To Volt Mod or Not?

[buckhunter]

I just unlocked my first CPU, an AMD 1700.(AROGA)

Forgive my ignorance but are there any additional dangers in increasing the mulitplier as opposed to lowering multi and increasing the FSB?

Another question: It appears I can only get my 1700 up to 1.67 Gig. Is that a normal oc result or should I expect more?

My Vcore in BIOS is maxed at 1.85V.
Would doing a voltage mod guarantee increased oc results?

Am I correct to ASSume that to test my component's max ocability I change my divider to 5. Lower my multiplier and increase fsb to determine max frequency the CPU will handle? I am aSSuming that the divider lowered gives my PCI/AGP devices relief and I am testing CPU maximums?

Therefore: I must need more Vcore for the CPU to go higher?


I should point out that my PC is in a very cool basement and my CPU temp load peaks at 43C during Sandra burning test, it is 37C at idle.

Thanks for your assistance.

 

[Sonny]

Forgive my ignorance but are there any additional dangers in increasing the mulitplier as opposed to lowering multi and increasing the FSB?

No. It is actually "safer" since your AGP & PCI will always be in spec. You however have a Multiplier limit of 12.5 until you modify another set of bridges which would require you to cut/grind & join in a certain combination.

My Vcore in BIOS is maxed at 1.85V. Would doing a voltage mod guarantee increased oc results?

Nothing is a garantee but the probability of more MHz with more voltage is high.

Am I correct to ASSume that to test my component's max ocability I change my divider to 5. Lower my multiplier and increase fsb to determine max frequency the CPU will handle? I am aSSuming that the divider lowered gives my PCI/AGP devices relief and I am testing CPU maximums?

Lowering the multiplier & increasing the FSB tests the max speed of your RAM & how stable your PCI, AGP & other components to run out of spec.

I should point out that my PC is in a very cool basement and my CPU temp load peaks at 43C during Sandra burning test, it is 37C at idle.

Sandra's Burn-In Test is a very poor way of testing your system stability. Prime95, Torture Test, will detect an error in your CPUs calculations that Sandra can not. Folding will heat up your system more than Prime95 but does not detect errors as good.

 

[buckhunter]

Sonny,
Thanks for replying.
I've been trying to tweak over the past couple of hours.

There is so much to learn about overclocking!
Yeah, someone else told about Prime95, I ran it for about 3 hours while I watched the Mets beat Roger Clemens!(that was on my AMD 2100 at 147 FSB most aggressive RAM timings)

Now I have my unlocked AMD 1700 in my fun, Abit Mobo!

Here is what I got so far, with some assistance from one of those other forums.

I lowered my multiplier to 8 and cranked my FSB to 200 with 2.5 Ram setting at stock RAM voltage.

Then I was told that my sweet spot is not the highest FSB. So I set my RAM to C2 and 1T. I changed my multiplier back up to 9 so I could feed my CPU some more Herz. I lowered my FSB to 185 and my Memory Bandwidth Benchmark is pretty nice. I am going to run some other BMs and 3D mark to see if I'm still ok and tweak up the FSB and try again.

I am still at default RAM voltage, I'm thinking this Mushkin is pretty dang good!

Is there a book on this procedure? I've been lurking these forums for a month or two and learned more in the past few hours than I did in the past few months. I guess unlocking a CPU, unlocks the door to Wisdom!

Thanks again!

 

[rogerdugans]

I like volt mods Just started with them last week- but I have done the vcore on three so far, and Hoot's 5v Mod on two of them.

Differing results though, I think the cpus are just about maxxed out A jump from 1.95 to 2.05 only gets me 30 STABLE mhz on two machines; still testing the third.

As far as multiplier/fsb changes: when I look for the "limits" on how far I can push a cpu I set my fsb as low as possible- 100. this is as close as I can get to testing just the cpu by raising the multi; after I get the highest multi, I do tweak fsb to see if the cpu has any more. Once I have benched the cpu, I go the other way- cpu as slow as I can, and raise the fsb as much as possible.

With the max performance of both separately known, I go for the best combination. Pretty normal for me to end up with a FSB 20mhz slower than max, and a multi 1 or 2 steps down from default.
Hope something in there helps a bit

 

[buckhunter]

RogerD,
Thanks, that does help. It seems I am moving in the right direction. Unlocking a CPU, unlocks the door to wisdom!
I wonder when AMD is going to get their cerebrum out of their anus and give us unlocked processors from the get go?

 

[rogerdugans]

RogerD,
Thanks, that does help. It seems I am moving in the right direction. Unlocking a CPU, unlocks the door to wisdom!
I wonder when AMD is going to get their cerebrum out of their anus and give us unlocked processors from the get go?

Spend the extra dollars and get an Athlon MP instead of the XP- unlocked from the factory.