I recently make the switch from an AMD system to an Intel P4 system, mainly because it was actually the cheaper option in terms of processor price, and because the overclocking potential was simply too good to ignore. However, i am have some REAL problems trying to get any kind of cpu overclocking underway.
The problem is definitely due to the motherboard i bought, the Aopen AX4G Pro (i845G chipset). The reviews i read on it said it was a solid performer with good overclocking options, well the options are there, but the BIOS seems to almost ignore any changes i have made. I'm sure this is because of a feature that Aopen build into their motherboards, Watchdog Timer. For those who don't know what this is, Watchdog Timer basically tries booting with the chosen BIOS settings, if the system fails to boot, it reverts back to the previous settings that last ran. Sounded great to me... if i setup an overclock that wouldn't work, it would just revert to the previous setting, how could i lose? Well, i'm losing big time. The problem is that even if i increase the FSB from 133 to 134, the watchdog timer kicks in and reverts the setup back to 133. I CAN'T OVERCLOCK THE FSB BY EVEN 1MHZ!!!
Can anyone who uses this board, or any other Aopen motherboard that has the Watchdog Timer feature, give me some hints on how to overcome this major hurdle? The rest of my setup is as follows:
Pentium 4 2.53ghz w/stock HSF (will be replacing this in a couple of weeks with a GlobalWin CAK4-88T HSF)
Aopen AX4G Pro mobo
Enermax dual fan 450watt PSU
512meg PC2700 DDR (Winbond, single Dimm)
ATI Radeon 8500LE (oc'ed to 275/550)
2 extra case fans installed
Any help and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
The problem is definitely due to the motherboard i bought, the Aopen AX4G Pro (i845G chipset). The reviews i read on it said it was a solid performer with good overclocking options, well the options are there, but the BIOS seems to almost ignore any changes i have made. I'm sure this is because of a feature that Aopen build into their motherboards, Watchdog Timer. For those who don't know what this is, Watchdog Timer basically tries booting with the chosen BIOS settings, if the system fails to boot, it reverts back to the previous settings that last ran. Sounded great to me... if i setup an overclock that wouldn't work, it would just revert to the previous setting, how could i lose? Well, i'm losing big time. The problem is that even if i increase the FSB from 133 to 134, the watchdog timer kicks in and reverts the setup back to 133. I CAN'T OVERCLOCK THE FSB BY EVEN 1MHZ!!!
Can anyone who uses this board, or any other Aopen motherboard that has the Watchdog Timer feature, give me some hints on how to overcome this major hurdle? The rest of my setup is as follows:
Pentium 4 2.53ghz w/stock HSF (will be replacing this in a couple of weeks with a GlobalWin CAK4-88T HSF)
Aopen AX4G Pro mobo
Enermax dual fan 450watt PSU
512meg PC2700 DDR (Winbond, single Dimm)
ATI Radeon 8500LE (oc'ed to 275/550)
2 extra case fans installed
Any help and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
