Athlon 64 X2 5000+ OC question

[Siberion24]

Hello,

I'm relatively new to OC'ing and completely new to the forum, so if I make a fool of myself, I appologize in advance.

Due to budget constraints I'm currently trying to OC my "over the hill" 5000+ (no BE).
I've read the 1,2,3 guide and the am2 expansion, and a lot of forum talk.

I can't seem to set my base clock above 230MHz although I've seen many OC's above this mark.
I've set my HT to 600, my multi to 8x (can't seem to get it lower without it automatically ressetting to 11 to 13), DDR at 400 and Vcore at 1.35.

Now for the my question: Is there any way to further up my clock?

If the answer is upping the NB voltage,... well I can't seem to find where I can change it in my BIOS.

My specs:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
MSI K9N SLI Platinum
2 x 1Gb Kingston 667Mhz (currently looking to scavenge some 2Gb 800 sticks)
2 x 1Gb Hynix 667Mhz
2 x nVidia 7900 GTO in SLI
Running Vista 64 Home Premium SP2

Thanks in advance

 

[RGone]

I can't seem to set my base clock above 230MHz although I've seen many OC's above this mark. = Each piece of silicon is different. So do not assume what others have done, that you will also do. That is not a valid assumption.

I've set my HT to 600 = That might be okay.

I've set my multi to 8x = Why? 230 x 8 is only 1840 Mhz and less than the stock 2600Mhz of the processor.

I've set my DDR to 400 = You have already overclocked your DDR667 Ram and then to overclock it some more when using 230FSB is MORE than the ram can run most likely.

I've set my Vcore to 1.35V = That is nothing but Default or stock voltage and n0t nearly enough to try and overclock the cpu to 230 x 13 which is 2990Mhz or 390Mhz of an overclock.

Now for the my question: Is there any way to further up my clock? = Not likely when setting up like you are currently doing.

 

[Siberion24]

Just to be clear, I want to find my system clock max, not max out overall performance (for now).

I've set my HT to 600 = That might be okay.

Can go to 800, but this way I have some margin.

I've set my multi to 8x = Why? 230 x 8 is only 1840 Mhz and less than the stock 2600Mhz of the processor.

Same as above

I've set my DDR to 400 = You have already overclocked your DDR667 Ram and then to overclock it some more when using 230FSB is MORE than the ram can run most likely.

In my BIOS 400 means 1:1, so I should be safe there.

I've set my Vcore to 1.35V = That is nothing but Default or stock voltage and n0t nearly enough to try and overclock the cpu to 230 x 13 which is 2990Mhz or 390Mhz of an overclock.

Does upping the Vcore help the system clock perform in any way? I thought this was only needed when also setting the multi to max (to supply the CPU with enough power).

If there is a fault in my logic, please tell me.

 

[WoodenKiwi]

You need to up your multiplier, at 8x you are underclocking your cpu. Just finding your max clock speed is sort of pointless in this situation, as even if you get your clock to max possible, why bother if performance will be less than or equal to stock performance?

The aim of proper overclocking is finding a balance of all of the settings you have mentioned that results in your desired overall CPU speed, not just trying to get one setting as high as possible while neglecting the rest.

Essentially what you are doing is trying to create the CPU equivalent of a chevy cavalier with a V12 in it when you could be making a Ferrari with a V8.

Basically, follow RGone's advice, don't ignore it while saying you want to leave yourself a margin(and I don't mean this in like an insulting or snarky way, just trying to assist in case you are misunderstanding something, and on the flipside, if I am missing something, let me know)

 

[Siberion24]

Last night, and this morning I tested everything some more and this is what I came up with:

HTT @ 4x
SB to CPU width @ 16/16
Clock Speed @ 225MHz
Multi @ 13x
VCore @ 1.40V
Mem ratio @ 5:3 (333)
VDimm @ 2.00V

So far everything seems to run stable.

If I set my my memory ratio to 1:1 (200) I can set my clock to 230, but this seems counterproductive (isn't it?).

Tnx for the replies.

 

[WoodenKiwi]

Nice! Now you've got a nice little overclock going, have you used Prime95 to test stability? Also you may want to download CPU-z if you don't already have it. It's a nice little diagnostic tool that will tell you exactly where everything is at, including your memory. It will take a lot of the math and guess work out of things. Also if you run Prime95, use HWMonitor to keep an eye on various temps, and run the test for a minimum of 20 minutes on the blend setting. At the end of the test, try and snap some screen shots of HWMonitor, Prime95, and CPU-z, it will help everyone on here get a better feeling for how your overclock is set up.

I don't know much about your CPU but I feel like with just a little tweaking you can at least hit 3.0GHz(Currently you are at 2.925GHz)

 

[Siberion24]

Thank you.
Yesterday I ran Memtest just to make sure there isn't a problem with memory, ran it for more than 12 hours with no errors.
I already stress tested with Orthos and Everest, both without errors but they only ran for about an hour.
Tonight I'll run it through the night.

The 2 things that are holding my speed back are:
1) Memory - but I'm trying to find some decent 800Mhz modules.
2) Base system clock will only go to 230 - I have a feeling that my NB has something to do with that, but I can't seem to find the Vnb settings in the BIOS.

Thanks for the help so far.

 

[RGone]

Do you see "WoodenKiwi's" The SETUP at the bottom of his post? That is what you need to do for you ownself. It is a signature.

Sigs are pretty easy. Signatures follow you in every post in the forum so your system information follows you and people know what is in the box.

Be logged in to the forum.

Across the top of the forum is a button shown as 'user cp'. Click that button.

On the page that loads are a list of options down the left side of the page.

Under the Settings & Options menu area is a Edit Signature listing. Click on that listing.

Clicking Edit Signature opens another page. In the middle of that page is where you Edit YOUR signature.

Enter your information there and at bottom of the window you are entering your signature is button for either Preview Signature or Save Signature. Do save and you will have your signature incorporated into the forum in each of your posts. Of course Preview Signature will let you see 'how' your signature would appear in the forum. But in the end the Save Signature must be clicked to save it to the forum.

You can look at my signature for a template of some good stuffz to put in one's own signature when seeking help.

Good luck man.