[slimzky]

Hi guys! This is my first post. I'm completely new to overclocking. I oc'ed my phenom 550 to 3.7 using default fsb of 200mhz, nb frequency to maximum of 2600mhz, my ram settings are 7-7-7-21-33 1t @667mhz, and everything seems to work fine and stable, However, from what I've read, the higher the fsb would be better. I tried to re-do my oc again, and set my fsb to 230mhz.
It then automatically changed the htlink to 2300mhz, nb freq. to 2300mhz, and my dram freq. to 766mhz - but with timings 9-9-9-24-33 2t.

i tried to increase the nb freq back to 2600mhz, and the ram timings but i won't get any post despite many adjustments.

I know benchmarking will give me numbers and proof, but i'd like to hear from your experience, which of my settings would be faster? the first with default fsb or the 2nd one?

my specs:
phenom 550be
2x2gb gskill ripjaws 7-7-7-21
emaxx 785g-fxn mobo
hd5770
h50 cooler
lancool dragonlord


thanks in advunch!

[trents]

Need more info.

Are you using DDR2 or DDR3 and what is the rated speed of the ram, e.g. DDR2 800, DDR2 1066, DDR3 1600? Next, what is the rated voltage of the ram? If your are going to overclock using the fsb (dated term, now called HT reference, CPU frequency, or system bus) you need to start one notch below the rated ram speed and clock up towards it. Also, you wanted to keep your HT speed at or slightly below 2000 and your NB at or slightly belos 2400. Otherwise, as you overclock the bus these other two will grow and create instability. So, manually adjust them downward as necessary as you clock the bus speed upward. It also helps to increase the CPUNB voltage to somewhere between 1.2 and 1.25 and to give the ram voltage about one or two bumps upward.

[slimzky]

@ trents, thanks for the useful information. you answered my question. i did not realize i can manually set the ht link, since i always set it to auto. regarding my ram, it is a ddr3 @ 1333mhz, 7-7-7-21 1.5 volts. i will try playing around with the settings again when i get home.

cheers,

[trents]

Okay, then if you're going to overclock with the system bus, start your ram speed at DDR3 1066 in bios (or the DDR equivalent of it, depending how it is expressed in bios) and clock up toward the 1333 rating. As long as you are staying at or below the rated ram speed there is probably no need to bump the voltage up. Have you discovered CPU-z? It a useful freeware utility that gives lots of useful info about your system and its settings. It's great for seeing the impact on various frequencies like HT and NB of bios changes.

If you are overclocking using only the CPU frequency multiplier then the HT and NB speeds are not affected. If you overclock using the CPU frequency (fsb, system bus) then HT and NB are in lock step and increase along with the CPU speed. By far, the most important component in overclocking from a performance standpoint is the CPU speed. Increasing memory and system bus speed produce lesser benefits and make overclocking more complicated.

[slimzky]

@trents, i haven't tried oc'ing my system again. i finally unlocked my phenom 550 and right now just making sure everything will be stable @ stock first before i try oc'ing again. do you have any idea how to test it? i'm running prime95. and i'm running out of patience. i just couldn't wait for several hours. is OCCT enough to check the stability?

[trents]

Prime and OCCT are the two standard tools most of us use. There really isn't any short cut for stability testing. What you have to decide in your own mind is, "How long do I need to be able to run either of these programs to be able to declare things stable?". Personally, my standard test is 1 hr. A lot of guys on this forum use a standard test of 8 hrs. It really depends on how you use your computer. If your are dealing with mission critical data or are a hard core gamer then a long test is certainly appropriate. I just don't feel comfortable with subjecting my system components to many hours of intense strain when the type of computing I do will never come close to that intensity. I certainly wouldn't treat my automobile that way. By the way, OCCT works things just a tad harder than Prime. You would see that in the fact that it gives max CPU temps a degree or two higher than Prime.

[QuietIce]

to OCF!

Originally Posted by slimzky

Hi guys! This is my first post. I'm completely new to overclocking. I oc'ed my phenom 550 to 3.7 using default fsb of 200mhz, nb frequency to maximum of 2600mhz, my ram settings are 7-7-7-21-33 1t @667mhz, and everything seems to work fine and stable, However, from what I've read, the higher the fsb would be better. I tried to re-do my oc again, and set my fsb to 230mhz.
It then automatically changed the htlink to 2300mhz, nb freq. to 2300mhz, and my dram freq. to 766mhz - but with timings 9-9-9-24-33 2t.

i tried to increase the nb freq back to 2600mhz, and the ram timings but i won't get any post despite many adjustments.

For the past 5-6 years that statement has only applied to Intel CPUs. The AMD HTRef (reference clock) that you're talking about is simply that, a reference clock, and it's been a part of every AMD system since socket 939. The HTRef carries no data at all and, as such, increasing it's speed by itself does nothing to improve performance. As trents has explained the CPU, cpuNB, RAM, and HT Link take their individual multiplier times the HTRef to get their speed - but whether the CPU (for example) is running 200x20 or 250x16 doesn't matter, the result of 4.0 GHz is still the same either way with no change in performance.

But there's nothing wrong with using the HTRef for overclocking. In fact many experienced overclockers use it because you can reach those "in-between" speeds that 200x(multiplier) can't get - like 750 MHz (DDR3-1500) on your RAM instead of choosing between 667 or 800 MHz or running a cpuNB speed of 2500 instead of 2400 or 2600 MHz. But in the end, unless you're trying to get to those in-between speeds, the performance will be the same with or without a high HTRef.

By all means I encourage you to experiment. Often, you can pick up a little performance here and there with those in-between speeds and that's what OC'ing is really all about - getting all the extra performance you can from your hardware! Keep us posted and ask any questions you'd like ...

[slimzky]

@trents, ok so i guess maybe a max of 5 hours would work for me. i like playing games but i don't think i'd sit in front of the computer for more than 3 hours.

@quietice, thanks for welcoming me =)

thanks for your explanation. i will instead play around with the multiplier since it is a lot easier for me. i need to learn simple way of oc'ing first.