Big Increase Yea!!!!

[catattack]

Hey guys! I FINALLY lol got my NF7-S in! I went from 9500 3dmark2001 points to 11259!!!! I am so happy! Ok, I am using a ONE stick 512mb umm crappy memory... If I had two ddr2700 corsair 256mb memory in duel channel, how much of an increase would that be? Because i'm gona convince my moms boyfriend to gimme them lol.


Thanks guys!

[acidrainy]

you want ddr 3200 at least mate

running your CPU with a 200fsb gives it a nice little kick!
again the Dual DDR is just another little performance kick

[catattack]

Well I dont have a Barton... I have a 2400xp. Should I still consider getting the ddr3200?

[Trash Man]

You should have no trouble getting the XP2400+ to run at 200FSB. That's what I was running mine at.

Just don't expect another big increase, because tbh there is not that much difference between duel channel and normal.

[Austin]

Dual Channel will boost you about 5% on average, nice but weigh up the cost if you don't need the extra RAM. It should ideally be the same size, brand and rating but buying a PC3200 stick now with your current slower stick may mean down the line you can add another PC3200 to replace the slower stick to get the extra speed boost. PC2700 to PC3200 is only worth it for 333FSB to 400FSB and there isn't a huge difference outside of synthetic benchmarks, probably in the region of 5% again if that.

Your XP2400+ uses the TbredB core and is therefore practically always able to hit 2.1ghz with 400FSB boosting you to an unofficial XP2800+. The biggest problem with XP2400+ is it comes at 15x133mhz by default. All nForce2 like yours should handle the multipliers over 12.5x (XP2400+ is 15x) so you should be able to get the higher FSB by lowering your multiplier, eg. from 15x133=2.0ghz to either 12x166=2.0ghz or 10x200=2.0ghz, neither of these will truly be o/c'ing your CPU BTW.

The perf boost going from 266FSB (2x133) to 333FSB (2x166) is very sizable but you'll obviously need PC2700 for that and if you need to buy some PC3200 hardly costs anymore allowing you to use 400FSB (2x200) for little extra cash. I'd say 2x256MB PC3200 is the order of the day and you should still get decent money for your current 512MB DDR (PC2100?).

Crucial are most respected and offer free P&P and lifetime warranty:

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/list...ackage&cat=RAM

2x256MB PC3200 is under £80 plus you can sell your current 512MB on. For that £80 you can go from 266FSB to 400FSB and from std DDR to Dual Channel DDR which will give a nice boost. Of course if gaming is your thing then £80 on a gfx card upgrade may yield better results...

[catattack]

Austin... Your talking about overclocking my cpu right? Well how do I do that when I have the stocked fan? Can you give me a step by step? Starting from like the bios and what not?

Thanks.

[Austin]

The stock cooler should have some headroom in it but there's no guarantee so you may want something much better but still affordable like Volcano 11 (£16.25 www.dabs.com inc std 1-3 delivery usually next day). You can still give it a go with your stock cooler though you'll likely find it becomes the limiting factor.

http://www.dabs.com/products/prod-se...=42&Refine.y=7

A little quality compound is ideal and £5.50-7.50 capable of many applications. Rem apply VERY thinly where the CPU core makes contact with the HSF.

http://www.dabs.com/products/prod-se...cturer&cs=Home

Before you begin I'd advise using the latest mobo BIOS (be sure it is for the correct mobo and rem NF7-S v2.0 is diff to NF7-S). You may also want the latest nForce drivers from www.nvidia.com but neither of these should be essential by any means. Rem no o/c is guaranteed and there is always a risk, but it's tiny if done carefully and properly. As said running a faster FSB of 166/333 or 200/400 is not truly o/c'ing IF the CPU speed remains unchanged (2.0ghz for XP2400+).

Start by powering on / restarting your PC and then hold down DEL to enter the BIOS at POST (when it counts up the memory before saying 'loading windows'). Here (from memory) you should find SoftMenuIII which allows you to change things like multiplier, FSB, voltages and RAM speed/ratio (1:1, 6:6 best, ie RAM si same speed as FSB). XP2400+ should be running 15x133=2.0ghz (133 is also 266FSB because of DDR). You can just try raising the multiplier from stock 15x to 15.5x or 16x (2.06ghz & 2.13ghz) and leave everything else alone, this avoids complications arising from things like your RAM or unusual FSB speeds. If you increase it in very small steps and boot into Windows and test the CPU it will be obvious if your cooling, mobo or CPU aren't up to running at that speed (or high multiplier) as you will experience instability (lockups or resets). Keep an eye on the CPU temps either via Windows sw (pref from obo website) or the mobo BIOS itself. It doesn't really matter what it reads but do note the temps around when it becomes unstable (generally between 55 and 60'C).

When you find the fastest it can run the cause could be your mobo disliking such high multipliers (so try it with a low multiplier and higher FSB) but it is more likely to be either the CPU's limit (at default voltage) or insufficient cooling. You could then up the voltage a LITTLE (1.7v absolute max IMHO) if you are certain the cooling is not the cause. Adding 0.05v at a time should still be very safe and should allow the CPU to reach higher speeds BUT the heat it produces increases significantly so be sure the problem isn't the cooling. Once you find the fastest speed your partic CPU can handle at either stock or a raised voltage you then simply step the speed down a little further to help ensure long term stability. If you raised the voltage do note the actual perf gains as it may not allow you to go much higher esp considering the added heat and strain on the CPU. With a variable speed cooler like the Volcano 11 you may also wish to find the best compromise between speed and noise level.

Again always use small steps and always stress the CPU in Windows before going higher. If the PC just beeps and won't POST you should find a patient press of the RESET button for a total of 3 failed POSTs results in safe default settings being applied allowing you to make any changes. Otherwise you can power off the PC, use a jumper cap to clear the CMOS, place the jumper back in it's original position and then power up (check manual but usually near the BIOS battery).

Since your mobo is capable of 400FSB all you need to run a faster FSB is RAM capable of PC2700 for 333FSB or PC3200 for 400FSB and of course to lower your multiplier! After all you do NOT want to try 15x166 let alone 15x200! So first thing is to try setting the multiplier down from 15x to 12x in order to try 166/333FSB safely. Leave the FSB set to 133/266FSB and just check that you get 12x133=1.60ghz (XP1900+). Once you know there's no problem setting the 12x multiplier you can tell the mobo to use 166/333FSB and you should then get 12x166=2.0ghz but rem you need at least PC2700. To try 200/400FSB you simply select the 10x multiplier but again ideally check it works before setting the FSB to 200/400, rem though that needs PC3200. Again at 10x200 you'll still be at stock speeds and there should be no added strain on your CPU or cooler.

Armed with the magic number you found by raising the multiplier alone you can simply use a little maths to find the corresponding multiplier needed to run at that speed but with a faster FSB. So if you found 2.25ghz was the best it could do you may have chosen 2.20ghz (or slightly lower) as a safe long term o/c. You could then use these 3 methods to run at (or just below) 2.20ghz...

1. 16.5x133=2.20ghz (2200 divide 133.33)
2. 13.0x166=2.17ghz (2200 divide 166.66)
3. 11.0x200=2.20ghz (2200 divide 200.00)

Once you have set all the speeds for your 'new' PC be sure to note them down for reference. Then stress that PC like mad looking for any signs of instability, you want to know 100% that it's perfectly stable and if it isn't decide whether it's the RAM, cooling, FSB or cooling that's most likely the cause or simply step things back a little more. Hot weather is the best time for stress testing but that's one reason for aloowing a little margin above your long term o/c speed. This isn't that quickest or easiest way to o/c but it is (IMHO) the safest and generally most comprehensive. HTH!

EDIT: Said adding 0.5v at a time was safe, of course I meant 0.05v (ie 1.60v to 1.65v). Sorry. (who missed that?)

[jamin]

Excellent post Austin! (One of the longest I've seen for a while )

All I can add is there are better coolers than the volcanoe 11 for that money, and remember, small steps! Take it slow, overclocking is something that should not be rushed!