What Precautions & Steps - Before u start Overclocking

Q

Quad Master

Guide
Hi Guys

Suppose i have just assembled a new system with everthing running at stock
speed.

Now i want to start OCing my new system [eg AMD on NF4 Mobo]

Pre OCing Steps - that i know [Plz add to it if i have missed ne small things]
- Disable Cool n Quiet for AMD
- Lock PCI/AGP Buses [How to do this on NF4 Mobo]
- Set CPU & Ram to Manual Settings
- Any Suggestions to prevent SATA HDD crash at OCed settings
- Any settings for fans

Guys plz add anything that i have left out in this Pre OC Check List.

Now after these measures are are take do i start with increasing the HTT Speed.

For CPU :- Inc HTT , Lower CPU Mul [if req] , Inc VCore
For Ram :- Inc VDimm , Lower Ram timings [depends] and set to 1T
Also wanted to know whats the max HTT Multiplier at particular HTT Speed.
5x200 = 1000
4x250 = 1000
3x333.33 = 1000

Is it compulsary to keep the HTT Bus Speed to 1000Mhz
Cant we have 260x4 = 1040 , 265x4=1060 etc...
Will it create problems at anything above 1000.

Also which 3rd Party softwares to use for OCing thru Windows
[Just for Knowledge purpose]
CPU:- ClockGen , AiBooster[ASUS]
GPU:- CoolBits[NVida],PowerStrip[ALL]
any more softwares

Also whats "A64Tweaker" & "Bios Agent"

Will be using BIOS strictly for CPU & Ram OCing.

Also wanted to know if its possible to downgrade to lower BIOS is newer
BIOS is not helping much for any NF4 Mobo.
 
Quady... I have been following your posts... And i have seen your enthu... But i would like to warn you on one thing.. You should only get into overclocking if you can afford another one(A Proccy/GPU/RAM/Mobo/What not)... Dont just do it if others are doing it... It may seem safe... It may seen cool but trust me if it gets busted then it looks S***...
 
Thanks a lot switch , but will not keep the system OCed continuously at that OCed
state but will keep it a bit lower to ensure safety.

I earlier never took OCing so much seriously but after i came to know about AMD , NF4
about TE , i realized the true potential of OCing , Darky was first whom i met on Digit
Forums after that i got some tips from him , later i started rwading more and more.

And now hear i am finally.

I know about the negatives of OCing but that should stop you from trying.
And i know where to limit , but also like to find where is the max point.
 
Ok...... am feeling a bit bored..... let me type it out.....

AIM: To find the limit of your CPU

Reduce RAM divider to slowest setting. (to remove the RAM out of the equation)
Reduce HTT to 600 or 3x (depends on the mobos)
keep Voltage @ stock for the time being
Lock PCI/AGP buses (through BIOS. There is an option in the same page where you can adjust voltages, speeds, multipliers, etc..... use that to set it to 66.66/33.33).

AND VERY IMPORTANT --- Make sure you have adequate cooling.....

Now, increase the FSB by small increments.... like 2-5 MHz each time. At a certain limit which you know is high enough, then make the increments smaller..... and if at a certain FSB, the system does not boot, then reduce FSB to last known good configuration.

Run CPU stress tests like Prime, 3dMArk, etc...... If it fails, increase the voltage by the smallest increments till the tests are stable.

Then again go abt increasing FSB. Repeat this process till you touch abt 1.648 V (on Winnie... I think on Venice, the max you should push the voltage to is around 1.552 or 1.584.).


AIM: To find MAX STABLE FSB

Reduce RAM divider to slowest setting
Reduce multiplier of CPU to abt 4(for 3000+ multi = 9. for 3200+ = 10) This removes the CPU out of the equation.

Now, keep increasing the FSB till the computer refuses to boot. When the computer does not boot at x FSB, reduce the FSB to last known good setting.

Run stress tests. Keep lowerring the FSB until the system is 100% stable.

NOTE: In this test, even at 300HTT, your CPU will be running at 1.2 GHz(300 x 4 = 1200 MHz).

So, keep this in mind.....

AIM: To find the limits of the RAM

Keep CPU at stock voltages and reduce mulitplier to 4. This removes the CPU out of the equation.

And for the RAM, keep it at stock timings(most Indian RAMs --- 2.5/3-3-3-8 ).

Keep increasing the FSB till the computer refuses to boot. At this speed, increase the VDIMM(RAM voltage). Do this on your judgement. Depending on your RAM. Hynix D43 and Winbond chips can take upto 3.2V safely. The Winbond chips more than that.

Others like TCCD, TCC4, etc, keep the voltages around 2.8 or 2.9. They work best at those voltages.....

So, anyway, keep increasing the voltages(based on your judgement) till the computer boots. Say at 3.2V for D43, at 250 MHz at 3-3-3-8, your computer still does not boot. Then loosen the RAMtimings to abt 4-4-4-8 or something like that. If the computer still does not boot, then you have reached the limit.

Now, go back to a much lower setting(FSB) and tighten the RAM timings..... like 2-3-3-6. At these timings, keep increasing the FSB till the computer does not boot.

Now, keep in mind ---- IT is better to have a fan blowing on your RAM sticks to cool it.

And please note where the BIOS reset jumper is on your mobo and learn how to reset it. In case your system does not start up, then the simplest thing is to reset your BIOS. What this does is to reset all your core values to it's stock values. Like CPU, RAM, etc.... will be set to stock settings.

You can know if your system will not boot when the computer seems to be running(CPU fan, case fan, etc... will be running) but the monitor remains a blank and the green LED on the monitor starts blinking....

OH!!! Another thing...... keep your RAM on 1T all the time. This will lead to much better scores. There is no use in running 2T. While running 1T, you will get a slightly lower oc than while running 2T. But the scores make up for it....

This is the way to find the limit of your system in 3 different parts --- LIMIT OF CPU, LIMIT OF FSB, LIMIT OF RAM.

Combine your final results of all three to get the best combination of your system overclock.

NOTE: All views are mine(of course gathered by reading various stuff on the net). I do not take responsibility if your oc'ing attempt goes wrong.

OC'ing is dangerous(if you get carried away). Attempt it only if you have the guts and are willing to risk your high end system .

But also note that oc'ing is not dangerous if done sensibly and keeping in mind the approximate limits of your components. Like knowing that D43 can do max of around 240MHz at loose timings @ around 3.2V and not trying to feed in 3.5V or something like that.

Also knowing that the limit of a Venice CPU is around 1.552V. Don't feed in more than 1.6 V unless you have adequate cooling..... Usually, high voltages are harmful.... even if you have good cooling, running high voltages for extended periods of time can cause damage to your CPU.
 
Quad Master said:
Pre OCing Steps - that i know [Plz add to it if i have missed ne small things]

- Disable Cool n Quiet for AMD

- Lock PCI/AGP Buses [How to do this on NF4 Mobo]

- Set CPU & Ram to Manual Settings
Click to expand...

- Simply setting the speed of your AGP / PCI Express bus at 66Mhz / 100Mhz respectively, usually means that your AGP/PCI Express bus speeds are locked.

- You would be better off setting your RAM speed to 100Mhz(200Mhz DDR) to completely avoid any interference the RAM would play in the max OC of your CPU. Once you determine your CPU's max clockspeed, you could accordingly raise your Mem speed and attain a sweet spot.

- Dont forget to lower the LDT multiplier , i'll explain more below...

- You might need a higher LDT voltage / Chipset voltage for stability at higher HTT speeds (say you are targetting 300Mhz HTT).

- It is recommended to specify your CPU Multiplier instead of leaving it as "Auto".

Quad Master said:
- Any Suggestions to prevent SATA HDD crash at OCed settings
Click to expand...

Setting the PCI Express bus at 100Mhz (atleast on a DFI mobo) fixes the PCI Ex bus speeds and should prevent your SATA HDD from crashing since the HDD lies on the PCI Ex bus too.

- Any settings for fans
Click to expand...

Fans usually scale with temperatures = as temperature increases, fan speed rises. There are settings related to that in the BIOS.

Is it compulsary to keep the HTT Bus Speed to 1000Mhz

Cant we have 260x4 = 1040 , 265x4=1060 etc...

Will it create problems at anything above 1000.
Click to expand...

Now this is the part about the LDT/HTT multiplier - it is always recommended to drop the multiplier down to 3 or 2.5x, since you have to keep the HTT bus speed to lower than 1000Mhz (for Socket939 platforms). Above 1000Mhz causes instability.

The beauty about the HTT bus is, you could even use a 1x LDT multiplier and keep it at 200Mhz x 1 = 200Mhz and still be perfectly fine, because the design is such that even at those speeds the HTT bus bandwidth is not saturated and you should see no loss or very very minimal performance loss.

In general keep it equal to or under 1000Mhz , NEVER more than 1000Mhz. You could possibly go a bit higher, but that would require increasing LDT/Chipset voltage etc and you might not be 100% stable, so to avoid any undue headache its recommended to keep it low ;).

Also whats "A64Tweaker"
Click to expand...

A64 Tweaker is a utility to adjust a number of settings/timings related to your RAM. Some say its really helpful for those who are not on DFI boards as most of the options in the DFI BIOS are available in this utility..
Will be using BIOS strictly for CPU & Ram OCing.
Click to expand...

Good idea, since I was facing a lot of trouble OC'ing with ClockGen.
Also wanted to know if its possible to downgrade to lower BIOS is newer BIOS is not helping much for any NF4 Mobo.
Click to expand...

You can go back and front and load just about any possible version of the BIOS on your mobo ( and of course you can only use BIOSes designed for your mobo!).
 
Wow its so nice to see all the OC gurus discuss here.
I will be following this thread regularly...

Come on Quad,
You asking advice on OC'ing ????
That is shocking for me!
 
Thanks a lot Guys , keep the info comming.
It will help a lot to OCer like me who will practically try there hand for the first time.

Darky Bro , i have only read about OCing and understood but never applied it practically.
 
first you have to select and actually purchase the required components for a O/Cing m/c. in reality and not virtually.
secondly it would be better if we use 2000 HTT terminology instead of 1000 HTT since the memory is DDR. (fsb x 2)
generally it is best to keep the it around 1600 ~ 1900.
you should not exceed 2000. it will make the m/c unstable.in fact keeping it near 1800 is good enough.
and avoid using fractions as LDT (HTT)multipliers.

for e.g. 2.5 , 3.5 etc.......
Always o/c from the bios.
atleast 500 watts dual 12V rail psu is recommended. 480 watts is the bare minimum. actually forget the wattages concentrate on the 12V rail outputs. it should be atleast 26A (considering the power used by an average pci-e graphic card)

N.B: the above are recommended values. it does not mean that ur m/c will not work if you have a 300 watts psu. it will work but on high o/c, stability issues will crop up eventually. also fluctuating rails on high loads will be a limiting factor.
get a good h/s + fan combo for cooling purpose. the stock cooler is not designed for high heat outputs.investing a few thousand rupees in a good copper base cooler is a good decision and one will never regret it. good air coolers are zalman 7000 cu, Xp-90 C , Arctic freezer64 , xp -120 (if it fits on ur m/b)
Always try to maximise the ram speed with the lowest possible latencies for max performance. merely o/cing the cpu only is pointless.infact one should aim for the highest 1:1 (cpu / mem).hence good quality high speed rams are absolute must for a reasonably pleasant o/c expirience.
once you get the required hardware it is only matter of selecting the right values in the bios (through days of experimenting) for achieving 290 ~ 310 htt on air cooling.
 
Deejay i was thinking of getting a Antec SP 450W PSU.
Will a SP 2.0 be better or old SP without Dual 12V Rails be better.

Also wanted to know how are the Dual Rails 12V like supposed to be distributed
on the Mobo.
Mean which power which.
I am confused of this Dual Rails concept how do they power ur system.
Any external Links or some info wud help a lot.

Thread Rated
Nice Peice of Info coming from all.
 
deejay said:
first you have to select and actually purchase the required components for a O/Cing m/c. in reality and not virtually.
Click to expand...
:rofl: :rofl: :ohyeah: :cool2:
deejay said:
secondly it would be better if we use 2000 HTT terminology instead of 1000 HTT since the memory is DDR. (fsb x 2)
generally it is best to keep the it around 1600 ~ 1900.
you should not exceed 2000. it will make the m/c unstable.in fact keeping it near 1800 is good enough.
Click to expand...

Thts wht i had been waiting for.........was all this while thnkin i was doin smethng wrong :cool2:
nd the bold letter's r whr to try to keep it........but as Crazzy posted, is True too :cool2:
@Quady
of course get the new 2.0 versions if u can.............. ;)
 
Deejay said:
secondly it would be better if we use 2000 HTT terminology instead of 1000 HTT since the memory is DDR. (fsb x 2)
Click to expand...
Quite true, technically we should stick to 2000HTT terminology. I just talked in terms of 1000HTT as it is usually easier to understand. :)

Quad Master said:
Deejay i was thinking of getting a Antec SP 450W PSU.
Will a SP 2.0 be better or old SP without Dual 12V Rails be better.
Click to expand...
Definately get the SP 2.0. 24-pin PSU's are highly recommended (and an absolute necessity for the DFI boards). Dual-rails would be an added bonus, but I would say the 24-pin aspect is much more important :)
Quad Master said:
I am confused of this Dual Rails concept how do they power ur system.
Any external Links or some info wud help a lot.
Click to expand...
Here's a reference from a thread you yourself created ;)
http://www.techenclave.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3981
 
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