Overclocking problems

[Adam@MoboCity]

First my system specs........

A-Bit KT7-A (RAID)
Thunderbird 1200 DDR
256mb PC133 (CRUCIAL)
IBM Deskstar 60gb 7200rpm IDE
Hercules Prophet GF2 MX400 64mb
Sound Blaster Live 1024
No other PCI Cards

I thought I would try overclocking as you guys seem to think it's great so as my Athlon is not unlocked, I just tried increasing the FSB a bit. I started off with 2 mhz increase and it worked fine so I went for 10 and it wouldnt even boot windows (xp or 98). So I went down to 6mhz and it booted then crashed after a few seconds. Now I have it running at 4mhz and its quite stable but not really any speed increase.

What could be causing the problem? I have 2 case fans, one exhaust fan in one of the holes in the back for PCI cards which puts out a lot of air, I have a big case and a very noisy very very big CPU Fan which I can't remember the name of. My temps are 28C idle and about 35C under load. Thanks in advance for your help.

Oh one more thing, can you recommend a quiet but still efficient CPU fan that I can buy. Mine sounds like a tornado and it drowns out the sound of the TV. I live in England so if it's something that can only be ordered online it needs to really be a UK shop.

[UnseenMenace]

what voltages are you running ?

A great and quiet heatsink is the all copper Millennium Thermal Glaciator II which is available from www.overclock.co.uk (nothing to do with this site and forum) and can be read about at http://www.millennium-thermal.com

[David]

1) You can also try muliplier overclocking. a 1200DDR Tbird will currently be at 9x133. If you increase this to 9.5 you will get 1266 and at 10x133 you will get 1333. If you add 4Mhz to the FSb as well it will be 10x 137 = 1370MHz.

2)Try increasing the power - about 1.85V is high but safe. This can be done through the BIOS or by connecting all the L7 bridges on the CPU

3)I use a Cooler Master DP5-6I11A from www.ebuyer.com (UK shop). It keeps my 1100 Tbird under 45C and its not too noisy.

Hope this helps - and I hope that you enjoy your time at the forums :)

[Adam@MoboCity]

Thanks for your replies so far. My voltage is currently at 1.85v and still unstable. Can I do multiplier overclocking - I thought Athlon's were multiplier locked or is that only the new ones?

Also would it be worth getting a new motherboard and an xp 2000 as a local shop is offering a bargain deal atm? Would I notice a big speed difference using windows xp? Im not really too into games?

[repo man11]

The prevailing opinion in the forums seems to be that all T-birds over 1 gig are unlocked from the factory. I know my dear departed 1.33 was. So you should be able to overclock with the multiplier as well. O.C. Addiction has a great KT7A BIOS tweak guide. Do a Google search, "kt7a bios" and it's the first thing to come up. I followed it closely getting to know my board, and it was very useful.

[-EternitY-]

My 1600 XP Would overclock fine w/ stock 4600 RPM At about 113 Load at 1.85 Vcore.

[Adam@MoboCity]

Thanks for your help, I have tried my athlon at 10 multiplier and standard 133 fsb and its running rock solid at 1333mhz!!! The fan seems to be coping and temps are around 45C now.

How much further is it safe to overclock and what is the maximum temp I can have without severely damaging my CPU although I am changing it in a few months so it's not that important about long term damage.

[turd]

i had the same set up, kinda with the kt7a and the 1200ddr and u are not going to get it much higher at that temp and stay stable, if u are at 45C at load then you are doing good, if at idel you need to get it cooler, for me when i started getting up around 1400 with temps at load of around fifty I was just not stable. I hear all kinds of views on max temp and damage, including the AMDstats, but for me the issue has always been the system becomes unstable before it gets into the heat that seems to be around the danger zones, the rule of thumb seems to be keep it loaded at under 50, and your cpu will stay with u, but this is just what i make of all the stuff i have been taking in

[repo man11]

My personal limit has been right at 50C under load. I've had several diiferent CPU's run stable at that temp, and I allways stop there rather than push my luck. Lower would be better, but that's where I personally draw the line. Then it's time to play with overclocking your video card!

[David]

Originally posted by repo man11
The prevailing opinion in the forums seems to be that all T-birds over 1 gig are unlocked from the factory. I know my dear departed 1.33 was. So you should be able to overclock with the multiplier as well. O.C. Addiction has a great KT7A BIOS tweak guide. Do a Google search, "kt7a bios" and it's the first thing to come up. I followed it closely getting to know my board, and it was very useful.

My 1.1/200 is locked :(