Quote:
Whoa. Thank you so much for including all of those screenshots. That is a tremendous help! So, here is my contribution to this thread.
Try these settings and see what happens (but before you begin, please adjust the CPU Core voltage as shown below first and then check it in CPU-Z):
System Clocks
- Disable all of the Spread Spectrum entries for now.
FSB & Memory Config
- FSB - Memory Clock Mode: Unlinked
- FSB (QDR), MHz: 1512 MHz (this makes it 3.4 GHz - yeah, this is safe)
- MEM (DDR), MHz: 800 MHz (or as close to it as possible because using Unlinked unlocks a large amount of invisible dividers that you can use)
CPU Configuration
- Disable C1E Enhanced Halt State
- Everything else is good! Although, if you know you will never use a Virtual Machine, then feel free to disable Virtualization Technology.
System Voltages
- CPU Core: 1.50V, or whatever selection causes the actual voltage that CPU-Z reports to become approximately 1.45V. So please adjust this setting before any of the other settings both above and below so that you have a feel for how this part works. Otherwise, the voltage could end up being too low for the overclock. You see, I'm trying to provide headroom here to ensure that this overclock will work.
- CPU FSB: 1.4V
- Memory: Use CPU-Z's SPD tab and look in the far-right column of the Timings Table. Use the voltage that is listed there.
- nForce SPP: this is the Northbridge voltage. I recommend about 1.4V for now.
Speaking of CPU-Z's SPD tab, use those timings in the far-right column of that Timings Table in the BIOS. So, go to
FSB & Memory Config, then go into
Memory Timing Setting. Change
Optimal to
Expert. Then use Page Up or Page down to adjust the first 5 values to what they were in CPU-Z's Timings Table. They are in the same order from top to bottom as well.
Now press F10 and let's see what happens! All of the other BIOS settings you have set already are great, so you can rest with that peace of mind.
If there are any problems during boot up, then we'll continue adjusting everything until it works. Oh, and for the sake of clarity, I'm not trying to say that I'm confident that a 1.0 GHz is possible, but this is an experiment. And the best part is that if this works, then you just saved yourself a bunch of time!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chau 
Which test should I be running on Prime95?
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If you have a 32-bit version of Windows, then I recommend using
Orthos instead of Prime95. It's the same program as Prime95, except that it has a much better GUI. You can even change Orthos' .ini file so that the default test selection is to your liking.
If you have a 64-bit version of Windows, then I recommend using the
64-bit version of Prime95 because there is no 64-bit version of Orthos.
Note: when testing the CPU Core voltage per my recommendation above, please use the Small FFTs test while CPU-Z is open in order to determine the full-load voltage. The full-load voltage will be lower than the idle voltage due to an intentional design characteristic that we like to call
vDroop. vDroop is simply a measure of protection to avoid dangerous microsecond voltage spikes that would otherwise go to unsafe levels.
Oh, and I can't forget
vDrop. Vdrop is simply what causes the voltage to be lower than what is selected in the BIOS. It's the idle voltage.
How to determine the maximum temperature at any given time:
With a good temperature monitoring program open (I recommend that you try both
Core Temp and
Real Temp to see which one you like better), run the Small FFTs test for 5-10 minutes. After that point, the temperatures will stop rising and will only fluctuate by 1-2 degrees.
Stress Testing (or Stability Testing)
When you're ready to check the stability of the overclock, it's best to utilize all 3 of the preset tests that come with both Orthos and Prime95. You can also use the Custom option, but we'll get into that in the future.
Another excellent stability testing tool is Linpack. There are a few different programs out there which use the exact same Linpack program. But some of these programs are better than others. However, there is one program I strongly feel is superior to them all, and it is
LinX. Why? Because it's kinda like the comparison of Orthos to Prime95: it has the best GUI, but not just that, it provides the most control over Linpack. It has the ability to fine tune the program in order to get the absolute most out of it. LinX also comes with a really good Read Me file which fully explains everything an overclocker needs to know. It should answer any question that you would come up with.
Note: many people will try to convince you that Linpack is superior to the prime tests. Unfortunately, this is not true. Linpack and Prime are simply different from one another, and they must both be utilized (but not simultaneously, of course). You will also get people who will try to tell you that you don't need to use Linpack, and you'll also get people who try to tell you that you don't need to use Prime. Just like before, these are false statements that come from a lack of experience.
I think that's pretty much it for now.
lol
I wish you absolute success with this initial and experimental overclock!
Tips: to take a screenshot of just the active window, use Alt+Print Screen. Be sure to save all screenshots using the .PNG format.
When you're ready to post any screenshots, use the Manage Attachments button beneath the "Submit Reply" and "Preview Post" buttons. You can attach certain files directly from your computer!
