need help o/c'g new hw

i am moving this thread http://www.techzonez.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14239 over to here since i feel it has progressed more appropriately to the overclocking stage. the hardware i received to upgrade my buddy's pc was the asus a7n8x-x mobo, 3 sticks of 512 mb pc3200 corsair ram, a 2800+ amd athlon xp cpu w/stock hs and fan, and an ati radeon vid card with 256 mb vid ram. the mobo has the fsb abilty to go to 400 mhz, as does the ram. the cpu is set at 333 mhz but can be o/c'd. this is where i need help. i am unsure of what to change the settings to in cmos, there are so many options and possible configurations. i've dabbled a little and found that the cpu external frequency doesnt boot at 200 mhz, but is quite happy at 166 mhz. but that is also dependent upon the frequency multiple being set to auto. there are also cpu vcore settings and fsb spread spectrum settings, cpu interface and agp spread spectrum settings... like i said, so many choices. if anyone is familiar with this hw, and can help with the o/c settings, i'd appreciate the input. ~s

I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.
- Groucho Marx

Your not going to get help untill you go have some cake first :)

http://www.techzonez.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14534

you all :crowd: are the best :crowd:. thanks for the :smash: wake-up call, fastgame. i never expected anything like that. i guess the best surprises are the unexpected ones...:thumbsup: ~s


Don't take life too seriously. You'll never escape it alive anyway.
- Elbert Hubbard

I'm trying to download the manual but for some reason the ASUS server keeps disconnecting on me :(

I'll have the settings posted after I get the manual....

[edit]= In the mean time you can go Here and read, I think this is one of the best A7N8X guides on the net ;)

Where the heck is phishhead when you need him ? Hmm prolly putting the whipping on someone :eek:

tx, fast. i went to the link you provided and checked out some threads on my board. i gotta run to work now but i'll check back when i get up in the a.m. ~s

I earn a seven-figure salary. Unfortunately, there's a decimal point involved.
- Unknown

If the CPU is locked then your OC'n may be limited, is that CPU new ? can you change the Multiplier ?

Also if the PC is your friends and your setting it up for him/her then maybe you sholud set to Optimum and let him/her OC the thing. You need to run Memtest and Prime 95 to make sure things are right and that takes time.

Set the CPU to Auto if its locked, if its not locked set to User Defined and 200fsb and the mulitiplier to 10 or 10.5

System Performance= User Defined
CPU Interface= Aggressive
Memory Frequency= Sync
Memory Timing= Aggressive
FSB Spread Spectrum= Disabled
AGP Spread Spectrum= Disabled
CPU Vcore= Auto
Graphics Aperture Size= 128
AGP Frequency= 66

You should only use two sticks of that ram, I don't think you'll OC very high with 1.5gigs

Anyhoo try this and see if it runs stable, after that its a matter of raising the FSB a bit at a time.

ztx, fg. i'll try the settings. i don't think the cpu is locked, as i was able to o/c it but i was experiencing slow response onscreen. i am doing this for a buddy, who is totally computer illiterate and trusts me to make the right judgment call, which is why i am turning to the experts. what i was really looking to find was the best settings of clock speed and agp card to afford his son to make the best of this speedy hw for gaming. i see that phishhead is online, i think i'll drop him quick line and see if he wants to throw his 2 cents in. tx for the direction. ~s

When ideas fail, words come in very handy.
- Goethe

Well if the CPU isn't locked then you should be able to lower the multiplier and run the CPU & Ram @200fsb(400) in sync.

Even if its locked and it stays at 166fsb(333) its best on the Nforce2 to run the CPU & Ram in sync even if you ram is PC3200

ok fg, i tried the settings you left on the earlier post, no boot. i brought everything back to optimal and auto setting except the cpu external, which i left at 200, and it still wouldn't boot. i changed it back to 166, and it booted. whan you say the ram and cpu should run in sync, which settingsa are they? i'll check and make the adj. ~s

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Memory Frequency= Sync

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You won't be able to leave the CPU @200 unless you can lower the Multiplier.

Just leave things the way they are and with the "Memory Frequency= Sync" you should be at 333fsb. Raise the CPU External Frequency a bit at a time and see how far you can go.

well, i changed the cpu freq to 200 mhz then set the multiple to its lowest setting of 6.5x. the memory freq was 100% with a resulting frequency of 200mhz and the mem timings set to aggressive. result: no boot. so i changed the mem timings to optimal, and the cpu multiple to auto. result: no boot. i changed the system performance from user defined to optimal, and mem freq from by spd to auto. result: bios checksum error. so, i change the cpu speed back to 166mhz and i get a boot. now, i changed the multiple to 10x and got no boot, so i changed it to the lowest setting of 6.5x and still no boot. it's lookin more n more like this cpu is locked, i think, anyway. is this a sign of a locked cpu, and if so, can i unlock it? and if so, how? tx for all your help, no matter what the outcome. ~s


The difference between being in a relationship and being in prison is that, in prison, they let you play softball on the weekends.
- Bobby Kelton

Santino my man,I have almost the identical setup as you.FG probably doesn't remember but he advised me in a way back post and I kept it in Word doc format.You should be able to get some more gitty up with these instructions. :D

grazie, zipp. molto buon. now if can only open the file.... i just tried and received a flag that said internet explorer couldn't open it... i.e. was not able to open this internet site. requested site was either unavailable or cannot be found. please try later. hmmm:confused:

Challenges are what make life interesting; Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.
- Joshua J. Mari

[edit] never mind, zipp. i just realized that when i loaded a new 20 gig mp3 player on my pc last week, it created a new hard drive which in turn really messed things up on this box. i am looking at my props of the drive i formatted as ntfs, actually all four partitions, d, e, f, and g, and they are all showing up as fat32. there have been other quirky things happening on this since then, so i think i'm just gonna fdisk it n start over. when i do, i'll d/l the doc. tx for your advise.

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.FG probably doesn't remember but he advised me in a way back post

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I remembered, I did a search for it but couldn't find it :o

santino it sounds like the CPU is locked and if its rather new it is, your going to need one of the Mobile CPU's if you want to OC much.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...103-439&depa=0
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...103-436&depa=0

These are unlocked and will run @400+fsb easy.

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Also if the PC is your friends and your setting it up for him/her then maybe you should set to Optimum and let him/her OC the thing. You need to run Memtest and Prime 95 to make sure things are right and that takes time.

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I still stand by this unless your going to spend the time, you need to make small setting changes and test.

Set the CPU to 166 (333) and the ram to "Sync" 166 (333) this will give better performance than the CPU @333 and the ram @200 on the Nforce2.

CPU Interface= Aggressive, this will give you the (ram) 1T command rate which is faster than 2T.

Memory Timing= SPD, after you set for this report back what the timing is with that ram @166

FSB Spread Spectrum= Disabled
AGP Spread Spectrum= Disabled
CPU Vcore= Auto
Graphics Aperture Size= 128
AGP Frequency= 66

i am a li'l confused by the setting you ask me to make, in that the memory timings have three choices, optimal, aggressive, and user defined, and the only time i'm afforded the spd selection is when i go into the memory freq. also, i am unable to access the CPU Interface settings. all the rest of the settings have been changed to your advice. ~s


Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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in that the memory timings have three choices, optimal, aggressive, and user defined, and the only time i'm afforded the spd

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Ok then go in there and set to User Defined and what ever numbers are there just leave them as they are for now. Can you tell me what the timings are ?

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i am unable to access the CPU Interface settings

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Set System Performance to "User Defined" and it should open up more options, in fact if you set everything that has the "User Defined" it'll open everything that can be changed.

So you now have the CPU & Ram running in sync @333fsb ? is it running ok ?

ok, i have everything opened up to user defined that possibly can be butht e cpu interface still is not accessible. will that put the kibosh on this whole o\c'g option? i'm going to open up a wordpad and enter all of my options so you ccan have a better idea of what i have here. i'll post in a few. ~s

[edit] ok, now i've done it. i can't get it to even post. the cursor sits in the upper left hand corner and blinks. i think i'll have to reset the the bios. ~s

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ok, i have everything opened up to user defined that possibly can be butht e cpu interface still is not accessible.

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Hmmm, how about if you highlite it and use the up & down keys...will that toggle its settings ?

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[edit] ok, now i've done it. i can't get it to even post. the cursor sits in the upper left hand corner and blinks. i think i'll have to reset the the bios. ~s

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I don't know what you've done but if things aren't running @333fsb you have problems.

I earn a seven-figure salary. Unfortunately, there's a decimal point involved.
- Unknown[/QUOTE]

Me too.....me and my six ex-wives....LMAO :D

Geezzz I hope santino didn't blow that board up, he hasn't been back :(

sorry for the delay in responding, fg. i was limited on my time cuz i had forgotten i signed up for a shift at the hosp (thank god for the wife/secr'y/cook) so, i just reset the cmos settings, it booted, and so i packed it up and brought it over to my buddy's house. gave them a quick lesson on the changes and said that we'll tackle this again some day. can't thank you enough for all your assistance on this. i'll try to get a full day of no kids, dogs, wife, or work, and then go at this again, but i can't see that happening in the too near future. ;)

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost.
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

[edit] not to be forgotten, phishhead, accept my grateful thanks for all you did behind the scenes on this li'l project, also. you guys have been great. <humble apologies for not mentioning this sooner> ~s