My Overclocking Blog

[prosser13]

Got some free time coming up, so the first thing I decided to do was get my PC set up.

Just went out and bought some slightly used Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste off a mate for 50p, should be enough for 3 applications, although I only need one. Reason for it is that under heavy load my CPU goes up to just over 50C, although my system temperature stays at 28C. I'm also going to have to consider a fan in my side panel, as my VRMs are going to 40C at stock volts at 100% load.

Next thing I've done is drop my RAM speeds my DDR400 to DDR266 speeds using a divider. The reason for this is taht the RAM speeds is related directly to the FSB, so with the high FSBs I'm planning my RAM simply cannot cope

I'll be using OCGuru mainly to overclock, with SuperPi and SP2004 (a mod for Prime95) for speed testing and stability.

I'm planning on starting tomorrow, with way more on Thursday and Friday as I'm free both days.

Just to let you know, I'm aiming for 280mhz FSB SP2004 stable - which would mean that my CPU would be as stable at stock as at overclocked - 280mhz * a mulitplier of 9 = 2520mhz which is 720mhz over my stock.

My specs are:

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice Socket 939
Abit AX8 (Version 1 with BIOS 1.4) - this is a new BIOS flash and so I'm hoping to get over the 280mhz FSB which was the board limit with BIOS 1.1; over 280mhz FSB with that BIOS meant the board refused to post until it was restarted, when it returned the CPU to default
1GB TwinMOS Dual Channel RAM (PC3200=DDR400)
SATA Seagate Barracuda 200GB
480W Tagan TG480-U01

 

[prosser13]

Just to let you know - I will post results for SuperPi at every 5 mhz, so that you can see the difference

I'll also put up links for Super Pi and SP2004 tomorrow.

 

[prosser13]

As I promised - links for the software:

Super Pi (Mod) : http://www.xtremesystems.com/pi/ - The mod version adds a validate feature using a checksum so that the time can be proved, and it also shows the time to 3 decimal places instead of just a whole number. It is normally accepted instead of Super Pi, and in many things, such as HWBOT you must use the Mod and not the original.

Stress Prime 2004 (SP2004) - http://sp2004.fre3.com/ - This adds a nice GUI to Prime 95, which is well known as THE best stability test. It also shows you how long it has been going for and if there have been any errors.

I have also been made aware of a program called CPU Burn K7 by some overclocking masters on CPCFF - I'll check it out and let you guys know about it.

Please, any comments or question about this overclocking project or overclocking in general are welcome ! This thread is not only for me to boast about my overclocking (as if ) but for you guys to learn how to overclock and to discuss overclocking methods.

 

[The Amish Kid]

You dont really need to post screenshots every 5mhz. That's a little overkill. What cooling are you using on the cpu? Good luck though, if you have any troubles post them here and I will try and help.

 

[joxley1990]

720Mhz OC? That's quite an amount!

 

[prosser13]

Did I say screenshots? Sorry - I meant times and results

I'm using an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 (the non Pro version, so the older one) and at first it will be with some cheap Thermaltake thermal paste.

joxley - yep I know my processor can cope with it though...

That was on stock cooling, about 6 months ago

 

[prosser13]

WOOT - just bought a new part.

Bought an Akasa Fan Control Pro, pretty much brand new, for £19 inc. P&P

So, I'm going to be fitting that when I get back from work experience, which will be 24th of July or so, and getting some more results

 

[prosser13]

Had some free time, so started the clocking

I use Super Pi Mod to monitor how much quicker my CPU is going, and I use the 1M run which calculates Pi to 1 Million places.

Let's start with this:

DDR400 RAM - 200mhz FSB - Stock Volts:
47.360
DDR266 RAM (using a divider) - 200mhz FSB - Stock Volts:
49.875

So, with the RAM at DDR400 (200mhz) compared to DDR266 (133mhz) there is a difference, but only 2.5 seconds so not a massive one.

I then switched the RAM back to DDR400 speeds - before I started, I already know that the highest my RAM can handle, seemingly with whatever voltage, is 219mhz.

DDR400 RAM - 205mhz FSB - Stock Volts:
46.281
DDR400 RAM - 210mhz FSB - Stock Volts:
41.156
DDR400 RAM - 215mhz FSB - Stock Volts:
44.015
DDR400 RAM - 217mhz FSB - Stock Volts:
45.203
DDR400 RAM - 219mhz FSB - Stock Volts:
NOT EXACT IN ROUND (Run failed)
DDR400 RAM - 219mhz FSB - RAM @ 2.8V, CPU @ Stock:
NOT EXACT IN ROUND (Run failed)

Before you ask, no, I didn't make a mistake at 215mhz and 217mhz with the runs getting slower. This is because there is more data corrupted in the memory due to the high speeds, so the PC actually slows down.

It's hard to tell from these results any trends, but it shows that my CPU can get to 219mhz at stock

Next, I put a divider on the RAM @ DDR333, so the RAM speed now equals the total speed of the processor divided by 11.

DDR333 RAM - 219mhz FSB - Stock Volts:
44.766
DDR333 RAM - 220mhz FSB - Stock Volts:
44.203
DDR333 RAM - 220mhz FSB - Test for stability and temperatures(Super Pi 8M):
PASS
DDR333 RAM - 225mhz FSB - Stock Volts:
43.297
DDR333 RAM - 230mhz FSB - Stock Volts:
42.234
DDR333 RAM - 235mhz FSB - Stock Volts:
41.328
DDR333 RAM - 240mhz FSB - Stock Volts:
40.468
DDR333 RAM - 240mhz FSB - Test for stability and temperatures (Super Pi 8M):
Pass

Well, I've gone from 47 seconds to 40 seconds in 360mhz - thats around around a 15% increase, not bad for free

Compare that to this review:

With pretty much the same specs, that Venice 3200+ got 44.54 seconds at stock - so, my PC is now better than a 3200+ Venice, despite being 50mhz slower.

The reason for this is that the high FSB speed also speeds other parts of the motherboard, so my whole PC is going faster, which is why enthusiasts with unlocked mulitpliers always get the FSB as high as possible for best performance.

More results coming soon!

 

[The Amish Kid]

Just a quick question what did you use to make that graph? I have been doing the same thing and I'm not sure how to compare my results.

 

[prosser13]

I'm not sure - I just got that off a website review.

Use Microsoft Excel though.