Can't overclock my xp2100 or my Leadtek a250 ultra worth a damn

[VincentMalloy]

Hey, I have a frsutrated question for the overclocking gods/goddesses.<BR><BR>Why can't I overclock my xp2100 and my Leadtek a250 ultra gf4 ti4600?<BR><BR>Here is my exact sys specs.<BR><BR>xp2100<BR>Leadtek a250 ultra gf4 ti4600<BR>2x corsair pc2100 512mb ddr's<BR>abit kr7a-RAID<BR>sb live Gamer 5.1<BR>intel nic card<BR>56k supra max<BR>2x 40gb maxtor drives, two diff model numbers....I had 3 but my system doesn't wan to see the other one after the RAID fell apart.<BR>300watt antec ps<BR><BR><BR>Is this just bad luck or am I doing stuff wrong?<BR><BR>When I try to overclock the cpu I go into softmenu and up the fsb... is that the way you go about it, or should I do other stuff first?<BR><BR>When I have tried to overclock the gfx card I install the winfox program that came with my card and just move the sliders up like one number at a time. <BR><BR>As soon as I change any values my compie just seems to start freaking out. Any definate answers would be greatly appreciated... Thanks. Colin, what's your take?<BR><BR>-Vince.<BR>

[BAM!]

how much FSB are you increasing each time?... if you're going from 133 to a 166 then you're definintely not gonna bootup without voltage bump. try increase it by incraments of 2 mhz fsb. also find out what stepping your CPU is it'll help us a lot to get an idea of how good of a overclock you should expect. the stepping code in case you didn't know. is the second line below the CPU module speed which should located right on or below the CPU die.

[VincentMalloy]

Okay, I've got the numbers for ya. First off, when I took off my fan, Volcano 7 I think... anyway, when I took it off there was no thermal paste left on the die. So after getting these numbers I applied a good amount of it to it.. I have no idea if that will affect anything, but I do know it's good for the cpu.. right?<BR><BR>Okay, numbers.<BR><BR>As you look at the whole cpu first off, it's Green.The first line says, AX21000MT3C, second line right underneath that says, AROTA0212TPMW third line says Y8013520108 third line is copyright 1999. It was assembled in Malaysia and in the lower left corner, reletive to the text on the cpu it has this number 27111. <BR><BR>If you could let me know what each of those numbers are that'd be great. LIke... what they mean. Stepping, what's that real quick?<BR><BR>Okay, well I'll try oc by 2's.... <BR><BR>- EDIT - It's running stable at 1.84ghz, at least I can play unreal2k3 and it doesn't fail... like it used to. What would I need to do for it to run at 2ghz? <BR><BR>- EDIT - NOW it's not running stable. I couldn't play counter-strike, crashed back to desktop. Put it back down to defaults.. everything is stable again. So, now I'm back to square one....<BR><BR>If I can't boot into windows I know I've gone to far? What's the best way of going about ocing.. or is it just upping the fsb? Also, how would I give it more voltage to keep stable? I have kr7a-RAID... I'll edit this post with how it sets up the vcore. Oh, I also had to flash this bios to take advantage of the 2100. Before I think it only read up to the 1900 or something.

[BAM!]

unforutnately to break the bad news to you. you're not gonna get a whole lot out of that cpu. first off it's a palomino core which is known for very poor overclockability and is multiplyer locked. i seriously doubt you can go any higher than 1.8Ghz. slowly upp your fsb in 1 or 2 incraments and when it becomes unstable upp the voltage. that's basically the procedure. but a short cut for you, just upp the vcore all the way to 1.85 and upp the fsb untill it becomes unstable then you'll have your limit. <BR><BR>make sure you're doing this with a good HSF otherwise you can overheat your 2100. palominos do tend to get hotter. <BR><BR>more info on your cpu it's a palomino 2100+ with stepping AROTA batch code BPMW made on march 2002 with maximum die teperature of 90 degrees celcious.

[Colin]

VincentMalloy there isn't much you can do about CPU overclocking as Howard BAM! said it was the last of the Palomino's which was near the maximum speed of that core.<BR><BR>As for your videocard, how high were you able to push it so far? Do you happen to know what stepping Ti4600 you got?

[VincentMalloy]

Yeah, damnit my 2100 sux. When I built my computer I had know idea how to overclock nor what I thinking of activly partisipating in this now... computer geek past time..<BR><BR>I don't know what stepping is. Where do I look on the chip? The Leadtek has a massive heatsink and fan system on it so I don't really know how I should go about removing that in order to see the stepping. I guess I'll wait for your reply on that. <BR><BR>Well, as luck would have it my uncle wants to upgrade his computer from his old PII 266mhz Dell system to a faster setup. So I get to put all of my hardware in a case for him and buy new stuff with his money for me. So, I 'm looking at about <BR><BR><BR>$1200..For this I thought I would go the AMD route, xp3000, Epox 8rda+ Corsair XMS3200 512's 2x Radeon 9700 PRO. Is this a good route? Or could I somehow spend this much or less on a p43ghz rig and 800fsb? LoL... I'd like to but I've looked at the xp3000's benchmarks and it oc's pretty well. Hopefully this time I can get the right stepping? Gaaah... and the Epox is good for OC'ing right? I read the review and I wanted to setup a system like yours.<BR><BR>Would this setup play HL2? This would be a hold over system till I get the money to build my gaming rig. That will have p43ghz 800fsb cpu (that comes out in a couple of weeks right?) IC7-G. <BR><BR>-Vince<BR>

[Colin]

VincentMalloy yes you have to take the heatsink off. IF you see A2 overclocking will difficult but you if you have an A3 you should be ok.<BR><BR>I'm assuming you're using US currency right? For $1200 I'd go the AMD route as going Intel will probably end up costing you more. The Epox is an awesoem motherboard for overclocking but the new Abit NF7-S 2.0 is better. If you can score one of those get it!<BR><BR>If you get an AthlonXP 3000+ you don't need to upgrade until next year. Don't worry about buying a 3.0 GHz P4. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

[VincentMalloy]

Well.. bummer, I am almost positive that it is a2, just because it doesn't like upping any speeds. I guess I just don't have much luck. But, I have a guy I know that has a factory source that can get me a 9800 Pro for like $250. So I Might just do that. As far as my amd setup. I have no money for it really. I might have to wait. But if I have to wait too long there might be some pretty nice Intel stuff. Because of the fact that they're feeling the pressure from AMD.<BR><BR>So, as right now, I can't really get my hands on good enough hardware for anything. I've tried getting review jobs.. so that I could get some connections.. But I never recieve responses. I tried PCstats' one a little while ago.. but didn't get response.<BR><BR>Thanks fer the help on this setu pthough guys. I just need to upgrade to better oc'ing parts.<BR><BR>-Will

[DeanLowe]

If you unlock you Palomino, you can most likely get about 1.9GHz with air cooling.

[VincentMalloy]

Yeah, I've thought about unlocking via that guide I think I saw from PCS's newsletter at some point. I have all the nessesary tools but I'm a little scared to touch my chip... as it's the only one I have and I don't have money to buy another one..I better not mess with it. <BR><BR>Thanks for the input though Dean.<BR><BR>-Will.

[Juan]

When overclocking my 2100+ it really didn't do much. I went to a multipler of 10.5x to a FSB of 166. I think it is 1754Mhz. My cpu vcore is 2.00 and my memory is at 3.05. If i move up too 167FSB then the system will not boot. My 2100+ has the AGOIA stepping and I have seen posts on sites that say some overclock well and some just will not overclock. I connected the L1 bridges with Window Defrost repair liquid.

[DeanLowe]

I think AGOIA was the best/last Palomino step AMD made. I had a 1700+ AGOIA, locked, that ran at 1.9GHz. <a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=4783806">3D Mark 2001 - 14797</a>.<BR>I also got a unlocked 1700+ AGOIA from Colin that max'ed out at 1.9GHz.

[VincentMalloy]

Damn... well I guess my AROTA is at i't limit. Sux. I'm looking into better things, but I'm really hard out for cash. <BR><BR>-Will