Advice on OCing an Athlon 64 x2 5600+

InfernalSolo · 03-25-2008, 02:18 PM

First of all, let me list all the stock speeds and settings of my hardware.

I have a:

ASUS Crosshair Mobo.

PSU: BFG 1000W (+3.3v/28A +5v/28A +12v/20A +12v/20A +12v/20A +12v/20A -12v/0.8A +5vSB/6.5A)

FSB: 200Mhz.

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 @ 2.8Ghz (14x multiplier) with a vcore of 1.39v

HT Link: 1000Mhz (5x multiplier)

RAM: G.Skill 2GB (2 sticks of 1GB) DDR2 800 (running at 800mhz) running at 1.95 volts (rated at 1.8-2.0).

The CPU has a thermal electric cooler on it that keeps it below 26C even at heavy load at stock speeds.

I came up with an OC that I thought would work out really well (note that every change I make here is in the BIOS settings, not with any OCing program such as nTune). Here are the settings that I tried:

FSB: 250Mhz

CPU: 13x multiplier

HT Link: 4x multiplier

Ram: 667Mhz

for a final speed of:

CPU: 3.25Ghz

HT Link: 1000Mhz

RAM: 834Mhz

As you can see, the CPU got about a 16% increase. The RAM barely got OC'd at all, and the HT Link didn't change at all. However, windows got a BSOD on the windows loading screen. It didn't even boot. I set speeds back to stock again, and windows booted normally (with a sigh of relief). I don't think that OC was too radical. Any suggestions on how to make it work? Is the vcore on the CPU fine as it is?

**linderman** · 03-26-2008, 04:19 PM

try bumping your cpu voltage to 1.45

make sure you run orthos for atleast two hours to get a stability guarantee

what are your ram settings

use cpu-z to verify >>>> then paste a screenshot of all your cpu- z tabs

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

InfernalSolo · 03-26-2008, 06:45 PM

The ram settings should be included in my CPU-Z screenshots. Please note that all the settings you see in these screenshots are of stock settings as I have been getting the BSOD when I try to OC.

As for the CPU voltage, is 1.45 safe? It seems a bit high, but then again, I have not had much experience with over-voltaging.

**linderman** · 03-26-2008, 06:57 PM

your ram is "value" ram which is not going to offer you much in the overclocking world surely you will never see a 15% OC

overclocking ram will be capable of more voltage than 1.8 volts (more like 2.1 -2.2)

and timings of 4-4-4-12

you could sell your existing sticks off on ebay and get some corsair XMS DDR2-800 PC2-6400 CAS4 memory then you will be ready to spice things up a bit

InfernalSolo · 03-26-2008, 07:07 PM

I agree that my ram is not the best out there, and I am planning on purchasing new ram. I was planning on purchasing this ram here.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145194

Is that ram more like it? It has much tighter timings than what I have now. Should I get it? If so, will that get rid of my BSODs?

**linderman** · 03-26-2008, 07:23 PM

YEAH thats better and I would expect that memory to clear up your BSOD's once you pump up the voltage to 2.1 volts

InfernalSolo · 03-26-2008, 07:37 PM

Thanks so much for all your help linderman! It will be a little while (a week or two) before I order that new ram. I'll also buy some of that nice ArticSilver paste to beef up my CPU cooling even more (been running with stock paste). Once I do that, I'll try the OC again (possibly playing with my vcore a bit, but I want to avoid that if at all possible). If I run into any more problems, I will let you know.

**linderman** · 03-26-2008, 07:40 PM

you can PM me and give me a nudge (

) >>>>if I miss your future adventures

I wake up around the third kick

InfernalSolo · 03-27-2008, 05:18 PM

Haha will do

.

**mattlock** · 03-28-2008, 10:57 PM

To hit 3.2 stable you'll definately need a Vcore increase, likely to 1.5v maybe even 1.55v. Most 5600s can do 3ghz on stock voltage, but anything more needs a Vcore bump. I don't recommend going anymore than .15v over the stock Vcore. Be sure to keep an eye on your temps.

Good luck with your OC.

BTW, you're in good hands with Linderman.

03-25-2008, 02:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
InfernalSolo Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 49 OS: Vista Home Premium x64 SP1 My System	Advice on OCing an Athlon 64 x2 5600+ First of all, let me list all the stock speeds and settings of my hardware. I have a: ASUS Crosshair Mobo. PSU: BFG 1000W (+3.3v/28A +5v/28A +12v/20A +12v/20A +12v/20A +12v/20A -12v/0.8A +5vSB/6.5A) FSB: 200Mhz. CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 @ 2.8Ghz (14x multiplier) with a vcore of 1.39v HT Link: 1000Mhz (5x multiplier) RAM: G.Skill 2GB (2 sticks of 1GB) DDR2 800 (running at 800mhz) running at 1.95 volts (rated at 1.8-2.0). The CPU has a thermal electric cooler on it that keeps it below 26C even at heavy load at stock speeds. I came up with an OC that I thought would work out really well (note that every change I make here is in the BIOS settings, not with any OCing program such as nTune). Here are the settings that I tried: FSB: 250Mhz CPU: 13x multiplier HT Link: 4x multiplier Ram: 667Mhz for a final speed of: CPU: 3.25Ghz HT Link: 1000Mhz RAM: 834Mhz As you can see, the CPU got about a 16% increase. The RAM barely got OC'd at all, and the HT Link didn't change at all. However, windows got a BSOD on the windows loading screen. It didn't even boot. I set speeds back to stock again, and windows booted normally (with a sigh of relief). I don't think that OC was too radical. Any suggestions on how to make it work? Is the vcore on the CPU fine as it is? Last edited by InfernalSolo : 03-25-2008 at 02:22 PM.

03-26-2008, 04:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,900 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Advice on OCing an Athlon 64 x2 5600+ try bumping your cpu voltage to 1.45 make sure you run orthos for atleast two hours to get a stability guarantee what are your ram settings use cpu-z to verify >>>> then paste a screenshot of all your cpu- z tabs http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php __________________ Why would YOU try to power a $300.00 video card with a $70.00 power supply ? Do YOU enjoy trouble shooting ?

03-26-2008, 06:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,900 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Advice on OCing an Athlon 64 x2 5600+ your ram is "value" ram which is not going to offer you much in the overclocking world surely you will never see a 15% OC overclocking ram will be capable of more voltage than 1.8 volts (more like 2.1 -2.2) and timings of 4-4-4-12 you could sell your existing sticks off on ebay and get some corsair XMS DDR2-800 PC2-6400 CAS4 memory then you will be ready to spice things up a bit __________________ Why would YOU try to power a $300.00 video card with a $70.00 power supply ? Do YOU enjoy trouble shooting ? Last edited by linderman : 03-26-2008 at 06:58 PM.

03-26-2008, 07:07 PM	#5 (permalink)
InfernalSolo Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 49 OS: Vista Home Premium x64 SP1 My System	Re: Advice on OCing an Athlon 64 x2 5600+ I agree that my ram is not the best out there, and I am planning on purchasing new ram. I was planning on purchasing this ram here. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145194 Is that ram more like it? It has much tighter timings than what I have now. Should I get it? If so, will that get rid of my BSODs?

03-26-2008, 07:23 PM	#6 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,900 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Advice on OCing an Athlon 64 x2 5600+ YEAH thats better and I would expect that memory to clear up your BSOD's once you pump up the voltage to 2.1 volts __________________ Why would YOU try to power a $300.00 video card with a $70.00 power supply ? Do YOU enjoy trouble shooting ?

03-26-2008, 07:37 PM	#7 (permalink)
InfernalSolo Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 49 OS: Vista Home Premium x64 SP1 My System	Re: Advice on OCing an Athlon 64 x2 5600+ Thanks so much for all your help linderman! It will be a little while (a week or two) before I order that new ram. I'll also buy some of that nice ArticSilver paste to beef up my CPU cooling even more (been running with stock paste). Once I do that, I'll try the OC again (possibly playing with my vcore a bit, but I want to avoid that if at all possible). If I run into any more problems, I will let you know.

03-26-2008, 07:40 PM	#8 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,900 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Advice on OCing an Athlon 64 x2 5600+ you can PM me and give me a nudge () >>>>if I miss your future adventures I wake up around the third kick __________________ Why would YOU try to power a $300.00 video card with a $70.00 power supply ? Do YOU enjoy trouble shooting ?

03-27-2008, 05:18 PM	#9 (permalink)
InfernalSolo Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 49 OS: Vista Home Premium x64 SP1 My System	Re: Advice on OCing an Athlon 64 x2 5600+ Haha will do.

03-28-2008, 10:57 PM	#10 (permalink)
mattlock moderator hardware team Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 3,754 OS: XP SP2, Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon My System	Re: Advice on OCing an Athlon 64 x2 5600+ To hit 3.2 stable you'll definately need a Vcore increase, likely to 1.5v maybe even 1.55v. Most 5600s can do 3ghz on stock voltage, but anything more needs a Vcore bump. I don't recommend going anymore than .15v over the stock Vcore. Be sure to keep an eye on your temps. Good luck with your OC. BTW, you're in good hands with Linderman. __________________ Matt Everest-Thermal Paste Instruction-Power Supply Info-Sensorview PSU Calculator-Speedfan-Bench Test Help TSF Fight Disease. It's Free!