M3A overclocking

[informal]

My brisbane much prefers 0406. 501 lowered my max stable overclock. Dont be scared to try it and see what it does for you though.

Thanks for the advice man,i will try the 0406 first.What is your preferred method of update on this board?Online while in WinXP or do it old fashion style-in DOS mode?

BTW,board arrived early .Got the sucker up and running ,no need for WInXP reinstall(for now).It reports some DLL on start was reallocated in memory but will try to google for solution.Previous board was nforce based one,just uninstalled its drivers and booted with AMD770 ones in Safe Mode.Will see how she goes now.ATM i am at 2.6Ghz while typing this(chip was capable of 2.7-2.72Ghz on previous board)

Thanks

[justapost]

I just gave 0501 a spin and my system didnt like it. CPU temps reported very high (50+ at idle) and in orthos I get errors very quickly with the overclock I was running previously.

Tried 0406 today, did not make a difference with the be2400 here. Max ref HT I could reach was 280MHz.

With the phenom I managed to capture this one at 1,25V cpu/nb with 501 bios. Could rund Spi1M once, system froze with 10x multi via AOD.

With 277MHz the windows start freezes with 278MHz the disk makes some clicking but no keyboard lights blinking.

I keept the temperaturs low with environmental friendly cooling (2L-reservoir in 0° ambient outside the window). Max CPU temp was ~45° coretemps ~35°.
Ran prime95 for half an hour with 2375MHz(250MHzx9,5). With 255MHzx9,5 it failed after two minutes. Think I gain max 50MHz with 20° lower temps.


@informal: you can update the bios with ez-flash from the bios. ez-flash can read fat32/ext2 and iso images from hd's cd's usb-sticks.

[informal]

Thanks justapost,i did it already through the WinXP update utility.It took some time(seemed like forever lol),but now i am on ver 406.I have one problem with Realtek Sound subsystem,refuses to load the drivers(tried new and old ones).WinXP had nforce board with older Realtek sound card integrated but i cleaned it beforehand.Now i might try in safe mode since i lost sound .

Didn't try the serious OC yet.I did notice the absence of very important tRC subtiming change in BIOS .

Thanks for your help,both of you,it's very appreciated.

[justapost]

Thanks justapost,i did it already through the WinXP update utility.It took some time(seemed like forever lol),but now i am on ver 406.I have one problem with Realtek Sound subsystem,refuses to load the drivers(tried new and old ones).WinXP had nforce board with older Realtek sound card integrated but i cleaned it beforehand.Now i might try in safe mode since i lost sound .

Have you tried this?

Didn't try the serious OC yet.I did notice the absence of very important tRC subtiming change in BIOS

M2A-VM had only a divider setting and no even the 2T field, but settings are still moderate.

[informal]

Have you tried this?

M2A-VM had only a divider setting and no even the 2T field, but settings are still moderate.

Thanks for the link.Not quite like my problem ,but kinda similar.

I had that famous Audio Device on High Definition Audio Bus yellow exclamation problem.It happens on some intel based mobos with this Realtek chip too,and who else but Microsoft is to be blamed(they screwed up with some update before).
I resolved it(excl. mark) with the KB888xxx(or smtng like that) update but i am DL-ing the latest Realtek drivers to try to make the sound work again(before it went thru the 99% of install process and fails recognizing the Realtek chip).Now i will try the latest(slowish download) and see if i can make em work now that i resolved the yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager.

Also one more question for M3A owners:is it usual for the heatsink on the x790 chip to get VERY hot even while idling?I am a lil bit worried about it.

UPDATE:Solved the stupid and VERY annoying problem with audio device !

Here is what i did thanks to the ppl in that majorgeeks' forum topic.Without their helpful tips i wouldn't have done it.Gosh,it's 4:33 :S:,gotta go sleep some.
So if anyone has the Audio Device Problem,please refer him/her to this post of mine and to the majorgeeks thread.

Another thing,i solved the crackling sound coming from the speakers while mouse is moving(yeah that was happening too...).

Solution: Double click the Speaker Icon is taskbar and choose Advanced View.Then scroll to top right of the list of controls and MUTE the stupid PC Beep control.It's this lil bugger that creates some interference with the onboard chip or its driver.

[justapost]

Thanks for the link.Not quite like my problem ,but kinda similar.

I had that famous Audio Device on High Definition Audio Bus yellow exclamation problem.It happens on some intel based mobos with this Realtek chip too,and who else but Microsoft is to be blamed(they screwed up with some update before).
I resolved it(excl. mark) with the KB888xxx(or smtng like that) update but i am DL-ing the latest Realtek drivers to try to make the sound work again(before it went thru the 99% of install process and fails recognizing the Realtek chip).Now i will try the latest(slowish download) and see if i can make em work now that i resolved the yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager.

Also one more question for M3A owners:is it usual for the heatsink on the x790 chip to get VERY hot even while idling?I am a lil bit worried about it.

UPDATE:Solved the stupid and VERY annoying problem with audio device !

Here is what i did thanks to the ppl in that majorgeeks' forum topic.Without their helpful tips i wouldn't have done it.Gosh,it's 4:33 :S:,gotta go sleep some.
So if anyone has the Audio Device Problem,please refer him/her to this post of mine and to the majorgeeks thread.

Another thing,i solved the crackling sound coming from the speakers while mouse is moving(yeah that was happening too...).

Solution: Double click the Speaker Icon is taskbar and choose Advanced View.Then scroll to top right of the list of controls and MUTE the stupid PC Beep control.It's this lil bugger that creates some interference with the onboard chip or its driver.

So the problem can be caused eigther by the hotfix or by the realtekdriver. In both cases the device must be disabled and uninstalled first.
In case of a failed hotfix the uninstall registry key must also be removed.
Then eighter the hotfix or the realtek driver works. In M3A case it's the latest realtek driver. Checked it here had the Realtek and not the Microsoft hda driver installed.
Never had this problem because i had this hotfix integrated in my install cd with hfslip and also had the latest driver pack sound package integrated as well. But i remeber some time ago that 888111 hotfix made trouble getting interated in the install medium.
I'll add a note and a link to majorgeeks to post #1.

The nb stays cool if the heatsink get's a little airflow. With just watercooling it's so hot i can't even touch but the temps speedfan/pcprobe reports are ~30°. The Stock cooler produces nearly no airflow in the direction of the nb so for overclocking better cpu cooling or an extra fan is needed.
Thanks.

[informal]

Udpate: passed 1 hour AOD stability test with 286x9.5,mem @ddr2 900.
So far so good.Sound is working great since i solved the issue with UAA.
Going to try some more HTT to see how far will she push it .

Cheers!


sorry,forgot the picture:

[dball3]

Another thing,i solved the crackling sound coming from the speakers while mouse is moving(yeah that was happening too...).

Solution: Double click the Speaker Icon is taskbar and choose Advanced View.Then scroll to top right of the list of controls and MUTE the stupid PC Beep control.It's this lil bugger that creates some interference with the onboard chip or its driver.

isn't that a pain in the ass, even on vista it happens, the last four boards i got have had that, first thing i do is boot up ,run firefox and scroll up and down to see if i get the feedback out of the speakers. I thought it was just me.

[informal]

isn't that a pain in the ass, even on vista it happens, the last four boards i got have had that, first thing i do is boot up ,run firefox and scroll up and down to see if i get the feedback out of the speakers. I thought it was just me.

Yeah,a true PITA!
From now on,try the "solution" i used with my M3A mobo and see if it works out for you.The PC BEEP function is not needed anyway,so mute it away.

Cheers

PS My board needs 2.25V for my ram in order to make it work @ 900Mhz cas4.Damn you geil

[JumpingJack]

Justapost - Kudos on a nice thread.

[justapost]

Tried two Windsors and a Brisbane on the mobo.

Reached 3GHz with the 3800+ EE F3 Stepping-2 at 1,525V


FB Stepping-2 only reached 2,7GHz at 1,5V


3600+ Brisbane FB Stepping-1 reached 3,09MHz at 1,525V


For comparison the BE-2400


Here is a diagramm with the voltages required for different frequencies

[KTE]

Very nice. What could they each hit stable or 3D benchable Achim? That's mainly what we'd be interested in TBH.

Also those volts 1.55-1.57V are very high and not runnable in a system past suicide shots. Hence why I wouldn't feed high volts to my 9600 BE chip, its pointless doing so for me since the temps/power/stability was so bad. I mean, what would 1.45V give you on those CPUs and what temps would you get as well as power draw?

[justapost]

Very nice. What could they each hit stable or 3D benchable Achim? That's mainly what we'd be interested in TBH.

Was looking for volts/frequencies today, so I just ran prime95 for 5-15 minutes.

Also those volts 1.55-1.57V are very high and not runnable in a system past suicide shots. Hence why I wouldn't feed high volts to my 9600 BE chip, its pointless doing so for me since the temps/power/stability was so bad. I mean, what would 1.45V give you on those CPUs and what temps would you get as well as power draw?

Yep 1,55 is so far the max the chips can handle same settings with higher voltages do not work.
Also I had the watercooling reservoir placed outside the window. That way the temps where ~60° with 1,55V.
I'm amazed about the difference between the two windsors, must check if they where both EE's. Will add more specs and info's tomorrow, I noted the power draw and temps.

[KTE]

Was looking for volts/frequencies today, so I just ran prime95 for 5-15 minutes.

OK.

Yep 1,55 is so far the max the chips can handle same settings with higher voltages do not work.
Also I had the watercooling reservoir placed outside the window. That way the temps where ~60° with 1,55V.

So they were all water runs and not air?

I'm amazed about the difference between the two windsors, must check if they where both EE's. Will add more specs and info's tomorrow, I noted the power draw and temps.

I'm very interested in the stock-> overclocked power and temps. idle/load if possible. The BE and the EEs usually sky rocket in power when oc'd.

EDIT: chips limits aren't decided by the oc amount of headroom in business but by the TDP/voltage/frequency/scaling. Naturally it is paramount to keep at decent TDPs for the chips whilst still scaling decently with added voltage and frequency with respect to performance, operational temperatures and power. Some CPUs do have a lot of headroom within acceptable TDP/power/temps, sub 150W, and those are like the C2D and C2Q range (not including the early QX). Once you oc them from stock, they still don't break the power/temps barrier that much compared to most other CPUs until around 3.3GHz (G0), meaning they have headroom left. Whereas the QX didn't have much headroom to begin with, it was too hot with high power demand right from the beginning being the highest bin SKUs, so they couldn't improve on 3GHz for 14 months until Penryn. In the same way, to measure power/temps influences with added frequency/volts will show you the headroom of the IC process, design, material and technology. If higher decent bins were not possible, the chip wil jump very quickly from being a low power/temps chip to a high power/temps chip.

Like the C0 QX9770/QX9775 exactly like the top bin B3 QX6700 were when released Nov '06. But in stark contrast to the Q6600 G0 which will go to 3.5GHz stable very easily at lower volts/temps/power than they do.

[justapost]

Test system:

MB: M3A
GFX: HD2400pro
MEM: 2x1GB GSkill F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK
HD: IBM Deskstar 20GB IDE
FANs: 1x12" Fan
PSU: ZM460B-APS

Cooling: Zalman Reserator 1p (reservoir outside ~5&#176.

Prozessors:

3800-1 (red):
X2-3800+ EE (65W)
F3-2 F43 JH-F2
ADO3800IAA5CS CCBYF 0633MPMW

3800-2 (yellow):
X2-3800+ (89W)
FB-2 F4B BH-F2
ADO38001AA5CU LEDBF 0647GAL

3600 (green):
X2-3600+ (65W)
FB-1 F6B BH-G1
ADO3600IAA5DD CAALG 0710SPMW

BE-2400 (blue):
BE-2400 (45W)
TODO

I used 1,2V as a minimum and did not look for lower stable values.
For stability testing I ran Prime95 for 5-15minutes, so expecialy with higher voltages those are inaccurate.
For example the 3600+ ran stable with 1,45V and 320MHzx9,5 for 5-10 minutes. For longer prime95 stability I need 1,5V (currently running ~1,5hrs).
I used BE-2400 results from a prior measurement session in the f/v diagramm, gonna run the measurement in the current testing system today.

Frequencies / Voltages


Frequencies vs. Temperatures


Frequencies / Power AC Idle


Frequencies / Power AC Load


Voltages / Power AC Load


Voltages / Temperature


During the testing i found that the bios uses a 5x multi if I choose one below 9x with the windsors.
Tried to find the max ref HT with the two windsors. 3800-1 reached ~310MHz, 3800-2 reached ~350MHz. Gonna find the 3600+'s max ref HT now and test the BE-2400 afterwards.

EDIT: 3600+ reached ~360MHz.
Running the BE-2400 measurement now with an 11x multi and looking for lowest possible voltages in the below 1,2V region. Preparing for an GP-9500 comparison in the 2200-2400MHz regions.

[justapost]

Udpate: passed 1 hour AOD stability test with 286x9.5,mem @ddr2 900.
So far so good.Sound is working great since i solved the issue with UAA.
Going to try some more HTT to see how far will she push it .

Cheers!


sorry,forgot the picture:

Great, thank you for the results, what cooling and cpuv did you use?

Justapost - Kudos on a nice thread.

Thanks, positive feedback is alway welcome.

[noee]

Oy, I just found the 0501 link. THank you. I'd like to give these to G2s a run on air.

What do you guys use to measure power consumption?

[KTE]

Thank you Achim.

I'd like to respond to a few things yet after running some caclulations but I'm a little busy for a few hours at least.

[informal]

Hi justapost,i used HyperTX and 1.45V for vcore.The g1 i have is not some particular OCer,have achieved 2.75Ghz max stable until now(the wall for the chip is somewhere around this freq.)
Board runs just fine,the only thing is the buzzing noise coming from around the cpu socket(high freq. one,probably from coils).But it can be barely heard if at all.

[justapost]

Oy, I just found the 0501 link. THank you. I'd like to give these to G2s a run on air.

What do you guys use to measure power consumption?

NP, second I use a normal power meter build for domestic appliance measurement.

Hi justapost,i used HyperTX and 1.45V for vcore.The g1 i have is not some particular OCer,have achieved 2.75Ghz max stable until now(the wall for the chip is somewhere around this freq.)
Board runs just fine,the only thing is the buzzing noise coming from around the cpu socket(high freq. one,probably from coils).But it can be barely heard if at all.

Thanks, gonna try mine on air later as outdoor cooling seems to improve stability alot, even at low core temps.

[planet456235]

With my X2 6000+ i can reach with the Bios 0501 3420Mhz @1.50 Primestable Custom FFT.

I tested also with the DFI Lanparty 590 Board,I can't retry the results....!!

The Asus M3A is a very nice Board!

But the Beta Bios for the Phenom is not so good,NB Multi is now in the Bios,but I'can't increase the Vcore! ( It still at default Vcore!)

[jpierce555]

NP, second I use a normal power meter build for domestic appliance measurement.




Thanks, gonna try mine on air later as outdoor cooling seems to improve stability alot, even at low core temps.

I finally received an account activated email, about time! Justapost I had sent you a pm on tpu did you get it? Asus gave me the email address for the engineering department. I emailed them about the voltage, ganged mode, and a TLB fix switch.

[justapost]

I finally received an account activated email, about time! Justapost I had sent you a pm on tpu did you get it? Asus gave me the email address for the engineering department. I emailed them about the voltage, ganged mode, and a TLB fix switch.

Their support team ain't as bad as I thought. I found that with my BE2400 the max voltage I can apply to the cpu is 1,55V. If I apply 1,575V via bios it is 1,475V.
The M2A-VM allowed voltages up to 1,55V but also had an +100mV field, so the max appliable was 1,65V.

[planet456235]

I have only 0,02v overvolting under 100% processor load!

EDIT: The Everest Memory Benchmarks are very,very good! ;-)

[Jakalwarrior]

I think this boad is just a good clocker (for X2s). Settings that were unstable on my MSI are stable on this board IF the chip is very cool. Overall this board seems to be able to take chips to their ragged edge without pushing them over due to board related screw ups so when you hit your max it is definetly the chip and not the boards fault. One of the best boards ive ever owned as far as that goes.
Just my inductive guess. I could be wrong, but that is what it feels like to me.