amateur needs help please!

brennan · 08-22-2002, 09:49 AM

This is from a very amateur overclocker so any pertinent advice or sharing of knowledge would be appreciated. :-)

I have an Athlon 950MHz (200Mhz FSB), an Asus A7A133 (specs here: http://usa.asus.com/mb/socketa/a7a133/specification.htm), and 384MB of PC133 SDRAM. I setup a ghetto passive water cooling system that keeps this CPU overclocked at 1137Mhz under 48º C (119º F) under a full load. That’s better than my quiet air cooling setup, so I’m not complaining. I’m running Windows XP Home.

Everything in Windows runs fine when I have the ‘CPU/PCI Frequency (MHz)’ set to 119/40 (1137MHz) in the BIOS. Once I go to 120/40, then I start to get blue STOP screens either when Windows is starting or when I start to put a load on the CPU within Windows. Here’s a shot of the BIOS screen. Sorry for the bad quality, but it is from the Asus .pdf manual.

My settings for this BIOS screen are as follows:
CPU Speed: Manual
CPU Frequency Multiple: 9.5x
CPU/PCI Frequency MHz: 119/40
CPU/Memory Frequency Ratio: 1:1
CPU Vcore Setting: 1.85V

I think the multiplier on this Athlon is locked because no matter what I change the ‘CPU Frequency Multiple’ to, WCPUID always shows 9.5x in Windows. Here’s a screenshot in Windows:

Do these blue STOP screens mean that I have reached the limit for this CPU? Is it the motherboard that’s causing this? I don’t think the cause is the CPU over heating because it runs at a reasonable (not excellent) temperature when set to 119/40, therefore 120/40 shouldn’t heat the core that much to cause blue STOP screens. So, I’m assuming that it is either the CPU or motherboard, but I’d like to know what exactly about the CPU or motherboard is causing the blue STOP screens so that I might be able to overclock even higher.

Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated.

ambient · 08-22-2002, 11:53 AM

First off, I’ve heard of a lot of people having problems when trying to oc asus boards via bios settings, most fair better when using the jumpers. The processor you have is locked. You could probably get more out of it if you unlcoked it using a pencil or conductive ink. try unlocking the processor and oc'n again with a lower fsb. My guess is one of your pci devices doesn't like the higher pci speeds or you need to use the jumpers. You don't have to use a conductive ink pen either. You can use a #2 pencil but a mechanical pencil with HB led works the best.

http://www.gideontech.com/guides/amdoc/ how to unlock the tbird.

brennan · 08-22-2002, 11:57 AM

thanks for the reply.

this particular Asus motherboard has the ALi Magik chipset, not the VIA.

i'll look into how to unlock it. thanks for the link.

kibbler · 08-22-2002, 01:24 PM

Holy s--t, I completely forgot about locked processors and such, is my athlon TBird 1.4 locked as well?

I had a merry time overclocking for the first time, and all I did was flip some DIP switches on my A7V-133, and voila, 1466, 1533, 1600...then I clocked it back to stock (my only proc right now, under-financed for another)

No conductive pen, nothing

ambient · 08-22-2002, 06:24 PM

yeah the 1.4 is unlocked. I have the same thing.

ambient · 08-22-2002, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by brennan
thanks for the reply.

this particular Asus motherboard has the ALi Magik chipset, not the VIA.

i'll look into how to unlock it. thanks for the link.

np. Oh when I said via bios settings, I didn't mean a VIA bios chip. I meant configuring them in the bios instead of using the jumper on the motherboard.

brennan · 08-22-2002, 07:53 PM

oh, right, i gotcha. sorry for misreading that.

well, i just took the cpu out and guess what i found? not only did the laser burn a gap inbetween the L1 bridges, but it actually burnt completely through the bottom of the L1 bridge! :shrug: there is no gold color for the contacts what so ever, just black burnt gaps.

i tried the pencil trick, but it was in vain. still no success with multiplying it in the bios. oh well.

i got all the stepping info from the die while i had it out. if it will help anyone else, here it is:

AMD Athlon
A0950DMT3B
ARGA 0125RPMW
96823240052
c1999 AMD

anyone else ever dealt with an ARGA before?

ambient · 08-22-2002, 09:04 PM

That's strange. My chip is a AYHJA 0132 Y and my bridges are connected. I know that for awhile anything over 1.2 was unlocked, that's why I got the 1.4. But I also have a 900 ADEA 0028 and that things bridges are laser cut. I was able to unlock it though with a pencil. My ADEA is older than your ARGA. Do you have the copper dots where the bridges used to start and end?

brennan · 08-22-2002, 09:08 PM

no, the 4 copper dots on the lower side of the L1 bridge are gone, all burnt up. the 4 copper dots on the top side of the L1 bridge are fine though.

ambient · 08-22-2002, 10:19 PM

ahh, I do remember now hearing about that chip. well just fsb oc then. have you tried the 133\33 fsb setting? then the pci divisor will be at 1/4 and = 33mhz and you'll be able to tell if its the pci bus thats messin you up or if it the processor.

brennan · 08-22-2002, 10:21 PM

yeah, i've tried 133/33 (1266MHz i think) and it's really bad. won't even go into windows. lots of artifacts in post. oh well.

08-22-2002, 09:49 AM	#1
brennan Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 12	amateur needs help please! This is from a very amateur overclocker so any pertinent advice or sharing of knowledge would be appreciated. :-) I have an Athlon 950MHz (200Mhz FSB), an Asus A7A133 (specs here: http://usa.asus.com/mb/socketa/a7a133/specification.htm), and 384MB of PC133 SDRAM. I setup a ghetto passive water cooling system that keeps this CPU overclocked at 1137Mhz under 48º C (119º F) under a full load. That’s better than my quiet air cooling setup, so I’m not complaining. I’m running Windows XP Home. Everything in Windows runs fine when I have the ‘CPU/PCI Frequency (MHz)’ set to 119/40 (1137MHz) in the BIOS. Once I go to 120/40, then I start to get blue STOP screens either when Windows is starting or when I start to put a load on the CPU within Windows. Here’s a shot of the BIOS screen. Sorry for the bad quality, but it is from the Asus .pdf manual. My settings for this BIOS screen are as follows: CPU Speed: Manual CPU Frequency Multiple: 9.5x CPU/PCI Frequency MHz: 119/40 CPU/Memory Frequency Ratio: 1:1 CPU Vcore Setting: 1.85V I think the multiplier on this Athlon is locked because no matter what I change the ‘CPU Frequency Multiple’ to, WCPUID always shows 9.5x in Windows. Here’s a screenshot in Windows: Do these blue STOP screens mean that I have reached the limit for this CPU? Is it the motherboard that’s causing this? I don’t think the cause is the CPU over heating because it runs at a reasonable (not excellent) temperature when set to 119/40, therefore 120/40 shouldn’t heat the core that much to cause blue STOP screens. So, I’m assuming that it is either the CPU or motherboard, but I’d like to know what exactly about the CPU or motherboard is causing the blue STOP screens so that I might be able to overclock even higher. Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated.

08-22-2002, 06:24 PM	#5
ambient Cooling Savant Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Planet Earth Posts: 312	yeah the 1.4 is unlocked. I have the same thing. __________________ water cooled 1.4 tbird @ 1580 143x11 vcore 1.88 vio 3.55

08-22-2002, 09:04 PM	#8
ambient Cooling Savant Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Planet Earth Posts: 312	That's strange. My chip is a AYHJA 0132 Y and my bridges are connected. I know that for awhile anything over 1.2 was unlocked, that's why I got the 1.4. But I also have a 900 ADEA 0028 and that things bridges are laser cut. I was able to unlock it though with a pencil. My ADEA is older than your ARGA. Do you have the copper dots where the bridges used to start and end? __________________ water cooled 1.4 tbird @ 1580 143x11 vcore 1.88 vio 3.55

08-22-2002, 09:08 PM	#9
brennan Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 12	!! no, the 4 copper dots on the lower side of the L1 bridge are gone, all burnt up. the 4 copper dots on the top side of the L1 bridge are fine though.

08-22-2002, 10:19 PM	#10
ambient Cooling Savant Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Planet Earth Posts: 312	ahh, I do remember now hearing about that chip. well just fsb oc then. have you tried the 133\33 fsb setting? then the pci divisor will be at 1/4 and = 33mhz and you'll be able to tell if its the pci bus thats messin you up or if it the processor. __________________ water cooled 1.4 tbird @ 1580 143x11 vcore 1.88 vio 3.55

08-22-2002, 11:53 AM	#2
ambient Cooling Savant Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Planet Earth Posts: 312	First off, I’ve heard of a lot of people having problems when trying to oc asus boards via bios settings, most fair better when using the jumpers. The processor you have is locked. You could probably get more out of it if you unlcoked it using a pencil or conductive ink. try unlocking the processor and oc'n again with a lower fsb. My guess is one of your pci devices doesn't like the higher pci speeds or you need to use the jumpers. You don't have to use a conductive ink pen either. You can use a #2 pencil but a mechanical pencil with HB led works the best. http://www.gideontech.com/guides/amdoc/ how to unlock the tbird. __________________ water cooled 1.4 tbird @ 1580 143x11 vcore 1.88 vio 3.55

08-22-2002, 11:57 AM	#3
brennan Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 12	thanks for the reply. this particular Asus motherboard has the ALi Magik chipset, not the VIA. i'll look into how to unlock it. thanks for the link.

08-22-2002, 01:24 PM	#4
kibbler Cooling Savant Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 107	Holy s--t, I completely forgot about locked processors and such, is my athlon TBird 1.4 locked as well? I had a merry time overclocking for the first time, and all I did was flip some DIP switches on my A7V-133, and voila, 1466, 1533, 1600...then I clocked it back to stock (my only proc right now, under-financed for another) No conductive pen, nothing

08-22-2002, 07:53 PM	#7
brennan Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 12	oh, right, i gotcha. sorry for misreading that. well, i just took the cpu out and guess what i found? not only did the laser burn a gap inbetween the L1 bridges, but it actually burnt completely through the bottom of the L1 bridge! :shrug: there is no gold color for the contacts what so ever, just black burnt gaps. i tried the pencil trick, but it was in vain. still no success with multiplying it in the bios. oh well. i got all the stepping info from the die while i had it out. if it will help anyone else, here it is: AMD Athlon A0950DMT3B ARGA 0125RPMW 96823240052 c1999 AMD anyone else ever dealt with an ARGA before?

08-22-2002, 10:21 PM	#11
brennan Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 12	yeah, i've tried 133/33 (1266MHz i think) and it's really bad. won't even go into windows. lots of artifacts in post. oh well.

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