yojimbo

I haven't tried overclocking in years but have an older Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro 939 MB and found an Opteron 180 and am hoping to see what I can pull out of it so I don't have to replace my old system. I can barely remember where to start and am hoping I can find a little help here so thanks in advance.

First off - trying to figure out my stepping code but am not doing to well . . .

http://www.overclock.net/amd-cpus/23...ml#post2679706

Screen shot of CPU-Z:

fuloran1

Not sure about the stepping, but I know that the 180's are awesome overclockers. I know someone who got their 175 (2.2ghz) up to 2.9 easy. I loved the opty chips.

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txtmstrjoe

The only way to know what your CPU's stepping batch code is to disassemble the cooling apparatus and have a look at your CPU's IHS. The stepping code will look like this:

LCB9E 0704TPMW

As far as I know, this information is not encoded into the chips, so no software will be able to derive it from the processor itself (i.e., it is not like DNA). It is a physical mark (like a tattoo) on the CPU's IHS.

Good luck.

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"What time is it? It's 9:39!" (The Official S939 Appreciation Club and Knowledgebase)My OCN Blog: Joe-Pinions (Have a Daily Nibble)

“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime.”—Lao Tzu (thanks to Blitz6804)

Today's "thlnk3r's thoughts": "You may fire when ready."

The Duke

Opty 939s aren't usually hungry for voltage. Try to take it as high as you can at default, then up the vcore a notch and work it up more.
Dependent on your RAM specs, you may/will have to set a divider at some point and more so if you reduce the CPU's multiplier.
Use OCCT for good quicker testing for stability. When you feel you've found your stable max, do an overnite test with Orthos or Prime foir a final test.

Knowing all your system specs would help us a lot.
As would CPU-Z shots of your RAMs default timings from the SPD tab and the Memory timings which will reflect the actual RAM speeds when you OC the CPU

FYI, the easiest OCine will likely be with the default 12x multiplier, but the overall best performance will be with lower multiplier and the least RAM divider needed to keep the RAM at its highest possible stable speed.

And...
HI and WELCOME to OCN

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yojimbo

Thanks for the quick replies. I guess with some help I'll just go for it.

Here are my system specs and CPU-Z screen shots.

Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI (Award F4)
AMD Opteron 180
2GIG DDR PC3200 (200mhz) 2.5|3|3|6
GEForce 7800GT 256 pci (single)
500W PS





I've been looking for a good guide to follow to walk me through the process. Any suggestions?

txtmstrjoe

As far as overclocking S939 guides go, there are many available online. This one, though, is probably my favorite of all. It gives a great, detailed description of what I think is the most effective approach to overclocking: The Divide and Conquer approach will facilitate analysis of when things go wrong as you're progressing in your overclock because it is methodical and systematic and never haphazard.

With patience, a good analytical approach, and an honest outlook when it comes to testing, you'll be able to get a fast and stable overclocked machine.

I also invite you to have a peek at the Socket 939 Appreciation Club and Knowledgebase as well; there are many helpful and friendly mavens eager to share their experience and knowledge with this venerable platform. The link to the Club is in my sig.

Good luck, and have fun!

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"What time is it? It's 9:39!" (The Official S939 Appreciation Club and Knowledgebase)My OCN Blog: Joe-Pinions (Have a Daily Nibble)

“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime.”—Lao Tzu (thanks to Blitz6804)

Today's "thlnk3r's thoughts": "You may fire when ready."

yojimbo

Great links txtmstrjoe - I'd found that overclock guide and was glad to get your second on it! The other links are great as well!

I've run into a speedbump getting past 2700mhz on the CPU. According to all my software monitors (OCCT and Speedfan) I've got a PS that is jumping all over the place on the 5V rail . . . I haven't had ANY previous problems before overclocking and never came across an error with OCCT until trying to hit 225 mhz on the bus. My bios reports the 3V and 12V as okay (but there is no 5v check?). According to the article it says not to toss out my PS because the software might not be reporting correctly . . .

So my question is how do I figure out if I have a bad 5V rail using something other than the software? Here's my 5v chart (WARNING it's NASTY):

Pao

Wow, that looks more like a lie detector sheet.

txtmstrjoe

yojimbo, I would suggest using a digital multimeter to check your voltage rail outputs.

Here are two hopefully helpful links on how to use one:

• First link
  
• Second link

Hope that helps, and good luck!

__________________

"What time is it? It's 9:39!" (The Official S939 Appreciation Club and Knowledgebase)My OCN Blog: Joe-Pinions (Have a Daily Nibble)

“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime.”—Lao Tzu (thanks to Blitz6804)

Today's "thlnk3r's thoughts": "You may fire when ready."

decoc182

wat i did with my old opty 180 (a8n32 deluxe mobo) was rammed up the voltage by 0.1 - 0.2 V and aim for the next bus speed that can yield a nice hypertransport multiplier to give 1000. e.g at stock its 200 x 5 (1000mhz), by next step up was 250 x 4 (1000mhz) hypertransport, and with a 250 bus you can set an 11 or 12 multy to give a nice OC. If you ram isnt rated to ddr 500 then set a divider on it. If your aiming for 250 x 12 (3000ghz not impossible) then make sure your voltage is upped 0.3 V. Dont worry, the opty 180 is hard to burn out and pop due to over zealous voltages.