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Ok
His royal knobness managed to accquire DDR333 for his new KD7A board when it can actually take DDR400
:rolleyes:
Anyway - I'm now running a T-Bred XP2200, with 1 Gb of DDR333 Kingston valueram on an Abit KD7A board
So - question is, how do I get this RAM to DDR400 speeds in the bios then ? I've just read a couple of threads and it seems to be a simple matter of upping the FSB ...
Anyone care to explain this to an overclocking n00b ?
:) KD7A is VIA KT400A, right? You can't handle 400FSB with that mobo, it is certified for 333FSB max but should be happy up to around 360FSB (if RAM and CPU permitt). The KT400 (and 400A) can use PC3200 (DDR400) but it's designed to be async to the FSB, should be good for a boost as only VIA can do that. However I don't think KT400(A) can run the RAM async when going over 266FSB which you certainly want. It's best to just run the RAM synced with the FSB anyway, look for terms like 1:1, 6:6 or PC2700 (when 333FSB is set). 333FSB is best for you as it means both your RAM and mobo are running within specification, unless you o/c over 2.0ghz there's little point in a faster FSB anyway. You have Tbred XP2200+ which is almost certain to be TbredA, not a good o/c'er but a cool runner.
;) Bottom line it's advisable to keep to 333FSB (that's 2x166mhz) and run the RAM sync (PC2700 which is DDR333). To do this you should first drop the multiplier as you want to keep the actual speed of the CPU close to the default 1.8ghz so as not to cause added complications. You should be set to 13.5x133=1.8ghz (XP2200+). Change the multiplier down to 11x (your mobo may not be able to do this, no 5bit FID support?) and then save and restart. You should be 11x133=1.46ghz (XP1700+), if so then change the FSB from 133 to 166 (that's 2x166=333FSB due to DDR). You should then be running 11x166=1.83ghz and get a nice little speed boost. You can then try upping the FSB or multiplier alittle to see if you can o/c much. If you can't change the 13.5x multiplier then you're left to gradually raise the FSB from the default 133 and see how far you can go whilst remaining stable. To check you're stable when o/c'ing you should use Prime's torture test (10min?) and ideally a run of 3Dmark2001. When you do reach the max o/c speed you can try upping the voltage 0.05v at a time to see if it helps but this adds a lot more heat and stress so be sure your cooling is up to it.
PS. If you game the gfx card is most important, be sure you have a good one and try o/c'ing that too (it's even easier).
Brilliant
Thanks Austin - I just printed that little lot out ;)
My gfx is a Creative Ti4200 - VERY stable card but doesn't overclock too well (not as well as my Gainward one which I had to RMA)