Yur

Hi everybody,

I'm new to this forum, so please correct me if i do something wrong.

So far i've been quite an advanced computer user(building my own computer and things like that), but since i wanted to OC my processor i got somewhat stuck in al the info that i find on the almighty net.

I have a quite old thing here running, and i feel quite ashamed to give you the specs ;) :

--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
User Name yur
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Name YUR-WINDOWS (Yur Windows)

Motherboard:
System Memory 2048 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Motherboard Name ASRock K7S41GX (2 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 AMR, 2 DDR DIMM, Audio, Video, LAN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Motherboard Chipset SiS 741GX
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU Type AMD Duron, 1612 MHz (12 x 134)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BIOS Type AMI (10/18/06)

Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 4000 (64 MB)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monitor Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB] (LAN080034211)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce4 MX 4000

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter SiS 7012 Audio Device
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Storage:
SMART Hard Disks Status OK
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Optical Drive PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-105 (DVD:4x/2x/12x, CD:16x/8x/32x DVD-RW)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Optical Drive SAMSUNG CD-R/RW SW-208B (8x/4x/32x CD-RW)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IDE Controller SiS PCI IDE Controller
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disk Drive ST320410A (20 GB, 5400 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disk Drive IBM-DTLA-305040 (40 GB, 5400 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)

Partitions:
G: (NTFS) 39252 MB (24154 MB free)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Input:
Mouse Microsoft PS/2 Mouse
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard

SiS 741GX Chipset - Host-PCI Bridge

Right, i guess you don't need all this info, only more specific...So if you need additional info (witch i guess), please tell me, i hope i'll find it... ;)

So far, i did a few stress tests (with OCCT), and the outcome was somewhat surprising.
My CPU is normally running at about 35 deg. Celsius, and after an 10 minutes of stress it was about 37 or 38 deg. and approx. an hour later it still was.

And then, foul as i was, i just got into my BIOS setup utility and gave the... Something(i can't get to it's name...) 166 Mhz instead of 133. So from then i was running at 2Ghz, cuz i didn't lower the multiplier, did the stress test again, with about the same results...

After that i directly lowered the Mhz again to 133, cuz i didn't want my hardware to get damaged, and i wasn't sure if what i did was right or not. Today i discovered that i wasn't.

I've read a few pieces of text about overclocking a AMD Athlon 64, but i don't know if al info in that article applies to me and my Duron...

Right, my first goal is to get it to 2Ghz properly, then i'll see whats next... So if you could help me with that, i'd be really glad.

Tnx!

Yur

If my english isn't right, i'm sorry, i'm dutch... ;)

Nexxtech

Welcome to TSF. As long as you have a decent heat sink and cooling setup I think your OK with what you had. I'm surprised you were able to overclock a Duron by 400mhz. If your system runs stable and your temps are OK your in good shape.

Have you viewed ASRock's website for CPU upgrades. http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=K7S41GX. The Hybrid Booster overclocking feature. CPU support upgrades are to the left of your screen under CPU support list. Something to consider. By the way your English is fine.

Yur

Right, tnx.
Yesterday i forgot to mention that with raising the CPU Host frequency, i lowered the DRAM frequency because then both my dram and my CPU host would be running at 166Mhz. Is it safe to leave the ram on 200Mhz?

And i forgot to tell you that i have a power supply of 300 Watt (ST- 300 ATX). Is that sufficient?

Does it make any difference to set the CPU Host frequency by jumper or in the setup utility?

Well, the idea of upgrading my CPU got into my mind earlier, but i decided to save my money for a whole new computer... because otherwise all my other stuff is still some kind of stone-age style.

Tnx so far ;)

Yur

Nexxtech

PC3200 DDR Ram can run up to 400mhz I believe if settings allow it. I wouldn't push it though 200mhz should be fine. A 300 watt PSW should also be fine for that set up.

If the BIOS settings allow you to change frequencies than their is no reason to play with motherboard jumpers. I would view your manual to see if all available adjustments are available in the BIOS compared to motherboard jumper settings.

Good luck with your new computer later, sounds like this ASRock machine has been a good older rig, I would keep it around.

Yur

Ok, tnx, i'm gonna OC it now... No, first bios update....:D
Yeah, my memory should do 400 without problems, but my mobo can't handle that. ;)
I'll post my benchmarks and stress report later on ;)

I'll definitely keep it around, guess I'm gonna make a somewhat more portable thing of it when i have a new computer. :D

Greetz,

Yur

Yur

Okay, overclocked, newest BIOS version, works fine :D
I did two stress tests of 4 hours, and the outcome was nice. :D
At 1.6 Ghz it didn't come over 36.6 deg. and at 2 Ghz it clung to 40 deg. :D

Benchmarks:

Normal:

Memory read: 1424 MB/s
Memory write: 411 MB/s
Memory latency: 164.1 ns

Overclocked:

Memory read: 1533 MB/s
Memory write: 424 MB/s
Memory latency: 203.6 ns

I'm actually wondering if the life time of my CPU decreases with overclocking...?

Right, really tnx for help ;) I guess next step is unlocking.... well, at least find out what that actually means... :P

Nexxtech

It's probably safe to say overclocking a CPU decreases it's life and creates other risks too on your hardware. Likely applies more though to newer higher watt CPU's and such. Your outcome was nice and with your temps your good to go.

Here's an interesting guide to unlocking your Duron. http://www.ocinside.de/go_e.html?/ht..._painting.html. I have personally never unlocked a CPU but have heard about it. I guess careful comes to mind.

Yur

Yeah, i've been to that site before, but it seems to cost pretty much time i guess...And seems pretty riskfull. :) I'm think i'm not gonna do that anymore, better spend that time in getting money to buy a new computer...Oh, i forgot to say that the voltages of my computer are quite strange... VCore is good, 1,49 for 1.50, but my 3.3v is 2.88/2.90, 5v is 4.97, so seems ok, and my 12v is 11.49. Is that something to worry about? I'm quite worried about my 3.3v, cuz it is .4 v under normal... :S

Yur

Nexxtech

Not my better area of knowledge Yur, although I would think in my opinion it may have to do with L2 locked cache on the overclocked Duron. Another user may be able to further post. See you around on TSF.

Yur

Ok, thanks however for your guide through to over clocking. ;)

See you elsewhere on the forum!

Yur

PS: @ a moderator, in my opinion this thread can be closed