OC looks good, but still questions

[mrsteve0924]

Hey all. Well I did a ton of reading on overclocking and finally went for it on my athlon II x4 640. after a few tries i think i got it stable at 3.6ghz. but a little knowledge is dangerous and now i have more questions.

so not to ramble i'll just start with the 2 things that are bugging me the most

1.DRAM timings - current DRAM freq is at 640mhz which is between JEDEC4 and 5. so which do i go with 8-8-8-22 or 9-9-9-25? i would assume tighter is better but not sure.

2. fsb:dram ratio - i am reading that best ratio is 1:1, but i dont see how i can get to that. if DRAM freq is at 640mhz i cant bring bus up that high right? i mean i guess i can but i would have to set max multiplier to 5 instead of 15. doesnt seem right to me. am i thinking about this correctly?

i should mention the core speeds in the screenshot are at idle.

thanks for the help.

 

[RGone]

8-8-8-22 or 9-9-9-25
Smaller numbers usually equal some extra memory performance. But it is always try and see. The 9 9 9 24 you have now is at 1T command rate. Trying for 8 8 8 22 might force going to 2T command rate That would 'likely' be just a tossup as to which is performing better.

1:1 ram ratio is old school stuff and more about Intel than AMD in the last 5 or 6 years.
Bobert...

 

[mrsteve0924]

great. thanks for the feedback.

 

[trents]

Currently, you are running your ram below it's speed rating. You are at 1280 mhz (640x2 since it's double rate ram) instead of 1333. If you are at the point where you can't get anymore speed out of the CPU then you can lower the CPU multiplier (say by .5x) and continue to bump up the FSB in order to take better advantage of the ram capability. Your CPU multiplier is upwardly locked but not downwardly locked.

 

[Ajay57]

Hey Trents nice to see you, hope you a OK. AJ.

 

[mrsteve0924]

thanks for the tips trents.

i was afraid to go any higher with the cpu speed because the NB frequency was already above the 1600mhz default freq. i wasnt sure how much i could push the NB. looks like i still have headroom for the HT link though.

i will try lowering the multiplier like you suggested to get more out of the ram.

 

[mrsteve0924]

lowered the multiplier to 14.5 and raised bus to 250. looks like i am back up to the default freq for my RAM.

still wondering about the NB frequency though.

 

[trents]

thanks for the tips trents.

i was afraid to go any higher with the cpu speed because the NB frequency was already above the 1600mhz default freq. i wasnt sure how much i could push the NB. looks like i still have headroom for the HT link though.

i will try lowering the multiplier like you suggested to get more out of the ram.

I think the AM3 CPU default NB (or "CPUNB") frequency is 2000 mhz, not 1600 mhz. Don't confuse the NB frequency with the rated frequency of the memory controller which for that model of CPU is 1333 mhz. The NB/CPUNB and the IMC (Integrated Memory Controller) are related but not synonymous. I'm not expert in microprocessor architecture by any means so I can't be more specific than that.

 

[mrsteve0924]

i thought i saw the NB at 1600mhz after i loaded the default BIOS settings. i guess i should have read the mobo documentation first.

looks like i will have to keep trying to push the CPU speed then. thanks

 

[trents]

Hey Trents nice to see you, hope you a OK. AJ.

Yeah, I'm doing great Ajay! Thanks for your concern. I've just been real busy with a lot of different stuff - computer repair work, building systems, classes at the community college, etc. How are you doing guy?

 

[RGone]

Hard to really know what your actual speeds should be on HT and CPU_NB. I have read the thread three times now and I still have no clue what motherboard is in use.

Put up Sig at OCF.

New Shortcut method for putting a Signature with your system information following your every post so people can know what is in the case that they are trying to assist with. You can use something like what is shown in my signature as a good template of needed information Thank you.

 

[RGone]

athlon ll x4 640
Frequency 3000 MHz
Bus speed 667 MHz Memory controller
One 2000 MHz 16-bit HyperTransport link
Clock multiplier 15
Package 938-pin organic micro-PGA
Sockets Socket AM2+ & Socket AM3

 

[mrsteve0924]

i guess i still want to know if it's okay to take the HT link up passed 1000mhz. if NB freq default is 2000mhz then i still have headroom there.

so can i also assume that it's okay that HT, NB and RAM end up over stock frequencies after increasing core speed? i guess all these can be overclocked in addition to CPU, it's just a matter of the system being stable in the end correct?

anything i should watch out for as i tweak the settings more?

 

[RGone]

Stable in the end is the result most wish for, yes.
RGone...

 

[trents]

i guess i still want to know if it's okay to take the HT link up passed 1000mhz. if NB freq default is 2000mhz then i still have headroom there.

so can i also assume that it's okay that HT, NB and RAM end up over stock frequencies after increasing core speed? i guess all these can be overclocked in addition to CPU, it's just a matter of the system being stable in the end correct?

anything i should watch out for as i tweak the settings more?

From the CPU side of things, the HT Link frequency and the CPUNB frequency are the same at stock settings, 2000 mhz for that CPU I believe. However, the ancient chipset of the motherboard you are using will limit the HT Link to around 1000 mhz I'm thinking.