[Nailz Arizona]

Hello Forum!

I had originallly posted this on the wrong forum (AMD Abit Mobo's). Now, I'm at home

Admittedly, I am a newbie when it comes to over-clocking anything – so try not to use big words if you try to help me. I just tweak until all hours of the night sometimes. However, with my latest upgrade, I’m frustrated enough to ask for some help.

The Problem:
I upgraded my RAM from 1 to 2 gig’s and now my benchmarking scores have actually gone down!

I was getting over 13K with 3DMARK03, now I can squeeze out about 11K. My FPS with Doom3 when from 49.5/62.5 to 42.8/56.8.

Since I've posted this, I've done some more tweaking and am getting better performance - but still, not what I had. Maybe someone with experience can take a look at my settings and give me advice on what I could do better.

I would appreciate any help or advice on helping me overclock my "Big Pig" as I call it.

Paul
www.PaulDNickell.com

=========================================
- Hardware -
2.8 Northwood
2 x CMX1024-3200C2 Rev1.1
Abit IT7
eVGA 6800 Ultra
Antec True Control PSU
=========================================
- Current BIOS Settings-
Ext. Clock: 153
PCI Bus: 33 Fixed
Multiplier: 21x
H/W Strap: Low
DRAM Ratio: 3:4
Core Voltage: 1.8
DRAM Voltage: 2.8

CAS# Latency: 2.0
RAS# to CAS# Delay: 3
RAS Precharge: 3
Cycle Time: 6
=========================================

[iNterBeiNg]

Im not sure but it looks like your fsb is at 153. Do you have a "c" pentium 4 with 800 mhz fsb or one of the ones with the 533 mhz fsb?

[unreal]

welcome to the forums

[lithker]

if ur old ram and new ram were at the same timings it could be just the ram itself

did u switch ram slots at all?

[Nailz Arizona]

iNterBeiNg: I *think* its a P42.8C Northwood with 533MHz FSB. I think its that, because when I got it I seem to remember that 533 was all my Abit IT7 would handle.

unreal: Thank you for welcoming me to the forums! I thought I might get flamed out of here for being a bit new to overclocking - but you guys have been great!

lithker: The RAM is is the same #1 & #2 slots. I tend to think that the performance decrease isn't that much and maybe XP, Doom 3, 3DMARK03, etc... just don't take advantage of over 1 GIG of RAM. Is that a possibility? I may have squeezed all I can out of this old computer and I just got more RAM in vain?

I just retweaked my settings and here are my new settings along with my 3DMARK03, Doom 3 Test Demo score (first & second test) and my CPU temp. I'm not sure what the CPU temp should be nor am I sure how high it will go if I do more than just benchmark.

_________________________________________
2004.09.03.003

Ext. Clock: 152
PCI Bus: 33*
Multiplier: X21* (this won't change even if I change settings)
H/W Strap: Low*
DRAM Ratio: 3:4 (3:4 is best if possible)
Core Voltage: 1.85 (high - but stable with 3DMARK03)
DRAM Voltage: 2.8
..............................
DRAM Timing: 2-6-3-3 (no agressive - but only way to stay stable)
Video BIOS Cache: Disabled*
Delayed Transaction: Enabled*
AGP Apeture: 256MB*
Enhanced DRAM: Enbabled*
..............................
PCI Latancey Timer: 128*
..............................
3DMark: 12008
Doom 3: 48.8 / 61.0
CPU Temp: 53
_________________________________________

[wizard james]

run the ram is #1 #3 not side by side for one thing

see what that does now

[Nailz Arizona]

Originally Posted by wizard james

run the ram is #1 #3 not side by side for one thing

see what that does now

I'll give it a try - just curious, why would that matter?

[wizard james]

it makes it run in dual pairs.. usely faster was for me anyways

[Nailz Arizona]

Originally Posted by wizard james

it makes it run in dual pairs.. usely faster was for me anyways

I tried it and I couldn't tell a difference. But, I've been really tweaking with just about every setting lately and I noticed that my CD & DVD drives disappeared! I set everything back to default and nothing. But when I moved the RAM back to just #1 & #2, they came back. It could've been just getting too hot and having it down long enough to move RAM cooled off the system.

Like I said at the beginning of the thread, I'm a newbie to overclocking and after messing with this for about 5 days now, well I have a real respect for you guys who squeeze ever last bit you can from your systems. This is both an art and a science. Hat's off to you over clockers!