# Official M3A32-MVP Deluxe and Phenom Overclocking Guide



## Psychlone (Jul 18, 2008)

This is a c/p of a post I made in Kei's thread titled "Phenom 9850BE low voltage overclocking results!"

After posting there, and realizing it was up to 88 pages, and had derailed several times through, I thought this would be a more appropriate place for such a TOME of information on overclocking using the M3A32-MVP Deluxe motherboard along with a Phenom 9850BE CPU. - There's enough info in this to actually be used with any chipset/CPU combo, but some of the BIOS options will differ from the M3A32-MVP Deluxe to the other chipset series coming out.

This is a TON of information collected and discovered over the course of testing 4 Phenom 9850BE's that is sure to help some of you with any AM2/AM2+ setup, as well as my BIOS options for the M3A32-MVP Deluxe.

DISCLAIMER:  This tome of information is intended to be a guide, used as a template for YOUR overclocking adventure - in no way shall I be liable for any malfunction or damage as a result of using any of this information.
Everything in this post is from my own personal experience embellished with links and facts from other's personal experiences.  It was complied from 42 pages of hand-written notes spanning 4 different stepping Phenom 9850BE processors, along with prior knowledge of AMD architecture...nothing here is hearsay, it's all real-world experience of what has proven to be an effective overclock for MY current setup.

IN NO WAY do I mean for this guide to be followed to the letter - ALL components, even given the same exact stepping/lot #, sequential serial #'s, etc., will overclock the same.
There is _*no*_ guarantee. You paid for parts that will perform at their advertised specifications, and what you're doing by overclocking is getting *more* than what you paid for (hence the 'no guarantees' part.)
What may work for one individual may or may not work for the next...even given the same exact components...just always remember this...sometimes you have to settle for less than what you originally expected - the way to make it 'ok' in your head is to remember the 'no guarantees' thing...you've already got 'something' for 'nothing' if you've overclocked *at all*. 

In overclocking, there are inherent risks.  The very fact that you're playing with voltages and cycles translates into playing with fire - literally.  More voltage = more heat.  I can't stress enough the importance of proper temperature monitoring and some real good CPU cooling as well as excellent case cooling.

Here's AMD's 'secret' overclocking formula (not discovered by me, but rewritten by me to be understandable by the masses:  This equation is for the Phenom/AM2/AM2+ architecture, it's a bit different from the older (pre-K8) architecture in that our HT and NB are now a multiple of the FSB, as well as the divisor ratio is no longer rounded up when landing on a fraction (decimal) of a whole integer.

*AMD Overclocking Equation:*
*(CPU Multi) * (FSB) = (CPU Freq)
(CPU Multi) / (Memory Divider) = (Divisor Ratio)
(CPU Freq) / (Divisor Ratio) = (RAM MHz) (* 2 = DDR MHz)
(NB Multi) * (FSB) = (NB Freq)*
(HT Multi) * (FSB) = (HT Freq) **
**note:  the HT Multi is usually shown as a MHz option rather than a multiplier of the FSB, but in fact, it is a default of 10X the FSB
Also of note is that your HT *MUST* be < or = the resulting NB Frequency or you will not be stable.
*
Memory Dividers for use in the equation above*
I have included every conceivable way that these dividers can be displayed for every AM2/AM2+ BIOS.  Use the DECIMAL value in the equation above and use one of the corresponding values for your specific BIOS.  I've only included the 800MHz and the 1066MHz values, as this is what the majority of us are using.

*533 = 1066 = 16:6 = 8:3 = (8 / 3 = 2.6666666) = 2.6666666
400 = 800 = 12:6 = 6:3 = (6 / 3 = 2) = 2*

There are footnotes collected from my adventures at the bottom describing some of the more obscure functions and some of the hidden options.  Read them carefully, test each config for yourself and decide what works for you.

*About MONITORING YOUR TEMPS:*
ASUS has a nifty little utility called PCProbe2 that comes on the CD that came with the motherboard... USE IT. I also found that CoreTemp gives a very close reading with the M3A32-MVP Deluxe.
If your temps at *any* time reach into the mid 50*C range, STOP and readdress your CPU and case cooling before continuing any further. (High 60*C is the upper limit, but we don’t need to push it, right?)
Just ensure that you're using *something* to monitor your temps while spending any time in the overclocking arena!

There are loads of good aftermarket CPU cooling options out there...I personally have the ThermalRight Ultra-120 Extreme, and I'm very pleased with not only it's performance, but it's sound level as well (with 2 Scythe S-Flex fans).

Also of importance is your case cooling.  Every case I've ever had IS NOT pre-setup with what turns out to be the most efficient fan arrangement.  It's up to YOU to decide what fan needs to be where, which direction it should be (pulling air IN or pushing it OUT) and what make/model/CFM/RPM you need.  Just be aware that without fresh, cool air coming IN the case, all you've got is warmed air to circulate across your CPU's HS/f, and without adequate EXHAUST, you've really just shot yourself in the foot again - BOTH are paramount to a decent overclock (I really can't stress this enough - MOST people miss case cooling and concentrate solely on their CPU HS/f)

All in all, by the very nature of overclocking, you need to know that you're taking a risk of exposing specific components to more voltage/heat/cycles than they're designed to take, which *could* or *may not* lead to their early or eventual demise.

I'm sure most people that will read through all that crap already understand the risks...it's just pertinent for me to say...I can't be held liable for any kind of overclock gone wrong.

Alrighty then...

Some here's some terminology that we're going to be familiar with by the end of this post:

*TERMINOLOGY and BACKGROUND INFO:*

_AMD's HT_: HyperTransport (HT), formerly known as Lightning Data Transport (LDT), is a bidirectional serial/parallel high-bandwidth, low-latency computer bus. The HyperTransport Technology Consortium is in charge of promoting and developing HyperTransport technology. The technology is used by AMD and Transmeta in x86 processors, PMC-Sierra and Broadcom in MIPS microprocessors, NVIDIA, Via, SiS, ULi/ALi, and AMD in PC chipsets, Apple Computer and HP in Desktops and notebooks, HP, Sun, IBM, and IWill in servers, Cray in supercomputers, and Cisco Systems in routers.

HyperTransport runs at 200-5200 MHz (compared to PCI at either 33 or 66 MHz). It is also a DDR or "double-data-rate" bus, meaning it sends data on both the rising and falling edges of the 1400 MHz clock signal. This allows for a maximum data rate of 2600 MTransfers/s each direction. The frequency is auto-negotiated, but can be changed via a multiplier, which is a multiple of your FSB.

HyperTransport supports auto-negotiated bus widths, from 2 (bidirectional serial, 1 bit each way) to 32-bit (16 each way) busses are allowed. The full-sized, full-speed 32-bit bus has a transfer rate of 22,400 MByte/s, making it much faster than existing standards. Busses of various widths can be mixed together in a single application, which allows for high speed busses between main memory and the CPU, and lower speed busses to peripherals, as appropriate. The technology also has much lower latency than other solutions.

So, in a nutshell, HT is the bandwidth used between your memory and CPU and the CPU and other peripherals.

_AMD's HTT_: (HyperTransport Technology (HTT) - I know, confusing!!!) The A64 has no FSB (or Front Side Bus) as we know it. That's because the memory controller is built-in to the CPU rather than being on the motherboard. Basically, HyperTransport replaces the FSB.
So raising the HTT is how we raise the CPU cycles...it's the amount of communication a CPU can push in a given amount of time.
This has reverted (in terminology only) back to FSB with the new boards and new BIOS, probably to make it easier and less confusing.  So, HTT = FSB on the new AM2/AM2+ boards.

_CPU Multiplier_: The CPU multiplier is one way for processors to run much faster than the clock speed of the motherboard or RAM allows. For every tick of the front side bus (FSB) clock, a frequency multiplier causes the CPU to perform x cycles, where x is the multiplier.
For example, if the FSB has a clock speed of 200 MHz and the CPU multiplier is 10x, then the processor would run at 2000MHz or 2.0GHz.
One downside of the multiplier is that it only increases CPU speed. In the previous example there is a multiplier of 10x, but RAM still runs at 200 MHz, so the computer can only access memory at 1/10th of the processor speed, 200 MHz, the speed of the FSB. Because of this, many overclockers prefer to have lower multipliers with higher FSBs.
With the Phenom systems (currently using the 790X and 790FX chipsets) - the CPU Multiplier is really the best way to increase your CPU Frequency.  Adding FSB to an already high CPU Multiplier can improve CPU Frequency, but most times leads to instability without lots of voltage to help it out.

_Memory Divider_: One popular way of overclocking your processor is to increase your FSB. This increases the processor bus, and memory bus equally. In the event that your processor still has the ability to increase in speed, but your memory is maxed out, you would use the memory divider to slow down your memory by running it at a fraction of it's rated speed. Example: You want to run your FSB at 300Mhz, but your memory maxes at 1066Mhz. Set the FSB to 300Mhz, and the memory divider to 1/2, and the memory will run at 533Mhz. (primitive example, but you should get the idea) – the point here is that running a memory divider *literally* runs your memory at a fraction of its original speed…this is a good thing as we’ll learn later.

*FINDING YOUR MAXIMUM VALUES:*
It's extremely important to find each of your component's maximum values before attempting any relevant overclock.  Without such knowledge, it's all just a stab in the dark, but with the knowledge of where everything caps out, you have an excellent idea of what you can expect from each individual component.

Now then, here is what I do when beginning a new overclock:
(We're going to try to find the limit for your motherboard's FSB first)

*Drop the CPU Multiplier to it's lowest setting
Drop the HT Link Speed to it's lowest setting
Drop the RAM divider to it's lowest setting*

Begin by raising the FSB (CPU Frequency) in 5 - 10MHz increments - rebooting to POST (Power On Self Test - it's the very first screen of text in black and white that you see when you first start your computer from an OFF state) in between each change - until it wont POST (Power On Self Test) - note the number as you've just found your motherboard's maximum FSB. This is important, as your motherboard really is a major determining factor on just how far you can overclock your CPU/RAM and other peripherals. I have found my M3A32-MVP Deluxe is capable of 286MHz FSB with all 4 Phenom 9850BE's that I've tested...I know that it would be different for a different architecture CPU.
Drop it down to a comfortable stable level decided on from the equation above.
(yep, we're going to be using that equation *a lot*, so just get used to it!!!)

_CPU Multiplier_:
Begin with your RAM at it's lowest setting, your HT at it's lowest setting, your NB at it's lowest setting and your FSB at 200, then begin raising your CPU Multiplier 1 step at a time, rebooting between each change until it fails POST.  This is going to be the maximum CPU Multiplier that you're going to be able to use.

_NorthBridge_:  You can adjust your NB frequency using a multiplier in the BIOS - remember it's a multiple of the FSB.  I've found mine to be completely stable at 2600MHz.  You'll have to experiment with the NB voltage to find your full-speed maximum.


_HT Link Speed_ Remembering that it's actually a 10X multiple of your FSB, increasing the FSB also increases your HT.  I've found mine stable at over 2400MHz, but in conjunction with the NB, it's stability is capped at 2400MHz when the NB is at 2400MHz or higher.
The secret for getting a higher MHz throughput out of the HT is because of the chipset and the options for it.
Higher voltage helps in the stability for higher bandwidth - But you've GOT to pay attention to your motherboard temp now! Mine's sitting at 38*C right now, and doesn't really get much higher - this is due to adequate case cooling, which I suggest you definitely follow up on!!! (since the Northbridge on the M3A32-MVP Deluxe is passive, it really relies on good airflow around it to keep it cool! - if at any point you feel uncomfortable about the NB reaching into the mid 40*C range, you may want to check into an active cooling, or perhaps just removing the HS assembly and replacing the ASUS thermal gunk with a nice fresh layer of Arctic Silver5 or Ceramique) along with using the crap copper heatsink that came with the board...even though the memory cooling part is useless, the extra copper fins do help to dissipate a lot of the heat generated by the NB.


You can begin playing with the equation above now that you know *most* of the variables and what all your individual component's maximum values are.
If your temps are good (~50*C or below at FULL LOAD) and your motherboard temps are good (38-44*C) then you can start experimenting with other voltages (NB/HT/PCI PLL, etc.)

(this really becomes nothing more than a balancing act at this point - and it takes time...have patience, take breaks - if you get too frustrated, stop for 10-15 minutes and do something else in a different room...I'm not kidding! I've been soooo close to putting my foot all the way through my case that it's not even funny, so I *know* what I'm talking about - TAKE BREAKS! - oh, and try not to drink alot of coffee, it only will agitate you and make it very aggravating!)

If you've made it this far, you've just found a *comfortable* level from which to work...now the hard part begins!

_RAM Overclocking_:
Raise ALL your RAM latencies to 3-4 notches (where possible) above stock SPD for the speed you've decided to run.
Leave your voltage where the manufacturer recommends it (don't go higher - the BIOS text goes red for a reason!) - Later on, you can adjust it up to 2.50V (as a MAX), but you will not need it to be even .01 higher - The point of diminishing returns happens when you've exhausted all overclocking attempts and it will not increase no matter how much voltage you throw at it.
Now, starting with the SECOND one (tRAS), drop it one notch and reboot to POST (and I *mean* [1] notch at a time - you do more than that, you'll find yourself resetting your CMOS twice a much as you're already going to!!!!), repeating until it will not pass the POST, clear the CMOS if you have to, and raise that one value one notch.
Do the same for ALL the latencies (rebooting to POST in between EACH AND EVERY CHANGE) - leaving tREF at 127.5ns (this will help with stability at higher MHz)

This is a *_very_* long and arduous process, but the benefit will be more than worth the effort you put into it!
Once you've made it this far, try changing the CMD (Command Rate) Timing to 1T and see if it boots all the way into Windows - if not, change it back to 2T. (most sticks won't run at a 1T CMD Rate on AM2/AM2+, so don't feel bad - it was worth the try!)

After you've found all the lowest latencies for the *comfortable* overclock, you can begin to see if there's any more...
By raising the CPU voltage, (NEVER HIGHER THAN 1.55V) you can increase stability in your overclock - but it comes at a great price - HEAT. If your CPU gets above 50*C under full load (should be in the 35-42*C range for idle - but load temps are the most important!), you need better cooling, or need to settle on an overclock that utilizes less voltage (which means less FSB and/or higher multiplier and maybe even a different memory divider)

Here are some links to software that you'll need...you probably don't need it all as a few are redundant and overkill, but here they are nonetheless.

I'd DEFINITELY pick up OCCT, Orthos, SuperPI, CPU RightMark and RMMA from the Benchmarking section, *everything* from the Monitoring section, then Memset and AOD from the MISC section.
*Benchmarking Software:*
OCCT Perestroïka
Orthos StressPRIME 2004
SuperPI (use for quick and dirty bench tests to discover if what you did was faster or slower)
SiSoft Sandra
CPU RightMark
RMMA
RAMTester
wPrime
MaxPi is a newer version of SuperPi coded for multiple core processors, and a relatively new addition to this list - it gives some interesting results, but a certain drawback is that it's written in Russian...(personally, I will use it once in a while, but when testing if what I changed in BIOS is better or worse for number crunching, I'll still use SuperPi - it's quicker and gives results in a language I can understand!)
and then of course the FutureMark line of PC and GPU benchmark products - but I'd only get PCMark Vantage for this...and really, only if you want to. (or optionally, 3DMark Vantage, but then you're scoring more than just your CPU...)


*Monitoring Software:*
ASUS PCProbe 2
CPUz
Everest 4 - also contains a Cache and Memory Benchmark that I use all the time.
AMDClock
CoreTemp


*Calculators and MISC tools:*
RMGotcha
MemSet
AMD Overdrive


Below is my current overclock using BIOS 1102 - again, DO NOT just input these values into your own, either you'll not be stable (BEST case scenario) or you'll fry something altogether - you'll need to do the legwork yourself for YOUR components.

*MAIN*
Press F4 and we'll see some 'hidden' settings further in...
(leave all these options at default)
Legacy Diskette A [Disabled] Unless you use a Floppy Drive
Primary IDE Master [Not Detected]
Primary IDE Slave [Not Detected]
SATA1 [Not Detected]
SATA2 [Not Detected]
SATA3 [Not Detected]
SATA4 [Not Detected]
Storage Configuration
On Chip SATA Channel [Enabled]
On Chip SATA Type [IDE]

*ADVANCED*
._JumperFree Configuration_
..AI Overclocking [Manual]
..FSB Frequency [210]
..PCIE Frequency [110] (I wouldn't experiment much with this one, but some boards do have a 'sweet spot')
..Processor Frequency Multiplier [15.00x]
..Processor Voltage [1.325] - which is actually 1.318 *see footnote 1
..Processor-NB Frequency Multiplier [11]
..Processor-NB Voltage [1.35]
..CPU VDDA Voltage [2.6v] (CPU voltage regulation circuits)
..CPU-NB HT Link Speed [2.4GHz] - this has to be proven stable before just jumping into it!
..DDR Voltage [2.10]
..Northbridge Voltage [Manual]
..Hyper Transport Volatge [1.50v]
..Core/PCIe Voltage [1.20] - Voltage supplied to the NB chip itself
..NB PCIE PLL [1.9v]
..Southbridge Voltage [1.24]
..Auto Xpress [Disabled] - Has to do with the TLB fix and doesn't do anything for xx50 series Phenoms
..CPU Tweak [Disabled] - Has to do with the TLB fix and doesn't do anything for xx50 series Phenoms

_Memory Configuration_
..Bank Interleving [Auto]
..Channel Interleaving XOR of Address bits [20:16,9]
..MemClk Trisate C3/ATLVID [Disabled] *see footnotes
..Memory Hole Remaping [Enabled]
..DRAM Ganged Mode [Disabled]
..Power Down Enable [Disabled]
..Read Delay [Auto]
..DCQ Bypass Maximum [Auto] - setting to 4 or 6 may help yield stability at high MHz values
.DRAM Timing Configuration
..Memory Clock Mode [Manual]
..Memory Clock Value [1066 MHz]
..2T Mode [Enabled]
..DRAM Timing Mode [Both]
..CAS Latency (CL) [5 CLK]
..TCWL [5 CLK] - lower values equal faster writes, but will cause instability at high MHz
..TRCD [5 CLK]
..TRP [5 CLK]
..TRAS [18 CLK] - bios 1002 and up overrides this setting: If tRTP is set to Auto then -2 from what the setting is. Any other tRTP setting and this is 18 no matter what the setting is.
..tWR [4 CLK]
..tRFC0 [127.5 ns]
..tRFC1 [127.5 ns]
..tRFC2 [127.5 ns]
..tRFC3 [127.5 ns]
...TRC [26 CLK] - BIOS 1002 overrides this setting if tRTP is not on Auto. If tRTP is not on Auto this is 26.
..TRRD [2 CLK]
..tWTR [3 CLK] - BIOS 1002 orverrides this setting if tRTP is not on Auto, the resulting setting will be reduced by 1 otherwise.
..tRTP [2-4 CLK] In bios 0801 anything but auto and TRC and TRAS are overridden, BIOS 902 and higher, 2-4 CLK and TRAS will function as set.
..tRWTTO [4 CLK] - for my memory it is Auto or same as tWR or will not boot.
..tWRRD [Auto]
..tWRWR [Auto]
..tRDRD [Auto]
..PLL1 Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
..PLL2 Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
..AI Clock Skew for Channel A [Auto]
....Current Clock Skew Advance 300ps
..AI Clock Skew for Channel B [Auto]
....Current Clock Skew Advance 450ps

_AI Net 2_
..Marvell Post LAN cable [Disabled]

_CPU Configuration_
..GART Error Reporting [Disabled]
..Microcode Updation [Disabled]
..Secure Virtual Machine Mode [Disabled]
..AMD Cool 'n' Quiet Function [Disabled]
..ACPI SRAT Table [Enabled]
..Processor Downcore [Disabled] - this effectively shuts down between 1 and 3 cores
..AMD Live! [Disabled]

_Chipset_
..Primary Video Controller [PCIE GFX0-GFX2-GPP] - this setting identifies the top blue slot as primary. GFX2 refers to the top black slot (Port #03)
..PCI Express Configuration
..GFX Dual Slot Configuration [Enabled]
..GFX Dual Slot Configuration [Disabled]
..Peer-to-Peer among GFX/GFX2 [Disabled] this setting is for running cards connected to the top blue and black slots on equal status for issuing requests and commands
..GPP Slots Power Limit, W [25] (for those of us running ATi cards, set the Power Limit at 75
..Port #02 & #03 Features
....Gen2 High Speed Mode [Disabled] found this was the best setting for me according to 3DMark06 - may need to enable for CF
....Link ASPM [Disabled] - ASPM stands for Active State Power Mangement
....Slot Power Limit, W [25] Maximum wattage that can be supplied through the slot (0-250) - set to 75 for most ATi cards
..Port#04 through #10
....Gen2 High Speed Mode [Disabled]
....Link ASPM [Disabled]
..Port#11 Features Bottom blue slot
....Gen2 High Speed Mode [Disabled] - again, may need to be enabled for CF
....Link ASPM [Disabled]
....Link Width [x16]
....Slot Power Limit, W [25] - set to 75 for most ATi cards
..NB-SB Port Features
..NB-SB Link ASPM [Disabled]
..NP NB-SB VC1 Traffic Support [Enabled] (virtual channel 1) helps with Isochronous Flow-Control Mode or [Disabled] if not using Isochronous Flow Control, 2xCLK or UnitID Clumping  * see footnotes

_Hyper Transport Configuration_
..Isochronous Flow-Control Mode [Enabled] or [Disabled] if not used in conjunction with the other variables  * see footnotes
..HT Link Tristate [CAD/CTL/CLK] or [Disabled] if not used in conjunction with the other variables  * see footnotes
..UnitID Clumping [UnitID 2/3&B/C] or [Disabled] if not used in conjunction with the other variables  * see footnotes
..2xLCLK Mode [Disabled]

_Onboard Devices Configuration_
..Onboard Floppy Controller [Disabled] unless you use a Floppy Drive
..Floppy Drive Swap [Disabled] unless you use a Floppy Drive
..Serial Port1 Address [Disabled] unless you use a serial device
..HD Audio Azalia Device [Auto] left at default
..Front Panel Support Type [HD Audio] (neither of these 2 items need to be enabled if you're using a 3rd party sound card
..1394 [Disabled] unless you use a 1394 device
..WiFi [Disabled] unless you use the WiFi motherboard attachment
..Onboard LAN [Enable]
..Onboard LAN Boot ROM [Disabled]
..Marvell 6111 SATA Controller [Disabled] (found NO use for this and I have 6 HDDs)
..Marvell 6121 SATA Controller [Enable] (all HDDs/DVD drives use this channel)
..Marvell Option ROM [Disabled]
..Primary Display Adapter [PCI-E]

_PCI PnP_
..Plug and Play OS [No] - let your motherboard decide IRQs for what's plugged into it, not Windows!
..PCI Latency Timer [64] - higher values may create more stability, but at the cost of increasing PCI bandwidth time
..Allocate IRQ to PCI VGA [Yes]
..Palette Snooping [Disabled]

_USB Configuration_
..USB Functions [Enabled]
..USB 2.0 Controller [Enabled]
..USB 2.0 Controller Mode [HiSpeed]
..BIOS EHCI Hand-Off [Disabled] - Windows takes care of this for you
..Legacy USB Support [Auto] - no one uses any 1.0 USB anymore, but can cause the system to crash if disabled, Auto will automagically shut-down in the event no 1.0 USB device is found

_*POWER*_
..Suspend Mode [Auto]
..Report Video on S3 Resume [No] default
..ACPI 2.0 Support [Enabled] ACPI Power Management
..ACPI APIC Support [Enabled] ACPI APIC

_APM Configuration_
all settings left at default

_Hardware Monitor_
..CPU Fan Warning Speed [Disabled]
..Smart Q-Fan Function [Disabled] this is what the fourth pin is for on four pin fan connectors, so if you use this function, set to [Enabled]

_*BOOT*_
..Boot Device Priority
...1st Boot Device [(set to your OS HDD in 'Hard Disk Drives')]
...2nd Boot Device [Disabled]

_Boot Settings Configuration_
..Quick Boot [Enabled] - only set to enabled AFTER you're done tweaking your overclock!
..Full Screen Logo [Disabled] - because I like to see the POST
..AddOn ROM Display Mode [Force BIOS]
..Bootup Num-Lock [On]
..Wait for 'F1' Error [Enabled] - waits for user input in the event of an overclock failure
..Hit 'DEL' Message Display [Enabled] - reminds you to push DEL to enter BIOS options
..Chassis Intrusion [Disabled] unless you use this feature with your case

_Security_
all settings left at default

*FOOTNOTES*

1)  There is a small bug in every version of the M3A32-MVP Deluxe BIOS that UNDER-volts your input.  At 1.3V in BIOS, read with any software application (not including AOD) - it will be 1.28V, and the difference increases with the increase in voltage.
2)  Isochronous Flow-Control Mode:  This has to do with how information is passed between the CPU, the GPU and the RAM along the NorthBridge.  It has been a part of the BIOS for HT since AGP 8X, but the option to enable or disable it is a fairly recent addition.  When this option is enabled, it assigns the information a number, in the order it was received.  Each bit of information is then processed in that order along the route.  In toher words, there is no loss of information, but the processing in this orderly manner has drawbacks.  If you choose to enable this feature, you will also need to enable UnitID Clumping and then under PCI-E COnfiguraiton and the NB-SB section of the BIOS, VC1 needs to be enabled as well.
3)  UnitID Clumping:  Simply put, it accounts for not all devices being equally quick at processing information.  This allows each device to support a longer waiting line.  VC1 accounts for a major drawback of Isochronous Flow-Control mode in that the flow control mode does not allow any information to break line.  Everything must wait it's turn.  Therefore, if one piece of info is intended for the CPU and in front of it is info the for GPU, the info for the GPU needs to be processed before the CPU info is processed; plus, if there is a waiting line of info to be processed onthe GPU, the CPU info is held up all that much longer.  VC1 comes to the rescue by letting the CPU info break line, bypassing the GPU info jam to join the CPU info queue.
4)  Tristating (in all forms):  Tristating is a power saving feature in addition to ASPM linking.  Whatever sections you want to enable Tristate in, you reduce the energy needed to run that area, but the downside is that you also reduce that area's performance.
5)  2xLCLK:  This setting only affects HT 3.0, so Phenom's may benefit from it while with Athlon's, it just does not apply.  LCLK stands for Latency Clock.  The 2x means that instead of one full bandwidth HT Link you are requesting two half bandwidth HT Links.  For performance, at times it is better to have a two lane highway; traffic flowing in both directions at the same time along the same strip of asphalt at 50mph, than it is to have a single lane highway along the same strip of asphalt with traffic lights controlling the directional flow at 100mph.

Hopefully, there's enough information there to get some of you going, and certainly enough to read more than once, pulling something new each time it's read.

Good luck to all!  If there is any information that needs to be changed, added or removed, please pm me and I will take care of it.

Psychlone

*EDIT:  Please don't quote this entire post when asking a question, only quote the part that is relevant - this post is too long to see carried in quotes over and over again...*


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## Psychlone (Jul 18, 2008)

...reserved for future update...


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## Psychlone (Jul 18, 2008)

...reserved for future update...


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## Airbus Pilot (Jul 20, 2008)

Thank you for this.  Just purchased this board and was looking for a useful guide for OC'ing and yours looks great after sifting through it.  I'm sure I'll be back with questions!


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## Airbus Pilot (Jul 20, 2008)

I noticed that your FSB (210) is relatively low.  Is it more beneficial to get the multiplier on the CPU up and keep this lower, or better to get your FSB up at the expense of a little bit of CPU?  In my case for instance, I have 1066 Crucial Ballistix ram.  The board does 800 max (stock) so the only way to approach the max limit of 1066 on my ram is to get the FSB up there right?


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## Nahnken (Jul 20, 2008)

Thanks for this guide.  Lots of text to go through but I'm going to make my way now.  I have this set up and I've been looking for some good information like this to make tweeking my new rig easier.  Cheers for moving this information into it's own thread.


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## Psychlone (Jul 21, 2008)

Unlike everything we've learned with the previous architecture, these Phenoms do better with a simple CPU Multiplier increase and really only raise the throughput of the RAM/NB/HT a bit through the FSB increase.

Most of these boards (790FX) aren't stable at anything above 250FSB, obviously depending on the CPU that's in the socket - of the 4 Phenom 9850's I've tested, the highest FSB I could attain is 258, but if you do the math correctly, that actually DEcreases RAM throughput (because of having to run the lower divider), even though you can get the HT/NB higher.

So, if you're wanting high MHz from your CPU, without having to increase the load for the rest of the components, then increasing the CPU Multi is the way to do that, but it does use more voltage than increasing the FSB (and lowering the CPU Multi, putting the memory on a divider, lowering the NB Muli and HT MHz)

Psychlone


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## zaqwsx (Jul 21, 2008)

Was reading through and my cpu is running a 57c right know lol. Stock cooler though I guess I got to fix that. I am in the works to watercooling the cpu and ill see what i can get out of my cpu. I need to apply some better TIM though for know.


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## Airbus Pilot (Jul 21, 2008)

Psychlone said:


> Unlike everything we've learned with the previous architecture, these Phenoms do better with a simple CPU Multiplier increase and really only raise the throughput of the RAM/NB/HT a bit through the FSB increase.
> 
> Most of these boards (790FX) aren't stable at anything above 250FSB, obviously depending on the CPU that's in the socket - of the 4 Phenom 9850's I've tested, the highest FSB I could attain is 258, but if you do the math correctly, that actually DEcreases RAM throughput (because of having to run the lower divider), even though you can get the HT/NB higher.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the info.  In my case I am using an Athlon 64 X2 4800+.  My main concern is to maximize CPU performance for a particular program I am running, but I would also like to get some of that potential of my 1066mhz ram rather than leaving it at the mobo stock setting of 800mhz.  I still have some reading to do I guess in terms of what you mention about maximizing your ram vs the divider (have to figure out how to work out the math).

Thanks again for the response.

*M3A32-MVP Bios 1102 (currently at 255FSB/11Xmulti)
*AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Dual Core (OC'd from 2.5 to 2.8ghz on stock cooler running mid 40's loaded)
*2GB Crucial Ballistix 8500 CL5 (1066mhz) (currently at 956mhz and 4-4-4-12)
*eVga's e-Geforce 9600 GT OC Edition (OC'd even more to 735/1050)


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## Psychlone (Jul 22, 2008)

Airbus Pilot said:


> Thanks for the info.  In my case I am using an Athlon 64 X2 4800+.  My main concern is to maximize CPU performance for a particular program I am running, but I would also like to get some of that potential of my 1066mhz ram rather than leaving it at the mobo stock setting of 800mhz.  I still have some reading to do I guess in terms of what you mention about maximizing your ram vs the divider (have to figure out how to work out the math).
> 
> Thanks again for the response.
> 
> ...



The guide really only applies to the new architecture, so increasing the FSB while lowering the multi/NB/HT and putting the memory on a divider is still the most effective way for your X2.
Also, the math is a little bit different, since the X2 doesn't have an L3 cache, and even though the NB and HT aren't directly linked per the BIOS, they still behave differently than the Phenom architecture.
Here's the math for anything prior to the Phenom:

(CPU Multi) * (FSB) = (CPU Freq)
(CPU Multi) / (Memory Divider) = (Divisor Ratio) (**ALWAYS ROUND UP HERE** - see below)
(CPU Freq) / (Divisor Ratio) = (RAM MHz) ( * 2 = DDR MHz)
(NB Multi) * (FSB) = NB Freq, HT *MUST* be less than NB!

**For the memory divider, you must round UP to the next higher integer - even if you end up with a .1 (i.e. 11.1 = 12, 10.4 = 11, etc.) So, any time you have a decimal here, you have to round up to the next higher whole number for the math to work correctly...whereas, with the Phenom architecture, you can't round or the math doesn't work (this one stumped me for quite some time till I figured that one out!!! )

Good job so far - everything else is pretty much the same, especially finding the MAX for each component (where everyone should start), so get familiar with it all and you'll go far!

Psychlone


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## Airbus Pilot (Jul 22, 2008)

Ok, I've read through your guide thorougly, I am having a bit of difficulty absorbing the concept of the memory divider.  How do I control this ratio directly in the bios?


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## KBD (Jul 22, 2008)

wow, you got yours to 3.4 Ghz on air! Thats amazing for the phenom. What are your load idle temps like?


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## Airbus Pilot (Jul 22, 2008)

This is where I am at now, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated:

As stated before
*M3A32-MVP Bios 1102 (currently at 255FSB/11Xmulti)
*AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Dual Core (OC'd from 2.5 to 2.8ghz on stock cooler running mid 40's loaded)
*2GB Crucial Ballistix 8500 CL5 (1066mhz) (currently at 956mhz and 4-4-4-12)
*eVga's e-Geforce 9600 GT OC Edition (OC'd even more to 735/1050)

After starting from scratch as per your guide to find my max's I came up with
FSB *390mhz* (Is it normal to get this high?!)
CPU Multi *12.5* (this is all my bios allows, I'm assuming because of my chip)
Ram divider (not sure how to control this yet)

In my Bios (1102):

FSB *255*
PCIE *100*
CPU Multi *11.0x*
CPU Voltage *1.30*
NB Freq Multi (don't see this in my bios even after hitting F4)
NB Voltage (don't see this either)
CPU VDDA Volt. *2.6*
CPU-NB HT Link Speed *1ghz* (not sure what this equates to but this is my max available setting, my options were 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1ghz)
DDR Voltage *2.2v* (this is stock setting as per 'Crucial')
HT Volt. *1.5*
Core/PCI Volt. *1.2*
NB PCIE PLL *1.9*
Southbridge volt *1.24*
Xpress & Tweak *Disabled
*

Dram Timings
Mem Clock *800mhz* (this is max allowed on mobo I think because I am running an X2.  I don't get the option of 1066mhz until I get a phenom in there I believe)
CL -* 4*
TCWL -* Auto*
TRCD - *4*
TRP - *4*
TRAS - *12*
*all the rest *AUTO*

HT Configuration
*all 4 options *Disabled*
I read your notes regarding 'Isochronous Flow along with UnitID Clumping and VC1, haven't tried changing these yet, based on your knowledge is there potential to gain anything with my X2 CPU?


The rest of the settings are pretty standard.

Thanks again for your input, it's much appreciated.


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## Psychlone (Jul 23, 2008)

Airbus Pilot said:


> This is where I am at now, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated:
> 
> As stated before
> *M3A32-MVP Bios 1102 (currently at 255FSB/11Xmulti)
> ...




Since I've not put anything besides Phenom 9850BE's in this motherboard, I wasn't sure, but suspected that it would work more like the older architecture boards (A8R32-MVP Deluxe) - I have a guide for that too...I'll link you to it shortly.
One thing that I forgot to mention is that the memory controller is now integrated into the Phenom CPUs, so your NB won't have all the options seen in my guide for the NB.  Also, your HT is limited by the CPU as well, so it's max throughput is going to be 1000MHz (which is really 2000MHz in both directions, but that's not how we say it) - BUT, your HT is still going to be a multi of the FSB, it's just shown different...see below.

Alright...let's do some quick math:

(11) * (255) = (2805)
(11) / (2) = (5.5) - here you have to round UP since it landed on a decimal (so = 6)
(2805) / (6) = 467.5 (* 2 = 935MHz DDR)
(HT Link * FSB doesn't apply to your CPU on this board - the older A8R32-MVP Deluxe has an HT multi that is a multiple of the FSB)

So, you're running at 2.8GHz, RAM (limited by the CPU to 800MHz instead of 1066) is running at 935MHz, and your HT is at 1000MHz - not too shabby!

About RAM Dividers - you pretty much are limited by the 800MHz cap that your CPU and mobo put on your sticks, so you'll either use the 800MHz setting, or the 667MHz setting, and for the math (on line 2, where you divide your CPU Multi by the memory divider as a decimal), you will divide by 2 for the 800MHz setting or divide by 1.66 for the 667MHz setting. - DON'T forget to round UP to the next whole integer if you land on a decimal, even if it's .1 !!
i.e. (11) / (2) = (5.5) - round UP (so = 6)
OR
i.e. (11) / (1.6666666) = (6.6) - round UP (so = 7)

You should be able to get quite a bit more out of your system by LOWERING your CPU Multiplier and INCREASING your FSB - Hell, if your board is stable at 390MHz FSB, then dropping your CPU Multi to 9 and your RAM to 667 will get you a ton more...check this out: (just for example sake, don't just make these settings in BIOS without testing!)
(9) * (334) = (3006)
(9) / (1.6666666) = (5.4) - round UP (so = 6)
(3006) / (6) = (501) ( * 2 = 1002MHz DDR) - you *may* have to loosen a couple latencies to be stable here, but it's DEFINITELY doable!!!
Also to take notice, since you can't adjust your HT with a multi, you may have to set it at a much lower frequency.
Here's the HT frequencies and their correlation:
1000Mhz = 5X
800MHz = 4X
600MHz = 3X
400MHz = 2X
And, these are *still* a multiple of your FSB, so at 3X, it would look like this:
(3) * (334) = (1002) - which is just right!

The above settings puts your CPU at 3GHz, your RAM at 1000MHz, and your HT at 1000MHz - I'd say that's a slam-dunk depending on the stepping of your CPU and how much voltage you have to throw at it to help it out.  When you're done, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS decrease your voltage(s) and test, decrease and test, decrease and test until you've found out just how little voltage everything will still be stable at - this is important and should be in the guides (I always forget to mention this) - running stable at the lowest voltages for your overclock will obviously reduce heat.

Here's that A8R32-MVP Deluxe Guide - it's almost verbatim the same thing you read in my M3A32-MVP Deluxe Guide here, but made for the older architecture.  In that thread, if you follow it through, there is dialog  between a member there and I that may shed some light on different scenarios that you may encounter - even though it's on a different board altogether, most of the options will be exactly the same, and certainly the outcome will be the same.

Good luck Bro...you've just got a bunch more reading to do!!! (ouch...that probably sucks, but there's so much information in that thread, that it's not even close to something that can be c/p into here without derailing this thread - Sorry man! )

Psychlone


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## Airbus Pilot (Jul 23, 2008)

Hey thanks again.  Since your post, I managed to get some more searching and reading re: ram dividers done and seem to understand the concept now thoroughly.  

Now when you say loosen the ram latencies in your case scenario above, you mean increase the numbers correct? (ex: from *CL 4 to 5)*.

I also understand the correlation now between HT frequency and their respective multi thanks to your example above.   Actually now that I think of it, I remember AMD's overclocking utility for windows had the HT's labeled with their respective multi's but I tossed that software out and decided to do everything via the bios and couldn't remember those until you mentioned it again.  Prior to your post, I had tried the following after more reading about dividers and tried to see if I could get my ram up to its rating but with no success (no post):

I dropped my CPU multi down to *10x* (from 11x).  Left my ram at *800 *so divider still *2*.  Tried upping the FSB to *265* (from 255) to get the following....

265*10= 2650 / 5 = 530 (*2 1060)  (I think I did this all right...)

But after reading your last post it appears this may have something to do with leaving my HT at *1Ghz* and my ram timings the way they were (*4-4-4-12*)

Maybe, I should up my ram #'s back up to 5-5-5-15.  Bring the HT down to let's say 3x.  Then drop my CPU multi while upping FSB.  Once I find something decent, trying upping the HT one notch, then once I max that out, trying lowering my ram timings one at a time???  How's that sound?

Thanks again for taking the time with your lengthy response.


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## Psychlone (Jul 23, 2008)

It's probably more because your HT is out of spec - at 2650, I'd doubt that the board is stable there with the X2 in the socket.

And, yes, when I said increase some latencies, I meant to go from 4 to 5, but I'd leave CAS as low as you can be stable - there's more to it than that, but if you increase them all, find a very high overclock, and then begin latency tweaking by tightening them back up [1] at a time (as per both guides) - you'll have the fastest latencies for your highest overclock - which is what it's all about anyway.

What you wrote in blue looks like exactly what I'd do now that you know your individual component's maximum values...  Good luck!

Psychlone

EDIT:  As for my lengthy response(s), not only am I long-winded about things that I have experience with and am trying to teach, but I absolutely *LOVE* it when the person that I'm teaching 'gets it' - and you just 'get it' - which is pretty rare...most of the time when I try to help someone in this way, I'm met with some pretty serious stupidity - the kind that makes you wonder how they managed to remember to tie their shoes in the morning!


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## Airbus Pilot (Jul 23, 2008)

Half the time it's just having the ambition to obtain full fruition of what it is you seek to answer for yourself.  Most raise their hands and give up when it goes over their head.  For me, "just because" has NEVER in my life been acceptable.  I always have to know why or how something works, ALWAYS!

I will say this, about an hour ago, half of the things mentioned in your guide above made no sense to me.  I just bought this board, cpu, ram, and vid card and have been out of the loop for years not knowing about dual cores, HT's, etc, etc.  It's amazing how far a little careful reading can take a person! BUT......having said that, it is equally and crucially important as to how the person doing the explaining, portrays their thoughts on paper (or in this case screens).  In other words, some are meant to be good teachers (which can be a tricky task to accomplish) and others know what they want to say to someone, but have no idea how to effectively communicate it in a coherent manner. 

Now..........time to hit the reset button on this bitch and get playing.  I'll post back here momentarily with hopefully some new and candid results!


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## Airbus Pilot (Jul 23, 2008)

Ok and we're off with a mild first step.....

FSB 275
CPU Multi 10x
Ram back to Auto (for now)
HT 800 (4x)

Results:
CPU 2750 (275*10) @ 1.32v
Ram 1100 (275*10 = 2750 / 5(800mhz) = 550 (*2 for 1100) @ 2.2v
HT 1100 (4*275) @ 1.5v/1.2v/1.9v/1.24v

So end result, my CPU is down a bit (2750 from 2800) my ram is up (1100 from 936) and HT (1100 from 1000).

CPU temp 34 (idle)
MB temp 39 (idle)

Should I start running benchmarking/stability software from now or should I just keep upping till I can't post no more, then run the tests and back off from there as necessary?


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## Psychlone (Jul 23, 2008)

YES!  Run Everest Ultimate Cache and Memory Benchmark and write down your Read, Write, Copy and Latency for the memory, and then run SuperPi 1M and write down how many seconds that one takes...then run OCCT or Orthos StressPrime and test for some stability (I'd be willing to bet that you can skip this step)

There is sometimes strange behavior in memory (with it's latencies) and CPU clock cycles - I've seen lower CPU frequencies and higher memory MHz beat out higher CPU frequencies and lower memory MHz with tighter timings...the only way to know which way gives the most throughput is to test each configuration for yourself - you already know that not all rigs will behave the same, so testing is the only way to ensure what you're getting vs. what you *could* get.

So with that, after you've benched those settings, try for a higher FSB - this is where you'll find the real power in your system...but you'll have to test, test, test.

Your idle temps look great, but idle temps really mean nothing in my world - my computer is on 24/7, so idling at 34*C hurts nothing...it's the full-load temps that should concern you - AMD CPUs reach their thermal limit in the upper 60*C range - and *all* ASUS motherboards (along with most others now days) have a thermal limit that is read directly from the CPU's registers, shutting the system down in the event the thermal threshold is reached...so even if you do hit the thermal threshold, your motherboard will shut down everything to save the CPU.  If you do find yourself reaching into the 60*C or higher range, it's time to re-think your CPU cooling *AND* case cooling.
Most people miss case cooling altogether, and proper case cooling is just as paramount to a successful overclock as is a good CPU HS/f assembly.  Having the case exhaust the hot internal air is only 1/2 of what the case should be doing...it's also got to intake (and direct) cool air toward the CPU HS/f assembly.  I've found that just a bit of positive pressure (more CFM pointing IN than OUT) is most beneficial to all the fans in the system.
I actually got ahold of a program that shows airspeed velocity of the leading edge and trailing edge of an infinitely configurable blade (probably the exact program that designers of today's most efficient fans actually use for their manufacture) - just to figure out my previous system...and it worked so well, that with my Opteron 165 running at 3.2GHz and my Corsair XMS3202C2 v1.3 RAM running at 583MHz, it idled at 31*C and never once got hotter than 48*C.  It still runs that way, it's just my wife's computer now (overkill for sure, but it had to go somewhere, and I wasn't about to get rid of such a fine machine!)
In any case, my previous system used an Aspire X-Navigator case with 4 80mm fans and 1 120mm fan - and contrary to the way MOST people would have set up this case, I had the 2 rear 80mm fans pulling air IN, the front 80mm fan pulling air IN, the top pushing air OUT (heat rises and I had the PSU completely quarantined in it's own space at the top) and the 120mm side-fan pushing air OUT - close to exactly backwards to how most would have their case fans...but it was *the* most efficient design I tested, and believe me when I say that I tested *EVERY* single possible configuration conceivable. (literally, every fan in every position - if you do the math, that's 5 to the 2nd power because of the ability to reverse each fan's airflow)

Wow...I just went off, didn't I

Anyway, you've got it now...you understand the concepts, you understand the math, now it's just a matter of juggling all your settings and testing to see which gives the most throughput and is stable!  Good job!! (and thanks for the props!)

Psychlone


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## Airbus Pilot (Jul 23, 2008)

This is where I am at now:

FSB *325*
CPU Multi *9x* @ 1.32v
Ram *800* and timings still at auto @ 2.2v
HT 800 (*4x*) @1.5v/1.2v/1.9v/1.24v

Result

CPU 2925
Ram 1170 (325*9 = 2925 / 5 = 585 (*2)
HT 325 *4 = 1300

Both temps are fine, but I get "crashed code 4" with OCCT within 2 minutes of running it.

I tried dropping the ram to *667*, but I still get the same error.

Any thoughts?


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## Airbus Pilot (Jul 23, 2008)

Reporting back for any of those reading and are interested and/or possibly OC'ing a similar kind of setup as mine........

Left the settings as noted in my previous post, put the ram *back* to *800*, upped my CPU voltage to *1.4v* (from 1.32v) and Voila!  Stability! 

OCCT ran for an hour and concluded stable.  Hottest temp's reached were:

CPU *55C*
MB *37C*

I would have to say that I am quite happy with these results thus far and never thought I could get so much from this board and my setup and all on stock cooling.  You mention how important case cooling is and I can tell you first hand I have experienced how much of a difference a good case setup can make.  While conducting all this OC'ing and testing, I have had my case partially open so I can have easy access to do a hard CMOS reset in the event I needed to (happened a couple times).  Once I replaced the side back on my tower (which possess and extraction fan) my MB temp's actually dropped!!!

Now back to squeezing that FSB, and time to start dropping those ram timings from the 'auto' setting.


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## Psychlone (Jul 23, 2008)

Nice!  The jump from 1.32V to 1.4V shows that your CPU wasn't capable of 3GHz at stock voltage, but you may have been stable at a much lower voltage than 1.4 (may have just been a slight bit of overkill, but it certainly isn't hurting anything!)

I wonder how much further you can go?  With load temps of 55*C at 1.4V, I'd bet, given a good CPU stepping, that you can break 3GHz pretty easily with a bit more voltage or simple tweaking.

Just out of curiosity, did you try to decrease the CPU volts any and run any tests?  There's a chance that you may still be stable where you are with even less VCORE...I'd give it a try.  Either that, or try for more FSB and see if you can go higher with the same voltage.  If you have to increase your VCORE, it's not that big of a deal considering your load temps and _obviously _your case cooling!

I am curious how your HT is going to react with that CPU...it's theoretical limit was breached 300MHz ago, but that really shows how well the board handles that CPU - my A8R32-MVP Deluxe was capable of 1500MHz HT completely stable, something that only the A8R32-MVP Deluxe could brag about...I only saw 1 DFI board come close, but a lot of A8R32-MVP's could do it without a hitch, and considering that our new board, the M3A32-MVP Deluxe is built on a newer version of the AMD/ATi chipset, there's a good chance that it's still got some more headroom left.

About your 'AUTO' settings in RAM latencies - 3 of the most important ones to create stability for your RAM at really high frequencies aren't in our BIOS - Read Preamble, ASYNC Latency and tREF is completely different for 1066 sticks...I haven't had an X2 in this board to see, but tREF at 15.6us on my old board was pertinent to stability at high RAM overclock...not to say that 1170MHz is bad by any means, in fact, that's impressive (what exact sticks are they? revision/version #?)

One thing that you can do (and since I have no experience with an X2 chip in the M3A32-MVP Deluxe) is to go into Windows, download Memset and write down what ALL your latencies are, then match them in BIOS...it skips the entire step of upping them all - pretty much all you need to do is match them after you've got a killer oc, then tighten them up 1 at a time...not too sure how Memset is going to function, but I bet it will do just fine!

Good job Brother - you're on the road to success!!

Psychlone


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## Airbus Pilot (Jul 23, 2008)

Psychlone said:


> Nice!  The jump from 1.32V to 1.4V shows that your CPU wasn't capable of 3GHz at stock voltage, but you may have been stable at a much lower voltage than 1.4 (may have just been a slight bit of overkill, but it certainly isn't hurting anything!)
> I wonder how much further you can go?  With load temps of 55*C at 1.4V, I'd bet, given a good CPU stepping, that you can break 3GHz pretty easily with a bit more voltage or simple tweaking.
> 
> Just out of curiosity, did you try to decrease the CPU volts any and run any tests?  There's a chance that you may still be stable where you are with even less VCORE...I'd give it a try.  Either that, or try for more FSB and see if you can go higher with the same voltage.  If you have to increase your VCORE, it's not that big of a deal considering your load temps and _obviously _your case cooling! Oddly, I  started first by increasing my FSB from 325 to 330 and no go.  328/327 posted and went to windows but no good with OCCT.  I went back to 325 and tried decreasing the voltage here to see if I was stable at lower settings, but OCCT wouldn't make it through, and now I am back to 1.4v and my last OCCT run failed as well  Last night, it ran an hour and produced a stable result, I'm confused.
> ...



.


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## Airbus Pilot (Jul 23, 2008)

quoting myself "Oddly, I started first by increasing my FSB from 325 to 330 and no go. 328/327 posted and went to windows but no good with OCCT. I went back to 325 and tried decreasing the voltage here to see if I was stable at lower settings, but OCCT wouldn't make it through, and now I am back to 1.4v and my last OCCT run failed as well  Last night, it ran an hour and produced a stable result, I'm confused"............

Not sure why, but I decided to just up the CPU VDDA from 2.6 to 2.7 and it seems to have done the trick.  OCCT is currently running, about 35 minutes so far, and no issues!  Temp's are a scratch higher:

CPU *57C*
MB *38C*

and that's probably as high as I want to see the CPU go.  So I don't think I will give the CPU any more 'v' from here on in, but by changing the CPU VDDA now and gaining back that stability, let's see if I can get that FSB up to 330.  If so great, if not, 325 it is then, and then I will tweak the ram.

Thanks again for all the good info.  Hopefully I can have all this concluded before my golf match in a few hours!


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## Airbus Pilot (Jul 24, 2008)

After hours of exhausting every combination and possible outcome I think I have found my sweet spot with my setup.  The problem now is that I am having video card stability issues. (where as before I wasn't).  Here is where I am at

FSB 325
CPU 9x
HT 4x
RAM 800mhz (settings as per memset for now)

Result:

FSB 325mhz (63% Increase)
CPU 2925mhz (17% Increase)
HT 1300mhz *2 (30% Increase)
Ram 1170mhz (10 % Increase)

After running OCCT for a full hour and getting a 'stable' result, max temps

CPU *56C*
MB *37C*


My video card is an evga e-Geforce 9600 GT OC Edition (*675/900 stock*)

Prior to doing all this OC work on my mobo I was running the card @ *735/1050* with no problems.  Since all the OC work, I have even dropped it back to it's *stock* settings and still, I lock up or get a fatal error when running a tasking program (Microsoft Flight Simulator X).

1st thing I tried is working with the driver and after a bit of reading, decided to revert back from the newly leaked 177.xx driver to the 175.xx.  Instantly I noticed the program ran MUCH nicer, smoother, and lasted much longer before hanging or getting an error.

Secondly, I suspected maybe I needed to do something with the PCIE frequency in the bios so I upped it.  Thus far I have tried *105* and *110*, and yet although I noticed it ran longer (10-12 minutes or so) eventually I would end up with the fatal error again. 

As of now I am out of ideas for somehow getting this card to be stable again.  Obviously it is directly related to OC'ing I have done to my existing setup, but I am not sure how to bring the video card up along beside it.

Any more suggestions oh wise one?!


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## Psychlone (Jul 24, 2008)

PCI Frequency is going to need to be capped at 100MHz - anything higher is going to cause instability unless you're pumping loads more voltage through the PCI/PCI-E/HT/NB buses as well as your video card (which I'm sure you don't want to do) - drop it back to 100MHz and leave that one alone - this single setting can account for many fried GPUs.
I can't remember what the actual voltage is, but it I'm _sure_ that nVidia cards require more voltage through the PCI-E bus than ATi cards - you may want to check to see what it should be getting and cap it in the BIOS under *Chipset > PCI Express > GPP Slots Power Limit* at that voltage. (too late or I'd look it up for you, but it does seem that I've seen it in the 200V range...somewhere.  I've never owned an nVidia card, so I have absolutely no experience with it and won't speak of it any more (since I won't talk about things that I simply don't know) - other than to tell you that you've *got* to find that info and put it into effect in your BIOS.)

Another thing, your NB and HT are sharing that same bus (effectively) - you could try to drop down another notch on the HT and just test...it's not going to hurt any and could stand up to the stability you need...and even if you're in the 800-900MHz range in the HT, you're *never* going to saturate the PCI-E bus running at an effective 1600 to 1800MHz, so you're not going to loose any performance...you may loose a couple points in synthetic benchmarks, but you will *not* loose FPS in games or anything that's real-world, so don't stress about not being at 1300MHz - if your card isn't stable because of that, then it's not worth it.  As a *LAST* resort, you can try upping the HT and Core/PCI-E PLL voltages - the Core/PCI-E voltage is actually the voltage directly applied to the NorthBridge and the HyperTransport Voltage is the actual voltage applied to the HT bus (which is really more than just the HT) - _but_, if you go this route, please pay attention to your motherboard temps now, as our passive HS assembly on the M3A32-MVP Deluxe isn't the best at cooling - although you do have good case cooling (which is the first thing to consider when upping NB/HT/PCI-E voltages) - it can get hotter than Hell in just a couple seconds when it's in use...anything in the mid to upper 40*C range and it's time to slap on that stupid little fan that came with the board - I really don't want to do it myself, but I would if I had to.

(damn...I just wish I knew what the PCI-E voltage should be for nVidia cards so I could just tell you...)

Aside from that, you've done *excellent* work.  I _love_ it when someone just takes the ball and runs with it rather than fumbling constantly with the concept of running!!

You certainly know enough now to be able to help others with the same thing.  See?  It really is easy once you know the concepts! 

Psychlone


----------



## Airbus Pilot (Jul 24, 2008)

correct me if I'm wrong but isn't "*> PCI Express > GPP Slots Power Limit*"  a wattage as opposed to a voltage?  Currently that setting is at 25w if memory serves me correctly


----------



## Airbus Pilot (Jul 24, 2008)

Although I have ran memtest86+ at startup and it checks out ok with my OC'd settings, is it possible it could still be a RAM issue?!  Reason I ask is that sometimes I notice some pops in the sound (which seems to point at a ram issue) and on one crash I got a blue screen (ram again no?).  Having said that, my ram sticks, currently running at 1170 vs 1066, is still on stock voltage of 2.2v.  Maybe I should beef this one up a couple notches and try again............


----------



## Psychlone (Jul 25, 2008)

Your RAM probably doesn't need any more juice - pretty sure they're D9 sticks taking that kind of abuse at stock voltage! - I wouldn't go there, besides, you say that they pass memtest86+ at overclocked settings, so they're stable for sure.

The pop you're hearing is probably an IRQ conflict and nothing to do with your RAM - what soundcard are you using?  If you don't have your soundcard in the bottom-most PCI slot on the motherboard, try that - that will usually fix IRQ conflicts with most cards - another thing you can do is INCREASE your PCI Latency in the BIOS to 96 or 128...allowing the PCI card to hold the bus for a bit longer.

To see any/all IRQ conflicts, if you're using Vista, go to Control Panel > Performance Information and Tools > Advanced Tools > View Advanced System Details in System Information
When the System Information window comes up, open the + sign next to Hardware Resources, then click Conflicts/Sharing and wait a second while it populates the data.
More than likely, your sound card will be sharing an IRQ with the Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller, but it could certainly be another one.  Since there's no way to BIOS force any IRQ, especially for Creative cards, the only option you have is to move it to the bottom-most slot (which automagically changes the IRQ it receives)

If you're not using a sound card at all, and are using the onboard Soundmax, it's more than likely going to have an IRQ of 19, which is more than likely shared with the Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller - or worse, one of the Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controllers or one of the IDE Channel, in which case, you can _try_ to RESERVE IRQ14 or IRQ15 in BIOS and see if Windows will stuff it in there, but our BIOS is limited in just what IRQs can be manually forced RESERVED, and it won't do much good (if not be completely unstable) at any other IRQ available.

Good luck on that one - but my bet is on an IRQ conflict and nothing else - your system should have proven completely stable by now, so any hiccup you experience is going to be something that's not related to your overclock.

Psychlone


----------



## Airbus Pilot (Jul 25, 2008)

Well, believe it or not, after trying every other setting in the bios, upping some MB voltages, lowering HT and RAM, in the end, after nothing seemed to work, I decided to juice up my ram's voltage and the problem disappeared!  And yes even after memtest86+ showed a pass.

strange I know


----------



## Viscarious (Jul 26, 2008)

Newest 1202 BIOS up on Asus' website.


----------



## sinister_steve (Jul 26, 2008)

Viscarious said:


> Newest 1202 BIOS up on Asus' website.



Ok I tried some of the settings for my m3a32-mvp deluxe and cf 4850,s and phenom 9850..I just wanted to get my CF working better but it faled to overclock ...and all I did was change gpp to 75 and enable the gen2 option to autonomouse on all 12 of them...someone helps me...I am trying to figure out why im gettting lag in ET quake wars and figured some settings might need to change ...i did everything but change some settings in bios ..even clean install of windows when got new 4850,s and phenom 9850 last month...please helps me thanks./..Steve


----------



## Viscarious (Jul 26, 2008)

sinister_steve said:


> Ok I tried some of the settings for my m3a32-mvp deluxe and cf 4850,s and phenom 9850..I just wanted to get my CF working better but it faled to overclock ...and all I did was change gpp to 75 and enable the gen2 option to autonomouse on all 12 of them...someone helps me...I am trying to figure out why im gettting lag in ET quake wars and figured some settings might need to change ...i did everything but change some settings in bios ..even clean install of windows when got new 4850,s and phenom 9850 last month...please helps me thanks./..Steve



I dont think you need to enable automous switch on all 12 sockets. only 2,3 & 11,12. This is for both blue slots only though. I set the gfx2 to auto as i dont know what it is lol.

Maybe that helps


----------



## sinister_steve (Jul 26, 2008)

Viscarious said:


> I dont think you need to enable automous switch on all 12 sockets. only 2,3 & 11,12. This is for both blue slots only though. I set the gfx2 to auto as i dont know what it is lol.
> 
> Maybe that helps



hey thanks that helps...ok so I will set the 2,3 11,12 to autonomouse ..and it didnt change anything when i changed the gfx2 so i changed it back hahaha.oh ya should I set the gpp to 75 still ?..ok will do that tho.oh ya another thing hahaha should I set all the gen2 to enabled since im running CF? DAMN LOTS OF QUESTIONS HAHAH THANKS LOT..Steve.


----------



## Viscarious (Jul 26, 2008)

I never found the Gen2 settings so I cant help there but as far as the watt settings in the BIOS, I set the sockets 2,3,11, and 12 to 75 watts and left the one watt setting on the first page to 25. Everything works fine for me here.


----------



## sinister_steve (Jul 26, 2008)

Viscarious said:


> I never found the Gen2 settings so I cant help there but as far as the watt settings in the BIOS, I set the sockets 2,3,11, and 12 to 75 watts and left the one watt setting on the first page to 25. Everything works fine for me here.



Ok thanks ,I will just set the wats in the 2,3,11,12 to auton and 75w...I think the gen2 is supposed to be for crossfire which I have so perhaps I will change them to...Steve


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## Bytor (Jul 26, 2008)

2,3 & 11, 12 are for the 2 blue slots.  I'm running 3 cards in slots 1,2 & 3, which is for that second slot?
I have 2,3,11,12 setup and in GPU-z the second card shows 2.0.  Wonder if the 2nd and 4th slots are somehow tied into the 1st and 3rd slots.

3870 in second slot.


----------



## Viscarious (Jul 26, 2008)

Tell me how it is set up again? Or take a pic and host it.

Blue
Black
Blue
Black

Thats how it is setup on our boards so how are the cards arranged?


----------



## Bytor (Jul 26, 2008)

They are in the top 3 PCI-e slots. 

1st slot Blue
2nd slot Black
3rd slot Blue


----------



## Bytor (Jul 26, 2008)

Here's one for ya..

Why are the top 2 at 8x and the 3rd at 16x?

Psychlone and I had alot of PM's over this one.


----------



## Viscarious (Jul 26, 2008)

Im so envious of your setup lol.

I'm going to go check it out in my BIOS and get back with results, I'll edit this post with the results.

Alright. There is an option in BIOS under the PCI Express section called 'Primary video adapter' or something similar. What is yours set to? This should tell you why and which card is getting all the focus, which in your case is the 3rd bottom card. Which DVI connection are you using too? This may also contribute to which card getting the 16x slot. I think maybe you have your monitor plugged into that bottom card and it could need the 16x. Not sure tho.

And when you are in your BIOS, look through each of the ports. The ones that are being used will have additional options to select. IE, which mode you want to use and how high. (1x,4x,8x,16x, auto)


----------



## H82LUZ73 (Jul 26, 2008)

Bytor said:


> Here's one for ya..
> 
> Why are the top 2 at 8x and the 3rd at 16x?
> 
> Psychlone and I had alot of PM's over this one.



Set the 3 rd slot to 16x and the 2nd to 8x then the rest to 1x like it says in the manual.


----------



## Bytor (Jul 26, 2008)

I dont see the option or anything that says "Primary video Adaptor".  All the slots are set to auto (1x,4x,8x,16x, auto).

I have changed them around to:

1st slot 16x
2nd slot 8x
3rd slot 8x

But it wont boot this way..


----------



## Bytor (Jul 26, 2008)

H82LUZ73 said:


> Set the 3 rd slot to 16x and the 2nd to 8x then the rest to 1x like it says in the manual.




The 3rd slot is at 16x already. the 1st and 2nd are at 8x


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## Viscarious (Jul 26, 2008)

Sorry, Bytor, hit F4 when you get into BIOS. That will show some hidden features.


----------



## H82LUZ73 (Jul 26, 2008)

Airbus Pilot said:


> correct me if I'm wrong but isn't "*> PCI Express > GPP Slots Power Limit*"  a wattage as opposed to a voltage?  Currently that setting is at 25w if memory serves me correctly



PCIE 2.0 needs 75 watts


----------



## H82LUZ73 (Jul 26, 2008)

Bytor said:


> The 3rd slot is at 16x already. the 1st and 2nd are at 8x



The first and 3 rd should be at x16 then the 2nd at x8 or x16 ,I would say try taking out the card in the second slot and see if the 2 blue ones go to x16.
Reading the manual when 3 cards are in it will go to 
PCIE 1 8x
       2 8x
       3 16x Strange to me but it is normal.


----------



## Bytor (Jul 26, 2008)

Ok here are the options once I hit F4.

PCIE GFX0-GFX2-GPP-PCI
PCIE GFX2-GFX0-GPP-PCI
PCIE GPP-GFX0-GFX2-PCI
PCI-PCIEGFX0-GFX2-GPP

Is this setup in bios as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd in that order?

I'm thinking that the 2nd slot is married to the 1st slot and the 4th to the 3rd.  So if you have a card in both the 1st and 2nd slots they back down to 8x and since there is no card in the 4th slot the 3rd is at full speed 16x.  Thats just a thought


----------



## Bytor (Jul 26, 2008)

H82LUZ73 said:


> The first and 3 rd should be at x16 then the 2nd at x8 or x16 ,I would say try taking out the card in the second slot and see if the 2 blue ones go to x16.
> Reading the manual when 3 cards are in it will go to
> PCIE 1 8x
> 2 8x
> 3 16x Strange to me but it is normal.



I'm thinking thats the way it is also and there is nothing I can do to change it.

The monitor is plugged into the top card


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## H82LUZ73 (Jul 26, 2008)

Bytor said:


> Ok here are the options once I hit F4.
> 
> PCIE GFX0-GFX2-GPP-PCI
> PCIE GFX2-GFX0-GPP-PCI
> ...



Yep that is what i read in the manual page 4-24 ,They share the bandwidth.

By the way Bytor that is one sweet setup you have.


----------



## Bytor (Jul 26, 2008)

H82LUZ73 said:


> Yep that is what i read in the manual page 4-24 ,They share the bandwidth.
> 
> By the way Bytor that is one sweet setup you have.



Well atleast I now no it is running as it should and can stop messing with it.... lolz

Thanks guys..

I like my rig alot I just wish I could get this 9850 clocked above 2.8 ghz.  But I'm good with it.

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=63302

I just ordered a DFI x38-T2R MB and Intel e7200 processor to mess with in a backup rig. And selling my MSI K9A2 Platinum MB and AMD 6000+ CPU.


----------



## Bytor (Jul 26, 2008)

Could I plug the monitor into the 3rd (16x) card and change the primary to that card?

Would it make any diff.?


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## Viscarious (Jul 27, 2008)

I wouldnt change any settings in the hidden F4 section unless you really know what it does. Changing a setting there could cause some irritating problems.


----------



## sinister_steve (Jul 27, 2008)

Viscarious said:


> I wouldnt change any settings in the hidden F4 section unless you really know what it does. Changing a setting there could cause some irritating problems.



Hi could you please help me with the F4 settings ? Is there anything there to gain performance ?


----------



## Viscarious (Jul 27, 2008)

sinister_steve said:


> Hi could you please help me with the F4 settings ? Is there anything there to gain performance ?



F4 options dont really prove to gain any performance. Its only really advanced settings to get some more complicated, not-so everyday sort of things to work.


----------



## Psychlone (Jul 27, 2008)

On that note, I've tested extensively with a lot of the HT options (Isochronous, Tristating, 2XLCLK, etc.)  - and have found absolutely *NO* performance gain or decrease...

In fact, between all 4 Phenoms, none of them have exhibited anything at all - including instability - from enabling them...so even though I have descriptions for what they're all supposed to be doing, I don't fully understand what it is that they *are* doing.

Anyone with a Phenom xx50 series can DISABLE the Cache Mapping Cycle and the Microcode Updation (under F4) - those options are for the TLB fix for the older generation...

Psychlone


----------



## sinister_steve (Jul 28, 2008)

Psychlone said:


> On that note, I've tested extensively with a lot of the HT options (Isochronous, Tristating, 2XLCLK, etc.)  - and have found absolutely *NO* performance gain or decrease...
> 
> In fact, between all 4 Phenoms, none of them have exhibited anything at all - including instability - from enabling them...so even though I have descriptions for what they're all supposed to be doing, I don't fully understand what it is that they *are* doing.
> 
> ...



that is od that the f4 settings do nothing..hahahah what are they there for hahahaahah


----------



## sinister_steve (Jul 28, 2008)

*M3a32-mvp Deluxe Phenom 9850 Overclock*

Hi all I know I wont be able to do much overclocking due to temps already eround 51c idle and load is about 62c and so what can I do that wont bring temps up much more ? and I read the main post on how to find best settings but even after 3 times re reading it it still went over my dang head..? I just ordered a new zalman hsf and Ive got all my fans in my antec 900 on high.I dont know how much the zalman will help in temps cuz my ambiant temps are usually eround 35c in my house.so is there any way to get a small safe overclock with my setup that wont bring temps up much ?...please and thanks..Steve


----------



## Viscarious (Jul 28, 2008)

Zalman hsf is great. I use it and I'm sitting at 34C with just windows media player playing the movie "sicko" and this browser open with the forums.

At load I'll get up to 41C but I have a Oc'd setup AND two 3870s.


----------



## sinister_steve (Jul 28, 2008)

Viscarious said:


> Zalman hsf is great. I use it and I'm sitting at 34C with just windows media player playing the movie "sicko" and this browser open with the forums.
> 
> At load I'll get up to 41C but I have a Oc'd setup AND two 3870s.



Ok cool so I should be able to do a bit of oc then...Steve


----------



## Airbus Pilot (Jul 28, 2008)

H82LUZ73 said:


> PCIE 2.0 needs 75 watts



Do you know if this is true for my Nvidia based eVga e-Geforce 9600GT?

Thanks


----------



## H82LUZ73 (Jul 28, 2008)

Airbus Pilot said:


> Do you know if this is true for my Nvidia based eVga e-Geforce 9600GT?
> 
> Thanks



wow i put bios 1202 in,and my pcie link limit is at 75, and i can not change it. 
try in the bios and see what your link limit is at 25 or 75 watts,If your card does not support 75 watts it won`t boot ( happened with my 2900XT)


----------



## Psychlone (Jul 28, 2008)

H82LUZ73 said:


> wow i put bios 1202 in,and my pcie link limit is at 75, and i can not change it.
> try in the bios and see what your link limit is at 25 or 75 watts,If your card does not support 75 watts it won`t boot ( happened with my 2900XT)



That's got to be another setting that wasn't set properly, or set at all...
I currently have an HiS 2900XT 1GB in my machine that's running at the 75W limit...so something else is amiss.



			
				GINORMOUS PDF on PCI-E[/URL said:
			
		

> Slot Power Limit specifies the upper limit of power supplied by the PCI-E slot


http://books.google.com/books?id=sBtKutWpVh8C&pg=PA702&lpg=PA702&dq=slot+power+limit+for+graphics+cards&source=web&ots=fZCc6zg2zR&sig=NxJMP4CoD9GcZBGauWwH17lfA4A&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA905,M1

This is obviously for the nVidia 5900, but it definitively shows it needing 78+ Watts:


			
				xbit labs said:
			
		

>


http://www.xbitlabs.com/misc/picture/?src=/images/video/ati-vs-nv-power/fx5950u_table-b.gif&1=1

So, I would LOVE to find a chart defining what cards require what wattage - because it uses watts for the entire PCI-E bus (which means that setting a very high value just to make sure your GPU is getting enough will remove the difference in watts from the rest of the bus - I believe)
For the life of me, I can't find anything showing what any card's wattage limits aside from that single one for the 5900...This would obviously be incredibly useful for the guide, as none of us know what the limits of our cards are, so chances are that hardly anyone knows this information.

I believe that setting anything LESS than your cards upper limit is obviously going to limit how many watts are going to reach your GPU(s) - but setting a limit too high will take the watts away from the rest of the bus, but won't hurt the card, as they'll only draw as much wattage as they can handle (or they're speced for)

Anything you guys can add to this is appreciated, and maybe I can make a spreadsheet with the information so I can add it to the guide.

If any of you happen to find any information on your own cards, please do post the specs here.  If any of you happen to find a chart that's already made, you'll be my bestest friend (until further notice )

Psychlone


----------



## Airbus Pilot (Jul 28, 2008)

Psychlone said:


> If any of you happen to find any information on your own cards, please do post the specs here.  If any of you happen to find a chart that's already made, you'll be my bestest friend (until further notice )
> 
> Psychlone



I tried calling eVga about my 9600GT and they had no clue 

I am going to try setting mine to 75W (from 25W) and see how she runs.  Everything is running quite good the way it is now but I wouldn't want to be limiting my GPU in any way.

****update: Didn't seem to like it at 75W when running a CPU/GPU intense program, locked up after about 8 minutes and screen went blank.  It's back down to 25W now.*


----------



## sinister_steve (Jul 28, 2008)

*cant change voltage in bios*

Hi I have the 1202 bios and it wont let me change the volts on anything but the CPU VDDA ...how do I fix this? the CPU VDDA lights up like the other options but the option to use the -/+ just makes the screen flicker and wont change the setting ? has any one els had this happen ?


----------



## Bytor (Jul 28, 2008)

H82LUZ73 said:


> wow i put bios 1202 in,and my pcie link limit is at 75, and i can not change it.
> try in the bios and see what your link limit is at 25 or 75 watts,If your card does not support 75 watts it won`t boot ( happened with my 2900XT)



I'm running the same Bios and mine was at 25w before I changed it to 75w


----------



## sinister_steve (Jul 29, 2008)

Bytor said:


> I'm running the same Bios and mine was at 25w before I changed it to 75w



Ive now updated my bios to 1202 1002 1102 and none of them will go directly into windows after using asus update..I have to reset my computer even after loading default setings..and the time on my comp is in army time and I cant change the volts in bios and that is why I started trying different bios versions,,,damn it...can someone help ..steve


----------



## Airbus Pilot (Aug 5, 2008)

Just wondering, 

Is it possible for a system to pass stability tests (OCCT) and memtest86+ but have areas of a mobo's overclocking overlooked, because I seem to be having occasional crashes, blue screens now with my setup after passing OCCT and memtest86+ with my current settings.

For example, my ram is overclocked to 1170mhz (from 1066) and memtest seems to be fine but could this still be an issue in a windows environment.  Could my HT speed be to great and not get tested with programs like OCCT?


----------



## sinister_steve (Aug 8, 2008)

Ok I have this mobo and two 4850,s in cf and so what should I set these setting to?

Hyper Transport Configuration
..Isochronous Flow-Control Mode [Enabled] or [Disabled] if not used in conjunction with the other variables * see footnotes
..HT Link Tristate [CAD/CTL/CLK] or [Disabled] if not used in conjunction with the other variables * see footnotes
..UnitID Clumping [UnitID 2/3&B/C] or [Disabled] if not used in conjunction with the other variables * see footnotes
..2xLCLK Mode [Disabled]


----------



## Airbus Pilot (Aug 8, 2008)

sinister_steve said:


> Ok I have this mobo and two 4850,s in cf and so what should I set these setting to?
> 
> Hyper Transport Configuration
> ..Isochronous Flow-Control Mode [Enabled] or [Disabled] if not used in conjunction with the other variables * see footnotes
> ...



Hey Steve

Look at 'Psychlone's" notes on the very first post as he talks about these in detail.  If you plan on enabling some of these options I recall that there are a couple other areas in your bios that you must change the settings for as well.  Again refer to his first post it's all there, pay attention to his footnotes at the end regarding these settings.


----------



## sinister_steve (Aug 10, 2008)

Airbus Pilot said:


> Hey Steve
> 
> Look at 'Psychlone's" notes on the very first post as he talks about these in detail.  If you plan on enabling some of these options I recall that there are a couple other areas in your bios that you must change the settings for as well.  Again refer to his first post it's all there, pay attention to his footnotes at the end regarding these settings.



haha ya ive reath thru that a few times and still cant figure out whats what with the foot notes hahaha


----------



## H82LUZ73 (Aug 10, 2008)

This is our boards with the SB750....argh when do they come out ....http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/press-releases-tech-news/8942-asus-introduces-m3a79-t-deluxe-motherboard.html


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## Airbus Pilot (Aug 13, 2008)

Anybody else notice their tRas timing being 2 points less than what you actually set in the bios?  For instance if you set 5-5-5-18, memtest86+, cpu-z, memset, etc show the ram actually being at 5-5-5-16?  I am using bios 1202 now and didn't really pay attention if this was occurring with 1102.  I would assume that this is a bios glitch and what the other programs are reporting is *actually* what the tRas timing is at.

what do you guys and gals see


----------



## Viscarious (Aug 13, 2008)

Airbus Pilot said:


> Anybody else notice their tRas timing being 2 points less than what you actually set in the bios?  For instance if you set 5-5-5-18, memtest86+, cpu-z, memset, etc show the ram actually being at 5-5-5-16?  I am using bios 1202 now and didn't really pay attention if this was occurring with 1102.  I would assume that this is a bios glitch and what the other programs are reporting is *actually* what the tRas timing is at.
> 
> what do you guys and gals see



That issue has been in the BIOS since 801. I guess ASUS doesnt care to fix it.


----------



## Airbus Pilot (Aug 13, 2008)

Thanks.  So just to confirm, is my tRas timing what the bios shows, or what the programs show (the lesser value)?


----------



## Viscarious (Aug 13, 2008)

Airbus Pilot said:


> Thanks.  So just to confirm, is my tRas timing what the bios shows, or what the programs show (the lesser value)?



Sorry for the late confirm. I went to bed hehe

Its two under what the BIOS is set. 

IE., You set your tRAS to 14, it will be 12. 

16 will be 14. 

20 will be 18. 

njoi!


----------



## Airbus Pilot (Aug 13, 2008)

Thanks a lot.  After hours of frustration, it seems I have FINALLY gotten my system to be stable.  For some reason, these 2 sticks of Crucial Ballistix were giving me a lot of grief.  I read on other forums that others were experiencing some compatibility issues with this ram and this board.  I decided to up to the 1202 BIOS and it appears my problems are gone!  Thankfully!


----------



## Fieldinho (Sep 1, 2008)

*thermalright 120 Extreme question*

First of all I want to say this guide is a great help to me a novoice overclocker.  Thanks Psyclone.

I've got a slightly off topic question for Psyclone.

I've got a M3a32-MVP board and have just bought a Thermalright 120 Extreme heatsink.  However it won't fit on my board because my memory has heatsink fins.

Did you have the same problem and if so how did you get around it?

Thanks


----------



## Airbus Pilot (Sep 7, 2008)

Well I spoke to soon in my last post.  After extensive review and help from another thread, I am exchanging my Ballistix with Crucial for their *new revision* of these sticks.  The new models are appartently much more stable and run @ 2.0v vs 2.2v.

I hope these solve my issues.  My computer issues that is!


----------



## ninjagordy (Oct 20, 2008)

*9950 be 125w* max safe vcore*

hey guys, its been a while since i been messing with amd but im back on the band agon for a change.... 

im running my M3A32-MVP Deluxe with a 125w phenom black edition on extreme water (triple rad) idling its at 37 deg and under full load at 3.2ghz on 1.35vcore it maxed at 51 deg, temps seem not to be an issue as yet so i was wondering how far safely to push the vcore as  at 3.2ghz with 1.35 in the bios core 3 keeps dropping out....

any advice appreciated..

cheers

Ninjagordy!


----------



## H82LUZ73 (Dec 19, 2008)

this board now am3 approved

http://event.asus.com/mb/AM3_CPU_Support/


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## ninjagordy (Dec 20, 2008)

went back to intel very very quickly....... i was mighty dissapointed by amd's lacking performance but in all honestly im not sure what i expected jumping from a q6600@
3.8ghz to 9950 @ 3.2ghz.

nevery mind...maybe someday....


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## atmagp (Feb 2, 2009)

*My M3A32 deluxe wifi vcore stuck at 1.4v ???*

My M3A32 deluxe wifi vcore is stuck at 1.4v ???

i have a 9550, running at fsb 250 on 1.4v. Not stable yet, but i can't get higher vcore in the bios then 1.4v. When i put in 1.450 or something, it goes back to 1.4. Also the "+" key stops at 1.4v. 

Does anyone know the reason? This sucks...


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## AphexDreamer (Feb 2, 2009)

atmagp said:


> My M3A32 deluxe wifi vcore is stuck at 1.4v ???
> 
> i have a 9550, running at fsb 250 on 1.4v. Not stable yet, but i can't get higher vcore in the bios then 1.4v. When i put in 1.450 or something, it goes back to 1.4. Also the "+" key stops at 1.4v.
> 
> Does anyone know the reason? This sucks...



Which version of the BIOS do you have?


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## atmagp (Feb 2, 2009)

The newest: 1406


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## outofspace (Jun 30, 2009)

M3A32 1705 BIOS

Using Phenom 955 BE with 8gb geil black dragon 800mhz.
With no OC i must raise voltage of DDR to 2.3V! to dont have BSOD. 
Others parameters are in auto. I Believe this ram is not a good option for this kind. Today im switching to  KHX8500D2BK2/4G x2  CL5 (5-5-5-15), Black Edition 1066MHZ maybe it will be better.

MY full specification:
955BE, GTX285 TOP ASUS, 8GB Black Dragon 800MHZ, 700W Be Quiet, Cooler Master HAF 932


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## outofspace (Jul 5, 2009)

The reason was new BIOS 1705, after downgrade to 1604 everything is ok


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## buffy (Jan 5, 2010)

Want to say thanks very much to Psychlone for all his hardwork. I have been pouring over this post for many hours now and have trying to work out the meaning of it all. I think I have done quote well so far this is what I have achieved.














Sorry for the thread resurection but I dont belive the starting a new one would be a good idea.

The problem I have is I cannot for the life of me get my Ram to 1000, it just wont boot. Any suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks again
Buffy.


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## Farfalho (Oct 11, 2010)

Hi Psychlone,

I've read your guide thoroughly and got stucked at the Memory Divider and HT Multi.
After seeing your example I understood what you meant with the Memory Divider, since my FSB:RAM Ratio is 1:2, my Memory Divider is 2 but the HT Multi I quite didn't get it really because the BIOS doesn't show me multi values but in MHz and GHz and I'm focusing of never get past the 2600MHz mark on the NB because a person told me that it's the limit I should go on air.

I'm aiming at a 1GHz increase, a 3600MHz Cpu Freq but with more Base Clock than Multiplier.
I've managed before a Cpu Freq of 3000MHz by just increasing the Cpu Multi to x15 long time ago and yesterday I made the same adjusting while setting the Vcore to 1.325v but while I was writing this post, I got a BSOD out of nowehere just when I thought I had a stable overclock.

I followed your guide and found my maximum FSB to be 280MHz (at 250MHz the board wouldn't POST but after that it did, odd ). The Cpu Multi goes to x16,5 although at x17 the red lights on vga turn out and the fan reduces it's speed to a minimum but I get no image on the monitor (the orange light that signals the monitor is on doesn't turn to blue signaling that image is being received).

With the overclock I intend to get my RAM to work at 1066 and while "playing" with BIOS I got a 956MHz value for the ram, replacing the 1067MHz value that the motherboard as by default since the 1705 BIOS came out. I've tried just to increase the speed and the voltage but to no good avail since I got choppers disappearing from the screen only remaining the rotating helix and got a lot (and I mean a LOT) BSOD's, so it shows at what level of OC knowledge I were.

My cpu is an AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition cooled with a Zalman CNPS9900 LED and I intend to OC the sucker to 3,6GHz by increasing the Base Clock more than the Multiplier and the math I went through are:

x15*240=3600
15/2= 7,5 (8)
3600/8= 450 (450*2=900MHz DDR2)
10*240=2400
Here is the part I get stuck and thought, HT should always be equal or lower than the NB so i'll set it to x10, which will give me, according to the equation
10*240=2400

This is my target and I intend to fiddle with everything possible and doable to get that value and when I feel more confident or a better cooling (a.k.a Watercooling), I might push it a bit further.

All things said.... I need your help!!!


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## OneMoar (Oct 11, 2010)

faster HT link won't do anything for you


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## Farfalho (Oct 14, 2010)

bump

I need help =X


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## brandonwh64 (Oct 14, 2010)

Farfalho said:


> bump
> 
> I need help =X



Plz describe the help you need


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## Farfalho (Oct 14, 2010)

Going by what I've said in the previous post, I need help figuring if my equations are correct and what options should I fiddle with in the BIOS to make my RAM work at 1066MHz. I know for a fact that having 8GB spread through 4 sticks of RAM is harder than with two but I purchased the memory in different occasions.

Also, I would like to know if there's a way I can pass my 280MHz Base clock barrier by increasing the NB voltage and the Cpu Multiplier x16,5 barrier by increasing the Vcore and the implications to that procedures.

The only thing I know about the RAM in the bios is setting as limit or manual and (but don't understand) the clock skews. I know they are the FSB:RAM ratio but is given in 150, 300, 450 and so on.

My goal is 1GHz bump in the cpu on air, 3600MHz to be more precise, although I know it isn't 100% guarantee that I will be able to pull that stunt, I'm requesting help getting as close as possible to that goal.


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## Farfalho (Oct 16, 2010)

I've managed to get a stable overclock at 3,0GHz by setting the Base Clock at 240 with a x12.5, Vcore @ 1.4V, 980MHz @ 2.1V, NB Multi @ x9 and HT link @ 2160MHz.

Running Prime95, at 13h 39min of stress testing the core0 went bust because it should have rounded a value below 0,4 and it got above but the remaining cores went on until I've stopped the test at 15h 50min.

Now I set the Vcore @ 1.3750V, the ram @ 1.8V and with 8GB of ram =D

Next step, the 3,6GHz barrier!


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