Overclocking guide for newbies here...

[U2]

Be nice if this could be a sticky - also if people could post results/experiences using this method...or any mistakes experienced OCers might see...good luck, and thanks to Tesla for the initial procedure which I have adapted.

Version 1 - 29/10/03 - By Tesla and NF7-S

Any questions to be kept in this thread. PLEASE read this fully BEFORE even starting - then ONLY use it as a guide for reference. To start with benchmark your PC with 3DMark2001 (link below) and make sure the PC is stable at stock with Prime95 (link below) run this overnight or whilst at work. Get a big bit of paper and pen - make a note of your 3DMark score as this is what we're looking to improve...make a point of jotting down everything that happens - so if all fails you know what worked and can revert to it easily.

WARNING: I hold NO responsibility for any damage caused

WARNING: Before starting make sure you find out how to reset your BIOS for if the PC fails to boot and doesn't recover itself


Okay, I'll start with what you need...


Prime 95 - *www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

Mobo Monitor (or your own mobo specific one) - *mbm.livewiredev.com/download.html

Memory tester - *www.memtest86.com/ (you might need this to test your RAM is ok if there are strange problems)

3D Mark 2001 SE build 330 - *futuremark.com/download/ (there are other benchmarks at this link to if you want them)


Now what you need to know...


HEAT is the enemy, heat is what limits overclocking most of all - and it also kills stuff! Due to heat you might want to consider a few more purchases...

Coolermaster Aero 7 Lite - *www.overclockers.co.uk/acata...master_122.html

Arctic Silver III Thermal Compound - *www.overclockers.co.uk/acata...terials_27.html

Some cleaning fluid that evaporates - Isopropyl alcohol (tape head cleaner) is a good example.

This will set you back about £20-£25, but IMHO well worth it, and at least you're setting good foundations to help with dissipation of heat. There's great advise on the AS website on how to apply... *www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_...nstructions.htm and before that you'll need how to clean the CPU - here... *www.amd.com/us-en/Processors...^6678,00.html (for AMD users)


You also need to know...

That this COULD damage your components, the key to success is patience and understanding...I've read hours of things related to overclocking that has lead to this guide.


You need to know your components limits...

RAM & CPU is what we're dealing with, you need to know what the limits are of your components -

RAM is a major factor on bus speed limitations as is the motherboard. You need to be able to lock your PCI and AGP bus speeds to 6/6 (or any other figure that your bios might display to mean '1' (i.e. 1, 3/3 etc)...some mobos do not support PCI & AGP locking - again this is a major limiting factor.

As a result I ended up buying new RAM and a new Mobo so I could get some extra speed - of course you can sell on your old kit - so it need not be too expensive - I would guess (inc. the heat sink etc) if you wanted to buy better components for overclocking the overall expense would be between £50-£100. Now that might sound expensive - but believe me speed per £££ it's much cheaper than buying the components that'll run at the speeds we will get! I have my £75 CPU running FASTER than a £280 CPU!!

CPU is (of course) another limiting factor - not all XP1700 (or whatever CPU it is) are the same - some will have different cores which mean they already run hotter/cooler, then there's the fact that some will just be better 'clockers' - a lot is pot luck, but looking round at some sites (www.overclockers.com forum is a great place to look) you can even find specifics about what your CPU will do - dependant on what core it's got - or even what WEEK it was made!!

In a nutshell you need to know...

CPU - Core, stock voltage and FSB *www.amd.com/us-en/Processors...182_739,00.html (for AMD users). Also safe temperatures to run at (try a search on the overclockers forum). You will also need to know how to unlock your CPU multiplier!
RAM - Speed - example PC2700 (DDR333) = 333Mhz = 166 FSB
Mobo - Will it lock PCI/AGP? Also how to reset the bios. (this is VERY important)


Tips:

Good components means good performance..."buy cheap, buy twice - buy good, buy once" - never a truer word spoken - I should know!!
Get a mobo that locks the PCI & AGP, also RAM that's as fast as you can afford...you might want to get a more 'overclocker friendly' CPU - remember you can sell off your old kit and therefore the whole experience needn't cost lots...even with the system you have now (without any extras) - I'm sure we can get a little more out of it!!


Ok...now on the fun bit...


Firstly, you need to set AGP & PCI locks to on or AGP=66mhz and PCI=33mhz before doing the following. (Refer to the manual - usually there's a setting of 6/6)

Put your multiplier on a low setting (10) and up the FSB in increments of 5mhz. After each increase of the FSB run stress tests such as 3DMark, prime 95. When your computer does not complete these stress tests increase the DDR voltage by 0.1v. Re-test. If the tests complete keep going in 5mhz increments. When you get to a unstable FSB again increase the DDR voltage by 0.1v. (I wouldn't recommend going over 2.8v) You will reach a point when the tests fail even at 2.8v this means you have overclocked the FSB too much so lower the FSB to the highest setting in which the test completed (you should have taken a note of the last successful setting (FSB & DDR) you had).

You now know the FSB limit of your setup.

Now increase the multiplier in increments of 0.5. After each increment run the stress tests mentioned above. Eventually you will get to a multiplier which is unstable. Try increasing the vcore voltage by 0.025v and re-test. If the pc is still unstable increase the vcore again by 0.025v. (Keep an eye on the temperatures). re-test. If the tests still fail and temperatures are getting what you consider too hot, I would not recommend increasing your vcore any higher . So put your multiplier on the highest stable setting (again you should have noted the last successful multiplier AND voltage setting).

You now have the highest overclock possible for your setup. Do not worry if you couldn't set the multiplier any higher than 10 - FSB is the single most effective speed setting in your CPU setup - for example - a machine set to 215x10 (2150MHz) is faster than a machine set to 200x11 (2200MHz).

Lots of people do not like to run there system right on the edge. I would advise to lower the FSB by 5mhz after finding the maximum stable system overclock. Just to be on the safe side...but that's up to you.

An example: (Completely made up!)

Athlon XP1800+
Stock = 1533mHz
FSB = 133mhz
Multiplier = 11.5

1. Lower multiplier to 10. CPU now at 1330MHz
2. Increase the FSB by 5mhz. CPU now at 138*10=1380
3. Keep increasing by 5mhz and testing in between each increase.
4. FSB at 178mhz = unstable. (CPU= 178*10=1780MHz)
5. Increase DDR voltage to 2.6v
6. Can increase FSB to 184MHz before becoming unstable. (CPU= 184*10=1840MHz)
7. Increase DDR voltage to 2.7v. This did not improve overclockability. Lower DDR and FSB back to the last successful setting. So max stable FSB for system is 179MHz @ 2.6V.
8. Increase multiplier to 10.5 (CPU = 179*10.5=1879.5MHz)
9. Keep increasing multiplier by 0.5 until unstable. PC unstable at a multiplier of 12.
10. Increase vcore voltage by 0.025v. CPU stable with a multiplier of 12. (CPU= 12*179=2148MHz)
11. Cannot increase multiplier without causing stability issues so increase the vcore by another 0.025v.
12. Cannot get PC to run with stability at 12.5 multiplier. (CPU= 12.5*179=2238MHz)
13. Cannot increase Multiplier any further. Temperatures are too high to increase vcore...revert multiplier & vcore back to the last successful setting.

Max Stable Overclock = 12.5*179=2238MHz
Default = 1533mHz
An Overclock of 705MHz

Good luck!

i will copy more from *forums.overclockers.co.uk/ ......lol

 

[U2]

Firstly, I think finding the CPU limit is the easiest thing to do. Trying to find the fsb limit is a lot trickier because there a more factors involved, like:-

RAM voltage,
RAM timings,
RAM fsb limit (some RAM just won't go higher, no matter what)
Motherboard northbridge voltage,
Northbridge heat (can cause all kinds of problems, especially onboard features like sound)
CPU voltage,
CPU speed limit,
CPU plain old fsb limit ( I mean even a 2ghz CPU can't run at 400fsb x 5 = 2ghz can it? no matter what you do to it)

To find the CPU limit is as simple as upping it's voltage until it won't go any further or you think your heatsink can't keep it cool enough. Also when you know the CPU limit it takes a factor out of guessing what's failing when hitting fsb problems later.

This is what I do and is how I know my system could run at 2.3ghz (230fsb x 10) RAM @ 11 - 4 - 4 - 2.5 without problems
Though for the sake of my ears (from the fans) and just to be 110% on the safe side I run at 2.2ghz (220fsb x 10) RAM @ 11-3-2-2 for normal use everyday use.
When playing a game I just whack it upto 2.3ghz and turn the speakers up.

1. Get your system 101% stable, with all your OS and programs installed, patched, updated, etc. Create a backup! you aren't going to find any limits until things start failing, things fail, especially due to high fsb, can cause all kinds of problems with important files. BE WARNED!

2. Invest in the best cooling you can / or are willing to afford. This should consist of a minimum of:-

1x 80mm fan on CPU heatsink (preferably over 30cfm)
1x 80mm fan sucking air into your case
1x 80mm fan blowing air out of your case

I say 80mm fans because anything smaller and they'll need to be spinning real fast to move a decent amount of air about. Which means loads of noise, even 80mm fans are quite loud.
You could even 7v these fans, it will raise temps a little, but as long as you've got some air passing through your case it'll help.
A couple of quid on a couple of fans is a small price to pay for the gains you'll probably make. Remember heat is the enemy here, the cooler things are, the faster they'll go

3. Now start finding how fast your CPU will go. So up the multiplier by 0.5. I'll use same example.

Athlon XP1800+
Stock = 1533mHz
FSB = 133mhz
Multiplier = 11.5

3a Increase multiplier to 12. CPU now at 1596mhz
3b Make sure it's stable, if it is up it again to 12.5. CPU now at 1662mhz.
3c Repeat this process until either something crashes or it just won't post / start up.
3d Let's say it fails at 13.5 x 133 = 1795mhz. Up the Vcore by 0.025
3e This time it boots @ 1795mhz. Repeat steps above until it fails.
3f Let's say it fails at 14.5 x 133 = 1928mhz, up the Vcore again. Repeat until either:-
Upping Vcore doesn't help it boot, or
CPU temps are getting higher than you're comfortable with, or
You've hit the maximum Vcore on your motherboard.
3g Now let's say it hit 15 x 133 = 1995mhz by upping the Vcore a total of 0.75volts and it's stable. You try 15.5 x 133 it fails. Upping by another 0.025v doesn't help, another 0.25v still doesn't work but another 0.025v does and you're running at 2061mhz.

Now this is where personal preference comes in. You've just overclocked you're CPU from 1533mhz to 1995mhz by upping the Vcore 0.075v. A gain of 462mhz!! Is it worth trying to gain just 66mhz more by having to add another 0.75v?

I say no, and is the reason I run my system at 2.2ghz 24/7 instead of 2.3ghz. Others want the maximum and would disagree with me. (someone usually does)

4 Now you know you're CPU limit is 2061mhz with 0.15v of extra volts or 1995mhz with just 0.075 volts extra. So it's time to find the FSB limit of your system.

With extra knowledge that your CPU limit is around 1729mhz (13 x 133) at default volts (because it failed at 13.5 x 133 earlier and you had to up the Vcore to get it higher.) You can set the multiplier to 10 knowing that if your system fails with the fsb at anything under 170mhz, it's almost certainly NOT the CPU and is probably the RAM or motherboard.

NOTE-If it fails at 170 x 10 =1700mhz, it could possibly be the CPU because although it did 133 x 13 = 1729mhz earlier, the extra 37mhz fsb could put more of a strain on it. Doubt it but it's possible, if you're unlucky you just might have a CPU that doesn't like high fsb's.

Once you do hit 170mhz FSB, drop the multiplier on the CPU to 9 or lower so you can keep it at default volts.( for now!)

Now follow the earlier guide for raising FSB. Except this time you can try these tips once you think you've hit the max.
Let's carry it on from where they left off and 179mhz is your maximum with RAM at 2.7v.

5 Multiplier of 9, RAM @ 2.7v, fsb @ 179mhz = 1611mhz

5a Go into BIOS and find the option where you can change your RAM's timings. I can't tell you where that here as every motherboard is different (some older ones won't even have this option) nforce2 chipset's do.

It'll have options like Optimum, Aggressive, Turbo, Manual. We want Manual.

When you select Manual, the numbers below it that were greyed out before will now be selectable! There should be 4 altogether. The first one will be the biggest, probably around 9, the next two will be around 3 or 4 (may have the letter 't' after them) and the last one ( the most important ) can be either 2, 2.5 or 3 and is called CAS.

5b For an example we'll set these numbers to 11 - 4 - 4 - 3. Now it's a little murky messing with RAM timings as some RAM just doesn't like certain configurations in this department, but bear with it, it can be well worth the effort. I gained an extra 20mhz on the fsb just by changing these settings alone!

My RAM will not boot with the CAS at 3, even though it should make it easier than 2.5. It won't even boot at 3 with the fsb at 100mhz!! So if yours won't boot, try 11-4-4-2.5

This is called "slackening your RAM timings" by the way.

5c If you find some 'slack' timings your RAM likes and it boots at 179 x 9, it time to see if we can go higher. Try 180 for size first time.
5d Keep going in 1mhz - 2mhz increments.
5e Now lets say you've hit 189mhz x 9 = 1701mhz and it's booted, drop the multiplier on the CPU as you're getting close to it's limits again, or you can just up the Vcore by 0.025v to help.
5f Whatever you fail at now, could very well be your systems limit, but there's another trick up the experienced overclockers sleeve.

You should also try this if slackening the RAM timings doesn't help at all, as this could the problem and not your RAM. If this helps then go back to 5b and try again.

6 Up the voltage to your northbridge, ( can't think of the name for it right now I'll come back and edit it later ) it will be at 1.6v if on an nforce2 motherboard. So up it by 0.1v to 1.7v

Now when your system fails you now know your max FSB and max CPU clock. Let's say in this example 200fsb was the max.
You know it can't run at 200 x 10.5 = 2100mhz because your CPU won't do it. You could try 200 x 10 = 2ghz, it managed 1995mhz earlier. Maybe try an extra 0.025v so you've raised by a total of 0.1v Vcore.

If this is stable after running Prime95, 3D Mark2001SE congratulations!

An XP1800+ running at 2ghz on a 200fsb with 400mhz DDR is a seriously fast machine and a very good overclock from 1.53ghz on a 133fsb with 266mhz DDR.

I'd say about 40% faster, maybe more!

You can also try "tightening" your RAM timings slightly if it's rock solid stable. Maybe get it down from 11 - 4 - 4 - 3 to 11 - 3 - 3 - 2.5.
You could also try upping the RAM volts to 2.8v, it shouldn't be a problem as long as you've got good airflow through your case.

Now go and overclock your graphics card.

Maybe you could try integrating some of that into your guide NF7-S? It's a bit long winded I know, I can go on sometimes! Maybe with a bit of editing it'll help?

**EDIT There is also one more trick you can try to give your fsb a good boost, but I'm not sure how many motherboards have this option. The only one I know that has it for sure is the Abit NF7-S.
There's an option in the BIOS called "CPU interface". What this does is initiate the 1T command for fast performance. Disabling this option can in some cases allow for a huge jump in maximum stable fsb. Maybe as much as an extra 30mhz!

But...

it does make quite a big impact on overall system performance, so it's upto you to decide if the trade off is worth it. Maybe an extra 30mhz fsb is, but an extra 5mhz definately won't be.

As with every guide, there are no certainties. Every system is different so there's no point in posting your full system spec's and asking
" what will this overclock to? "
Every single system is different and there are way too many different configurations to list an exact guide for each one. Even 2 systems absolutely exactly the same in every single aspect will overclock differently.

Experiment and have fun.

 

[U2]

1. The missing 10/10.5x multipliers over 225 MHz FSB with CPU-Interface enabled.
2. The 220 FSB wall with a tbred
3. CPU Interface issues
4. Differenent "better" bios's
5. Vcore / vdimm and +3.3v rail requirements
6. How long to run prime and what to look for
7. How to recover from potential non POST'ing
8. Memory/timing and restrictions.

Seen as im overly familair with the NF7 i'll try to clarify some of these things rather than just critising.

Again please note:

I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY PROBLEMS YOU ENCOUNTER FROM USING MY HELP.

All works fine for me so you shouldn't have any major problems.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

POINT 1 - The missing 10/10.5x multipliers over 225 MHz FSB with CPU-Interface enabled.

I cover CPU interface in more detail in Point 3.

On "most" NF7/S boards when you go over 225 MHz FSB with a 10 or 10.5x multiplier the system will refuse to post. This is only fixable if you use bios d_10.bin, this is the only bios with this problem does not occur. To use d_10 you must use the windows based flash utility. The bios is perfectly stable on most NF7's but unfortunately the SATA bios in it has corruption problems. There are variants of D_10.bin with the latest sata bios so you can search round for these.

Ok firstly using the basic guide find your CPU limits and use the vcore voltage it requires to do 2260 MHz, if you cant do 2260 Mhz you dont need to worry about this issue so move on.

Then on the bios you are using set as follows, in this example im using an week 28, 2800+ AQUCA which does 2260 MHz prime stable with 1.65v:

Softmenu III Setup:

CPU operating speed > user define
- External Clock > 226 MHz
- Multiplier Factor > x10
AGP Frequency > 66 MHz
CPU FSB/DRAM ratio ratio - 6/6
CPU Interface - enabled
Power Supply Controller - user define
- CPU Core Voltage > 1.675v
- DDR SDRAM Voltage > 2.8v
- Chipset Voltage > 1.6v
- AGP Voltage > 1.5v
CPU Over Temp. Protect > 110*C

Advanced chipset features:

Memory Timings > expert
- Row-active delay > 11
- RAS-to-CAS delay > 3
- Row-precharge delay > 3
- CAS latency Time > 2.5
System BIOS cacheable > disabled
Video RAM cacheable > disabled
AGP Aperture Size > 128
FSB Spread Spectrum > disabled
AGP Spread Spectrum > disabled
CPU Thermal-Throttling > disabled
Enhance PCI Performance > Enabled
CPU Disconnect Function > disabled
AGP Data transfer Rate > 8X (Max rate according to card)
AGP Fast Write Capability > disabled

Now save and reboot.

If the PC starts a siren sound when it attempts to POST don't worry it just means you have the 10/10.5x problem. So turn off the PC using the main switch on the PSU or pull out the Power cable if your psu has no switch. Then repower upthe PC and that will have defaulted to safeguard settings. If it still wont POST try again and hold INSERT on boot. If again it won't clear the CMOS as a last resort.

Ok if you have the problem goto *www.motherboardfaqs.com and download d_10.bin for the NF7 V2.0 (MAKE SURE ITS FOR THE V2.0 BOARD!).

Using a flashmenu version lower than 1.3 (ie. 1.2) flash to d_10.bin using the "from file" option.

Once succesfully flashed retry the above and behold your new FSB possibilities

If your board hates this bios then you are one of the unfortunate few who haven't got a work around. If you are try d_18.bin as some have got the 10 and 10.5 to work on that.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

POINT 2 - The 220 FSB wall with a tbred

If you have a thoroughbred chip and you have done the above and still can't over 220MHz FSB then check out the L12 Mod here:

*www.geocities.com/trats102002/nf7sFsbsense.html

This should solve your problems as it did me when i had a 2100+ AIUHB chip.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

POINT 3 - CPU Interface issues

Now some of you may or may not know but CPU interface is not exacly what it sounds like or describes.

From my testing i have come to the conclusion that CPU-Interface affects both memory performance and stability.

As a quick test and example for you set your system to default CPU speed and FSB and disable CPU-Interface. Boot up, open Sis-Soft Sandra and run memory benchmark, note the results and reboot.

Go back to the bios, enable it and reboot (don't touch anything else) Boot up, open Sis-Soft Sandra and run memory benchmark. Yes, WOW, exactly, your memory scores higher even though its at the same speed

So for those of you crying "Man this memory is crap" it may not be crap just not exceptional as having CPU interface on makes it faster at the same clocks as other boards as it pushes more out of the memory.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

POINT 4 - Differenent "better" bios's

From my experience the best bios versions for my board have been:

d_10.bin:

Pros:

- No 10/10.5x multiplier & CPU interface problems
- Highest FSB attained with this bios

Cons:
- High temp (overeads cpu temp)
- Sata corruption problems

d_14beta:

Pros:

- Best clock to clock performance
- No SATA issues
- Highest CPU Speed attained with bios

Cons:

- 10/10.5x multiplier & CPU interface problems
- Beta bios and therefore scary, right?
- Low temp readings, innacurate and worringly low.

Both bios's can be downloaded from *www.motherboardfaqs.com (MAKE SURE ITS FOR THE V2.0 BOARD!).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

POINT 5 - Vcore / vdimm and +3.3v rail requirements

Vcore:

The NF7 has bad voltage regualation when it comes to vcore. When set at a any level the board under volts by 0.01~0.03v.

For example, to use a true 1.65v the bios needs to be set to 1.675v. The problem becomes even worse with vcores over 1.85v.

This is not as some may assume always a PSU issue as even with a top end PSU with 33AMPS on the +12 rail it still happens.

Also when using high vcore (ie. over 2.0v) with high FSB (ie. over 235) you may encounter posting problems.

Vdimm and the +3.3v rail:

On the NF7 board the vdimm overvolts period. Thats a fact. Despite what the bios shows the H/W monitor on the NF7 is dreadful and way out on vdimm/+3.3v readings. Only way is to use a multimeter. This however is very dangerous as one slip could frag your board.

However i'll make it easy for you, as it is the same with almost all NF7's:

2.9v bios = 3.01v
2.8v bios = 2.90v
2.7v bios = 2.80v
2.6v bios = 2.70v

The +3.3v rail is however hard to determine as it can only be verified by checking the board. As my bios always shows the +3.3 to be 3.33v when itis ofen at the highest 3.51v and at the lowest 3.26v (when using prime95 torture at 3.20v or more vdimm)

The +3.3v rail is only really important at high vdimm usually over 3.0 volts.

For example my vmodded board has it set to roughly 3.25v using a 1K Variable resistor.

If the +3.3v rail is at 3.41 my vdimm is 3.28v, when the rail is at 3.30v it drops to 3.23v and when at as low as 3.26v the vdimm drops down to 3.20v. This is because the vdimm is dependant on how much voltage it can draw from the +3.3v rail.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

POINT 6 - How long to run prime and what to look for

Prime95 takes a long time thats the trouble. However for quick FSB/CPU hunting this is what i do.

I'm using version 2.3.7 by the way.

All i do is click torture test select "Blend" and OK it. It then runs iterations of the 1024K primes. If it runs until it says "1024K Passed Sucessful" or something like that, this takes around 15~20mins, i consider that a possiblity for a fully stable FSB / CPU speed.

Once it fails those either up the volts or back off the FSB. Once your happy let it run at that setting for an hour. Usually if it runs for an hour its stable enough for games and general folding etc. You may however encounter a reboot or bsod but unlikely.

If you let it run and i goes over 3hrs i'd consider it rock solid, if it runs upto 8hrs its a boulder, if it runs over a day its mount fuji with a cherry on top, in other words it wont budge.

Also have a read at this how to set up prime correctly: *www.ocforums.com/vb/vb/showt...threadid=248225

However, heheh you knew this was coming , this does not guarantee its 3D stable. It most likely is, but some cards my be unhappy with massive FSB. So i suggest looping 3D mark 2001 over and over to ensure its ok. If it kicks out in Lobby test back down on the FSB until it doesn't.

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POINT 7 - How to recover from potential non POST'ing

If at any time your system refuses to boot or makes a siren sound when attempting to post turn off the PC using the main switch on the PSU or pull out the Power cable if your psu has no switch. Then re-power up the PC and that will have defaulted to safeguard settings. If it still wont POST try again and hold INSERT on boot. If again it won't clear the CMOS as a last resort.

If it still wont boot, leave it for a few hours. If still no luck RMA time

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POINT 8 - Memory/timing and restrictions.

Now on your hunt for FSB you may encounter some restrictions and no matter what voltage you use it refuses, even a kick in the dimm solves nothing

Well see that advance chipset features section in the bios? get your ass in there. And set as follows.

Memory Timings > expert
- Row-active delay > 11
- RAS-to-CAS delay > 3
- Row-precharge delay > 3
- CAS latency Time > 2.5

Try again and you may get it to stay stable. If you still don't a boot up then drop the CAS from 2.5 to 3.0. If you still don't boot add some more voltage, 2.8 is a general warranted maximum but 2.9v (3.01v actual) prolly wont cause any harm. Ive used 3.38v for days for gods sake lol.

If you have maxed your volts and no luck memory is utter poo, jk.

Also note if your using BH5 memory which hates CAS3.0 and sometimes even CAS2.5.

Either way if you get no luck its time to grab a solder iron and some balls. Yep vmod time.

This mod can be found at *www.motherboardfaqs.com

Also while im at it you may have noticed me using a "Row-active delay" or "TRAS" as its usually known as of 11. Yes 11, mmkay?

After testing, its proven that not only is tras 11 more stable, its actually faster in sandra memory bench and 3D Mark 2001

Heres some results from my testing:

*NF7-S @240FSBx10 (480MHz DDR) 6/6 divider and Dual Ch. Sisoft sandra max 3 bandwidth test*

2-2-2-3 Int: 3661(95% eff.)
2-2-2-3 Float: 3431(89% eff.)

2-2-2-4 Int: 3665(95% eff.)
2-2-2-4 Float: 3430(89% eff.)

2-2-2-5 Int: 3666(95% eff.)
2-2-2-5 Float: 3443(89% eff.)

2-2-2-6 Int: 3675(95% eff.)
2-2-2-6 Float: 3440(89% eff.)

2-2-2-7 Int: 3679(95% eff.)
2-2-2-7 Float: 3446(89% eff.)

2-2-2-8 Int: 3674(95% eff.)
2-2-2-8 Float: 3445(89% eff.)

2-2-2-9 Int: 3686(96% eff.)
2-2-2-9 Float: 3448(89% eff.)

2-2-2-10 Int: 3691(96% eff.)
2-2-2-10 Float: 3452(90% eff.)

2-2-2-11 Int: 3702(96% eff.)
2-2-2-11 Float: 3457(90% eff.)

2-2-2-12 Int: 3698(96% eff.)
2-2-2-12 Float: 3450(89% eff.)

Any higher continued to drop.

 

[QwertyManiac]

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=442
Another good place for Overclock

 

[U2]

for more check out : *forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=138583