Specs:
Asus a7n8x ver. 2.0
Athlon XP 2800+ Barton (unsure if it's locked or unlocked - due to some research, I see that during a certain part of the year, they started locking them, so if it were during the earlier timeframe of the release, it may be unlocked)
Ultra X-Connect 500w psu
1gb Corsair ValueRam PC3200 DDR400 2.5-3-3-8 (Set by speed in bios, having the hardest time figuring out the actual timings and clock speeds - it's as if they're hidden on every site I check. I know the CAS is 2.5 though, but all other values differ. Also, checking with z-cpu, it reads the 2.5-3-3-8, but I fear that's just because the bios sets it at that, and it may not be the true timing)
GeForce4 ti4200 64mb agp
2 120mm Fans, intake / exhuast
Thermaltake Volcano 12
Default:
FSB set at 166mhz
Ram at 200mhz, dual channel
Now a n00b question...What am I losing by having the FSB at 166 and the Ram at 200? Is everything on the board now clocked down to 166? Or will the ram still acheive 200mhz speeds?
Continuing...
I've read about the Bartons being locked, and as such, the multiplier change would not be allowed in the bios. Strangely enough, my bios allows it (which seems logical, even if the chip is locked, when it tries to use it, it's gonna lock, or should). So instead, I first messed with the FSB. It seemed the best bet to first try the FSB, so that's where I started...
Set the FSB at 200mhz, multiplier at 12.5, and VCore at 1.65v
No post
Cleared cmos
Set the FSB at 200mhz, multiplier at 12.5, Vcore at 1.8v
Stall on post
Cleared cmos
Now I've read where the asus a7n8x allows several difference choices of the FSB, including a 175/177mhz, but I assume the posters who had those results forgot to include that it's either a newer Bios revision (which I haven't seen for my particular board) or an asus a7n8x-E or deluxe or one of the other releases/models. Anyway, the only choices my mobo presents me with is 100mhz, 133mhz, 166mhz, 200mhz. With that in mind, I then attempted to tweak the multiplier, even though most Bartons are considered locked...
Set the FSB at 166mhz, multiplier at 13.5, Vcore at 1.65v
Boot shows 850mhz Athlon (which made me chuckle.. it also reported a 9xx something value, no idea why, which kind of verified the locked multiplier mucking things up)
Set the FSB at 200mhz, multiplier at 11, Vcore at 1.65v
Success! Posts as an Athlon xp 3200+
I had installed MBM5 to test the cpu diode temp and whatnot, and it read great... at first. About 5 minutes into it, the Systray reads a crazy 102c. Alarm started going off, and I jacked up the Fan, and the Systray then moved back down to the normal temp of 33c, but the alarm was still going nuts. Also, the entire OS felt a slight bit "laggy" as if it wasn't functioning properly. Might be a psychosomatic thing, but whatever. I didn't feel like burning up a CPU, so I rebooted and changed it back to default 166mhz FSB and multiplier at 12.5.
So my questions begin to anyone who has had experience with any of this.
If the barton core is locked, should the bios let me change the multiplier? Or should it notice the cpu is locked and not allow me to change that setting? If I am allowed to change the setting and the core is locked, what could result from that? Is that the result in a sudden jump in heat, if that actually happened?
And concerning ram in this situation. I have a few settings on my mobo that allow timing changes, and general setting changes, like aggressive. Should I screw with the timings at all? I've read where I might want to lower the timings, or up the ram voltage, because changing the FSB is effectively changing the speed of the entire mobo. However, it is DDR400 ram, so I don't know enough to know what is happening to the ram.
z-cpu showed 2.198ghz with an FSB of 200 and a multiplier of 11, so I don't know if the MBM5 temp readout was a fluke and it actually wasn't overheating. I've heard of another program, AsusProbe, but haven't tried that. Also, all this was done 20 minutes before I had to leave for work, so I really didn't get a chance to tweak more options than the ones I posted above.
Any information on this subject would be helpful. I've spent countless hours lurking OC forums, but have never registered to post a question. Thanks in advance.
Asus a7n8x ver. 2.0
Athlon XP 2800+ Barton (unsure if it's locked or unlocked - due to some research, I see that during a certain part of the year, they started locking them, so if it were during the earlier timeframe of the release, it may be unlocked)
Ultra X-Connect 500w psu
1gb Corsair ValueRam PC3200 DDR400 2.5-3-3-8 (Set by speed in bios, having the hardest time figuring out the actual timings and clock speeds - it's as if they're hidden on every site I check. I know the CAS is 2.5 though, but all other values differ. Also, checking with z-cpu, it reads the 2.5-3-3-8, but I fear that's just because the bios sets it at that, and it may not be the true timing)
GeForce4 ti4200 64mb agp
2 120mm Fans, intake / exhuast
Thermaltake Volcano 12
Default:
FSB set at 166mhz
Ram at 200mhz, dual channel
Now a n00b question...What am I losing by having the FSB at 166 and the Ram at 200? Is everything on the board now clocked down to 166? Or will the ram still acheive 200mhz speeds?
Continuing...
I've read about the Bartons being locked, and as such, the multiplier change would not be allowed in the bios. Strangely enough, my bios allows it (which seems logical, even if the chip is locked, when it tries to use it, it's gonna lock, or should). So instead, I first messed with the FSB. It seemed the best bet to first try the FSB, so that's where I started...
Set the FSB at 200mhz, multiplier at 12.5, and VCore at 1.65v
No post
Cleared cmos
Set the FSB at 200mhz, multiplier at 12.5, Vcore at 1.8v
Stall on post
Cleared cmos
Now I've read where the asus a7n8x allows several difference choices of the FSB, including a 175/177mhz, but I assume the posters who had those results forgot to include that it's either a newer Bios revision (which I haven't seen for my particular board) or an asus a7n8x-E or deluxe or one of the other releases/models. Anyway, the only choices my mobo presents me with is 100mhz, 133mhz, 166mhz, 200mhz. With that in mind, I then attempted to tweak the multiplier, even though most Bartons are considered locked...
Set the FSB at 166mhz, multiplier at 13.5, Vcore at 1.65v
Boot shows 850mhz Athlon (which made me chuckle.. it also reported a 9xx something value, no idea why, which kind of verified the locked multiplier mucking things up)
Set the FSB at 200mhz, multiplier at 11, Vcore at 1.65v
Success! Posts as an Athlon xp 3200+
I had installed MBM5 to test the cpu diode temp and whatnot, and it read great... at first. About 5 minutes into it, the Systray reads a crazy 102c. Alarm started going off, and I jacked up the Fan, and the Systray then moved back down to the normal temp of 33c, but the alarm was still going nuts. Also, the entire OS felt a slight bit "laggy" as if it wasn't functioning properly. Might be a psychosomatic thing, but whatever. I didn't feel like burning up a CPU, so I rebooted and changed it back to default 166mhz FSB and multiplier at 12.5.
So my questions begin to anyone who has had experience with any of this.
If the barton core is locked, should the bios let me change the multiplier? Or should it notice the cpu is locked and not allow me to change that setting? If I am allowed to change the setting and the core is locked, what could result from that? Is that the result in a sudden jump in heat, if that actually happened?
And concerning ram in this situation. I have a few settings on my mobo that allow timing changes, and general setting changes, like aggressive. Should I screw with the timings at all? I've read where I might want to lower the timings, or up the ram voltage, because changing the FSB is effectively changing the speed of the entire mobo. However, it is DDR400 ram, so I don't know enough to know what is happening to the ram.
z-cpu showed 2.198ghz with an FSB of 200 and a multiplier of 11, so I don't know if the MBM5 temp readout was a fluke and it actually wasn't overheating. I've heard of another program, AsusProbe, but haven't tried that. Also, all this was done 20 minutes before I had to leave for work, so I really didn't get a chance to tweak more options than the ones I posted above.
Any information on this subject would be helpful. I've spent countless hours lurking OC forums, but have never registered to post a question. Thanks in advance.
Last edited:
