook breakfast on my cpu... But that's about it. All the memory timings, memory voltages, and all that crap concerning overclocking is beyond my knowledge.

Could somebody please give me a tip where to start? What to do and what to adjust in BIOS. What if something goes wrong, from where should I try to look for the solution? I'v been googling my *** of for the past week with very litle help. I'v pretty much gone thru the entire archive of OC and xtreme, but learned only that my graphics card can't be oc:d and my cpu-cooler sucks big time... So pls, pls help!! I'v been asking my friend some advise but I don't want to be a pain in the but all the time: "hey do you know..?, hey how do I...? What if....?"

I guess the specs would help:

CPU: C2D E6700, with Noctua NH-U12F and AS5 in the midle
MOBO: Asus Commando
MEM: A-Data PC2-6400 Vitesta Extreme Edition EPP 2GB Kit (CL4)
HDD: Samsung T166 320GB
PSU: Zalman ZM600-HP
Graphics: Club3D x1950 Pro 512Mb
And its all wrapped in: Thermaltake VA8003BWS
Screen: ScaleoView L22W-3
OS: Vista Ultimate 64-bit (I just love challenges)

So my first question was where to start. I'd also like to know, if it's possible to make a rough estimate, what kind of results it's reasonable to expect with these? And what would be the first bottle-neck holding the rest of the peaces back from performing max?

Thank you so much in advance!

Firstly - welcome to the forums

There used to be a sticky around here on the bascis of overclocking but it seems to have vanished :-S
A few simple rules, go slowly and change one thing at a time. It may also be worth nting down your current BIOS settings in all sections as you will have to reset your BIOS at some point.
Benchmark your system before you start as some overclocks will actually reduce performance (do not ask me to explain )
When raising your FSB it is worth checking whether your MB locks the PCI / AGP frequency as that can also lead to odd behaviour.
Also overclocking can screw with your windows install, image your box. It will stop you crying your way through the 50th reinstall of a corrupted hardrive.

and good luck, enjoy it's not supposed to be easy

I recommend raising FSB in small increments, then test for stability and check temps. Don't raise voltages until you have to stabilize the system. Default FSB is 266, but some motherboards run a slight O/C of 272. Regardless, start out at maybe 275 FSB and see what happens. Congrats, you are now overclocked to 2.75 gig. Raise it to 280 FSB, test for stability and check temps. Repeat. If at some point it's no longer stable, then try raising vcore a notch. Repeat. If you mess something up and can't boot anymore, then just reset the BIOS by moving the clear CMOS jumper on the motherboard (manual should tell you where and how). If you start seeing 60 degrees C. load CPU temp, back off and improve cooling. Good luck.

Okay... So should I change the Vcore setting from "Auto" to "1.325" so the cpu won't fry it self when I raise the FSB?
What about Mem voltage? "Auto" or something else?
And the CPU multiplier? Should I force it manualy to "x10"?

The "auto" setting for voltage will just use default vcore (no danger of anything burning up). No problem setting it to 1.325v for now or even 1.35v. I would set the memory voltage to 2.0v just so it won't be a problem. To get started, just leave the memory timings set at SPD, you can play with timings later when you find a comfortable CPU overclock. For now just leave the multiplier at the default setting which should be 10X on an E6700.

Welcome to the forums! Think this thread is heading into the Intel/Asus Motherboards section. Not really wrong in where it's posted, but you'll get more viewers experienced with your hardware here, I think. Batboy is about all you need though...you're in good hands :]

Okay. So far I'm running 320fsb x 10. Going good with 1.325Vcore, temps runing about 34 idle, 42load. Now if I try to bumb that up to 325,330,340...fsb the commando posts a message "DET DRAM", freezes up and wont boot any further. I'v tried to set the mem voltage manualy to 2.1-2.2V but doesn't help... Also tried to bumb the Vcore to 1.35, no help. What to do next?

1.

I'v managed to pin down the problem: My memory, for some reason, can't handle 330+ FSB. Yesterday I begun increasing the FSB from 270x10 with 10MHz increments. I Always booted to windows, run Orthos's mem,cpu and blend tests. With 330x10 (mem_voltage manualy set to 2.1, mem_timings auto set to 5-6-6-18, fsb 330, multiplier 10, everything else on "Auto") I can run Orthos +11h, 3dMark06, SuperPi without any problems. However if I increase the FSB to 340 with all others remaining the same, the computer crashes in less than 10 minutes with Orthos's mem_test. I also tried 340x10 with only one memory chip in place, with no help. If I run 340x10 with 1gb of mem, the machine crashes under 3min.

Is it so that I just have to except the fact that these Vitestas can't do FSB's over 330, or can this problem be solved with bios-settings?


2. Yesterday I noticed that when the computer POST's there's a small current running on the case. You can feel it with your finger on the inside-bottom of the case, but the current disapeares when windows starts. Is this normal? Could this have some kind of affect to the problem described above?

My objective when I implemented my overclock was to get the bus speed and RAM running 1:1. This meant that I had to get the bus clock up to 400 MHz, for DDR2 memory equates to DDR2-800. My RAM is DDR2-800 and is set as such in the BIOS.

My proc is an E6600 (2.4GHz=266MHz x 9). Jumping from a bus speed of 266MHz to 400Mhz would have produced a 3.6GHz overclock, which is quite aggressive for my low noise system. I reduced the multiplier to 8 and now run 24/7 stable at 400MHz x 8 = 3.2GHz.

Settings that I can recall right now are:
Bus speed = 400Mhz
CPU mult = 8
Vcore = default (1.375v I think)
Vmem = 2.05v (my RAM rated for up to 2.1v)
Mem speed = DDR2-800
PCI-E speed = 100MHz
PCI speed = 33.33MHz

If you want to hit 3.6GHz, then you will likely need more juice on the CPU. Probably ~1.475v. I have a Scythe Ninja heat sink with a Nexus Real Silent 120mm fan strapped on for active cooling. It is silent from a few feet away with the computer case opened up. You should be able to get 3.6GHz if you have a superior cooling solution.

Your RAM is rated for DDR2-800, so it should not be an impediment to replicating the methodology that I used (i.e. get the CPU and RAM synchronized on clocks). I wouldn't go above Vmem=1.8v unless the system is crashing with core dumps. If you get blue screens of death (BSOD), then I would bump up the RAM volts to see if that helps. Memory corruption is a common cause of BSOD on overclocked rigs.

Hmmm, current flowing through your case. I do not believe that to be normal behavior. It could be indicative of a short, but the fact that it disappears is puzzling. Is there any metallic part of your motherboard that is in direct contact with the case? The mobo should be elevated from the case wall via those riser screws that come with all computer cases.