Tips for overclocking MSI K8N Neo 2

[shadeobrady]

Hello there! This looks like a great community, and I'm just breaking into overclocking and am in need of advice.

I'm trying to speed up an older PC I have without getting new parts at the moment. I've read through a lot of the sections on http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=339051

In the Bios:
I've disabled aggressive timing, cool'n'quiet, dynamic overclocking, and spread spectrum. Set HT Frequency to 4x (explained below) and the FSB at 250. AGP is at 66. I haven't messed too much with the RAM yet. This brings me to 2.25GHz.

When I drop the HT to 3x and crank up the FSB (anywhere above 250 basically), my Core Speed suddenly drops to under 100 Hz - *** am I doing wrong?!

All help is much appreciated =)

 

[trents]

Is this core speed drop apparent or real? I mean can you sense a dramatic decrease in performance? Perhaps CPU-z is reporting it incorrectly.

 

[QuietIce]

What does your load core temp look like at 2250 MHz ...?

 

[shadeobrady]

@trents - The core speed drop may not be real, but it's been an indication for me that things are becoming unstable. If I go any higher the system has issues posting.

@QuietIce - Core temp is 28c with a max of 33c after running Prime 95.

** Also note that I've changed the RAM timings to 3 3 3 8 which allowed me to push the FSB up to 255. Core speed is now running at 2.295GHz **

 

[trents]

What was the stock CPU speed? Have you done any research concerning the overclock headroom of that generation CPU? You may be already at the ceiling.

 

[shadeobrady]

@Trent - Stock was 1.8GHz so it's definitely possible. I've done a good amount of research and saw a few people posting overclocks of 2.5 - 2.7GHz, but they may have had better quality RAM than is in this system.

Thanks again for the help

 

[trents]

Those high clocks others have gotten of 2.5-2.7 may have been under water. I also suspect you may be reaching the limit of stability of your motherboard's fsb capability.

 

[QuietIce]

@trents - The core speed drop may not be real, but it's been an indication for me that things are becoming unstable. If I go any higher the system has issues posting.

@quietice - Core temp is 28c with a max of 33c after running Prime 95.

** Also note that I've changed the RAM timings to 3 3 3 8 which allowed me to push the FSB up to 255. Core speed is now running at 2.295GHz **

Have you tried dropping the RAM down to 133 (DDR-266) instead of just 166 MHz? Since the loosened timings let you clock higher, maybe your RAM is holding you back. 133 should give you lots of room.

Also, be sure to turn your HT Link down to 3X ...

 

[shadeobrady]

@QuietIce - I just gave it a try to boot. Ran fine so I bumped up the FSB 5 (to 260 at x8) and the Mhz dropped to 87 at bios (which means if I go further it wont post).

My RAM is running at 3 3 3 8 now at 133Mhz at 2T

Maybe I reached the limit for this old horse?

Thx for the tips

 

[shadeobrady]

@Trent - You're definitely right about that. And I'm thinking I may be. Though the options for FSB settings show you going up to 300 in the bios...

@QuietIce - I forgot to mention I am running at 3X =)

 

[trents]

@trent - You're definitely right about that. And I'm thinking I may be. Though the options for FSB settings show you going up to 300 in the bios...

@QuietIce - I forgot to mention I am running at 3X =)

The options may be there in bios but it doesn't actually mean the hardware will be capable of that in actual use. But, I'm sure you realize that.

 

[QuietIce]

@QuietIce - I just gave it a try to boot. Ran fine so I bumped up the FSB 5 (to 260 at x8) and the Mhz dropped to 87 at bios (which means if I go further it wont post).

My RAM is running at 3 3 3 8 now at 133Mhz at 2T

Maybe I reached the limit for this old horse?

Thx for the tips

Just for grins drop the CPU multiplier down to 8x and see if the clock will go higher ...