New to Overclocking

radium_1 · Mar 12, 2005, 09:31 PM

Hey guys, around 4 months ago I bought an SK83G model of shuttle SFF computer. I have been extremely happy with it, but discovered that I could overclock the processor and RAM to gain speed. I have an athlon 64 3000+ newcastle core and corsair XMS twinx 3200 RAM (2x512), and managed to get my "FSB" of the processor to 215 mHz... I can play a few games, but with others, such as far cry, halo and doom 3 I get a message intermitently "No signal". Can anyone tell me the EXACT cause for why this is happening.
I know this is pretty vague but pleeease respond, someone. My timings are 2.5-3-3-6, and I'm frustrated that I cannot get past this 2150 mHz hurdle. I also know that every pro. oc's differently, but TIPS in this regard would be soooo appreciated. You're all pros, and I hope I can get to 2000 mHz. Also, my voltages are 1.55 for pro., 2.6 for RAM, and 1.6 for agp... I CANNOT lock the agp/pci voltages...

Again, PLLZZZZ help me out, thank you! I'll list specs if u ask for 'em...

itchy5 · Mar 12, 2005, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radium_1

Hey guys, around 4 months ago I bought an SK83G model of shuttle SFF computer. I have been extremely happy with it, but discovered that I could overclock the processor and RAM to gain speed. I have an athlon 64 3000+ newcastle core and corsair XMS twinx 3200 RAM (2x512), and managed to get my "FSB" of the processor to 215 mHz... I can play a few games, but with others, such as far cry, halo and doom 3 I get a message intermitently "No signal". Can anyone tell me the EXACT cause for why this is happening.
I know this is pretty vague but pleeease respond, someone. My timings are 2.5-3-3-6, and I'm frustrated that I cannot get past this 2150 mHz hurdle. I also know that every pro. oc's differently, but TIPS in this regard would be soooo appreciated. You're all pros, and I hope I can get to 2000 mHz. Also, my voltages are 1.55 for pro., 2.6 for RAM, and 1.6 for agp... I CANNOT lock the agp/pci voltages...

Again, PLLZZZZ help me out, thank you! I'll list specs if u ask for 'em...

small form factor

fun stuff. well i can help you out if you post your full system specs

(and cooling, load/idle temps etc.)

radium_1 · Mar 12, 2005, 09:58 PM

Shuttle 754 pin Sk83G
Athlon "Newcastle" 3000+ 2.0 gHz @2.15
Corsair XMS Twinx 3200 2-2-2-5 (2x512)
Radeon 9600 PRO 128 MB
Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS
Seagate barracuda 7200 RPM 160 GB
MAG Innovision 19" LCD Monitor
Sony Dual Layer 16X DVD Burner
Logitech Z5300 THX 560 Watts/280 RMS
240 Watt SilentX PSU

(It's a VIA K8M800 Mobo)

Idle is around 46, load is around 55-56 C
It's not a temp problem, but I think a BIOS thing.
If someone could tell me the exact process of performing a BIOS update via CD, I'd appreciate it. I do not have a floppy...

radium_1 · Mar 12, 2005, 10:05 PM

I would also like to add that I can safely get beyond 2000 mHz, even to 2250, but only to windows. In games and other 3D apps, however, is my only problem. I essentially need a stable system to play games without them crashing terrible, not simply to achieve the greatest clock speed possible for bragging rights.

itchy5 · Mar 12, 2005, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radium_1

I can play a few games, but with others, such as far cry, halo and doom 3 I get a message intermitently "No signal"

so you problem is that when you play games OCed to 215x10 your screen goes black and it says no signal? cause if it is it sounds like a video problem.

**Asmoday** · Mar 12, 2005, 10:06 PM

Hmmm...are you running your RAM at 2-2-2-5 when overclocking? If so you might want to relax those timings a tad...

radium_1 · Mar 12, 2005, 10:08 PM

read my prob again, i'm running at 2.5-3-3-6
It's a video problem, yea, but it doesn't make sense why I get a prob in the menu of far cry and not in the menu of nfs2- underground, lol...

itchy5 · Mar 12, 2005, 10:08 PM

so if its a video problem then its video card related :\

drakesteakn · Mar 12, 2005, 10:09 PM

one thing i will mention is its a stability problem when ur monitor will go black like that. and another problem i see is a 240W psu. it just seems 240W is really low Wattage. your temps are high for my liking. 45C to 50C is my limit for idle and load for me before i shut the computer off. i did reach 76C one time, didnt do any damage but scared the crap outa me. thats what i can see that would give u those problems.

**Asmoday** · Mar 12, 2005, 10:09 PM

Oops, i just noticed in you initial post that you where running at 2.5-3-3-6...

radium_1 · Mar 12, 2005, 10:12 PM

should I.... revert my 470/330 oc'ed video card to normal speeds?

I'm so cool I forgot to mention that... Sorry guys...

itchy5 · Mar 12, 2005, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radium_1

should I.... revert my 470/330 oc'ed video card to normal speeds?

I'm so cool I forgot to mention that... Sorry guys...

yes, i sugest ocing one at a time. get a stable CPU OC then a GPU OC

radium_1 · Mar 12, 2005, 10:24 PM

I'll try that... I want, essentailly, to have an athlon 64 3200+, saving me around 70 bucks. That would be nice, and if that doesn't work it's nice to know where i can get help. Thanks everyone, I'll be back.

**Asmoday** · Mar 12, 2005, 10:25 PM

Do you have fast writes on or off in the bios? When i'm trying to overclock, my screen sometimes blanks out with it enabled..

radium_1 · Mar 12, 2005, 10:25 PM

yea they're enabled
I'll turn em off, see what happens (or doesnt happen)

radium_1 · Mar 12, 2005, 10:46 PM

I tried turning off fast writes, increasing and reducing my aperture size, and defaulting voltages, and am currently at stock for everything except for FSB and Ram (which i increased to 3-3-3-8). The exact problem i need fixed now is with doom 3. When I click "New game", "load game" or even "quit" the monitor goes blank and says "No signal" IMMEDIATELY, and the sound pauses and stutters, freezing my entire computer. Video card speeds are also defaulted, and nothing else was changed.

I don't get it, a simple 150 mHz increase should not be such a drag on my system... Andandtech reviewed the exact same core on a 3200 and got to 2245 perfectly fine. A friend of theirs even got up to 2550. This is ridiculous; I'm thinking that my sound card is dragging too much juice out of the PSU, but it shouldnt freeze my computer...

*RyderOCZ* · Mar 12, 2005, 11:15 PM

Radium_1,

My recommendation is to uninstall the video card drivers, run driver cleaner, then reinstall catalyst 4.9, I think, maybe 4.8. The newer drivers are more optimized for the new cards and I think you may be running into some kind of issue there.

What is the default Vcore for that CPU? How high are you setting the Vcore?
Do you have control over the LDT/HTT multi? Set it to 3x if you do.
2.5-3-3-10 would be my recommendation for timings and should be plenty loose for up to 225FSB. Voltage on those sticks, I would try 2.6V first with 2.8 for a Max.

itchy5 · Mar 13, 2005, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyderOCZ

Radium_1,

My recommendation is to uninstall the video card drivers, run driver cleaner, then reinstall catalyst 4.9, I think, maybe 4.8. The newer drivers are more optimized for the new cards and I think you may be running into some kind of issue there.

What is the default Vcore for that CPU? How high are you setting the Vcore?
Do you have control over the LDT/HTT multi? Set it to 3x if you do.
2.5-3-3-10 would be my recommendation for timings and should be plenty loose for up to 225FSB. Voltage on those sticks, I would try 2.6V first with 2.8 for a Max.

ya that would be good. but i like setting my ram at 5:4 to see how high the CPU will go then rebooting and putting it to 1:1 with the new CPU settings and seeing what i can get

. i get a 3.2E to 3.95 (TOAST stable for 30 min 43C load) and some 2-2-2-5 corsair from my sis's rig (shh dont tell her

) to 2.5-3-3-7

ddr500 also my 6800GT to 425/1200

.
so moral of the story is CPU the RAM then VIDEO CARD

class dissmissed

radium_1 · Mar 13, 2005, 07:05 PM

The thing is, the card (9600 PRO) works perfectly at 2100 mHz. Are you telling me that I can play the games at 2150 mHz or 2200 mHz with a simple reinstallation of my drivers? That doesn't make sense to me. I need advice on how to maintain a stable overclock. Maybe my CPU has reached its limit (though how pathetic 100 mHz of an oc is...). Sorry for such a denial, but I think it is something else, unless a driver fix can help my CPU....

radium_1 · Mar 13, 2005, 07:50 PM

K, I think I know what's going on now... For some reason or another, my BIOS wont let me increase my memory frequency above 200 mHz. Is there any way to unlock the other frequencies beyond this? Plzzz, I'm actually excited that I can overclock this thing now, if only I can find a way to adjust the frequency. Thank you to whoever can help me!!!