Overclocking an X2 4200+ (again)

I know that there's all sorts of info out there but I still need some advice.

I've decided to spend some spare cash I have (up to £200) on beefing up the infrastructure of my PC, so that's a new PSU + hard disk + Thermalrite heatsink, rather than making the leap to bargain basement C2D land.

So now I need to get some extra milage out of my X2 4200+.

It runs quite happily at stock, and on stock voltage it's happy with a oc'd FSB of 210. If I try to take it beyond 210 it keels over, I've tried 220 and upped the voltage by a tiny amount and it just won't post :(

My mobo isn't an issue here (?) but could my 400w PSU be ?. I'm fairly certain it's an Enermax, that powers my CPU + an 8800GTS + 1x SATA HDD + 1x DVDRW + PCi WiFi card + 2x cold cathodes + 3x 120mm fans. Or could it be the DDR memory that's the problem ? (it's pretty generic stuff).

I can't remember the exact revision/core of my PCU but I've had it since late 2005 (I think).

Should I be able to take it past an FSB of 210 or have I got a duffer ?.

If you've got generic RAM you'll need to run a memory divider - set it to DDR333 / 166MHz.

HyperTransport down to 4x/800.

I just built a new 939 4200+ for a mate, and as soon as i got it bumped the FSB up to 230mhz. This chip overclocks more than my old 4800+ so go figure :(

Well, last night I went as far as taking the FSB to 11x 215MHz and everything was fine, CPUZ reported the memory to be at 168MHz.

Looking over the bios of my A8N-E I can't find anything anywhere that's obviously a memory divider setting, and couldn't find anything on Google either :(

Also my 4200+ was reported as a 'Manchester', I'll swot up on Google as to whether or not this one will go the distance.

I think I may e-mail Asus to find out exactly where, or if there is, the memory divider option resides.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kalniel

HyperTransport down to 4x/800.

---

Hi kalniel, could you elaborate on why I'd want to take the HyperTransport down from 5x to 4x ?

ta :)

One of the reasons for the above i read about was "black holes" in the overclock. On some of the reports i read, you could get a q6600 up to 3.6ghz nice and easy on the 8x multiplier but not the 9- it would not work between certain areas, e.g. lets just say 2.9 and 3.1ghz and then past this it all wakes up again! It was along these lines, but that isnt precise data, and im not exactly sure why this is either.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fatboy40

Hi kalniel, could you elaborate on why I'd want to take the HyperTransport down from 5x to 4x ?

ta :)

---

ht can never go over 1000 iirc. I forgot the reason why :S but thats the general a64 ocing rule.
hence its at 5 x 200 = 1000 and when you oc you gotta reduce the multi to 4 until you hit 250+ fsb.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fatboy40

Well, last night I went as far as taking the FSB to 11x 215MHz and everything was fine, CPUZ reported the memory to be at 168MHz.

Looking over the bios of my A8N-E I can't find anything anywhere that's obviously a memory divider setting, and couldn't find anything on Google either :(

Also my 4200+ was reported as a 'Manchester', I'll swot up on Google as to whether or not this one will go the distance.

I think I may e-mail Asus to find out exactly where, or if there is, the memory divider option resides.

---

The divider setting should look sometihing like THIS. Set it to 333MHz.

As for your chip being Manchester, that's neither here nor there, it's the stepping that gives you the best idea of overclock potential.

CPU Stepping <-- clicky

HT down to 4x would be the best starting point.. some older NF4 and K8T890 boards have issues on 3x HT so best to avoid it..

My 4600+ Manchester does 2.8Ghz without too much voltage.. But it will run rather toasty I must say.. I get 65C load on one of my cores (core temp sensor, the motherboard diode only reads a measly 50C) even using an Infinity..

I wouldnt and won't bump voltages past 1.4V on these chips. My chips currently runs 1.375V

I have tried 1.45V and it is VERY toasty..

toledo cores are what the 4800's are made of. manch ones are the ones that can do 2.6 but will struggle on 2.8 most of the time with decent temps.

To further explain the HT issue, most motherboards don't allow much HT overclocking at all - as you increase the CPU clock the HT is normally running off a 5x multiplier so can rapidly get too high for the chipset. Lowering it to 4x gives you a guarenteed safety net until your FSB hits 250. Having the HT run at even 800mhz each way compared to 1000mhz has absolutely zero effect on performance.

Everyone, thanks for posting some damn usefull info I appreciate the help :)