Revisiting OCing an A64 3200 Winny - Could use a hand with this.

[malius]

I'm taking another crack at OCing my system to see what I can get out of it. I've read a few differnt FAQ's on the A64 3200+ Winchester and i've see 2.8 - 2.9 Ghz for these cores. I want to see if my system can even get to 2.5 or 2.7 Ghz if possible. The following images show my CPU, mobo, and RAM. I have the Zalman CNPS7700 mounted on my Winny. Also my MSI board supplies a piece of software called Core Center where you can monitor CPU temps, fan speeds, voltages and CPU speed with FSB frequency and mulitplier ratio. You can also adjust FSB freq., but the software adjusts FSB and fan speed based on core temp. The following image show the specs of my rig.

(note: this image was taken when I was testing a lower multiplier and higher FSB)

I basically want to get all I can out of my rig, but I'm really new to this. I got so far as to set in BIOS the overclocking feature to run a stable machine at +3% FSB (206 Mhz x 10.0 = 2060 Mhz). I have ran that setting for several months with no problems. I would also assume that my RAM modules were running at 206 Mhz each.
The next tweak I have done is to open Core Center and changed the FSB up to 212 Mhz. With the computer idaling Core Center reported overall speeds of 2120 Mhz and CPU-Z confirmed it. When I ran the CPU under stress (either using BIONIC or super pi) core center or cpu-z reported the CPU ramping down to 2060 Mhz and my CPU temp would approach 57c. The typical idal temp for my CPU is about 45c - 48c.
I honestly don't know if I have wonderful cooling for my CPU, however my machine is very quiet. I am really mystified on how to manipulate my RAM settings to keept the frequency about 215 Mhz (which I think is stable for my RAM). I also have no clue about the RAM timings or what to set mine at for the type of chips I have. All I can say on my RAM chips is that they aren't anything special. No heat spreaders no particular brand name. I basically bought middle of the road chips so i could run Dual Channel on this machine.

I could really use a hand in tweaking my settings and if anyone else out there has had success with the same CPU and heatsink/fan please let me know what you were able to achieve.

Thanks in advance for anyone who replies.

 

[Cheator]

The first thing I will recomend, and i stress this alot: Don't use Corecenter for OCing. I've ruined installs of windows with it. It is good for watchign voltages and changing them on the fly however.

Second, I want to tell you that I had a 3200 winnie with an msi neo2 platinum, and I didn't get past 2500 mhz. I don't think i have ever seen anyone do 2.7 on air with these things. Only the venices.

Also, that load temp is extremly high. I would look for some 3 party cooling if you are using stock. But whateveryou are using is obviously not cutting it.

Now, as for your board and ram: You have plenty of ram, so it might hinder the OC because of the power draw. Be sure to use a divider on it when it gets above, say, 220 unless it oces really well. The board doesn't sound like it is the most amazing one so it might hinder your OC.

The last suggestion I have is to not use the BIOS overclocking feature. I found that with my neo2 platinum, it went up and down rather than staying at that overclock.

EDIT: Oh, and welcome to the forums

 

[malius]

You're right about one thing Corecenter does F*** up your windows install.

My noobness and bad luck got the better of me. I had my system up to about 2300 mhz and i had my RAM divider down in the 233 rage so with the increase in FSB i was getting around 160ish on the RAM clock. I had plenty of head room to go and my CPU temps were around 48c idle. I opened Corecenter to see my CPU temps and then boom i started to get Windows explorer acting up and next thing I know I have to restart my computer to a corrupted windows.

So here I am sitting here copying the contents of my C: drive to another partition so I can get windows back in working order.

As far as cooling goes. I'm using the Zhalman CNPS7700. I bought this back a couple of moths ago to cut down on the noise my computer was generating.

What should my CPU temps be when idle and at max load?

I think my RAM can only stand about 215 mhz on overclock. Based on the timings for this RAM I posted above can anyone tell me if I can change the timings to get more out of it?

 

[inkfx]

Looks like you are using a lot of voltage for only 2Ghz. Im not 100% sure about the winny chips but I wouldnt exceed 1.65v (and thats pushing it with air) unless you have extreme cooling.

What kind of RAM are you running? The timings you have are already pretty loose but you could go to 3-4-3-8 or 3-4-4-8. How many volts are you putting through the memory?

 

[Dan0512]

I never recommend using win. apps to OC. Either do it on the BIOS, or don't do it at all. I'd disable cool n quiet as well.

1.5v should be enough to get you to 2.5 ghz,, but I wouldn't go any higher than 1.6v.

Also, running 2x512mb on dual channel and 1t would give you lots more performance than running 1.5gb on 2t and single channel.

dan

 

[Cheator]

I maxed mine at 1.6, yeah. My temps were about 50-52 load