FSB newbie question

[lai918]

I have an Athlon motherboard made by Biostar(M7MKE). Can anybody tell me how do I raise the FSB of this board. I believe it is currently running on a 100mhz fsb giving it 900mhz (9x 100). I has 2 fans on the CPU and my CPU temperature is 37C during idle and 45C in full load. Do I need extra cooling if I just wanto increase the fsb a little bit ? (Since I think my board is not good for overcloking).

This is a link to the board, http://biostar-usa.com/Products/Motherboard/M7MKE/M7MKE_Products.htm

I wonder if I can use software tweak like CPUCOOL or CPUFSB to raise the FSB ? I'm totally new to this so if anybody know how to do this pls help me.

Another question, when i set the DRAM clock in Bios to 133 instead of 100 Mhz. Does it mean that I have increase the fsb ????

My system
Athlon 902Mhz (Slot A)
Biostar M7MKE (chipset KX-133)
256 PC-133 SDRAM (Micron CAS 2)
20Gb HD
Leadtek Geforce2 MX
300 watts power supply
idle: 37 c
full load: 45 c
WIN ME


[This message has been edited by lai918 (edited 07-10-2001).]

[big_block_buick]

it looks like good old flip switches for f.s.b. to the right of your ram is a jumper block with 4 little switches, you will need a steady hand,(computer off of course http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif.
and something to move them, i use tweezers. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

CPU
Clock
PCI SW1 (1) SW1 (2) SW1 (3) SW1 (4)
110 MHz 36.7 MHz ON OFF ON OFF
115 MHz 38.3 MHz OFF ON ON OFF
120 MHz 30 MHz ON ON ON OFF
133.3 MHz 33.3 MHz OFF OFF OFF ON
100.2 MHz 33.3 MHz OFF ON OFF ON
124 MHz 31 MHz OFF OFF ON ON
129 MHz 32.3 MHz ON OFF ON ON

[lai918]

I assume u r asking me to manually adjust the jumper on the motherboard. But I'm not quite understand with the figure u provided. are those figures below the PCI the FSB? and what are the sw(1) sw(2)....sw(4)


[This message has been edited by lai918 (edited 07-10-2001).]

[big_block_buick]

download the manual from the link you provided, there is pictures in there that will help you. and yes the numbers below pci are the fsb.


on
------------
1 2 3 4 (it should say which direction /\
------------
off

right now you have 1(off) 2(on) 3(off) 4(on)


i didnt see how to change multiplier though, your best bet is to go 133mhz.. but at 9x would put you to 1200. somebody else care to help us out http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

[lai918]

Thanks for ur reply. Are u sure that I should go up all the way to 133Mhz? Doubt my motherboard can handle that? If I really up it to 133Mhz, do I need extra cooling ? Curently I have two fans blowing on my CPU.

[big_block_buick]

no, that's why i said about the multiplier. 133 would be most stable with best results. see the pci is still 33mhz, but at 9x might be too much..i dont know enough about this stuff to say, you should try 7x133 for starters.

[TCWolffe]

I think you're always better off dropping the clock multiplier down before you raise the FSB. A slot A Athalon may not handle 1200 to well since you're running 37-45C at 900. To get 400MHz more you most likely need to increase the vcore, and that's another set up jumpers the board may or may not have. Good luck

[lai918]

I tried set the FSB to 115 and I get a blue screen after running for few minutes. So I switch it to 110 and it works fine. But I not yet really test the stability of the system. How do I know whether it is stable or not?
So now I have 9 x 110 Mhz = 990 Mhz. Not much difference i know...but it gives me better benchmark score in Sisoft sandra and 3dMArk2001. Still can't get my AGP 4X to work( computer hang when running a 3D game). So I still using AGP 1X, and it works fine. My 3dMArk2001 score is 2658 now with a Geforce2 GTS. before that it was 2451. My CPU temp is around 37 when case is open and about 45 when it is close. I dunno whether the temperature will still go higher becox I only turn it on for like an hour. What kind of program that I can use so that I can run it in fullload ?
I also noticed Some minor problem where the desktop picture's color looks funny ....parts of it got tear off.(After I quit 3dMark. I wonder this is the consequences of overcloking the FSB or the problem by the new Geforce2 GTS card that I just add in. (driver 12.41) And I run the VIAHM program to monitor the hardware, it saids that my voltage is too low : I forgot the warning message but I think is something like vcore voltage 2.1 V is too low.
Will my system overheat. I dun dare to leave it on anymore if i wanto go out.

[This message has been edited by lai918 (edited 07-11-2001).]

[TCWolffe]

okay, the FSB is the most important bus on the machine because all other buses run at a multiplier (or divider) of it. the AGP bus, when you are at 100MHz FSB, is running at 2/3, or 66MHz. The PCI bus is running 1/3, or 33MHz. when you bump up the FSB, the other buses follow those dividers UNTIL you reach 133. Theoretically, when you get to 133MHz FSB the dividers drop to 1/2 AGP and 1/4 PCI to keep them at 66MHz and 33MHz respectively. Again, this is theoretically, you may have to change the divider manually in the BIOS or by a jumper or dipswitch on the motherboard itself. usually there would be a FSB select jumper that tells the computer if you are using 100MHz or 133MHz, the only real function of this jumper (or dip switch) is to change the dividers. Your processor, of course runs on a multiplier, which, as stated before, if you want 133MHz, you want to start at 7x multiplier. 7.5x133 would give you 1GHz, not bad.

FSB overclocking shows more gains than multiplier overclocking because your memory bus will be running faster, and peripherals such as the AGP and PCI cards will be able to send/recieve data to/from the CPU faster. Some cards, most notably NIC (network cards) will not handle PCI overclocking too well, which is why it is safer to stick to standard bus speeds (100, 133) and let the dividers change down. running at 110 your AGP is 73.33 and your PCI is 36.66. Your memory is also a likely suspect in your inablity to cross 110MHz FSB. You most likely have PC100 (designed for 100MHz) and would need PC133 to get the FSB up there.

To solve this, remove ALL of your cards but the video card, set your FSB to 133 (everywhere you can choose 133, do so, and look for a divider controller or jumper as I described above). If you are unable to run at 133MHz, the board or the memory are the likely suspects. If you succeed, then place your expansion cards back in one at a time, rebooting each time to make sure everything is stable.

REMEMBER! change your multiplier to 7x before you push the FSB all the way to 133!!! You will (hopefully) POST at 933MHz, then you can do 7.5x and get 1GHz, keep an eye on your temps, tho....you may be able to set warnings and auto-shutdown levels in your BIOS.

[PORNOST4R]

I've got a question. I am also a newbie to OC. If I have 100MHz RAM (256 MB), and if I encrease the FSB to 133, can I still use my 100MHz RAM??? Are there any bad concenquences?

[TCWolffe]

This, like all overclocking, is iffy, you can try (cross your fingers). Who is the memory manufacturer?

you may have to lower the latency settings (e.g. from CAS 2 to CAS 3)

[lai918]

Thanks for the long explanation. I wonder if u noticed that I said I have Micron PC-133 SDRAM CL2 7ns. But I not yet try go up to 133 Mhz as I dun have good cooling.
However, I have a question about Sisoft Sandra benchmark. After I overclock the FSB to 110 Mhz, under the mainboard information, there are few warning about the AGP and PCI bus is too high. Should I just ignore it ?Will that do any hard to my system? causing system crash? So far it is stable. Or do i need to followed what u said earlier...about the divider?

[TCWolffe]

Terribly sorry I missed that, you did have your system info up there....hehehehehe....I was answering lots of questions last night...:9

anyways....your Micron PC133 RAM can definately handle 110, the GeForce should handle the AGP bus quite well. So if you haven't noticed any problems, I'd say you've got a solid overclock there! Risks are basically just increased possiblity of hardware failure, some of it may die before it normally would running stock, but hey, are you going to be using this stuff in 5 or 6 years? OCing is your basic risk vs. reward...hehehehehe

As far as reaching 133MHz FSB....this all depends on the chip, the motherboard supports PC133. So the Question is will the chip reach 1200. First, as you pointed out, the heat factor is critical, second, you'll have to up the core voltage (applying even more heat) so i'd say your prospects for 133 are slim unless you drop the multiplier....and boy is that *FUN* with slot A......

hope you the best of luck, and congrats on that overclock!

[lai918]

I guess 110 Mhz is good enough for me. At least I see some improvement. The system is so far very stable with that speed, though I using Win ME. Thanks God I dun have any problem with it. Thanks for all the help. I'm still new in this field. If not I wont get a crappy motherboard KX-133 haha.....Maybe in the future I will learn from my experience and build myself a super system.