Well at long last I finally got around to overclocking my new system.

I followed the advice here from Nick N (thanks) to get a good stable o/clock.

I had to wait for my new ram to arrive and with work committments I was only able to get it done this weekend.

Here are my settings.
AMD 3700 San Diego cpu--- o/c to 2640Mhz
Vcore--1.47v
CPU temp --35 deg C
M/B temp -- 33deg C
CPU--FSB Freq-- 240Mhz
SB-- NB o/clk-- Manual
SB--NB Freq--200mhz
Adjust PCIe Freq-- 100
CPU Freq Multiplier --11
K8 to NB Freq HTT-- 4
SB -- NB freq--5

RAM Memory settings
OCZ PC3500 Gold Edition 2 x 512mb CAS2
1T @ Cas 2.2.2.5  at 203Mhz
Vdd --2.85v
Mem Divider Limit 183Mhz

At these settings the system is very stable.
I could go further with the o/clk because when I was stress testing the RAM I found I could go to 214Mhz at 1T cmd and CAS2.2.2.5 but with the Vdd set to 2.95v.
I believe OCZ say their RAM will handle Vdd at 3.0 v ok so maybe I might push it further.

This would give me close to 2.8Ghz on the CPU which was starting to push it on standard cooling.
I mainly wanted to get to CPU FX55 specs which I have achieved .

Using the memory divider really makes a difference.

Clockgen was very useful for quickly seeing what was being adjusted , then going into bios and changing the settings.

I used Prime to stress test for 20hrs with no problems.
I haven't got any other performance measuring s/ware at the moment so I can't post any results.

However I fired up CFS3 and noticed and increase in frame rates by about 15fps.

cheers
chuck

Sounds like your Vcore might be too high as well, most Sandy's will do 2.6mhz on stock or near stock Vcore. You might need 1.47 or more at around 2.8ghz, but it's up to the cpu you have, I can't say for certain.

Don't raise Vcore unless it's required.

Over 2600mhz is where I need to start adding vCore. But yeah, cpu's are all different.

I get a serious case of diminishing returns with adding vCore over 2.86ghz.

Quote:


The "San Diego" is the nickname if you like, for the core. It signifies:

• The 90nm process
• 1mb L2 cache
• Socket 939

rather than the Venice, which has:

• The 90nm process
• 512kb L2 cache
• Socket 939

The 3700 was also manufactured on the Clawhammer core, which is:

• The 130nm process
• 1mb L2 cache
• Socket 754

Jon 8)

Thanks Nick &Congo who your input.
I've just got back home from working away in a remote location so I will try a few of your suggestions.

One question though , what should the standard Vcore be for the cpu ??

cheers
chuck

Thanks Jon-- will go and play.

cheers
chuck

Quote:



This is the AMD specification link for the San Diego 3700+
Sandys have a nominal Vcore 1.35/1.4v range.

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/details.aspx?opn=ADA3700DAA5BN

I wasn't aware that there were any other San Diego's other than on E4 cores...... 3700+, 4000+, FX55, FX57.

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/SideBySide.aspx?opn=ADA4000DAA5BN&opn=AD...

Sandys are Socket 939, single core, 1mb L2, E4 stepping, 90nm process.

Interestingly, no E4 stepping, X2 dual cored CPU's with 2x1mb L2 cache were released, I'm not sure why, but I suspect that such a CPU would have wiped out sales of the expensive Opteron dual cores.

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/SideBySide.aspx?opn=ADA4600DAA5BV&opn=AD...

And so........ I wonder now about the strangest thing of all.

I simply can't find any evidence of an Opteron dual core based on E4 silicon, which seems like it would be the pinnacle of AMD processor performance, but alas, where is it?

Was there ever an E4 dual core with 2mb L2 cache  produced? If not, why?

??? The Twin Sandy, now that would be something  



Just for anyone who is interested, I get 2.83ghz max stable on my 3700+ Sandy with my nForce4 Asus A8N-SLI mainboard with 2x512mb Kingmax PC4000 DDR modules and a cheapish PSU...... stock cooled.

By 2.8ghz stable, I mean I can online game host with comms and lobby etc without worrying about a crash, but only in winter, it gets hot here most of the year and I usually run 2.6ghz or 2.75ghz depending on the ambient temp.

While I'm happy with my PC4000 ram, I can't run it stable at 500mhz with 1T command rate. Now, I've read a few reports of this by those who use my mainboard, but I suspect the ram just isn't good enough.

Right now I'm looking at some PC3200 that's guaranteed 2-3-2-5 timings and right now my Kingmax is only giving me 2-3-3-6 at best. So, hopefully I'll be able to stretch the new stuff to 260mhz 1T, what do you think?

So where is the e4 silicone in a toledo?

Which is why I posted above, to point that out. True San Diegos are E4 silicon, a defining factor, and therefore shouldn't be confused with other core types. While a Toledo can be compared to a proposed dual E4/2mb L2 cpu, the latter doesn't exist. Toledo's do not appear to tolerate high speeds as readily as a San Diego does.

Aha, I have found the answer!

The Opteron 180 Socket 939 was produced on the E4 stepping.

If you didn't know, its the 2.4Ghz Dual Core model. 2x1mb L2 cache.

Mainly this thing was built on E6 but part number 371-0885 was the (rare) E4 stepping version. Must clock like anything!

Jon 8)

Quote:



Its the BIOS that must support it. As long as the board matches the socket design of the processor, the motherboard BIOS must have the stepping information programmed into it in order to recognize the processor and use all its abilities.

The mentioned Opy is the only one I would go for. They all tend to be good clockers and solid processors but the 180 E4 (assuming you can get it) is the one to buy if your interested in that line.

If not, the 5000+ in AM2 is the next best

Quote:



You are correct, the oddball multiplier actually has some advantages. Before A64 using the memory ratio features of a BIOS had negative effects on performance. A64 systems dont care about that and it is actually better to run 5:3 with high FSB and rework other settings than it is to run 1:1.

Max stable CPU Speed + Max FSB + Highest HTT (without going over 2000) + Max stable Memory speed + 1T CMD = best performance

If you lower any one of those, especially FSB, real world performance drops.

Hi N.Nick
Thank you for your detailed explanations in helping us aspiring overclockers.

With Congo's help sometime ago (but do not blame him for my failures), I tried to understand these operations.

In my own way somehow managed to raise my standard 2.12 up to 2.55ghz, but somehow I did not use all those settings available on my A8N32SLI deluxe that you used.

How could I hit such a fluke after setting the figures below and get it stable on prime95 test for 1hr. As I have no real need for Occlocking and tried only for interest, I stopped the test, and reverted to defaults.

The mobo & cpu temps were around 30 & 50c, but Congo complained of Vcore beeing hi 1.50v (normal shows 1.46v), with only CPU fan in the box, and open side panels.

The +12v always around 11.97v (SpeedFan).

Please note in my setup below, AMD 3500+ & low grade ram.

PS. my manual's bios settings bear no resemblance to the bios on the screen, and even the downloaded manual is not quite the same.

Quote:



Unfortunately the E4 180 dual is no longer produced by AMD... the best you can do is the E4 150 single. There may still be some on them market. i am sure there is, finding it and making sure you get what you order is a different story.

Quote:



A flash takes about 30 seconds, if that long.

First of all... the 1303 BIOS must have just been released because the last one I saw was the 1205 about a week ago. It is possible the 1303 BIOS is not good.. however I assume your up and running on your old BIOS?

I assume you UNzipped the BIOS file you downloaded from Asus and then RENAMED it:

A8N32SLI.rom

...and place it on the floppy disk?

If that BIOS did not work, try the 1205 BIOS as I know it is good and stable.

After a SUCESSFULL flash you must UNPLUG the tower, open it and move the CLRTC jumper (page 46) to pins 2-3 and after about 10 seconds return the jumper to pins 1-2.

Plug the tower back in and boot the computer, enter the BIOS, go to the EXIT menu and select "LOAD SETUP DEFAULTS" .. F-10, save and exit... reboot and set up the BIOS.


The settings I posted for the A8n32 in another thread are not going to work with your CPU and memory. You need a CPU that runs 2.2-2.4gig STOCK and memory that is rated for 1T and can at least handle 215FSB without errors to be able to use the settings I posted.

Quote:


RTFM (Read The Friendly Manual)

It MUST be renamed A8N32SLI.rom or the flasher won't take it.

Quote:



The manual and a few BIOS settings for just about any board is usually a little different. If you have a question about a few settings, why dont you go into the BIOS, write the setting and the options for that setting down on paper exactly as you see it on the screen and then come back here and post it... I will glad to look it over and let you know what it is or what it should be set to.

About overclocking... I can suggest some settings and see what happens. Congo is a crackerjack when it comes to setting up an overclock so I do not know if there is anything I might come up with that would work better than what he suggested...

It can be a tad deep, until you get the hang of the basics, I'm sorry I wasn't clear.

Most overclocking articles deal with how to get maximum settings, ie. max FSB, max CPU, and max memory speeds. It's then a matter of combining the settings in an attempt to get the best stable compromise.

Read as much as you can and experiment a lot with your PC, make BIOS your friend, and don't hesitate to ask if you have a question, but ask one question at a time, so the info sinks in, it can be confusing to try to resolve several issues at once.

As far as me saying I thought 1.5v vcore was high, it's not really a high or potentially damaging voltage by itself, It's generally accepted that 1.6v-1.65v vcore and above is in the realm of PC's with water cooling or some other cooling solution than air.

When you see CPU full load temps going up through 60* suddenly after a vcore increase, you know it's time to back off. When your CPU hits that limit, depends on your PC and it's cooling solution, furthermore, addtional expensive cooling may not get you much further anyway.

I tend to be conservative when I advise on other people's overclocks. I try to get them a significant increase in performance without pushing the limits of their hardware, so not to stress the rig excessively. SO, I try to keep Vcore as close to stock as possible unless it's evident that more vcore is required, and that no significant temp rises are occurring.

Cheers.