I disagree with BeepBeepII about the HT Link handling up to 3000 mhz, at least not on Deneb core CPUs. It often will overclock quite a bit over stock on the Thuban core CPUs, however. My personal experience is that on most AMD CPUs I have owned is it doesn't like to be overclocked much or overvolted.
The Phenoms run much better with 1333 RAM, and can sometimes die prematurely from running 1600+ RAM. Try to tighten timings at 1333, and increase your HTT and CPU-NB Frequencies above 2200 MHz.
I found my HT link. Here's my scenario now. I was at 220 FSB, 1333 memory, and 2200 HT link. So, I adjusted my memory up to 1600, no boot. Tried a few things, then found that adjusting my FSB to 215 it would boot. So now I'm at 3.01 GHz CPU, 1720MHz memory, and 2120 MHz HT link. I'm able to change my HT speed from Auto (2120) to 9 (1980?), but is it necessary/recommended or am I set where I'm at?
Also, did I reach a "cap" on my OC'ing aside from voltages?
Ya, that poster was incorrect about higher RAM frequencies being dangerous for PHII. Lots of people have run ram speeds of 1600-1800, or more, on PHII for extended periods and its not in any way dangerous. It could be debated whether running higher RAM frequencies actually produces observable/tangible benefits in gaming or other usage scenarios - however running higher ram frequencies isn't dangerous at all.
Here's my current setup: 235x14 - 3.29 GHz, HT link = 2115. CPU-NB = 2350, memory = 1566. Going to run a test. Let me know if you suggest any other tweaks. I could probably bring my FSB up even further, as this processor is known for 3.75 GHz, and close to that on stock voltages, but I'm not going that far with it. I'll likely stick with this if it's stable. My only concern is the HT link, but should be OK.
Which is the one major benefit Bulldozer has. With a native controller at 1866, you can get all of that awesome CPU clock and have even higher memory rates thanks to true support of those speeds.
Running my Patriot RAM (rated at 1866) at 1333 7-7-7-20 1T has shown some real tangible results with this Rana CPU. Even at 1333, the higher FSB, HT Link, and CPU NB Frequency gave me 16-23% increases in MaxMemm scores, including bumping it over the 9 GB/s mark, which is not bad memory speed for a chip this old.
Here's my current setup: 235x14 - 3.29 GHz, HT link = 2115. CPU-NB = 2350, memory = 1566. Going to run a test. Let me know if you suggest any other tweaks. I could probably bring my FSB up even further, as this processor is known for 3.75 GHz, and close to that on stock voltages, but I'm not going that far with it. I'll likely stick with this if it's stable. My only concern is the HT link, but should be OK.
Good luck with the ram at 1600 mhz. Most PII Denebs aren't stable with the ram at that speed. Most PII Thubans are. But you may have a deneb with a stouter than average ICM. You won't know until you try. Make sure you run the Prime95 blend test for at least a couple of hours. The blend test uses a lot of ram.
My ram is set at 1333 but running at 1566 due to FSB increase. Do I need to lower it even more? Also, the only reason my HT Link is 2115 is because I lowered my HT speed to 9 from Auto. 8 makes it 1880, and auto makes it 2350. So, trying to stick close to 2000, I went with 9 at 2115.
Good luck with the ram at 1600 mhz. Most PII Denebs aren't stable with the ram at that speed. Most PII Thubans are. But you may have a deneb with a stouter than average ICM. You won't know until you try. Make sure you run the Prime95 blend test for at least a couple of hours. The blend test uses a lot of ram.
Regardless, thanks for the input. Still running Prime95 with my above numbers. If I'm stable here, I will be staying as I'm quite hapy with 3.29 from 2.8 and 1566 memory from 1600. This will be a very successful OC to me, if it's stable. I'll keep you all posted.
Try your ram at 1566. Supplementing the CPUNB with a little extra voltage over stock may help as may adding a pinch of voltage to the ram itself (.025-.05). If it won't fly then drop the divider to the 533/1066 notch. You would probably find that if it won't be stable at 1600 it very well may be stable at 1500. If you lower the ram divider to 533/1066 you can lower the CUP multiplier if you need to increase the fsb to get to 1500 mhz. That way you aren't overtaxing the CPU because you are keeping it in a stable range by lower the multiplier.
That sounds like good advice, except my brain is kind of scrambled for the day. I'm going to run this test for a little while, and sleep on it. I'll be back in morning with a fresh start (sleep/coffee). Thanks for helping.
Ya, that poster was incorrect about higher RAM frequencies being dangerous for PHII. Lots of people have run ram speeds of 1600-1800, or more, on PHII for extended periods and its not in any way dangerous. It could be debated whether running higher RAM frequencies actually produces observable/tangible benefits in gaming or other usage scenarios - however running higher ram frequencies isn't dangerous at all.
The IMC (CPU/NB) can only be killed by running really high voltages on it, or crazy RAM voltages (> 1.9v).
Frequency doesn't really matter, it'll only do what it'll do... Pushing frequency too far will result in instabilty (not damage) as long as v's are reasonable...
It's a slow (tedious) process, but the best way to find stability is to test each component individually (Cores/IMC/Ram).
Prime95 is a good way to test stability but Blend won't always be reliable for daily use...
I'd suggest using the "Custom" setting for the final run, IMHO, it pushes everything much better and will get you closer to a rig that'll be stable for whatever you want to do.
Try running Prime, but use these settings:
Ex:
4Gb of ram set Mem use to 3000
8Gb of Ram @ 6000
16Gb of Ram @ 12000
Alot of folks may disagree, but Prime can be pretty risky if you run it for hours on end (especially on FX chips).
Alot of (economy/mid range) boards can't handle the stress that Prime puts on the other components. The power section in particular can die during a prolonged Prime run...
If you can run the Prime "Custom" settings shown above for 30 minutes without error you should be good for everyday use.
The most stessful things I do is Video encoding (RipBot/HandBrke) and WCG.
30 Minutes Prime Custom has proven to be stable for all these use's...
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