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A7N8X Dlx w/ 2700XP: Can I go higher / Am I safe?

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kukyfrope

Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2003
Location
Lawrence, Kansas (KU)
Hi gents, wanting some opinions from fellow forum members on my current setup and on stability/temps/voltage concerns:

AthlonXP 2700+ @ 2335 (187x12.5) @ 1.800v/1.840v because of BIOS
Asus A7N8X Deluxe 2.0.1005
Thermaltake Silent Boost w/ AS5
1GB (2x512) Corsair PC2700LL (11-3-2-2) @ 2.8v
GeForce4 Ti4600 @ Stock
Enermax EG365P-VE(FC) 350W
Idle/Load: 44/54 28/32
[74GB Raptor] [2x80GB WDC] [NEC ND-3520A] [Lite-On XJ-HD166S] [Audigy1 Platinum]
[3DM2001: 12200] [3DM2003: 1935]

[Load voltages from 188 Prime run]
Temperature: Sensor 1 (Proc): 53.00
Temperature: Sensor 2 (MB): 29.00
Voltage: Core 0: 1.82
Voltage: Core 1: 1.82
Voltage: +3.3: 3.42
Voltage: +5.00: 4.73
Voltage: +12.00: 11.79
Voltage: -12.00: -12.32
Voltage: -5.00: -5.17

This above setup is 10HR prime blend stable and MemTest stable. I tried to push 188mhz FSB and passed 7HR MemTest stability, but error in prime blend at appx 4hr10min. Would this isolate the instability to lack of vcore? Such errors have been fixed before by more vcore and my vdimm is maxed at 2.8v :clap:

This raises another question. Could I safely go with a higher vcore than 1.800V? CPU-Z reports 1.840V vcore which I've heard is a problem with this Asus bios but what should I consider my upper vcore limit for the AthlonXP 2700+? Could I possibly go with a lower multiplier and higher FSB with the same voltages?

Thanks guys!
 
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i had a 2700+ on an A7N8X Dlx, i got 222x11, tho i had pc3500 and did the volt mod for vcore, and pushed past 2.0v, tho i never had any significant gains at that level, but didn't have any problems w/ it either(but that was me)

so...other than upgrading ram, i'd also highly suggest u get a better power supply, at least 400w, but i'd recommend 480w

as far as psu, antec is considered good, fortron, and of course pc power & cooling

for ram, everyones going for TCCD memory modules, G.Skill is very popular right now

other than that, ur lookin good for what u got :)
 
Thanks for the reply Molester. I hear you loud and clear on the "upgrade" suggestions. I didn't know the advantages of buying higher-clocked memory when I built this system, even though I read a ton of threads on this board beforehand.

I already planed my next build as a DFI Ultra A64 3000 system with G.Skill DIMMs going for ~2.6Ghz and was just trying to muster out the last I could with my current rig. :) I still would like voltage/temp advice from anybody else with experience with a similar setup!
 
Well I changed to 12.0x188 and have been running Prime Small FFT for the last 10 hours with no errors. Could downing the multiplier like that account for the stability? I did not change any voltages, but my ambient temp is a bit warmer. Here are the voltages:

9 hours 56 minutes
Temperature: Sensor 1: 55.00
Temperature: Sensor 2: 32.00
Voltage: Core 0: 1.84
Voltage: Core 1: 1.84
Voltage: +3.3: 3.42
Voltage: +5.00: 4.81
Voltage: +12.00: 11.73
Voltage: -12.00: -12.32
Voltage: -5.00: -5.17

Bolded voltages are higher than the previous 12.5x188 test.
I'm going to try a Blend run until I am home later tonight to see how it fairs.
 
Your system is running cooler because it is running slower. On my XP2500 rig it's the speed of the CPU that determines the heat. It doen't matter whether I get there via multiplier or FSB. I don't know how much higher your ram can go, but the are performance gains to be made running a lower multiplier and a higher FSB proviided your ram can keep up. Good luck.
 
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if he's using asusprobe, they're pretty accurate(or at least mine was as compared to my multimeter)

he needs a better psu, plain and simple

if keeping your rig for a while, i would suggest the volt mod, it is very easy
it also gave me a rock steady vcore reading(asusprobe and multimeter)

i knew nothing about electronics(u could say i still know nothing) and i did it
i touched alot of things i wasn't supposed while pc was on sending it into what i thought would be death spirals, and it still worked

http://www.nforcershq.com will have all the help you could want on this and your board(it's one of their favorite) plus all the bioses u can shake a stick at for that board

radio shack has potentiometers, and most large electronic stores will carry Palomino SMD grabbers
 
not that my little 1 star rating accounts for anything here, but,
A. certainly you need better/higher speed ram and a good quality PSU.
B. what is up with your 3DM2003 score?!?! I would have expected more from a ti4600!

:)
 
Okay, let's not be too quick to spend other peoples money! (Although it's fun to do just that) Your power supply may not be the issue. It's not a lot of watts, but it's a quality brand and it has plenty of amperage on its rails. Yes, PC3200 would help get you to a higher fsb, but will it be worth the expense? The only thing I should add in favor of these extra expenses is you can use them on your next rig if you plan on building one in the next year. If you don't, you may not want to spend the money on ddr that is soon going the way of the AGP video card.
And ZX12Rguy the stars don't mean nothin' other than I type a lot! I could have 20 stars and still be dumb enough to trade a cow for magic beans. (I’m not stupid though, Jack can keep that old cow ‘cause I got these here beans!):D
 
Thanks for the replies guys.
I plan on building my new system in about a month. I'm not looking to upgrade hardware for my current system, but looking for methods of how to get more out of what I've got already.

As for the 3DMark2003, it says it's not running one of the graphics tests for some reason, so I'm sure that's pulling the score down. Not that I really care as I refuse to play HL2 until I get a new system so I can fully appreciate the graphics.
 
Well, having bumped my multiplier down a bit, I've been able to move that FSB up from my initial 12.5x182 and hit my goal of prime-stable 200mhz FSB. Below is my setup which is 10h30m prime-blend stable, manually stopped of course ;) :

AthlonXP 2700+ B0 @ 2302 (200x11.5) @ 1.800v/1.840v BIOS
Asus A7N8X Deluxe 2.0.1005
Thermaltake Silent Boost w/ AS5
1GB (2x512) Corsair PC2700LL (2-3-2-11) @ 2.8v
GeForce4 Ti4600 @ Stock
Enermax EG365P-VE(FC) 350W
Idle/Load: 45/54 28/32

This RAM is showing NO signs of slowing down with 2.8v pumping through it. The only thing that's holding me back as of now are temps, but with the current 1.800v vcore, my processor won't get stable above about 2325 yet. I'm currently running Prime-blend tests on 202x11.5 (2330) to see if it's able to perform. If not I will drop the multi to 11.0 and push higher.

Is there a point when lowering the multiplier any more to gain higher FSB is not worth it? What is the optimal settings I should go for, obviously a mixture of high FSB and highest multiplier I can get but is there a standard for how low I should take my multi? I've seen a lot of people with XP-M's shooting 11.0 multipliers... and Winnie owners dropping to 9.0... stock on the XP2700 is 13.0x166, for reference.
 
The other thing you can try is to loosen your ram timings to 2.5-3-3-11. Good luck. Look's like you are doing fine!
 
rseven, when I have hit an error in Prime around the 2330 range, I ran memtest for ~7hrs and it passed fine with the current timings/speed. If memtest is passing, couldn't I conclude it's my processor holding me back? Would relaxing timings really help there?
 
kukyfrope said:
rseven, when I have hit an error in Prime around the 2330 range, I ran memtest for ~7hrs and it passed fine with the current timings/speed. If memtest is passing, couldn't I conclude it's my processor holding me back? Would relaxing timings really help there?
While I am always reluctant to be too certain of anything involving computers, I agree that it sounds like the cpu. If it was the Northbridge I wold think that you'd still be looking at errors. I don't think it's your psu. That leaves the cpu. Therefore, I don't believe that slowing down the timings would help. That having been said, I'd still try it anyway!:) I know, it sounds stupid, and maybe it is, but it can't hurt anything to give it a shot. Sometimes, the thing you know it isn't turns out to be the thing it is. :confused:
 
It would be good to find out what your RAM really will do. You could lower your multiplier to 9 and run Memtest on the RAM one stick at a time - then both in dual channel. You'll be certain how high you can take the FSB and can up the multiplier later for more testing.

Rseven's suggestion for 2.5-3-3-11 timings on the A7N8X are right on. I use them for 3 systems and find they are the best yet. (Of course play with them while memtesting.)
 
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