Opteron 146 overclock - where to go from here...

[cptwhite_uk]

Check my system spec on the left.

I'm currently at stock volts @ 2.74Ghz



Since I've had absolutely no hiccups getting the CPU this far I'm curious how much further I'd be able to push it - 3Ghz isn't so far away!

Can someone point me in the direction of a motherboard that will give me more flexibility - I can't go higher than 274HTT on the 939Dual (BIOS limit). What would be the most economical board to try?

[NightshadowUK]

Have you run Prime95/SP2004 at 2.7GHz?

As for a new motherboard, I recommend something like the Abit KN8 Ultra as it can hit 300HTT and beyond.

[-ChEM-]

you wont get better than the dfi nf4 ultra-d for overclocking

btw i think that cpuz is out of date as i take it you dont have an S940 opteron

[leeglf]

i agree an ultra-d should help you squeeze some more out of it!

i could not get over 2400mhz with my 3000+ and an abit av8 so i bought an dfi ultra-d and now i have got it at 2700mz and its 100% stable!

[jonathan_phang]

Well, thats pretty a pretty decent OC with stock voltage. If you have a look at my system (on the left) then you'll see that we share the same Mobo and CPU - although mine seems to be a crappy stepping, I have got it stable at 250x10 - and this allows me to run my memory at the full rated speed. Wish i could have got more, but i cant be bothered to try again, for the sake of a few 100mhz - need to get on and actually play some games!!

But, before you go and buy a new mobo, what BIOS are you using for the board? I am currently on 1.5 which is old, but its stable so i havent got round to upgrading it. However, the 274 HTT lock has been removed as of BIOS version 1.8 and I've downloaded then (up until 2.1) and will give then a shot when i finally finish Oblivion. So maybe you could give that a shot - but you should be happy with a 2.7ghz chip really

Let us know if you try out the new BIOSes

JP

[Clunk]

while the weather is hot, i wouldnt even bother, give it a couple of weeks and try again, 2.7 is very good anyway

[BUFF]

I can't go higher than 274HTT on the 939Dual (BIOS limit). What would be the most economical board to try?

get a modded BIOS
http://www.ocwforums.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?f=31

[Curly]

iirc the official bioses now don't have the htt cap or cold boot issues with high htt, you could also look at doing a volt mod for vcore up to 1.55v (info in the link Buff posted)

nice overclock btw, and good luck

Curly

[cptwhite_uk]

I didn't realise they'd removed the HTT limit again. Can anyone confirm this? I'm only interested in pushing it at far I can on stock volts to be honest - not interested in volt modding this beauty

[Curly]

there are loads of users with 300+htt on the OCW forums, do a search from the link in Buff post, I personaly only ever went as high as 280 with the official 1.8 bios.

Curly

[nvening]

where to go from here... PUMP IT FULL OF VOLTS AND SEND THAT HTT SKY HIGH WITH A DFI FTW!!!!!!

sorry - seriously though add a couple of volts just to nudge it up to 3GHz - you know its worth it.

If you dont i am gunna have to confiscate your cpu.

[Dark Horse]

You can't count on it hitting 3ghz but you have nothing to lose by trying. Opterons are generally voltage limited rather than temperature limited ie they hit a voltage wall over which no amount of voltage will increase your oc.

It would definately be worth plotting on a graph the max stable overclock for each 0.02v (or even better 0.01v) voltage increase from stock to 1.6v. This will then give you a good indication of how your chip responds to voltage. You could also plot temperature to work or the best compomise between voltage, temps and clock speed.

[scrandman]

Mine craps out just over 290 on stock volts. As I want a cool quiet system, I keep it to 280 (x10) max on the stock 1.4V (indeed it appears to be stable at 1.375, but there is no real benefit to this in terms of temperature).

[eUphoria]

Seems similar to my opty - i was wondering if 3ghz is possible. Stock volts went straight to 2.7ghz with no problems, it gets a little unstable at anything much over 2.8 though. But as someone else said, 2.7ghz is just fine What stepping is the chip btw?

[piranha]

Would say the DFI Ultra D if want pcie and the MSI Neo2 for agp - had 3.0ghz with my 146 with both boards.

Would say to update BIOS straight away to get best.

[cptwhite_uk]

Hmm I don't know the stepping - was bought from Scan at the beginning of the year when the product spec said "SUPER OVERCLOCKABLE" at the top ...hehe