Hello, my name is David Gunderson and I have been reading these forums for quite some time, but never bothered to post, but now that I have a question I suppose it is a good time to start. My question is regarding the overclocking of my AMD Athlon 3000+, and corsair xms ram. I am somewhat ignorant when it comes to overclocking ram and cpu's so I figured I would post all the info I could regarding my ram and cpu and let you offer your kind advice on how to overclock my proc as much as possible, I have heard my proc could be overclocked to FX-53 lvls, and I would like to know if that is possible, and what options to adjust in the bios if it is. My proc: (currently oc'd to 2.25 GHz):*all info taken from cpu-z* name: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ codename: Winchester brand ID: 4 Package: socket 939 Technology: 0.09 Voltage: 2.35 v Core speed: 2250 MHz Multiplier x9.0 HTT: 250.0 MHz L1 Data: 64 KBytes L1 Code: 64 KBytes Motherboard manufacturer: Micro-star international co., LTD Model: MS-7100 Chipset: nVidia Nfroce4 Rev.: A3 southbridge: Nvdia nforce4 MCP Memory type: DDR-SDRAM channels: dual size: 1024 MBytes Timings: (these are also currently oc'd a little) Frequency: 204.5 MHz FSB: DRAM : CPU/11 CAS#latency: 2 clocks RAS# to CAS# Delay: 3 clocks RAS# Precharge: 2 clocks Cycletime: 7 clocks Bank cycle time: 12 clocks DRAM Idle time: 16 clocks If there is any other useful information that I can post regarding my system please let me know. Once agian, to repeat, I would like to know what I could adjust to maximize overclocking potenial of my CPU and RAM. Thank you for your help. *also this is powered by a OCZ Modstream 450W ps so power should be of no problem, I only have one hard drive and a 6600GT running* p.s. If someone could tell me how to post pictures on this site, I will post pictures of my PC!!! -David
Firstly welcome to the forums Secondly, what voltage are you running through that cpu to get 2.35ghz? If you're after FX53 speeds (ie 2.4ghz) then that should be easily attainable. However the FX's have 1mb cache compared to the standard A64's 512 which gives ~ 200mhz speed advantage. Do you have any idea what the stepping code of the cpu is? This info is found on the heatspreader of the cpu, and gives a reasonable indication as to how well the chip will do. A MUCH less accurate way is to guess based on when you brought the chip. Is it possible for you to post a full system spec?
Thank for your warm welcome, it is nice to be a member of these forums. I am work right (working IT for the University) so I cannot get all that info at this point, but I can tell that I purchased the ram and cpu from newegg.com about 3 weeks ago. When I get home Iwill take a look for that stepping code. As far as system specs, at this point I have: AMD Athlon 64 bit 3000+ (oc'd to 3500+.. for now ) 1 GB of Corsair XMS ram (2,2,3,7 timings) Chaintech 6600 GT pcie (another one will be purcased shortly to run in SLI) MSI nForce4 sli motherboard 120GB Western Digital hard Drive with 8mb cache (looking to buy a 300GB with a 16mb cache soon as well) OCZ Modstream 450W powersupply a sony DVD drive (I think ) All running inside a Lian-Li V1000WB with 3 120mm fans (plus another in the ps) When I get home I will take pictures of my system then post them later on. -Dave
I will hopefully post those pictures and the info tonight, but until them more information regarding my oc'ing question would be very nice and appreciated.
Well you've hit 2.2 on stock volts which is a reasonable start, you might find you need to jack them up soon though... 1.5-1.55 should be fine if you're running air 1.6-7 if you're kammy or TMM Try and keep the memory running at 1:1 where possible, any idea what chips are on that memory? Doesnt look like TCCD from the timings...
Sorry to keep posting on this, but I am not sure anyone understands what I asking, I will and try clarify what I am saying. I am basicaly asking advice on how to overclock my system to 2.4GHz/ Fx-53/4000+ lvls. I am asking what specfically to adjust in the bios to obtain these speeds. Thank to all that have already posted, I would appreciate more feedback and help.
you might need to up the core voltage, then slowly increase you FSB speed by a few mhz n try booting windows, you might need to turn down the memory like he said in above post 1:1 or 100% depending on how your bios shows it
anything up to 1.65v *should* be fairly safe 24/7 aslong as you can cool it off (<55*c load). I'd surgest 1.55v for starters. That said i've only heard of one guy who killed his chip from too much voltage. He ran at 1.9v 24/7 under sub-zero cooling and it died in a matter of days. loosen your ram timings a bit (2.5-3-3-10 would be a start), or run a ram divider, Find the LDT multiplier and set it to 3x (should be 5x stock) Up the northbridge voltage a tad, then up the htt/fsb 5 at a time testing for stability with prime95 and 3dmark after each increase. fx-53s are 2.4ghz, but have more cache (1MB vs 512k), so your 3000+ @ 2.4 (you'll need to get to 266htt/fsb for this) will still be slower then an fx-53. however your memory will be running faster if your not using a divider (you will probably have to). 4000+ (512k cache) speed is 2.6ghz, so that will require 288htt/fsb. this may be a hard target , and may require a high cpu voltage (1.6v+).