o/c my xp2000....

[silent]

is it easier to overclock using the bios or fuzzy logic 4? the later doesn't seem to work.

what's the max settings and most stable as i see people o/c 1700's to 2600's!!! wow!!!!

i have an msi kt3 ultra mobo with 728 meg of ram.

how do i do it, and do it safely!!!!

[Austin]

There are 4 different types of XP2000+ which make a big diff to o/c'ing attempts.

Pally = Hot, locked and tops out around 1.7ghz XP2100+.
TbredA = Cooler, sometimes unlocked but tops out around 1.9ghz XP2300+.
TbredB = Very cool, unlocked and often top out around 2.25ghz XP2800+.
Thorton = Same as TbredB (essentially a Barton with half the cache disabled). It may be locked, AMD seems to be going that way with it's CPUs.

To determine which core you use you can either look at the markings on the CPU or try using Windows sw. Eg typing SET at DOS/CMD prompt and look at Family, Model and Stepping numbers. If the CPU is locked then you can't alter the multiplier so are left with FSB only, that can throw your RAM/PCI/AGP/IDE all out of spec. You have a KT333 mobo, almost always 266FSB only, usually stable up to 288FSB but PC2100 may limit that. Please give us full system details and CPU info and we can go from there.

[G4Z]

well, I have an XP 2100+ that comes up as a Tbred when I use moo.dll in IRC.
I have an MSI KT4 ultra mobo and 512 of crucial DDR 2100 (soon to be DDR 3200)
I have overclocked by upping my FSB and achived 1.83ghz.


i wanna push it further but I suspect its locked, I could buy another chip easily enough but im buying memory this week, then rent next and then its xmas and saving up for a nice TFT.

any ideas on pushing it further, btw cooling is supplied by a globalwin cooler with 80 mm fan (its like a brick )

[Austin]

An XP2100+ uses a 13x multiplier by stock, even if unlocked 13x and up often 'confuse' most mobos so appear locked or simply quirky when you try adjusting the mult. MSI KT4 ultra is KT400 so certified to 333FSB with a very likely stable o/c to 360FSB providing RAM and CPU don't limit it. If your Tbred is 'A' it may not get much higher, if it is a 'B' it should definitely get higher. Open a DOS/CMD prompt and type SET, Family-Model-Stepping 6-8-0 is TbredA while 6-8-1 is TbredB. That will give you an idea of what the CPU itself is capable of.

Voltage plays an important role in how far you can o/c, but it's often the most dangerous thing to mess with. Basically TbredA/B should use 1.65v, that's normal voltage but it's likely AMD use a lower voltage for the lower speed XP, setting 1.65v for your CPU is a good start. It's best to keep RAM running synced (equal to FSB speed) at least until you see how far your CPU can go. If it's locked simply up the FSB a bit at a time and test you're stable. When you hit a limit you need to think whether it's cooling, RAM, PCI/AGP or something else limiting you. So long as your RAM is running within its spec (ie < 333mhz for PC2700) and at normal timings it should not be a factor. PCI should be fine up to 36mhz (33mhz is normal) but will vary depending on card used. So long as you're sure it isn't cooling you can up the voltage by 0.05v and see if it helps, it should so keep upping the FSB a little (and test) until you find the limit again. Once again add 0.05v more voltage (usualy precautions) up to 1.70-1.75v to be pretty safe or closer to 1.8v if you want to live on the edge (your risk either way). When you find the max speeds you can attain consider if the extra voltage brought you good enough gains to keep it there, whatever you decide avoid leaving your PC on the ragged edge of an o/c (ie drop back a little from the absolute limit). HTH!

[silent]

austin: thanks for that m8, will check tonight. i shows how little i know about c/clocking.

i suspect it could be the top one as it top's out when i crank it up to an fsb of 138, and runs at 68 C which is v.hot. my usual system temp is 40-42C but i am worried as i have 4 fans and one on the CPU. 3 fans blow air in and one takes it out the back - maybe that's set up wrong????

it ran windows at 1770 mhz, but when i opened CM4 it crashed and memory dumped. it's now back to 1664 mhz and it's stable again.

i want a new mobo but may wait till the athlon 64 and associated mobo's reduce in price in 2004.

[Austin]

Even at stock an XP2000+ is stil a top CPU, if gaming is your main concern that CPU will easily be enough if you combine it with a good gfx card. If your KT333 uses the 8235 southbridge chip it may impliment the necessary divider for 333FSB (old SB was 8233A). Check the MSI website for CPU support and new BIOS info, if it can do 333FSB then it's well worth you getting a TbredB for £40 as it should clock to at least XP2600+ speed (providing your RAM is happy at 333mhz ie PC2700).

Where you put the fans seems fine, if you have more intake than exhaust it cuts down on dust build up while having more exhaust than intake tends to provide a lower system temp. What you do want to be sure of is that the fans have enough air (via ventilation) to work with. Other than that try to ensure the intake are located at the bottom front while exhaust are located near the top at the rear of your case.

Waiting for Athlon64 may be best, mid to end of 2004 should be a good time to buy ... make sure you get Skt939 which isn't out yet. That will (surely) be the long term pin connection for Athlon64 CPUs sporting Dual Channel with normal non-registered DDR (or DDR-II when that becomes mainstream). Skt754 is more of an interim solution while Skt940 is likely to be for professional Opteron usage .. hence pricey.

[G4Z]

oh yeah baby, Im gonna buy some Pc3200 soon and then il give it a shot, dont think this crucial 2100 is up to it. I have it at 1.89ghz stable now although I did balls things up yesterday trying to set the multiplyer at 14.. it died. still a quick BIOS reset and I was back in buisness.

[G4Z]

oh and another thing when u talk about 260FSB thats double the actual bus speed init? as I have my bus set at 150ish atm so that would be 300ish.

am i right in this?

[silent]

my processor line reads:

x86 family 6 model 6 stepping 2

processor level 6

revision 0602

don't know what it means mind you

g4Z: when i set the FSB at 138, my default is 133 as i run 266 mhz ram - think that's right? so yes your right

[Skii]

Well this has got me

I have an AMD 2200XP and I just ran that command prompt



So that would be a Thoroughbred B then ? well it sure doesn't seem like it - I'm running it in an Abit KD7a board with 1Gb Pc2700, problem is it won't overclock at all, unless I stick to the exact multiplier for a 2200XP, it won't boot into windows

[silent]

sounds like my trouble to mate

[Austin]

G4Z is TbredB, 6-8-1. So long as your mobo, RAM and cooling don't hold it back you should attain 2.1-2.3ghz with normal 1.65v voltage. FSB speed is DDR (Double Data Rate), data is sent twice per clock cycle meaning the effective speed of the FSB is doubled. So 266FSB is 2x133mhz while 333FSB is 2x166mhz although diff people use diff notations ... divider and ratios are always worked out minus the DDR (or QDR) factored in.

silent 6-6-x is Pally and as said isn't good at o/c'ing, is always very locked and runs very hot too. Pally XP2100+ runs about as hot as Barton XP3000+. If you normally run 133mhz FSB then the RAM runs at 133mhz (266mhz with DDR), upping the FSB to 138mhz will mean your RAM will run at 138mhz (276mhz DDR) which most DDR266-PC2100 should be happy with, if not try using slower (higher) timings, disabling things like Bank Mode and/or upping the voltage by 0.1v (can be risky).

Skii you also have TbredB, pretty lucky as XP2200+ held on to TbredA for a long time. Abit KD7A uses KT400A so is certified for 333FSB (with PC2700) and should o/c stably to around 360FSB RAM, cooling and CPU permitting. Unfort XP2200+ uses a 13.5x multiplier which needs a mobo understanding the 5th FID bit to adjust the multiplier (like Abit NF7-S). You can try diff multiplier as sometimes the odd one will give you something, otherwise it's a bridge mod thing. Run the RAM synced to FSB and you should get good gains from upping the FSB, just go gradually and test each time. Again 1.65v is normal voltage for your TbredB.

[mt50]

hi, i've just had a look in my bios, and found something called CPU host/PCI clock when i go on it it come s up with the following options default, 140/35mhz and 150/38mhz so i put it on the 140/35 setting and when the black screen comes up at the start up it now says XP 2100+ i have got a XP200+ so i guess i've overclocked it, anyway when i put it on to th e150/38 setting it came up with 1.875c ghz instead of a Xp rating so i'm just wondering if it is safe to keep it on this setting? also in the bios i found this- CPU voltage regulator and it has the options of default, +0.05v and +0.10v what does this one do?

thanks

[G4Z]

w00t, I will be getting some faster RAM next week and I shall be overclocking this little baby.

[Austin]

mt50 "CPU host/PCI clock" is how the PCI speed is derived from the the FSB speed (minus DDR). The AGP and even often IDE are also derived from the PCI speed so it's important to keep it close to what it should be. PCI should be between 30mhz and 36mhz with 33mhz being the ideal speed. Since the PCI speed is worked out by dividing the FSB speed, what FSB your mobo is capable of running depends on the highest divider it supports. KT266 & KT333 for example support a 1/4 divider max so when at 2x133mhz=266FSB the PCI is nicely clocked at 33mhz. However to up the FSB speed further has a knock on effect, hence why you get 2x150mhz=300FSB with PCI=37.5mhz (150/4). That's likely to be causing problems for your mobo, PCI devices and your AGP ... possibly your IDE too (which can corrupt your files). The max you should go on a 1/4 is about 2x144mhz=288FSB as the PCI=36mhz which should be fine for most devices. To go higher you really need a mobo that has a 1/5 divider (like KT400 or SiS746FX) which is designed for 333FSB with PCI=33mhz. That way when you select 2x150mhz=300FSB it uses the 1/5 divider to bring the PCI back down to a safe level (ie 150/5=30mhz). nForce2 are so popular largely because PCI and usually AGP etc can all be locked at normal speeds regardless of what FSB you set. Most Intel mobos also have this ability.

Don't worry about not getting an 'XP rating' when you're at 1.875ghz, you are faster than when at 1.73ghz where you get the XP2100+ rating ... there simply is no rating that corresponds to 1.875ghz as the nearest is 1.80ghz for XP2200+ (266FSB). The "CPU voltage" is what voltage your CPU receives, higher voltage can allow the CPU to run faster it produces a lot of extra heat and if not careful can easily kill or damage your CPU. IIRC normal voltage for Pally AthlonXP is 1.75v with 1.85v being considered okay when o/c'ing. For TbredA/B or Barton 1.65v is normal (low speed ones will likely use only 1.5v by default) while 1.70v is a safe overvolt (if cooling is good as always). Hardcore o/c'ers often push much further, if you use extra voltage see where you can get with normal voltage first, add extra voltage by no more than 0.05v at a time and consider if the extra heat and stress warrant the extra speed you achieve. HTH!

[mt50]

thanks for that austin, i've left it at the 140/35 setting for know with the voltage on default, i'll leave it a few days to see how i get on ( i kno wit's not a great increase in speed but for me it's great as i've never tryed to overclock before) i even managed to overclock my graphics card last night .

oh and what's the best software for telling you what temp your cpu is running at?

thanks