Problems overclocking ABit KT7A

[ROMAD]

Here's my system:

AMD 1.2GHz Athlon T-bird
(modified Alpha PEP66 w/38cfm fan)
ABit KT7A with WW BIOS
512MB of Corsair CAS2 SDRAM
VisionTek GeForce GTS 64MB
Adaptec 2940U2W controller
2 Seagate Cheetah 18.2GB 10K RPM drives
Toshiba 40x SCSI CD-ROM
Intel Pro/100+ NIC
SB Live! Value

All of the above components with the exception of M/B and CPU of course, came from my old Intel P3-650 Coppermine system. I had that system running at 995MHz with no problems at all.

I cannot get the Athlon to overclock AT ALL! If I set the FSB to even 105, I get problems in WinME. I know the problems are not with the CPU either because I had similar problems with my Athlon 900. I dismissed these as problems with the chip, but now I'm thinking the mobo is having some problems.

I have all the memory settings set for conservatitive settings. I had that memory running at 153MHz FSB on my ABit SE6 board, so I know that's not the problem. My CPU temp never goes above 30C, thanks to the PEP66.

Also, if I try to do a straight 133 FSB, the machine won't even boot and I have to use the INS key to reset the CPU settings.

Any ideas?

 

[Tachyon]

Is your CPU unlocked??

 

[ROMAD]

That's the thing, when I got the CPU on Tuesday, I had the pencil out ready to connect the L1's... BUT, they were already connected with gold leads... How's that for strange. Anyway, the ABit KT7A multiplier only goes up to 12.5 (already at 12x100) and if I go down in multiplier, it won't boot either. I should've been more clear when I was saying I tried 133MHz FSB, because I tried to use a multiplier of 9, which should yield about 1.2GHz (9x133) too. Anyway, the thing won't even post if I do that. Currently I'm running at 101MHz FSB for a whopping 1.212GHz (an amazing 1% overclock). Heh... Just trying to figure out why I can't get this board any higher.

 

[AZZKICKER]

WHAT ARE YOUR TEMPS????????

 

[ROMAD]

My temps stay right around 30°C (~100°F). I'm really just wondering if there are any settings I'm missing since this is my first Athlon system.

 

[medic109vince]

Sounds silly, but try setting fsb to 100 and multiplyer to 12.5.. if comp posts @ 1250 you will know for sure that it is unlocked. If it posts @ 1200mhz anyway then you may want to try the pencil trick to make sure. Just a suggestion.

 

[ROMAD]

I don't really have a problem with the multiplier being locked, I just have a problem with the overall speed that this chip can achieve. Don't get me wrong, it's still faster than any Intel chip running at probably 25% more, but I want to overclock. I had really thought with all the posts in the CPU database that I would be able to see 1.3GHz or maybe even 1.4GHz. Right now after some tweaking I am able to get it running at 1263MHz (9.5x133) or so. But I had to disable AGP 4x to do that. Unfortunately, I've been unable to get any higher.

Specifically, I'm looking for BIOS tweaks, especially ones that may be common practice to all of you by now, but not to me since this is my first Athlon board. I think I've got plenty of cooling for what I want to get to, but maybe not the inside info on these Athlon boards.

 

[jamesp]

I know this may be a dumb question ----- but.
what is your power supply? With Multiple hard drives and a 1Gig Plus AMD plus NIC, GeForce Etc I went with 450W's in both my boxes it helped everything.. I noticed voltage fluctuations as things got used and it would take it below what was needed for my OC. This was with the so called AMD approved Power supply that came with my case. I think that the 300W recommendatiopn was when the 700Mhz was a fast AMD and they haven't updated their recommendations since. Espically for a loaded system. Both my boxes are KT7-RAID not a's Just ordered one and am waiting for it impatiently.

 

[Richard]

If you say the L1 bridges were already connected and you used the pencil "trick" you may be causing problems with shorting a bridge.

Erase your pencil marks and try to overclock the FSB in small increments. If you make progress you know that it was your penciling. If not, then you know it's a motherboard setting.

Unfortunately, I don't have a KT7A or KT7, for that matter; so I am not aware of any bios settings that may assist you.

 

[proze]

i'm with jamesp on this one. i think it might be your psu. you have a lot running in that box, and maybe it's too much. how many watts is your power supply?

 

[ROMAD]

Thanks for the suggestion on the P/S. I will see about getting a hold of a 450W. I only have a 300W right now, and while that was enough for my P3 system, I am aware that the Athlon's do consume more.

As for the L1 bridges, they were connected right from the time I received the chip from Accubyte. So I never used my pencil on them, nor would I think that my pencil tracing was somehow better than what AMD could do. (Why look a gift horse in the mouth). I'm reasonably certain that AMD can do a better job at connecting traces than myself.