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irish80122

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2003
Location
Centennial, CO
I was unsure of where to put this post, so I just put it in the general hardware section. Mods, please feel free to move it if you see fit.

I am working on overclocking my 2500+ more, but I have run into snags when I try to go anywhere above 2.1, which is a very mild OC for this chip. Therefore, I am wondering about the factors that could be causing this snag so that I can problem solve and hopefully get higher. Here is what I know....

1. The memory should not be a problem, it is Corsair PC3200, and it is the high performing kind, I forgot the name off hand.

2. Temps seem okay, but I am not sure how much they affect OC performance. At 25C ambient, I get about 42C load temps. My Board temp is just about the same, so I don't have the greatest airflow in my little case, but the temps never hit 50.

3. Voltage, I think this may be my problem. My mobo only allows me to overvolt to 1.8 on the vcore and 1.7 on the ram. I am thinking of possibly getting a better mobo off of refurbs or something like that.

See any weaknesses? The steppings for my chip are below, overall people usually are pulling at least 2.4 with this stepping it seems. If you need any other info, please let me know. I just want to figure out how high it can go!
 
That is the problem, I can't. My MSI is maxed out on Vcore, ugh. I have tought about getting a Abit NF7-S or Asus A7N8X Deluxe or maybe even the Epox Nforce2 board, but I don't know if they allow much more than what I already have. On the cooling, I can't fit any more into this case, but if you think the cooling would help, go ahead and vote for a new case, and then I will get more case fans to boot. Thanks for your help, just please help some more, lol.
 
If your chip is unlocked, I would recommend lowering the multiplier as low as it will go, then running memtest86 to find the limit of your RAM (ie--the fastest FSB speed you can run your RAM at without getting errors). THEN start raising your multi.

This will let you know if you're just hitting the ceiling with your RAM, or your CPU is as oc'ed as it will go.

Better case cooling would probably help...40C case temps is quite warm.
 
I think that 40C is CPU load temp. Better cooling would be maybe a better HSF to top it off. What HSF are you running? You should be able to hard-mod the chip to get a higher default VCore. You can look for those things on the AMD CPU forum as I don't know what the Barton bridges are like. Have you tried Higher FSB speeds?
 
Zoilo said:
I think that 40C is CPU load temp. Better cooling would be maybe a better HSF to top it off. What HSF are you running? You should be able to hard-mod the chip to get a higher default VCore. You can look for those things on the AMD CPU forum as I don't know what the Barton bridges are like. Have you tried Higher FSB speeds?

I agree on the 40 being a bit high, even though it is a load temp. I may be getting a new case though we will see. I am not sure how much I will worry about a better overclock, because knowing this mobo you have to fight for it. Then again, it would be nice.... The heatsink is from a Volcano 7, I thought about upgrading it, but then I realized that it wasn't what was holding my OC back, but rather it was the case temp, since it is just about the same as the CPU. Does anyone think a different mobo would make a difference, or is that the least of my problems?
 
If that 40C is a CPU load temp, then it isn't so bad. I'm watercooled and I get 40C on my 2500+ Barton.

If your case temps are that warm, then you should definately try to get those down. If you can cool the case a little better, your CPU temp might drop even more.
 
irish80122 said:
I agree on the 40 being a bit high, even though it is a load temp. I may be getting a new case though we will see. I am not sure how much I will worry about a better overclock, because knowing this mobo you have to fight for it. Then again, it would be nice.... The heatsink is from a Volcano 7, I thought about upgrading it, but then I realized that it wasn't what was holding my OC back, but rather it was the case temp, since it is just about the same as the CPU. Does anyone think a different mobo would make a difference, or is that the least of my problems?

I think that 40 is a bit high for a small overclock with no VCore increase...however, you should be able to go higher than that. You might have gotten a bad CPU from that batch. I don't think your overclock is limited by anything else except maybe VCore. I would try either a hard mod, or a new motherboard that can get you higher VCore.
 
Zoilo said:


I think that 40 is a bit high for a small overclock with no VCore increase...however, you should be able to go higher than that. You might have gotten a bad CPU from that batch. I don't think your overclock is limited by anything else except maybe VCore. I would try either a hard mod, or a new motherboard that can get you higher VCore.

I did up the Vcore, but only to 1.8 which is the max on my mobo. I am not sure how to do the hard mod, and I am not sure if I am daring enough even if I did. I don't think it is a bad CPU, it is funny how people say that kind of thing. It runs the 1.83 AMD said it would, therefore it isn't bad. I think it can do more, just needs a bit more juice. Problem is getting that to it.
 
42 load isnt that high, seeing as how teh max for the barton chips are in the 60's i believe
 
fiji said:
42 load isnt that high, seeing as how teh max for the barton chips are in the 60's i believe

Actually, I think it is far greater, like mid 80's if I recall right. Either way, doesn't really matter, the chip will not be damaged by heat, lol.
 
irish80122 said:


I did up the Vcore, but only to 1.8 which is the max on my mobo. I am not sure how to do the hard mod, and I am not sure if I am daring enough even if I did. I don't think it is a bad CPU, it is funny how people say that kind of thing. It runs the 1.83 AMD said it would, therefore it isn't bad. I think it can do more, just needs a bit more juice. Problem is getting that to it.

I know what you mean...I'm scared to hard-mod, myself. Well, I was thinking a bad overclocking CPU. I didn't mean bad CPU as in that.
 
Zoilo said:


I know what you mean...I'm scared to hard-mod, myself. Well, I was thinking a bad overclocking CPU. I didn't mean bad CPU as in that.

I know, I just point that out because I think it is important to realize that really we only paid for the chip that is listed, overclocking is all about getting more than you deserve in reality. Does anyone know of a good overclocking board with good overvolts without modding? It depresses me to think that I have one of the best if not the best stepping out there for the 2500+ Bartons so far, and I can't OC past 2100. That stinks.
 
My Asus A7N8X deluxe took my T-bird 1333 to 1500, 100% stable 24/7. I've since upgraded my CPU to a 2500+ Barton, but I havent tried overclocking yet, as I've only got PC2100 RAM right now. Will be getting some good DDR400 soon!

vCore can be set up to 1.85 on this board.

IIRC, there's another nforce2 board out there that allows vCore adjustments up to 2 volts! Try a google search for "nforce2 roundup" to get a bunch of reviews comparing the different boards out there.
 
gahdzila said:
My Asus A7N8X deluxe took my T-bird 1333 to 1500, 100% stable 24/7. I've since upgraded my CPU to a 2500+ Barton, but I havent tried overclocking yet, as I've only got PC2100 RAM right now. Will be getting some good DDR400 soon!

vCore can be set up to 1.85 on this board.

IIRC, there's another nforce2 board out there that allows vCore adjustments up to 2 volts! Try a google search for "nforce2 roundup" to get a bunch of reviews comparing the different boards out there.

How do you like your Asus board by the way? Let me know how the OCing goes with the Barton!!!
 
LOVE my asus A7N8X Deluxe. It's one of the most expensive socket A boards out there right now at around $150, but worth every penny, IMO.

If you dont think you'll need all of the bells and whistles (dual onboard LAN, SATA RAID, etc) you can get the non-deluxe version for a little cheaper.

And, of course, the features that are on all of the nforce2 boards: AGP and PCI bus locking for overclocking, memory can run sync or async, excellent onboard sound.

One of the reasons I chose it over the other nforce2 boards is that I'm partial to Asus boards. Always had good luck with them, as far as stability. All of the nforce2 boards perform virtually identically as far as performance is concerned...some have some different BIOS options, so if there's one particular option you're looking for (you mentioned a higher vCore), shop around before you slap down your hard-earned cash.

What motherboard/chipset are you using now?
 
gahdzila said:
LOVE my asus A7N8X Deluxe. It's one of the most expensive socket A boards out there right now at around $150, but worth every penny, IMO.

If you dont think you'll need all of the bells and whistles (dual onboard LAN, SATA RAID, etc) you can get the non-deluxe version for a little cheaper.

And, of course, the features that are on all of the nforce2 boards: AGP and PCI bus locking for overclocking, memory can run sync or async, excellent onboard sound.

One of the reasons I chose it over the other nforce2 boards is that I'm partial to Asus boards. Always had good luck with them, as far as stability. All of the nforce2 boards perform virtually identically as far as performance is concerned...some have some different BIOS options, so if there's one particular option you're looking for (you mentioned a higher vCore), shop around before you slap down your hard-earned cash.

What motherboard/chipset are you using now?

I have a MSI K7N2G-ILSR that is a Nforce chipset. The major problem is the Vcore only goes to 1.8, and it just doesn't OC like it should I don't think. Also, it is very strange sometimes. I had a hell of a time getting it to even boot into it's minimum settings yesterday after overclocking. Also, I can't just hold down insert to load the minimum settings at startup, I have to go down and change jumpers!
 
Chaintech 7NJS has vCore adjustments up to 2.15 volts and vDIMM (RAM voltage) up to 3.2 volts according to this anandtech nforce2 roundup done in december.

If you're seriously looking to get a new motherboard just to get a higher vCore, then this is one to look at...it was my second choice after the Asus that I chose (and the Asus isn't gonna give you that high vCore you're looking for ;)). The only downfall I could see with the Chaintec board is that it's onboard sound is inferior to some of the other boards...that was one of the deciding factors for me, but it may not make any difference to you. Other than that, all the review sites I read when I was shopping for a board gave it very good reviews. I don't know for sure that the sound sucks on it, but every website I've read that reviews this chaintec board points out that the nForce onboard sound is a much better solution than the Cmedia that chaintec uses on this board.

Personally, I wouldn't run a Barton over about 1.8 v or so without some very good cooling...at least a mid-range water setup. Over 2 volts...egad...don't think I'd do that at all unless I had a phase-change setup or an extreme desire to fry my chip. Of course, that's just me...I'm overly-timid of high voltage settings.

Let me know how the OCing goes with the Barton!!!
well...it's probably gonna be a while before I can get started. No way can I overclock it with the PC2100 RAM that I've got now. It's actually really good PC2100 (crucial) that will do 150...but it will NEVER reach 166. Memtest86 gives me errors around 155. And I dont want to buy cheap RAM, I want some good stuff, some Corsair DDR433 at CAS2 :D. So it's gonna be a month or so before I can get up the nerve to drop another $150-200 into my rig.
 
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