Basic overclock guide for 939/AM2 - Overclocking (OC) in windows!!
Dual & Single-core!

Facts about this guide:
---For beginners (not meant for serious overclockers)
---One of MANY methods to OC (by no means the best way)
---No need multiple reboots (OC done in windows)
---If something goes wrong, just reboot computer and all settings will be as normal
---OC for CPU only (no RAM OC, maybe another guide?? )
---OC at your own risk (It is WELL-KNOWN that OC can damage your computer)

Example rig:
3800+ X2 939 (Multiplier 10x, HTT multiplier 5x, FSB 200, vcore 1.35v)

Things to ensure before OC
1) Your SATA harddisk is connected to a locked SATA port
----- e.g. for K8N Neo2, SATA 1 & 2 ports are unlocked. Have to connect to SATA 3/4. If not, you'll get corrupted windows!!!
2) You have a good CPU cooler (not stock cooler!)
3) A good PSU
3) Know how to reset bios

Things to do in bios
1) Lock your AGP to 67 Mhz (PCI-E need locking at 100Mhz)
--- Note : In PCI-E, Nvidia & ATI cards may need different Mhz for locking - nvidia @ 101 Mhz, ATI @ 105 Mhz (need confirmation!)
2) Disable all the following:
--- Cool & Quiet
--- Spread spectrum
--- Any auto-overclocking features
3) Use a ram divider (instead of 200Mhz, select 133Mhz or lower)
4) Set the HTT to 3x (HTT x FSB should never be more than 1000 Mhz)

Settings at default
1) FSB at 200 Mhz (will be increased in windows)
2) Multiplier at 10x
3) Vcore at 1.35v

Software that you need (Hyperlinks soon....)
1) CPU-Z Click here
2) Orthos (for stress dual-core CPUs) Click here
3) Clockgen Click here
4) Core temp (newest version can cause random reboots!) Click here

OC in windows (This is where the fun begins!!!)
1) Run CPU-Z, ensure
-----core speed is 2000 Mhz
-----voltage (vcore) around 1.35v
-----HT link <1000 Mhz (should be at 600Mhz)
-----Memory frequency <200Mhz (should be at 133Mhz)

2) Run Core Temp
-----Check TCaseMax (for 3800+ it is 67'c)(That's the maximum core temperature!)
-----Important : Not recommended to reach near this temp during OC

3) Run Clockgen (this is where the OC starts!!!)
-----Select "Clocks", then "Get values"
-----HTT should come out at 200Mhz
-----DO NOT touch the AGP settings!!!
-----Increase HTT to 205 Mhz
-----Click "Set values" - current CPU speed should be 2050 Mhz

4) Once CPU speed increased, run Orthos (make sure it is set to "Small FFTs - stress CPU")
-----if no error after 15 min, stop orthos
-----increase HTT by 5 Mhz (to 210 Mhz (CPU speed to 2100 Mhz))
-----rerun orthos for another 15 minutes

Note : No need to reboot yet!

5) Repeat steps 4 until Orthos fails (has error). Once error occurs:
-----Reduce HTT by 5 Mhz
-----Run Orthos, if no failure, stress CPU for 6-12 hours (for "rock stable" CPUs, recommended to stress for at least 24 hours)
-----If Orthos still failed during prolonged stressing, reduce another 5 Mhz and rerun orthos

6) Once CPU stable, this is roughly your max CPU OC (note down the HTT frequency)
-----e.g. Max CPU OC : HTT 250 (250 x 10 = 2500 Mhz)
-----reboot
-----set HTT to 250 in bios
-----reboot and see whether you can boot into windows
-----if can, run some benchmarking programs to make sure everything is stable e.g. 3DMark
-----if cannot boot into windows, then the OC is not stable, reduce HTT by 5 Mhz & reboot, if possible, then run benchmarking programs

Important : Always keep an eye on core temperature when OC!!!

Regarding CPU Vcore
For X2, Vcore can usually be kept at stock
If need more OC, can increase Vcore but not recommended to increase more than 0.05-0.10v (unless you have good coolers and you are a hardcore overclocker!)

Example
-----For 3800+ X2, can usually keep at stock Vcore 1.35v
-----If want more OC, can increase Vcore to 1.40-1.45v

Returning other parameters to near normal
RAM - your RAMs may be running at a lower speed
-----if your HTT is at 230, then you have OC you HTT up by 30 (230-200=30)
-----your RAMs will be running at 163Mhz (Original 133Mhz + 30 = 163 Mhz)
-----So, the RAMs are not running at the stock speed of 200Mhz
-----In this case, you can change the RAM divider in BIOS to 166Mhz
-----So, 166+30 = 196Mhz (which is closer to 200Mhz)

Note : If your RAMs can run at 230 Mhz, then you can set the RAM divider to 1:1 (200 Mhz)

HTT - HTT may be running at lower speed
-----if your HTT is 230, then your mobo is running at 230 x 3 (multiplier) = 690Mhz
-----you can change the HTT multiplier to 4x
-----So, your HTT will be running at 230 x 4 = 960 Mhz (which is closer to 1000 Mhz)

Single-core 939 - Differences in OC
Basically the same, except that you need to use Stress Prime 2004 instead of Orthos
----Stress Prime 2004 is the single-core version (both created by the same author)
----Download here

AM2/DDR2 - Differences in OC
Overclocking AM2 CPU is also basically the same.
Just that AM2 uses DDR2.
For DDR2, you need to see your rated DDR2-RAM and reduce it a step or two (Just like when you reduce your DDR400 from 200 Mhz to 133Mhz)

Rated DDR2----------Reduce to (in bios)
DDR2-800-------------667 @ 533 Mhz
DDR2-667-------------533 @ 400 Mhz

Basically, you don't want to overclock your RAMs above the rated value (unless you know your RAMs can be overclocked!)

Example
If HTT is 230 Mhz, the DDR2-800 (which was dropped down to 667 Mhz) will be running at 727Mhz (667 x 30 x 2), which is still below 800Mhz.

Remember : This thread is about overclocking the CPU. NOT the RAMs.

Fine-tuning your OC (If you really want to squeeze ever MHz out of your CPU!!!)
Once CPU stable, you can squeeze more Mhz by increasing you HTT by 1 Mhz interval instead of 5 Mhz.
e.g. HTT 240 Mhz --> 241 Mhz --> 242 Mhz
After each increase, orthos until stable
This way, you'll know your max CPU speed to the last 1 Mhz!!!

Fine-tuning your OC (whether to OC from windows or BIOS)
Coming soon!

_____________________________________________________________________


If anybody has any suggestions/corrections, please inform me. Thx!
I will update this guide if new info is available.

This post has been edited by kmarc: May 18 2007, 09:27 PM

Why post are you referring too? Is the the RAM overclock or CPU overclock?

Errr..... pls look at the guide again. It is clearly stated that the guide was on CPU overclocking and NOT ram overclocking!

OIC, sorry for misunderstanding you.

Ya, it's true. Definitely in overclocking, it is preferable for the RAM to run in sync with the CPU (i.e. 1:1). However, in some cases, the RAM may not be able to reach the Mhz of the CPU, and thus the role of RAM divider. This is especially true in X2, where a lot of them are great overclockers and can be overclocked by 40-50 Mhz on the HTT/FSB (e.g. 250 Mhz on HTT). Many beginner's rig only have value ram and most of them can't even go 5-10 Mhz above baseline!!! (i.e. 205-210 Mhz).

Hmmm..... maybe I should come up with a beginner's guide to RAM overclocking....

Of course the 4:5 HTT 250Mhz, RAM 200Mhz! The amount of CPU speed is more as compared to the amount of bandwidth that you gain from 200Mhz to 210Mhz!

There's a lot of review of the impact of higher CPU speed or higher RAM bandwidth.... Now, let's see whether I can find those review.....

Advance overclocking - BIOS OC but windows running C&Q!

Recent polls indicate that many of our forumers overclock their rig 24/7 but the computer is either idling or only doing minimal work e.g. BT, surfing

This is a disadvantage as you are:
1) Using more electricity, thus more $$$
2) Unnecessarily stressing your rig, thus shorter lifespan
3) Bad for environment
4) errr... anything else?

Facts about this guide
- Overclock 24/7 in BIOS (C&Q disabled) but able to run C&Q in windows!
- For advance overclockers, as this method can DAMAGE your rig if you don't know what you're doing!!!
- If any happens, can just reboot and your settings back to original BIOS OC
- For AMD systems (I don't have Intel CPU, sorry)
- Do it at your OWN risk
- You DO NOT have to use this feature if you don't want to

Example of what this guide will teach you to do:
System (will use my specs for this guide):
AMD X2 4200+
----- Stock : 2.2 Ghz (200x11), 1.35v
----- BIOS OC @ 2530 Mhz (230x11), 1.35v (Stock Vcore)
----- DDR400 ram (OC at 230 Mhz)
In windows
If no need OC, can run the rig as normal (with C&Q!):
---Load : Stock clock 2.2 Ghz, 1.35v
---Idle : 1.0 Ghz, 1.1v
If need OC, can:
---Turn off C&Q (in windows without reboot!)
--- Set to OC settings : 2530 Mhz (in windows without reboot!)

Programs that you need:
1) Rightmark CPU clock (RMCC)- very useful and powerful program, be careful when using it!!!
2) CPU-Z
3) A64info
4) Orthos
5) Clockgen

Note : You can also use other programs/apps if you know how to.

Before you start :
1) Know your stock CPU speed & Vcore- both at idle and load (under C&Q)
2) RAM speed at OC
3) Rig already OC in BIOS

Let's get started!!!
1) Launch all the apps stated above

2) In windows, set windows power scheme to RMclock power management (See Figure 1 below)

3) In Clockgen
-----Set HTT back to 200 Mhz (Stock clock : 200x11 = 2.2 Ghz)
Important : Reason to set back to stock speed: Not recommended to run C&Q + OC

4) In RMCC (there's many ways to set this up)
-----Select Profiles tab- choose AC Power Profile : Performance on Demand (see Figure 2)
-----Uncheck Index 0 (FID 4x) (As 4200+ x2 has 5x as the lowest CPU multiplier)
-----Check the rest : Index 1 to 7 + Auto-adjust intermediate VIDs
-----Make sure that in Index 1 - VID = 1.100v
-----Make sure that in Index 7 - VID = 1.350v
-----Click apply
-----Select Profiles>Performance on Demand tab (see figure 3)
-----Check "Use P-State Transitions (PST)"
-----Make sure all Index 1-7 is checked
-----Click apply (and voila!!! You have C&Q running!!!!)

5) Fine-tuning Vcore (to make sure Vcore is correctly set)
-----Look at your Vcore in CPU-z at idle (1.0 Ghz, 1.1v) and load (2.2 Ghz, 1.35v)
-----Use orthos to load the CPU
-----If your Vcore is not similar, you can adjust it in RMCC
-----In RMCC>Profiles tab - AC power profile : Performance on Demand
-----Click on Index 1 (for idle) or Index 7(for load) to adjust the Vcore (VID select) (either upwards or downwards depending on the discrepancy shown in CPU-Z)
--------Example: CPU-Z shows Vcore idle 1.075v (normal 1.1v) and load 1.37v (1.35v)
----------So for Index 1 - increase VID select from 1.100v to 1.125v (increases 0.025v)
----------So for index 7 - decrease VID select from 1.350v to 1.325v (decreases 0.025v)
-----Click apply
-----Recheck CPU-Z to ensure correct Vcore at idle and load

And there you have it! You computer is running C&Q function!!!
BUT, not yet finished......

6) Setting Maximum Performance
-----In RMCC>Profiles>Maximal Performance
-----Check "Use P-State Transitions (PST)
-----Check only Index 7
-----Make sure all other index 1-6 is unchecked
-----Click apply

7) So now, if you want C&Q function - select Performance on Demand in Profiles>AC power profiles

8) If you want full overclocked PC as in BIOS, select Maximal performance
-----Then use clockgen to increase HTT to you previous overclocked HTT (i.e. 230 Mhz in this rig)

Important - Please READ:
Return your HTT to normal before you enable the C&Q feature
Switch off C&Q first before increasing HTT to OC settings
----If not, your computer might hang or reboot!!!
If you want to switch off your rig or reboot, switch RMCC back to maximal performance (i.e. C&Q off!!!) - if not, during the boot process, your system might hang while booting into windows when RMCC is loaded and C&Q kicks in!!!
-----Just in case you reboot with C&Q function on, just set the BIOS to normal, boot to windows and select back the default "Maximum Performance"

RAM adjustment
Coming soon!

Command line interface/short-cuts
Coming soon! (If I can find them!)

What if OC vcore higher?
Coming soon!

Advance RMCC features/settings
Coming soon!

Other settings
You can actually try different settings in RMCC, like limiting your rig to idle mode only!!!
You can also do it the other way - BIOS normal, windows C&Q or windows overclocked!

Is it possible to use C&Q features when OCing
Generally not recommended
However, if required, can still use C&Q features!! Coming soon

Lastly
I think I have the steps correct. If there is anything wrong with the guide, pls inform me.
Any advices or suggestions, kindly inform me also.

To be continued/updated.....

This post has been edited by kmarc: May 22 2007, 09:19 PM


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Yup. Or set it too high on load!

However, if accidentally set too low in idle, or set to C&Q mode on reboot, can correct this by booting to dos and rename the RMCC folder so that it won't load during windows. Boot to windows and delete the registry/configuration files in RMCC folder.

Errr.... Anybody knows which one is the config files?

Good idea, will post some pictures later.

However, as I have mentioned, it is preferably NOT for newbies as they may run into problems and don't know how to overcome it!!!

Haiyaa....disappointing....my first guide was closed then moved after appeal. Now my other guide got moved here...... How to discuss???

Guess any contributions are regarded as not useful.....

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. It is known that C&Q can be enabled when overclocking your rig. Note the keyword : NOT ADVISABLE ("It is not advisable to run C&Q when overclocking")

When I had my AMD64 3500+, I had C&Q running from bios and had no problems whatsoever overclocking my rig.

However, when I upgraded to X2 4200+, I found that anything above 2530 Mhz would cause my rig to hang if C&Q is enabled.

And imaging your CPU suddenly going from load 2.9Ghz 1.5v to 1.0Ghz 1.1v or vice versa. Might put a huge strain on the CPU???

Right, I've added some pictures in the guide. Any other suggestions?

Wished I had a dedicated thread for discussing this guide (and the other guides too!!!)

If anybody have any tips, kindly advice. Thx.

OIC, you mean to say that if I overclock my CPU at HTT 240 (2.64 Ghz), the idle speed is 240x5=1.2 Ghz, which would require more voltage, right? (Instead of 1.1v which is suppose to run at 1.0Ghz)

Hmmm..... good tip! Thx. Will try it when I get back.

What CPU are you using?

OIC. So sorry, I don't have experience with pentium D CPUs.....

Lol. I don't think there is somebody overclocking as a profession. Most do it as a hobby though some are extreme overclockers.

You are really willing to pay for helping you overclock your rig???

Depends on what you are using your rig for.

Anyway, you could probably learn how to overclock by yourself.

Look at my sig below titled "OC in windows". It'll get you started.

BTW, you should refer to the 1st page of "fundamentals of overclocking" for further references.

Something is wrong. Idling at 65'c??!???!

You should check to see whether your heatsink is seated properly or not. It is generally recommended not to go above 60'c when overclock, and that's for LOAD!!!

1) The RAMs will only run in synchronous mode if it is at 1:1

2) The ram & CPU frequency usually follow the FSB speed

3) No, it depends on your ram multiplier/divider/ratio

4) Up to you, depending on the limits of your OC of each component

You can read my new guide on "Understanding your computer" to better understand the relation of FSB to RAMs and CPU. It is still not yet finished as I have no time currently..... maybe have to wait until my rig is down again....

See here : http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/633097

Reduce your vcore or your overclock. Get better 3rd party HSF. Open your side casing panel or better casing airflow....

Locked SATA ports means that the ports will not be overclocked when you overclock you mobo/CPU/rig....

If the SATA port is not locked, you will get corrupted data when you overclock your rig...

You can either check your mobo's manual or google it on the net....

For example, I was previously using a MSI K8N Neo2 mobo which had locked SATA ports 3 & 4..... so I just plug my harddisk into those ports, rather than ports 1 & 2.....

Most experts will say that the reduction in lifespan is not really significant as you'd probably change CPU before the lifespan is over....

In terms of years, a normal CPU can last for 10 years? 20 years? 30 years? I dont' think anybody can tell you the right answer as each individual CPU has a different lifespan....

Even the 3 year warranty period is not for certain, as certain CPU can rarely kaput before that period, even at stock clock...

There's some explanation of these settings in my guide. Take a look here:
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/626450
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/627600