Overclocking my 3800 windsor

[Garb3]

hi i'm trying to overclock my cpu but i cant seem to get it passed 2.19GHz. I'm using the bios to overclock my system but when i change the FSB to say 230Hz and my multiplier is x10 so it should be at 2.3GHz i've tried to increase the fsb higher to see if that made any differance but it didnt i even raised my voltage from 1.3v to 1.35 but that doennt see to make any differance either.
here are my options in my bios incase any1 thinks i should change some of the settings:

AM2 Boost - Disabled
Overclock Mode - Manual Cpu/PCIE sync
Cpu Fequency - 230MHz
PCIE Frequency - 125MHz
Boot Failure Guard - Enabled
Cpu/LDT Spread Spectrum 0.75% Hershey
PCIE Spread Spectrum - Enabled
SATA Sread Spectrum - Enabled
Cool & Quiet - Disabled
Dual Core Support - Enabled
Processor Max Multiplier x10 2000MHz
Processor Max Voltage 1.35v
Multiplier/Voltage Change - Manual
Processor Multiplier - x10 2000MHz
Processor Voltage - 1.35v


I hope u guys can help cause im not very experienced at overclocking.

P.S. cooling should not be so much of an issue as i have a Zalman CNPS9500 and my Cpu temp is 35c idle dont know what it is under load tho. thanks in advance for any help

[Mediocre]

I didn't see your HTT frequency/divider in your settings.

You probably need to lower your HTT divider. Especially if your frequency is over 1000MHz (2000 effective).

Also, try using a RAM divider to rule out the RAM as being your limitation. See the AMD overclocking guide here on TPU

Also, LOCK YOUR PCI-E FREQUENCY @ 100MHz. I know I read somewhere you can FRY YOUR GFX CARD

[Garb3]

i just look in me bios for htt divider but couldnt find one. my ram is set on auto in that makes a differance. if not how do i set a divider. i know u dont know the settings in my bios but just generally would i have more luck using a windows based program like clockgen or systool to overclock?

[JC316]

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=22547

That will get you started. On the X2, don't go over 1.4-1.45 on the voltage though.

[Mediocre]

read this:
http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/AMD/138

HTT frequence and RAM divider are most likely holding you up now. Try and find them in your bios. To turn on the RAM divider you usually have to turn it off from AUTO and it will give you some 'new' options which should include the divider. The chart on the second page of the overclocking article is good to print and look at while your in your BIOS setting FSB and divider.

'Ocre

I love wasting time at work on TPU!!

[WarEagleAU]

I second what Ocre and JC have said. HTT being lowered to 4x or 3x will help you tremendously, especially with that being an AM2. Im not sure what AM2 boost is, so I cant comment on that. When you take your ram from Auto (which is a good thing, mind you, just not when you overclock) it will allow you to change a multitude of timings. It also will allow you to run a divider, where you can set it 5:4, 4:3, 1:1, etc. Id probably try a 4:3 divider and lower your HTT to 4. That should put you where you want. On Voltage, Id stick around 1.35 or 1.40. You may not even need to go that high.

[Garb3]

right i had another look in me bios and could not find the htt multipier but i took mt memory clock off auto and sett it at 200MHz(ddr2 400) and again could not find a divider option lol and the only memory opyion i have are:

memory clock - 200MHz
flexability option - enabled
CAS Latency - auto
TRAS - auto
TRP - auto
TRCD - auto
TRRD - auto
TRC - auto
MA Timing - auto
Bank Interleaving - auto
DDR Intitialization Mode - auto

[PuMA]

ur divider is the memory clock option. change memory clock to 166 (in other words 4:3) ratio. Look in the bios page an option wich gives u 4x,3x etc settings and change it to 4x; thats ur htt multiplier. Start raising FSB after that. Get motherboard monitor and observe your temperatures: DO NOT go over 55C cpu temp, when cpu is at 100% usage.

[Wile E]

ur divider is the memory clock option. change memory clock to 166 (in other words 4:3) ratio. Look in the bios page an option wich gives u 4x,3x etc settings and change it to 4x; thats ur htt multiplier. Start raising FSB after that. Get motherboard monitor and observe your temperatures: DO NOT go over 55C cpu temp, when cpu is at 100% usage.He's DDR2


Garb, can you give more info on your ram? Other than that, lower your PCIe lane back down to 100MHz, bump your CPU voltage to 1.375, and bump your chipset voltage up a notch, if you find such an option. For your HTT bus multiplier, it looks as though your board lists it as CPU - NB Link Speed. Set it to 800Mhz if you don't plan on going above 250MHz fsb, set it to 600MHz, if you plan on going higher than 250. Judging from your memory voltage options, I'm guessing Ultra High is about .2V higher, that's the setting I would go with, but it wouldn't hurt to start with high, and work your way from there. The rest really depends on your ram, need to know more about it. Is it DDR2 800 (PC6400)? Waht is it's rated voltage and CAS Latency? You should post the make and model of your ram for further help.

[Garb3]

right i set the pcie lane to 100MHz. i cant increase my cpu voltage higher than 1.35v for some reason and there is no voltage option for my chipset. my htt multiplier was the cpu - nb link speed( thanks soooooooo much i didnt have a clue about that and was gettin frustrated lol) and is now set to 600MHz. my memory voltage does have high and ultra high settings in the bios but i dont have any cooling on them but my new zalman is close to it will that help cool it down. my ram is pc2-5300(333MHz) and the cas latency at the min is 4. i dont know what the rated voltage is how do i find out that. thanks for your help with the htt multiplier Wile E

[Wile E]

right i set the pcie lane to 100MHz. i cant increase my cpu voltage higher than 1.35v for some reason and there is no voltage option for my chipset. my htt multiplier was the cpu - nb link speed( thanks soooooooo much i didnt have a clue about that and was gettin frustrated lol) and is now set to 600MHz. my memory voltage does have high and ultra high settings in the bios but i dont have any cooling on them but my new zalman is close to it will that help cool it down. my ram is pc2-5300(333MHz) and the cas latency at the min is 4. i dont know what the rated voltage is how do i find out that. thanks for your help with the htt multiplier Wile EIf you know your ram's brand and model#, you can look the voltage up on their website, along with the rated/recommended settings for timing. Overvolting your ram by a small amount usually won't hurt, That's assuming your board even sets it at the right voltage to begin with. Most AM2 boards set the ram voltage to 1.8v on auto, but your ram may actually require more to run at it's rated timing. I suggest setting your ram voltage to high, setting the speed to 533MHz, then setting the timings to 5-5-5-15 2t, until you find the limits of your board, then we can work on getting lower timings and/or higher speeds. With only 1.35v cpu available, I'm guessing 2400-2450 MHz will be about your cpu's upper limit, tho (assuming the board can get there). That's where mine topped on stock volts. So setting your HT multiplier back to 800 might benefit you a little better.

[Garb3]

when your on about setting the memory timing which setting are which cause ive never setting memory timings before(5-5-5-15 2t)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1GB-DDR2-PC2-4200-533Mhz-240PIN-1-GB-PC2-4200-533-Mhz_W0QQitemZ270080448469QQihZ017QQcategoryZ172QQr dZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item270080448469

thats the ram that i got

[Wile E]

I forgot to ask if you have the most up to date bios? If not, go to ASRock's website and check for a newer version. It may very well give you more tweaking options. If you already have it, see below.

5-5-5-15 2T refers to CAS Latency - RAS to CAS Delay - RAS Precharge - Cycle Time. 2T refers to the ram's Command Rate.

Ok, set your CAS Latency to 5, set TRAS to 15, set TRCD to 5, set TRP to 5. I dont see an option labeled Command Rate in your bios. If you find one set it to 2t. Also look at some of the other settings to see if 1t and 2t are options. It could be that Command Rate is named differently in your BIOS. I noticed your ram is 533, so set it's speed to 200 for now. Once we find the limits of your board and cpu, we'll work on getting your ram up to speed. Don't forget to adjust your ram voltage to at least high, as it seems that it's supposed to have 1.9V to run at rated speeds, leaving it on auto most likely sets it to 1.8V. After you adjust all of this, try bumping the fsb up in about 10MHz increments until you become unstable. Back it down to the last stable setting, and try bumping it 1MHz at a time after that.

If at any point your board doesn't post, don't panic. You can try holding in the Insert key on your keyboard, then turning on your machine (while still holding insert). Many boards will boot under a default setting this way. Lets you get into the bios to change your settings. If that doesn't work, you'll have to clear the CMOS and readjust all your settings. It's a pita, but be patient tho, overclocking takes some time to get right.