[Overclocking] A7V8X / Barton 2500+

Hello all,

I'm planning to get an Athlon XP Barton 2500+ unlocked (if i'm lucky enough
to find one). If it's possible with my configuration, i wish to overclock it
like a Barton 3000+ (the best processor supported by the A7V8X according
Asus website).

My motherboard has the FSB333 sticker on south bridge so the processor
should be supported. My RAM is an Elixir, 512 MB DDR PC3200 set on 2,5-2-2
in the BIOS settings. Since its speed is 400 MHz (2 x 200 MHz in real), i
should be able to run the FSB at 200 MHz as well, right ? For informations,
here are the technical specifications of my RAM, taken from
http://www.memory-up.com where i bought it :

/copy ON

This document describes Memory-up.com's 64M x 64-bit (512MB), CAS Latency
3.0 SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM) DDR400 memory module. The components on this
module include sixteen 32M x 8-bit (200MHz, 5.0ns, CL3.0 components) SDRAM
in TSOP packages. This 184-pin DIMM uses gold contact fingers and requires
+2.5V. The electrical and mechanical specifications are as follows:

Non-ECC, Un-buffered( Non-Registered ), Non-Parity
Low Density
Clock Cycle Time (tCK) 6.0ns (min.) / 15ns (max.)
Row Cycle Time (tRC) 60ns (min.)
Refresh Row Cycle Time (tRFC) 60ns (min.)
Row Active Time (tRAS) 45ns (min.) / 12,000ns (max.)
Single Power Supply of +2.6V (+/- .25V)
Power 2.700 W (operating)
UL Rating 94 V - 0

/copy OFF

Did anyone succeed to overclock a Barton 2500+ on this motherboard and with
this same kind of RAM (DDR PC3200) ? If so, could you please report your
experience and the following details :

- Frequency of the processor
- Vcore (processor voltage)
- FSB
- Multiplicator coefficient
- RAM settings
- RAM voltage
(... anything else ?)

Also, is there any risk to overclock badly the PCI / AGP ports ? I heard
it's quite dangerous but mainly depends of the FSB speed. If it's set on 200
MHz, like the RAM, how is it ? How does the KT400 chispet support it ? What
are the precautions to take before any manipulation ?

Many questions, i know. But i'm a newbie in overclocking

Thank you.

--
Lucius Snow
"I'm not here, this isn't happening" - Thom Yorke

On Thu, 8 Jan 2004 01:40:06 +0100, "Lucius Snow"
<> wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>I'm planning to get an Athlon XP Barton 2500+ unlocked (if i'm lucky enough
>to find one). If it's possible with my configuration, i wish to overclock it
>like a Barton 3000+ (the best processor supported by the A7V8X according
>Asus website).
>
>My motherboard has the FSB333 sticker on south bridge so the processor
>should be supported. My RAM is an Elixir, 512 MB DDR PC3200 set on 2,5-2-2
>in the BIOS settings. Since its speed is 400 MHz (2 x 200 MHz in real), i
>should be able to run the FSB at 200 MHz as well, right ? For informations,
>here are the technical specifications of my RAM, taken from
>http://www.memory-up.com where i bought it :

>
>/copy ON
>
>This document describes Memory-up.com's 64M x 64-bit (512MB), CAS Latency
>3.0 SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM) DDR400 memory module. The components on this
>module include sixteen 32M x 8-bit (200MHz, 5.0ns, CL3.0 components) SDRAM
>in TSOP packages. This 184-pin DIMM uses gold contact fingers and requires
>+2.5V. The electrical and mechanical specifications are as follows:
>
>Non-ECC, Un-buffered( Non-Registered ), Non-Parity
>Low Density
>Clock Cycle Time (tCK) 6.0ns (min.) / 15ns (max.)
>Row Cycle Time (tRC) 60ns (min.)
>Refresh Row Cycle Time (tRFC) 60ns (min.)
>Row Active Time (tRAS) 45ns (min.) / 12,000ns (max.)
>Single Power Supply of +2.6V (+/- .25V)
>Power 2.700 W (operating)
>UL Rating 94 V - 0
>
>/copy OFF
>
>Did anyone succeed to overclock a Barton 2500+ on this motherboard and with
>this same kind of RAM (DDR PC3200) ? If so, could you please report your
>experience and the following details :
>
>- Frequency of the processor
>- Vcore (processor voltage)
>- FSB
>- Multiplicator coefficient
>- RAM settings
>- RAM voltage
>(... anything else ?)
>
>Also, is there any risk to overclock badly the PCI / AGP ports ? I heard
>it's quite dangerous but mainly depends of the FSB speed. If it's set on 200
>MHz, like the RAM, how is it ? How does the KT400 chispet support it ? What
>are the precautions to take before any manipulation ?
>
>Many questions, i know. But i'm a newbie in overclocking
>
>Thank you.


I don't have this board but IIRC... the VIA chipset on that board can
only run 2 sticks of PC3200 @ 200MHz (DDR 400), while supporting a CPU
at 166MHz (DDR 333).

If the BIOS allows you to set the FSB faster then 333 (166MHz) you would
also be over clocking the PCI bus and AGP bus unless the bios also has
divider settings or has separate MHz adjustments for these buses as
well.


Ed

"Ed" <> a écrit :

> I don't have this board but IIRC... the VIA chipset on that board can
> only run 2 sticks of PC3200 @ 200MHz (DDR 400), while supporting a CPU
> at 166MHz (DDR 333).

So FSB 333 = 166 MHz, right ? I did a mistake then, i thought the CPU with
a FSB 333 could run at 200 MHz. About the memory, according the manual, it
only holds one stick of PC3200 (max. speed supported). Anyway i've got only
one of 512 MB so i'm fine.

> If the BIOS allows you to set the FSB faster then 333 (166MHz) you
> would also be over clocking the PCI bus and AGP bus unless the bios
> also has divider settings or has separate MHz adjustments for these
> buses as
> well.

Yes, i've heard of the divider settings. I just found a post on Usenet
archives that says they don't exist on the A7V8X :/. But the FSB won't go
above 166 MHz. So in this case, is there still any risk for the PCI / AGP
bus ?

> Ed

Cheers.

--
Lucius Snow
"I'm not here, this isn't happening" - Thom Yorke

"Lucius Snow" <> wrote in message
news:btif0a$2a9s$...
> "Ed" <> a écrit :
>
> > I don't have this board but IIRC... the VIA chipset on that board can
> > only run 2 sticks of PC3200 @ 200MHz (DDR 400), while supporting a CPU
> > at 166MHz (DDR 333).
>
> So FSB 333 = 166 MHz, right ? I did a mistake then, i thought the CPU
with
> a FSB 333 could run at 200 MHz. About the memory, according the manual, it
> only holds one stick of PC3200 (max. speed supported). Anyway i've got
only
> one of 512 MB so i'm fine.
>
No, you thought correctly.. the CPU can be run at 200Mhz FSB but the A7V8X
doesn't support seperate PCI/AGP bus speeds so if you ramp up the FSB, you
will also be increasing those bus speeds which *could* adversely affect
their operation. I have the same m/board and CPU and simply increased the
multiplier to clock the CPU.. quick, easy and doesn't affect other
components.

--
TP

"Taipan" <> a écrit :

>>> I don't have this board but IIRC... the VIA chipset on that board
>>> can only run 2 sticks of PC3200 @ 200MHz (DDR 400), while
>>> supporting a CPU at 166MHz (DDR 333).
>>
>> So FSB 333 = 166 MHz, right ? I did a mistake then, i thought the
>> CPU with a FSB 333 could run at 200 MHz. About the memory, according
>> the manual, it only holds one stick of PC3200 (max. speed
>> supported). Anyway i've got only one of 512 MB so i'm fine.
>>
> No, you thought correctly.. the CPU can be run at 200Mhz FSB but the
> A7V8X doesn't support seperate PCI/AGP bus speeds so if you ramp up
> the FSB, you will also be increasing those bus speeds which *could*
> adversely affect their operation. I have the same m/board and CPU
> and simply increased the multiplier to clock the CPU.. quick, easy
> and doesn't affect other components.

Among the Athlon XP, only the Barton 3200+ is FSB 400. The others are FSB
333 so for them, it'll be limited to 166 MHz, right ?

--
Lucius Snow
"I'm not here, this isn't happening" - Thom Yorke

"Lucius Snow" <> wrote in message
news:btjj2n$2ttm$...
> "Taipan" <> a écrit :
>
> >>> I don't have this board but IIRC... the VIA chipset on that board
> >>> can only run 2 sticks of PC3200 @ 200MHz (DDR 400), while
> >>> supporting a CPU at 166MHz (DDR 333).
> >>
> >> So FSB 333 = 166 MHz, right ? I did a mistake then, i thought the
> >> CPU with a FSB 333 could run at 200 MHz. About the memory, according
> >> the manual, it only holds one stick of PC3200 (max. speed
> >> supported). Anyway i've got only one of 512 MB so i'm fine.
> >>
> > No, you thought correctly.. the CPU can be run at 200Mhz FSB but the
> > A7V8X doesn't support seperate PCI/AGP bus speeds so if you ramp up
> > the FSB, you will also be increasing those bus speeds which *could*
> > adversely affect their operation. I have the same m/board and CPU
> > and simply increased the multiplier to clock the CPU.. quick, easy
> > and doesn't affect other components.
>
> Among the Athlon XP, only the Barton 3200+ is FSB 400. The others are FSB
> 333 so for them, it'll be limited to 166 MHz, right ?
>
> --
> Lucius Snow
> "I'm not here, this isn't happening" - Thom Yorke
>

Actually, the xp3000 came in both 166(333ddr) and 200(400ddr) mhz fsb
versions.

Brendan C.

"Brendan" <> a écrit :

> Actually, the xp3000 came in both 166(333ddr) and 200(400ddr) mhz fsb
> versions.


Alright, thanks.

A few more questions : i've been told it's very recommanded to run both the
RAM and the processor at the same speed. Is it true ? Is it better for
performances to slow down the RAM and get it synchronous ? Can i make run a
Barton FSB333 at 166 MHz and my RAM PC3200 at 200 MHz without any trouble ?
What's the best deal ?

--
Lucius Snow
"I'm not here, this isn't happening" - Thom Yorke

On Thu, 8 Jan 2004 19:07:53 +0100, "Lucius Snow"
<> wrote:

>"Brendan" <> a écrit :
>
>> Actually, the xp3000 came in both 166(333ddr) and 200(400ddr) mhz fsb
>> versions.
>
>
>Alright, thanks.
>
>A few more questions : i've been told it's very recommanded to run both the
>RAM and the processor at the same speed. Is it true ? Is it better for
>performances to slow down the RAM and get it synchronous ? Can i make run a
>Barton FSB333 at 166 MHz and my RAM PC3200 at 200 MHz without any trouble ?
>What's the best deal ?

You can try benchmarks to see how it works out but I keep reading that
you should run them in sync. Bump up the FSB and lock the memory at
100% .

On Thu, 8 Jan 2004 01:40:06 +0100, "Lucius Snow"
<> wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>I'm planning to get an Athlon XP Barton 2500+ unlocked (if i'm lucky enough
>to find one).

Just my penny's worth.............

I put a lot of effort into getting an unlocked 2500+ because of what I
read on here and because of my experince overclocking my last PC with
an Athlon Thunderbird and the pencil trick. But I'm not sure that with
the 2500+ it was worth the hassle. In my experience, unless you want
to squeeze the last .0000001% out of your setup then a locked 2500+
will suffice because overclocking the FSB with good memory overclocks
the 2500+ near to its max anyway. The old 'processor bound' days are
gone; and you probably won't notice any appreciable difference in
performance even if you manage to push the processor a few Mhz higher.

If you can get an unlocked 2500+ then 'its nice to have' but I'd think
carefully before spending extra money or time on it. Good
overclockable memory is far more important.



Dan

did you find a good source for unlocked Athlon XP Barton 2500+ ? Most
retailers won't promsie unlocked cpu's

"Dan Dan" <> wrote in message
news:...
> On Thu, 8 Jan 2004 01:40:06 +0100, "Lucius Snow"
> <> wrote:
>
> >Hello all,
> >
> >I'm planning to get an Athlon XP Barton 2500+ unlocked (if i'm lucky
enough
> >to find one).
>
> Just my penny's worth.............
>
> I put a lot of effort into getting an unlocked 2500+ because of what I
> read on here and because of my experince overclocking my last PC with
> an Athlon Thunderbird and the pencil trick. But I'm not sure that with
> the 2500+ it was worth the hassle. In my experience, unless you want
> to squeeze the last .0000001% out of your setup then a locked 2500+
> will suffice because overclocking the FSB with good memory overclocks
> the 2500+ near to its max anyway. The old 'processor bound' days are
> gone; and you probably won't notice any appreciable difference in
> performance even if you manage to push the processor a few Mhz higher.
>
> If you can get an unlocked 2500+ then 'its nice to have' but I'd think
> carefully before spending extra money or time on it. Good
> overclockable memory is far more important.
>
>
>
> Dan
>
>