rs600cubed 0 Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 I have a p4 2.4 with 512mb ddr400. In my bios my fsb is set at 133 and dram ratio is 1:1. My question is with the ddr400, do i want to change the ratio so its 166mhz or even higher? (my thinking that closer to 200 is better 200x2=ddr400) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteKnight77 1 Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 What kind of motherboard do you have? Make and model # please. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dark Ranger 0 Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 (edited) If if his Sig is correct, it is the AX45-8XN Aopen motherboard. You mentioned your dram ratio, but it should also say your DDR frequency in your boot screen and in the BIOS. 166 would be DDR333, and obviously a 200 freq would be 400MHz. What is your memory frequency for your 512 stick? Just out of curiosity, what brand of Ram are you running? Have you done any FSB tweaking or was 133FSB the default setting? Since you own a P4, it should compensate with the Frequency Multiple. Off-topic. Edited March 6, 2003 by Dark Ranger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rs600cubed 0 Posted March 6, 2003 Author Share Posted March 6, 2003 Ya, its the aopen. So ideally I want the ram freq. to be 200mhz, right, The default for the fsb is 133. I want to overclock but no one can tell me if the agp/pci buses are locked on this motherboard, I even called the manufacturer and all he said was they dont support overclocking(even though they advertise the 1mhz stepping for it). If anyone knows I wanna get water cooling and crank this puppy to a 3g monster!!! The ram is one 512 stick of pc3200 from Geil. (I just ordered another 512 stick today) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stinger 0 Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 First off, nice system I am planning on getting the MSI Max mobo on the SiS648 chipset I only hear good things about it. And I dont think that it has the AGP and PCI buses because that is something that most if not all mobos would advertise and it didnt appear on any of the 17 sites with info about it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rs600cubed 0 Posted March 6, 2003 Author Share Posted March 6, 2003 ok, this is interesting. I changed the ratio to a (spd) setting that got my ram speed to 200mhz, but then after a few minutes even internet explorer crashes to desktop. So did 3dmark. Whats up with that? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dark Ranger 0 Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Hmmmm....I know WhiteKnight77 had a similar issue with his DDR. It wouldn't come out to the 400MHz that it was. So, you might be actually using the 400MHz, but it is just a glitch in your BIOS as to the correct frequency. Perhaps someone else can offer more insight... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteKnight77 1 Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Correct me if I am wrong, but stuff running Intel CPU's quadruple everything. If that is the case, RAM timing should be set to 100 to get your 400. After checking around, I found that I am getting my memeory speed doubled (I am running an AMD CPU and everything is doubled instead of quadrupled.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stinger 0 Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Computers always have problems and make you think you got diff then what you do. My computer insists my video card is using SDRAM but its not and that my Sound Card and Hard Drive were never installed properly but they were. You could get ahold of Sisoft Sandra, becnhmark your ram and compare it to other 400MHz ram and if it is close to the same then your computer is running fine on memory, or you could run PCMark and tell us your RAM score then we could identify if it was performing up to par based on other users scores with the same specs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
=MM= SHADOW 0 Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 *rs600cubed be careful with what you are doing * The motherboard will automatically detect the ram speed you are using. All you are doing is upping the FSB of the chip and overclocking the processor causing it to crash. The board you are using may need more voltage to the ram so it uses the full potential (usually a jumper setting on board). As i say be careful you could end up blowing your processor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rs600cubed 0 Posted March 6, 2003 Author Share Posted March 6, 2003 (edited) Just bought a gigabyte GA-SINXP1394, should be here Monday. 3G HERE I COME!!!!!!!! Edited March 6, 2003 by rs600cubed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dark Ranger 0 Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 (edited) Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you hoping a new motherboard will assist you with higher freqencies for your P4 chip? Or is it just the memory freq issue? If you decide to overclock, BE CAREFUL!!! I cannot stress that enough. Up your processor or FSB at just a few increments at a time. Work with your computer a bit, play a game to test the stability. Remember to properly cool your components. Don't expect to reach 3GHz with just a standard HSF. Consider investing in a really good HSF like an Alpha, ThermalRight or ThermalTake. Watch your temps...you don't want to have to buy another processor. Tell us how you made out too...and if you run into any problems, well, let us know too. We'll help you out. Just CHECK AND DOULBLE CHECK YOUR WORK!!! Remember to check your number of screw holes in your new board, as well as how many stand-offs you have in the motherboard plate (the brass or steel nut-like things that screw into the plate and rest beneath the mobo). If you have an extra one that touches the mobo, it will ground out your system and not boot up to the BIOS (and possibly fry it!) If that happens, immediatly shut off you computer and recheck everything. You may know all of this already, but I don't like to assume. Good luck Edited March 7, 2003 by Dark Ranger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rs600cubed 0 Posted March 8, 2003 Author Share Posted March 8, 2003 Thanks for all the help. I plan on water cooling in a few months. I'm also buying some 6000rpm case fans with a speed control so its not always defening. Ill keep everyone posted. Right now in 3dmark03 im getting about 4620. Im also going to be adding another 512ddr400 pc3200 to take full advantage of the new m/b Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stinger 0 Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 That score is pretty low for your system specs....they are the ones in your sig right? Under 5k with a Radeon 9700 isnt right at all. I can get that with some of my settings lowered. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dark Ranger 0 Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 That score is pretty low for your system specs....they are the ones in your sig right? Under 5k with a Radeon 9700 isnt right at all. I can get that with some of my settings lowered. Hehe, take a look at which 3DMark it is bud...it's the 2003 version. Those are actually really good marks. That benchmark is tough even on stout systems. @rs6003, good choice with the cooling idea, I was getting panicked here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stinger 0 Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 That score is pretty low for your system specs....they are the ones in your sig right? Under 5k with a Radeon 9700 isnt right at all. I can get that with some of my settings lowered. Hehe, take a look at which 3DMark it is bud...it's the 2003 version. Those are actually really good marks. That benchmark is tough even on stout systems. @rs6003, good choice with the cooling idea, I was getting panicked here. lmfao, after 2 formats in one night you see how well you remember what scores are good for which Mark version arrgghh Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RooK 0 Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 OK, not that knowledgable about Intel's side of the overclocking world, but, as you stated, pushing the fsb to 200 should equal 400ddr. Even on an Intel system. Chances are, it's also pushing your pci/agp buses. The only chipset I know of that locks pci/agp is the Nforce2 for AMD cpus. Work up slowly, testing for problems, and download Prime95. If it shows errors in the Torture Test, back off or change something. Don't just jump in huge 33mhz increments. Also, take note that some cpus oc better than others. You will have to mess with cpu voltages, ram voltages and ram timings to be able to go as far as you want and keep things stable. Take note that this will void all warranties and could possibly fry components. It does shorten the life of them. Ram, when overclocking as far as your are, needs to be high quality. Only go with well known namebrands. Corsair's XMS series is probably the best and most used, while other brands such as Nanya, Mushkin and OCZ (some of the late good stuff) will also work. Make sure the ram is CAS 2 rated, not 2.5. About picking mbs, I have no idea what models or chipsets you are choosing, but how are you basing your decisions? I hope its not a random pick based on features. Look at reviews of boards being overclocked online. The names you'll see pop up most often on the overclocking lists are Epox, Asus, and Abit. You should be able to hit 3ghz with good air cooling, if you have proper fan, heatsink and ventilation. Water cooling is not something I would suggest jumping into. It's expensive, sometimes no more effective than good air cooling, and you take the risk of a fitting coming loose or a part breaking and frying your whole system. Good Luck. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stinger 0 Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 OK, not that knowledgable about Intel's side of the overclocking world, but, as you stated, pushing the fsb to 200 should equal 400ddr. Even on an Intel system. Chances are, it's also pushing your pci/agp buses. The only chipset I know of that locks pci/agp is the Nforce2 for AMD cpus. Work up slowly, testing for problems, and download Prime95. If it shows errors in the Torture Test, back off or change something. Don't just jump in huge 33mhz increments. Also, take note that some cpus oc better than others. You will have to mess with cpu voltages, ram voltages and ram timings to be able to go as far as you want and keep things stable. Take note that this will void all warranties and could possibly fry components. It does shorten the life of them. Ram, when overclocking as far as your are, needs to be high quality. Only go with well known namebrands. Corsair's XMS series is probably the best and most used, while other brands such as Nanya, Mushkin and OCZ (some of the late good stuff) will also work. Make sure the ram is CAS 2 rated, not 2.5. About picking mbs, I have no idea what models or chipsets you are choosing, but how are you basing your decisions? I hope its not a random pick based on features. Look at reviews of boards being overclocked online. The names you'll see pop up most often on the overclocking lists are Epox, Asus, and Abit. You should be able to hit 3ghz with good air cooling, if you have proper fan, heatsink and ventilation. Water cooling is not something I would suggest jumping into. It's expensive, sometimes no more effective than good air cooling, and you take the risk of a fitting coming loose or a part breaking and frying your whole system. Good Luck. The SiS648 MSI Max Mobo has locked AGP and PCI buses. Thats for Intel. And I second the no on Watercooling, it costs loads more than a good HS and Fan and its not easy to set up Im sure. I have read loads of forums and people would take 2.4's up to 3 with just air cooling. They had stable systems and they saved the extra money too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rs600cubed 0 Posted March 8, 2003 Author Share Posted March 8, 2003 only considered water cooling because my house dont have a/c and gets pretty warm dring the summer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stinger 0 Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 Hmmm, warm ambient+warm case not good. You can get a good $100 Koolance Watercooling system. But I would get ac b4 I got anything else. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RooK 0 Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 rs600, then watercooling may not help either. The water is cooled down after being heated up by passing through a radiator with 1-3 fans on it. Thus it still needs cool air to keep temps down. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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