cant overclock

[Pie-X-]

Its hard to google for this so i thought id post it here, hoping some techies would have a clue how to fix it. Here goes..

Not overclocked, fine!

Overclocked with "clockgen" or "AI booster" not fine. My mouse freezes every now and again along with any sound, although graphics arent affected in the slightest. It unfreezes after about 10 to 15 seconds. How do i fix this?

So the simple answer would be to not overclock it, but i bought one hell of a big ass cpu fan and id appreciate any help :( .

Edit: my specs are not in my sig ;)

[Al]

See if you can find info at the forums at www.overclockers.co.uk

[Lewiji]

I've never trusted software to overclock (that said, I've never used either of those programs). BIOS is the most direct and probably safest way to OC.

Could be a number of things: While you have a big fan, it could be lacking a proper airflow. Make sure the case is tidy and unobstructed and you have a flow of air moving past the CPU.

You could be unlucky and have a chip that has low overclocking capabilities: All chips are different and overclocking is simply luck on how much you can push it. Some chips will overclock loads, some will only have a small margin of improvement.

[Tiggs]

The processor and mobo should be able to overclock pretty well, it looks like the ram might be the thing that is holding you back. Try loosening the timings on it, knock it back to cas 3 and see if that helps the stability. There are various other timings you could adjust, as Dougie said check the OcUK forums for help on that, there are lot of people on there who could help you out.

[Pie R Squared]

Right:

Overclocking with software is utterly crap and IMO should only be used on systems that don't have decent clocking options (definitely not the case here) or for tweaking the absolute bollocks out of an already clocked rig for benchmarking. Gain access to your BIOS, have a shufti about and report back with your findings. If the system shits itself when you change something clear the CMOS and try again. If it goes utterly tits up post the following:

(what HTT frequency you are using, vCore, v DIMM, RAM timings, whether you're using a divider or not and system temp (the latter not being that important in diagnosing a problem, but interesting to see)

Andy

[Stringy Pete]

My guess is that it's probably the memory crapping out on ya, if you'd gone for some higher rated RAM, or some higher quality stuff (such as something with BH5 chips, clocks well with more volts) it would've been ideal.

However, there is a way around it, you'll be able to put the memory on a divider, most people who overclock with pc3200 do this, as usually the RAM can't do as high a speed as the FSB they want to achieve (such as 250). This'll come in the form of a ratio like 1:1 (which it would be at stock) or 6:5 etc (FSB:RAM). Running at 6:5 will allow you RAM to run at 208 while your FSB was at 250 for example, enabling much higher clocks. Unlike Intel chips, running an A64 with asynchronous RAM doesn't have a major performance hit. To do this change your 'Memory Speed' (or something) to 166MHz.

Another pointer is to check what your HTT multiplier is. The best thing to do is to make sure that your FSB x the HTT multi is lower than 1000, as most boards have issues over that speed. So if it's 5x at the moment, notch it down to 4x for 250 and so on.

And use the BIOS, it takes longer than software, but you have more control.

edit: And oh yeah, btw, your sig breaks the rules ;)

edit a-go-go: Download Prime95 for testing whether or not your system is stable with overclocks, use the Torture Test ;)

[Pie-X-]

im a newbie when it comes to overclocking so i was looking for something that would make it easier rather than going into the bios :( . That said, everyone has to start somewhere.. got any good sites to get info from?
By the way il use prime 95 and see how it goes, i'll report back with some info.
Pie r squared thanks for the support, if it goes "tits up" and wont work though, how will i post ;)?
Finally, i think my motherboard is pretty safe, it resets itself if it cant handle something or gets too hot and sets the clocks a little lower each time. Its me i dont trust.

[Stringy Pete]

Join http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/

Go to the Overclocking section, and state that you haven't a clue what you are doing and plead for help.

Failing that, there is this guide to read (shamelessly stolen from there)
It sometimes quotes other hardware, like the 4000+, but most of it is still relevant.
AMD64 Clocking

HTT is also known as FSB on Intels.
CPU multi : 12x on your CPU (4000+SD) (can be dropped down, but don't use half multi's they do weird things to memory speeds), this, multiplied by FSB = core speed. It varies depending on CPU. FX's have multi's unlocked both ways. The rest have a locked upwards multi but unlocked downwards. i.e. a 3000+ @ 1.8ghz will have a multi of 9. 9 x 200mhz HTT = 1.8ghz. The minimum is 4x, all the way up to the max of your chip.
HT (aka LDT on DFI's) multi: 1-5x this, multiplied by the FSB = the bus speed of the board i.e. 1000mhz maximum. Try to keep it under 1000mhz as often boards will crash/not boot even 1mhz over this figure. x5: 200mhz, x4: 250mhz, x3: 333mhz. These are the limits you can go up to on FSB when using a specific multi. DFI's are different though, often they can run higher than 1000mhz but it may cause some minor stability issue. I have however run 1250 (5x250mhz) but this is all the luck of the draw. It makes very little difference to benchmarks etc so most O/C'ers leave it at 3x and don't worry about it. (unless they are only using up to 250mhz FSB in which case they set 4x - you might as well).

Now onto RAM. When you overclock the FSB, you are also overclocking the RAM. Never leave the main 5 RAM settings on auto: CAS, TRCD, TRP, TRAS and Max mem clock <- this should be set to 200mhz unless you want to run on a divider. People run on dividers when their RAM can't go high enough with the FSB. e.g. the ram has a limit of 250mhz and they have their FSB set to 275mhz. The divider then splits the RAM and the FSB into a ratio. 1:1 is the best ratio i.e. FSB=RAM. A 166mhz divider changes the Ratio to 6 (FSB) :5 (RAM) i.e. a 300mhz FSB will run the RAM at 250mhz - 300:250.
Now onto the actual timings:
CAS: this has the biggest effect on memory. Try to keep it at 2 or 2.5 (depending on your RAM -I see you have TCCD like me so I'll give you more specifics). TCCD will run at CAS 2 up to about 220mhz max usually at low voltages. After this, you must use 2.5. Do not use 3 until past 300mhz at least as there is massive difference between 2.5 and 3. 2.5 offers the best stability and really is what you should leave it at.You change this setting last if you can't get stable at a particular frequency.
TRCD: This should ideally be set at 3 for high FSB. If you can't get stable at 3, use 4 but go no higher. This is the second timing you change to try to get stable. This is the 3rd setting you change to get stable
TRP: this should ideally be kept at 3 like TRCD. These two timings are very similar and ought not to exceed 4. 3 gives good performance and with the right other settings can allow good FSB.
TRAS. This is the first setting to change. It can be set from 5 to about 11 which ought to be the limit on TCCD. Once the RAM is not stable at 11, change other settings.

Order of change to get stability: TRAS (to 11 max), TRCD (to 4 max), TRP (to 4 max), CAS (leave at 2.5, don't use 3 unless you reaaaally have to).

1T/2T is known as CPC enabled and disabled on DFI's, or memory command rate on other boards. 1T is CPC enabled and 2T CPC disabled. It is the memory command rate and should always be left at 1T because although 2T allows for higher speeds, it takes a massive performance hit on the RAM and is just not worth it. Always try to keep 1T settings.

TCCD is very fussy with volts, no-one can say how well yours will do. Mine was very responsive at 2.6V up to 260mhz after which 2.9V was required. Everything in between would give me lots of memtest errors. As a general guide, your RAM shuld be able to do these settings at these speeds:
200mhz 2-2-2-5 1T default
250mhz: 2.5-3-3-5 (or 6) 1T
275mhz: 2.5-3-3-7 1T <- with the right settings. (see I have 2.5-3-3-6 1T, but that required lots of settings changes into other areas, don't ask, I just copied them from someone at Xtremesytems). If not 2.5-3-3-7, 2.5-3-3-10 or the like.
300mhz: 2.5-4-4-8 <- this is not really a guaranteed, it's all down to your specific chips. Mine did 300mhz at this speed but I haven't really tested it much, it was mildly stable.

All other settings are out of my knowledge. In this area, there is a thread at Xtremesystems which I just copied and tweaked to get my speed: Click me. Don't use the same voltages, just find your best. This was for G.Skill RAM but all TCCD is the same.

Special Note: When overclocking, you must lock any AGP/PCI or PCI-e locks. In the case of the DFI you have, you must set PCI-e frequency to 101mhz to avoid getting screen corruptions when you set a high FSB.

An example overclock on your system to 2.8ghz from 2.4ghz stock:

HT multi x3.
HTT (FSB): 280mhz
CPU multi: x10
CPU voltage: anything up to 1.55V on air, 1.6V on water, and 1.7V on phase change. See how far you get on stock volts first then work up to reach stability.
LDT voltage, just try 1.3v
Chipset voltage, try 1.6V
RAM voltage: up to you but 2.9V max on TCCD without a fan blowing over your RAM sticks. 3.1V absolute maximum - <- don't use this though, 3.0V is all you really need max.
RAM timings, follow the 275mhz thread at xtremesystems above and adjust for 280mhz by dropping the TRAS to 8 say.

Once you have done the timings, straight in for a memtest (built into the DFI BIOS). memtest tests 5 and 8 for about 30mins each for a rough idea of stability and then the whole test for about 6 hours (overnight) to make sure. To run a specific test, type this upon entering memtest.
'c'
'1'
'3'
'5' for test 5, '8' for test 8
'Enter'
'0' <- zero.

Once memtest is done and passed, go into windows and use OCCT from here and this runs a 1/2 hour test and will give you an idea of stability (run the stability test). Then once this has passed, run prime95 for about 10 hours I'd say, longer if you want. Then use away at your new speed.

[Pie-X-]

i remember trying to register for overclockers a while back will only accept certain emails. Whatever it is anyway it didnt accept my gmail and hotmail which are the only ones i have. If someone feels generous enough to post an in depth how do i overclock this pc thread il give any details necessary.

[Stringy Pete]

Okily doke, I'll look into it

I want this list of things: (I know you've already said some, but I want them in easy to use format)

Motherboard
Processor
RAM
PSU
CPU Voltage
RAM Voltage
RAM Timings
HTT Multi

err, can't think of anything else. They'll all be in your bios.

[Pie-X-]

http://img433.imageshack.us/my.php?image=settings5ih.jpg

"hopefully" it should give you everything you need, anything else just ask! Thanks alot for the help, id rep ya but i.. cant..
By the way, my dad broke into my room and shut down my computer while i ran an overnight prime95,, so i'll try it again tonight.

EDIT: can use the pic yourself on overclockers :).