X2 3800+ OC Want More Power!

[ELGoku]

Hey what's up, I'm new here, but I've been a fan of TH for a while now, anyway here's the deal; I built myself a new rig 2 months ago, and I've been an OC Junkie forever, altho I'm a n00b in some areas ^_^, Mine right now Is Overclocked like a mofo, I have an X2 3800+, 1Gb DDR400 Patriot Ram. Asus A8N-SLI w/7800gt eVGA Copper Version. and it all works fine, It was a little downer since I went from a P4 OC@ 3.73Ghz, but I can Sure say AMD is a champ with much less Juice. Ok So here are my doubts and tests. I've OC my Processor from 2.0Ghz to 2.53, the FSB is at 253, HTx5, and It's been working Steady as a rock for a while now. it's a 27% OC and IT SHOWS, my thermals are Perfect, I upgraded the stock heatsink with an 4800+ One, "the one with copper heatpipes" and replaced the stock Fan with the CoolerMaster DUAL STORM, also Artic Silver 5 Goes Without Saying, all of it on a chilly Thermaltake Soprano with rounded cables, so Airflow is A OK, my CPU Idles from 26c to 30c depending on my room temp.

So now after all that crap I've explained, my question is, Can I go Higher? It won't boot if I go above 253, I also had to raise my Ram's CL from 2 to 2.5 to get it working fine, whay I know of OC this way is that it also OCs my RAM from 400 to 507 DDR. So any suggestions?

---------------------

Ok dude, how do I do the Memory Divider Thing?

 

[oompa]

Use memory divider. Keep DDR around 400 and it should OC to 2.6 if not higher.

 

[ELGoku]

Use memory divider. Keep DDR around 400 and it should OC to 2.6 if not higher.

Ok what's that?, where do I find it?, and how do I use it? teach me OBI! I said I had some blanks in my research. ^_^

 

[oompa]

I dont exactly what its called in you BIOS but it should be something like 2:2, 1:2, ext. Change it to keep ur RAM at a lower speed.

 

[apache_lives]

ram speed / divider / ram ratio

options are usually ratio or speed eg 5:4 or 166mhz etc

 

[rodney_ws]

I'm curious... why did you go from a P4 running at 3.73 GHz to an AMD X2-3800? OC'd the X2 might be a little faster at some things, but it seems more of a lateral move than an actual upgrade to me.

 

[ELGoku]

Well the P4 CPU@ 3.73 was fine, but, various cons, Mobo didn't support Dual Channel Ram, it was AGP, and I do a lot of Video Editing, and YEAH AMD slapped, spanked and violated my P4 in actual results, I can RIP and Compress a DVD in 7 min, I used to do that in 22, so It's a huge difference! also I'm a Gamer, and 3D Benchmarks are Insane with this Processor. I'll check the ratio on the BIOS settings, I hope I don't have to end up reseting the jumper again :lol: thanx guys. I'll c'ya around with results.

 

[apesoccer]

Divider is a memory setting...It's relating the fsb:membus, or the membus:fsb depending on who you talk to.

First off...change that HT multiplier to 3x, you might be able to take it higher on that alone. Run a couple of tests, you'll see there is almost 0% difference between running the different multipliers. However...You're running that guy way over where it's supposed to be running. Typically you shoot for 1000, since thats what the HTT is designed to run at. So, 5 x 200(stock fsb)=1000, 4 x 250=1000, 3 x 300=900... What's amazing to me, is that its still running at all.

Anyway, back to the divider...If your ram can't run above 253fsb 1:1, then we use a divider with AMD's. We drop the memory down to a stock setting of 333 instead of 400 (before oc). So, running with a 400:333 divider setting, and u take the fsb to 250, you have 500: 433 basically (the actual formula is a little different; it's like (basemembus+(.9*oc). So that allows for a higher overall oc (assuming that memory was what was holding you back). The divider is represented by 200,266,333,400... or 100,133,166,200...or an actual divider, 1:1, 6:5, 4:3, 2:1 etc.

A good way to check to see how far your memory can be oc'd, would be to:

1) drop the cpu multi to 4x
2) increase the fsb to where your memory is rated to, and go from there changing the voltage on the mem as needed, or loosening up the timings and maxing the V right from the get go.

The idea here is that you don't need to add voltage to the cpu, because it has so much extra when you're at such a low multi. (so long as your have the CPU Vcore manually set, and cool n quiet is off).

You can check your CPU's top end at a given multi by doing something similar:

1) start the memory on a divider...400:333 or 400:266 or 400:200...400:266 is usually the best bet, it's supported better by more motherboards then :200 and you can push your cpu further without begining to strain the ram like with :333.

2) relax the timings on the ram; put max rated V on the ram; or wherever it seems to work best (in terms of voltage)

3) start pumping up the fsb...You can put the max V you think this cpu will take without being a worry right now, or increase it as you go along; it's up to you.

 

[ELGoku]

w00t! Sup man, I managed to get this thing running stable at 2.6Ghz, Altho my mobo doesn't show the ram Ratio, I lowered my HT to 3x "Looking for a stable 4x" and my Ram CL to 3-3-3-5, and it's all good, so it must have been the ram, also dude, my CPU Voltage is at 1.45v, should I go a bit higher? my Temps are Idle at 32c

----Got it at 4x HT, Testing :lol:

 

[oompa]

Altho my mobo doesn't show the ram Ratio

You might need to flash your BIOS to more recent ones in order to change them.

 

[apesoccer]

Think of the HT multiplier as the idle setting, on your car. It really doesn't do anything, but it keeps the machine running. So if you're idling 500-1500rpm you're probably ok, but idling at 5000rpm just doesn't make any sense, not to mention the car you're driving is a '78 vette (chevette...), and that's past the red line. =P

So what i'm saying is, it makes sense to keep it below the redline...It won't hurt your performance to leave the HT at 3x, however it might save your chipset from burning itself out sooner then expected. You don't have to believe me, run some tests. Benchmark it at 3x and at 4x, with everything else left the same.

Grats on 2.6...1.45 is ok, i wouldn't push it if you don't need to. If you want to go higher, you can probably push it as high as 1.525 without worrying about burning it out. However, i wouldn't leave it at 1.5 or higher for an extended period of time. I might be pursuaded to bench my own up to 1.55 (assuming the temps were ok...and that's on my 3000 not my 3800 x2...), but that is above the redline in my head for safe oc'ing heh. That said there are people using 1.65-1.8 on alternate cooling systems heh.

 

[ELGoku]

Well It's a 4xHT, and 2.6 from 2.0 Is a pretty Nice 30% OC with stable temps and not Abusing the CPU voltage. I got it at 2.8 for a while but it died in the middle of 3DMark'06 ^_^. Cool thing is that Everest! now detects my CPU like an AMD X2 5000+ :lol: