OC XP 2400+

[ocnewb]

So i have set out to attempt my very first OC project. Now since this is my first time i didnt want to use my currnet pc. I pulled my old AMD Athlon XP 2400+ out and decided that would be a good start.
Heres what i got:
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2400+
Mobo: MSI KT4V
Mem: 1.5GB PC3200
Video: 6600GT

First thing i did was went and bought an aftermarket cooler.
I went with the Thermaltake Extreme

Stock FSB(133): With this Fan/Heatsink on full blast it idels at about 45C. While playing games etc it gets up to about 50-51C. I havent seen much difference from low speed to high in temp(maybe 1-2C)

Now i read the above post about OCing an athlon XP and it suggests using 3DMark01SE.

So i went out and got that.

In following the instructions in that post(Here) i upped my FSB by 4 each test. After every increase i would run the 3DMark. im up to 150 FSB and my temps havent changed. This seems a bit odd to me. But it seems correct.

Im getting to the point where i feel its prolly not gunna boot up(prolly between 155-160 FSB) and i will need to up my voltage. Here is where my little problem comes in. My CPU Vcore is set to auto, and im not sure how to find out what its actually at. Is there a program out there that can tell me? Also is there anything else i should be doing other than 3DMark01SE to test for stability/heat issues. Should i do anything to the multiplier or just leave it be? This PC wil be used primarily for Gaming (World of Warcraft in Particular). Any info is appreciated.

 

[Dr_House]

Welcome to the Overclocking World!

To the post:

Download "Prime95" (google it) and run it on "blend" test for 30 minutes, if it doesn't crash or hault, than it's stable. That CPU cooler is one of the best, it works great on a Dual Socket 940 system as well. The program "CPU-Z" (found at www.cpuid.org) will display voltage for your CPU, nominal voltage should be around 1.6v-1.65v stock. Don't worry about changing the multiplier (Stock is 15x133=2.0GHz) but since it's an Athlon XP, you're not likely to get overclocks above 2.3-2.4GHz (you're at 2.25GHz right now, I presume) at the stock voltage, and being it's an Athlon XP, your temps are going to skyrocket at higher voltages and clock settings, which means warm bedroom.

The overclock you're at right now is a pretty decent area to stay at, I would start overclocking your new system (w/e it may be) and get the most out of that.

 

[NeoPolus]

Download "Prime95" (google it) and run it on "blend" test for 30 minutes, if it doesn't crash or hault, than it's stable.

I would add that he should also use MemTest86: Select the test 5 and run some passes. It's a pretty good test to detect if the FSB is too high (test 5 will fail); and it does not require to boot Windows.
If you pass that test then you should go into Windows and do as Dr_House says to test the CPU

There is also this utility called Hot CPU Tester designed to 'burn' the CPU when overclocking. It's nice to test the stability, as it may detect the problems before getting blue-screens. I have an Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton 1833Mhz @ 2090Mhz) and the "Fast Fourier Transforms" test (when running alone) heats the CPU more than Prime95.

You can use EVEREST (called Aida32 not so long ago) to get details about your CPU (like the voltage), current memory timmings and factory (SPD) ones... that may be usefull when overclocking. CBId is good for this too.

If noise and power are concerns for you, take a look to SpeedFan too. It may enable you to select the speed of your fans (so they make less noise). And you may do dynamic overclocking/underclocking (something like SpeedStep) so your cpu saves some energy (and heat) when idle.
For example, the previous Athlon runs at 133*11 = 1466Mhz (~1900+) when almost idle (cpu usage below a threshold) but goes up to 190*11 = 2090Mhz (>2800+) when processing power is required. The CPU fan works usually only at 40% speed (no noise!) when the CPU is not hot (most of time)

 

[Dr_House]

Yea, MemTest and Prime95 are great tests, but:

1) MemTest86 can fail to the eXtreme and the system could still be stable for most every-day use (I can attest to that)

2) Prime95 can also fail to the eXtreme and the system could still be stable for most every-day use (again, I can attest to this)

Prime95 doesn't load the CPU 100%, it's a known fact, but it load it to beyond a typical use which if it's stable for that, it's stable for every-day use.

I would just run a program like 3DMARK in a loop on the CPU tests for an hour, that will load your CPU to the max.

 

[ocnewb]

Wow thanks for all the tips. I have however come to a roadblock. I decided to stick with the stock multiplier of 15x. I got it up to 150fsb and it was running fine(or so i thought). At this point i figured id go up by 1's in FSB. So I change it to 151, reboot and BAM, nothing. No video what so ever. So I unplug and boot up again.. Loading windows...YAY! It wiuld get about 95% thru the loading bar and stop, or randomly reboot. At this point i figure now is a good time to experiment with the Vcore Voltage. So i increase it by .25 and reboot. Same problems as b4. Next i reset my bios via the jumper on my mobo, and reset my fsb from 133 to 145 just to be safe. And again no video, lock ups and random reboots. At this point im totally lost. It seemed to be going great till I hit 151 and now it seems to disslike any kind of overclocking. So i gave up, set it back to 133x15. And it runs fine, but will still sometimes randomly reboot. I also had all these problems if i try to change the clock or voltage from "Auto" to a specific number. I think it may be my mobo, but im not sure. Any suggestions?

 

[NeoPolus]

Things to try:
-Unplug the memory modules and plug them again one by one... If they are not propertly plugged (and sometimes it requires some retries) memory usually fails randomly. I have seen this solving random reboots so many times, that now memory is one of the first things I test.
-Use manual settings on the BIOS for the memory timmings. "Auto-detected" timmings sometimes are inadequate when mixing different memory modules. Try lowering those timmings.
-Check that all the cables are propertly plugged, also check the graphics card (maybe something got loosen while reseting the bios).


By the way, some Athlons XP have locked multipliers, so you might not be able to change it from 15. Anyway, it's usually better to overclock the FSB, as it gives some more bandwith to the cpu.

 

[ocnewb]

Yah i did all those things u listed. The clock is changeable but is currently set to auto, which is 15 by default. So i took 133X15 = 1995. So i said hey 166x12 = 1992 should work fine. So I changed it up and just like b4, no video, and i couldnt get it back till i reset the bios. This is all very confusing as it seems as tho it should work perfectly fine. My only guess is that my Mobo is a POS. Im not sure how good it is, but ive had nothing but trouble overclocking using it. Where others with different boards have had no trouble.

 

[Dr_House]

Yah i did all those things u listed. The clock is changeable but is currently set to auto, which is 15 by default. So i took 133X15 = 1995. So i said hey 166x12 = 1992 should work fine. So I changed it up and just like b4, no video, and i couldnt get it back till i reset the bios. This is all very confusing as it seems as tho it should work perfectly fine. My only guess is that my Mobo is a POS. Im not sure how good it is, but ive had nothing but trouble overclocking using it. Where others with different boards have had no trouble.

Sounds like you corrupted Windows, try running CHKDSK and see if you have any luck.

 

[NeoPolus]

...166x12 = 1992 should work fine. So I changed it up and just like b4, no video...

The KT400 supports up to 333 DDR Mhz, so 166 (333 DDR) x 12 should work. But, is your memory working at 400 DDR Mhz? Cause some KT400 motherboards do not support 400 DDR mode for memory when the FSB is 166! Some of them have a problems when using asynchronous modes. Anyway 400 DDR async is not much faster than 333 DDR sync.

So if you are running your memory at 400 DDR, try using it on synchronous mode, maybe it does help

 

[4745454b]

Some tips and corrections. First, you don't have an XP. The XP came out with the 2500+ (1.83GHz.) The 2400+ you have is either a throughbred, or a thorton. Second, the KT400 had problems running ram at DDR400 speeds. I think your also running with all banks filled. (1.5GB = 3 512mb sticks?) If so, I believe the ram will drop down to DDR333 speeds. Yank one of the sticks, and drop the ram speed down to DDR333.

 

[ocnewb]

Some tips and corrections. First, you don't have an XP. The XP came out with the 2500+ (1.83GHz.) The 2400+ you have is either a throughbred, or a thorton. Second, the KT400 had problems running ram at DDR400 speeds. I think your also running with all banks filled. (1.5GB = 3 512mb sticks?) If so, I believe the ram will drop down to DDR333 speeds. Yank one of the sticks, and drop the ram speed down to DDR333.

In CPUZ is says my CPU is an AMD Athlon XP 2400+
Processor Name: Throughbred

Im pretty sure my mobo only supports up to 333 and im using pc3200 mem.

On another note, anytime i change the clock/voltage from auto to anything the system goes haywire. I even tried setting the clock to what the stock auto clock default is(15) and it still went screwy.
IE: Auto clock is 15 by default, so i changed the "auto" to "15" and the system did all i stated above. I think ill just leave it at autos and 133 and wait for conroe and get a good oc board.

 

[NeoPolus]

First, you don't have an XP. The XP came out with the 2500+ (1.83GHz.) The 2400+ you have is either a throughbred, or a thorton.

lol, I have even have an Athlon XP 1600+!
The truth is that the Barton series of the Athlon XP processors came with p-ratings of 2500+ (166*11 = 1.83Ghz, 512KB L2 cache; I have this one) up to 3200+ (200*11 = 2.2 Ghz). But previous Thoroughbred-A and Thoroughbred-B where also called "Athlon XP" but had half the L2 cache (so 256KB) than Bartons.

---

Athlon XP 2400+
Type: Thoroughbred-B
FSB: 133/266MHz
Socket A
OPGA Package
OPN: AXDA2400DKV3C
AXDA2400DKU3C*
Core: 13nm
Die size: 84mm²
Transistors: 37.6 million
Frequency: 2.0GHz
Cache L1 Instructions: 64KB
Cache L1 Datas: 64KB
Cache L2: 256KB
Operating voltage
1.60V* - 1.65V
Multiplier: 15
Power (Max): 65.3W* - 68.3W
Die temperature (max): 85°
CPU data bus width: 64-bit

---

By the way OCnewb, if you'll leave the FSB at 133, it is better to set the mem to 266 DDR (133*2, instead of 333 DDR); it's usually faster this way (syncronous, so there are no additional waits on the memory controller): get any benchmarch tool and test it.

 

[Dr_House]

Some tips and corrections. First, you don't have an XP. The XP came out with the 2500+ (1.83GHz.) The 2400+ you have is either a throughbred, or a thorton. Second, the KT400 had problems running ram at DDR400 speeds. I think your also running with all banks filled. (1.5GB = 3 512mb sticks?) If so, I believe the ram will drop down to DDR333 speeds. Yank one of the sticks, and drop the ram speed down to DDR333.

Actually the Athlon XP is as low as 1400+.

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/processor-upgrade/amd-athlon-xp-1400-1-2-ghz-200-mhz-l2-256-kb/

But who's keeping score?

 

[Frank_M]

So if you are running your memory at 400 DDR, try using it on synchronous mode, maybe it does help

I once tried setting FSB to 200 with my xp2400+ Thorton and a7v8x-x.
Booted, went nicely - so I thought I'll try Oblivion with it.
It even worked, I played 10 minutes to see if it really works under load, but as I was about to exit, it crashed.

So 400 is possible, just not stable.

I'm now running 149 btw. I've tried FSB3333 (166) and it's overclocks, but didn't notice any speed increase, to the contrary, it seemed slower.

 

[john_robinson]

The clock is changeable but is currently set to auto, which is 15 by default. So i took 133X15 = 1995. So i said hey 166x12 = 1992 should work fine.

Almost certainly not - even if a mobo has an option to change the multiplier, if the CPU is "locked" you still can't, and most of them were locked. You've probably tried to set 166x15 = approx 2500, which is very unlikely to work (as noted elsewhere, AMD never certified any of their XP chips for faster than 2200). If your mobo doesn't support the thermal shutdown on later Athlon XP chips, you might have damaged your chip, even with that good big heatsink.

 

[ocnewb]

I think you may have missread my post. I tried it at 166x12 not 166x15. I knew that wouldnt work. The locked CPU makes sence. I figured if i could change the clock in the bios then the chip must be unlocked. That was my newbie mistake i assume. If they can lock the Clock speed can they also lock the Vcore? Any time i change that from auto to something different it still goes crazy.
For example:
I boot up with my Vcore on auto.
Run CPUZ and see my vcore at say 1.6
So i reboot and change my vcore from auto to 1.6
and the thing does as ive said above, blue screens, no video, random reboots.

 

[Gunsa]

I am running a 2400 xp @ 11*200. a7n8x-e deluxe v1.85 stable with a zalman alcu heatsink. 😀