2600+ 266Hz on A7A266; won't run at 2133Mhz

[Paul Moloney]

As I posted last week, I've installed a 2600+ 266Mhz Athlon
on an Asus A7A266 motherboard (BIOS version 1012). All
went well at first; the chip was automatically recognised with the
following BIOS settings:

CPU Speed 2133MHz
CPU Frequency Multiple 16x
CPU/PCI Frequency Mhz 133/33

However, the machine then hung. I rebooted up and tried
several times. However, at the moment, the machine will
only boot if:

* I set the CPU speed to 1600, giving me a 1600Hz machine
* I set the CPU Speed to Manual and the multipler to 18x,
giving me a 1.87GHZ machine (equivalent of a 2200+)

In these modes, it works fine. Checking the temperature of the CPU
using Asus Probe, it's at either 52c or 54c, which is 5-10c cooler
than what my old 1800+ was running at (I did use Arctic Silver as the
thermal paste this time). This makes me suspect that overheating isn't the
problem.

Any checklist of ideas that I should try now, or things that I should
double-check? Should I try the new beta version of the BIOS - if so,
does anyone know where I can download it? Could overheating actually
be a problem? Do I need to play around with jumpers? Any help appreciated.

Thanks,

P.

 

[JK ( at mail dot dk)]

As I posted last week, I've installed a 2600+ 266Mhz Athlon
on an Asus A7A266 motherboard (BIOS version 1012). All
went well at first; the chip was automatically recognised with the
following BIOS settings:

CPU Speed 2133MHz
CPU Frequency Multiple 16x
CPU/PCI Frequency Mhz 133/33

However, the machine then hung. I rebooted up and tried
several times. However, at the moment, the machine will
only boot if:

* I set the CPU speed to 1600, giving me a 1600Hz machine
* I set the CPU Speed to Manual and the multipler to 18x,
giving me a 1.87GHZ machine (equivalent of a 2200+)

In these modes, it works fine. Checking the temperature of the CPU
using Asus Probe, it's at either 52c or 54c, which is 5-10c cooler
than what my old 1800+ was running at (I did use Arctic Silver as the
thermal paste this time). This makes me suspect that overheating isn't the
problem.

Any checklist of ideas that I should try now, or things that I should
double-check? Should I try the new beta version of the BIOS - if so,
does anyone know where I can download it? Could overheating actually
be a problem? Do I need to play around with jumpers? Any help appreciated.

Well, it should run, according to

http://www.asus.com.tw/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx

with that bios.

This motherboard and also a7v333 had problems by delivering too high
voltage to the cpu.

You could try to check that with asusprobe, how high it is. Maybe you
could set it lower in bios and get it running better then. Maybe the
bios section Hardware Monitoring will report an error then, if you do
not set Ignore for cpu voltage.

If 54C is an idle temp. I believe it is too high. It could be OK for a
full load temp. when ambient is about 25C.

Anyway, you can get a very nice nforce2 motherboard for about 100 $ or
less. Why not sweet your living with such one.

best regards

John

 

[Wes Newell]

As I posted last week, I've installed a 2600+ 266Mhz Athlon
on an Asus A7A266 motherboard (BIOS version 1012). All
went well at first; the chip was automatically recognised with the
following BIOS settings:

CPU Speed 2133MHz
CPU Frequency Multiple 16x
CPU/PCI Frequency Mhz 133/33

However, the machine then hung. I rebooted up and tried
several times. However, at the moment, the machine will
only boot if:

* I set the CPU speed to 1600, giving me a 1600Hz machine
* I set the CPU Speed to Manual and the multipler to 18x,
giving me a 1.87GHZ machine (equivalent of a 2200+)

In these modes, it works fine. Checking the temperature of the CPU
using Asus Probe, it's at either 52c or 54c, which is 5-10c cooler
than what my old 1800+ was running at (I did use Arctic Silver as the
thermal paste this time). This makes me suspect that overheating isn't the
problem.

Any checklist of ideas that I should try now, or things that I should
double-check? Should I try the new beta version of the BIOS - if so,
does anyone know where I can download it? Could overheating actually
be a problem? Do I need to play around with jumpers? Any help appreciated.

The lower the cpu temp, the faster it will run.
PCI divider should be set to 4 for 133MHz FSB
Ram or ram timings.
More vcore = more speed.
Weak PSU will cause problems.

That's all I can think of right now.

 

[Paul Moloney]

The lower the cpu temp, the faster it will run.
PCI divider should be set to 4 for 133MHz FSB
Ram or ram timings.
More vcore = more speed.
Weak PSU will cause problems.

Sorry I only got around to this reply, I had two
other hardware emergencies in the meantime!

Can you tell me what the PCI Divider is? Is that the same
as CPU/PCI Frequency? (Which is currently 1:1)

More vcore - wouldn't that overheat the PSU too much? I've
read that raising the voltage of the PSU should be the
last resort for overclocking - correct? In fact, someone
else mentioned I should try and _lower_ the voltage, as this
may resolve the hanging problems. (In fact, checking the available
CPU Vcore values, the lowest (1.650V) is currently already used.

Since then, I've managed to get the machine running at 2015Mhz,
not too far off the magic 2133Mhz; here are the CPU Frequency
Multiple & CPU/PCI Frequency combinations I tried:

18 x 133 - Won't boot
17 x 133 - Won't boot
16.5 x 133 - Will boot, gets as far as past the login
screen (just get to see my desktop for a few
moments), then restarts. If I boot in again, I
get to see a "System has recovered from a serious error"
messages, which takes me to a Microsoft page saying that
a device driver caused the problem. At this point, the
system restarts again....
16 x 133 - Won't boot
15 x 133 - Works

What I find strange is that the system works for a few moments at 16.5 x 133,
but not at all at 16 x 133.

Where to now? I see I can raise the CPU/PCI Frequency up as far as 166/42;
should I change this at all? My CPU is at 52 degrees C, which doesn't
seem to be too high to be causing problems. Is it worth buying a
new cooler for it? (It already has one rated to 2800+).

Cheers,

P.

 

[Wes Newell]

Sorry I only got around to this reply, I had two
other hardware emergencies in the meantime!

Can you tell me what the PCI Divider is? Is that the same
as CPU/PCI Frequency? (Which is currently 1:1)

The PCI divider is what determines the PCI bus speed (which should be
33MHz). It is used as a divider against the FSB. FSB of 133MHz divided by
4 for the OCI bus speed of 33MHz. The Agp bus is twice the PCI bus, and
normally 66MHz. Some boards let you set the divider or PCI/AGP bus
seperatly, some don't. You must be thinking of CPU/RAM frequency above as
it's normally 1:1. Normally where the board lets you set this, it's
usually something like 4:2:1, 4 being the PCI divider, 2 being the AGP
multiplier x PCI speed and 1 being the ram bus divider/multiplier of the
FSB speed.

More vcore - wouldn't that overheat the PSU too much? I've read that
raising the voltage of the PSU should be the last resort for
overclocking - correct? In fact, someone else mentioned I should try and
_lower_ the voltage, as this may resolve the hanging problems. (In fact,
checking the available CPU Vcore values, the lowest (1.650V) is
currently already used.

Vcore is CPU voltage, not PSU voltages. If you're having cpu stability
problems, lowering vcore will only make them worse.

Since then, I've managed to get the machine running at 2015Mhz, not too
far off the magic 2133Mhz; here are the CPU Frequency Multiple & CPU/PCI
Frequency combinations I tried:

18 x 133 - Won't boot
17 x 133 - Won't boot
16.5 x 133 - Will boot, gets as far as past the login
screen (just get to see my desktop for a few moments), then
restarts. If I boot in again, I get to see a "System has
recovered from a serious error" messages, which takes me to
a Microsoft page saying that a device driver caused the
problem. At this point, the system restarts again....
16 x 133 - Won't boot

This is the default settings for the 2600+/266 cpu.

15 x 133 - Works

And this is the default for a 2400+.

What I find strange is that the system works for a few moments at 16.5 x
133, but not at all at 16 x 133.

Then you've got something wrong.

Where to now? I see I can raise the CPU/PCI Frequency up as far as
166/42; should I change this at all? My CPU is at 52 degrees C, which
doesn't seem to be too high to be causing problems. Is it worth buying a
new cooler for it? (It already has one rated to 2800+).

Well, I could guess all day, but why don't you list some make/model
numbers of your PSU, cpu cooler. If that 52C is at idle, it looks real
high to me. My 2100+ overclocked to 2700+ idles in the 30's. I don't know
much about your board or th4 ALi chipset, I'll DL the manual and see if it
gives me any clues.

 

[Paul Moloney]

Hi Wes,

Thanks for following this up.

Vcore is CPU voltage, not PSU voltages.

Oops, sorry; that's a mixup I often make. I was indeed
referring to the CPU. Should I then _raise_ the
voltage slightly?

Well, I could guess all day, but why don't you list some make/model
numbers of your PSU, cpu cooler.

PSU: QTechnology Ultra-Quiet ATX PSU 300W.
CPU Cooler: Nexus KCZ-2700

Thanks. Just to recap, I've summarised my experiences in the following
article.

Cheers,

P.

I've installed a 2600+ 266Mhz Athlon on an Asus A7A266 motherboard
(BIOS version latest non-beta at 1012). All went well at first and
the chip was automatically recognised with the following correct(*)
BIOS settings:

CPU Speed 2133MHz
CPU Frequency Multiple 16x
CPU/PCI Frequency Mhz 133/33

However, the machine then hung. I rebooted up and tried
several times. Initially I found that the machine would
only boot if:

* I set the CPU speed to 1600, giving me a 1600Hz machine
* I set the CPU Speed to Manual and the multipler to 18x,
giving me a 1.87GHZ machine (equivalent of a 2200+)

After experimenting, I found that the machine will run at 15 x 133
(the equivalent of a 2400+). Strangely, though it won't boot at
16x, it _will_ at 16.5, although the machine only gets as far as
just past the XP login screen (just get to see my desktop for a few
moments before it restarts.

If I boot in again, I get to see a "System has recovered from a
serious error" messages, which takes me to a Microsoft page saying
that a device driver caused the problem. At this point, the
system restarts again....

Where to now to get it to 2133Mhz? There seem to be a number of
possibilities:

* Could overheating be a problem? The 2600+ is at 52 degrees C idle.
My current
cooler is a Nexus KCZ-2700. Is it worth buying a new cooler for it?
Any
recommedations if so?

* Although the current BIOS I have is the latest release version, and
supposedly is compatible with the 2600+, would it be worth updating
to the beta version 1013? This beta version has been out for 15
months;
I'm not sure does this indicated that it is safe or that there are
still
concerns about it.

* Power supply issue? My current is a QTechnology Ultra-Quiet ATX PSU
300W.
Peripherals in my machine include a Radeon 9800 Pro 128K, a DVD
burner,
CD-RW drive, and Audigy soundcard.

* Vcore voltage issue? It's currently 1.650V; should this be raised?

Thanks,

P.




I see I can raise the CPU/PCI
Frequency up as far as 166/42; should I change this at all? M

In these modes, it works fine. Checking the temperature of the CPU
using Asus Probe, it's at either 52c or 54c, which is 5-10c cooler
than what my old 1800+ was running at (I did use Arctic Silver as the
thermal paste this time). This makes me suspect that overheating isn't
the
problem.

Any checklist of ideas that I should try now, or things that I should
double-check? Should I try the new beta version of the BIOS - if so,
does anyone know where I can download it? Could overheating actually
be a problem? Do I need to play around with jumpers? Any help
appreciated.

Thanks,

P.

(*) http://139.95.253.214/SRVS/CGI-BIN/...0000000173168994,K=9326,Sxi=13,Case=obj(1224)):

 

[Wes Newell]

PSU: QTechnology Ultra-Quiet ATX PSU 300W.

That should be Ok.

CPU Cooler: Nexus KCZ-2700

This may be acceptable, but not very good. A quick fix would be to replace
the 60x15mm fan with a 60x25mm model with more airflow. Personally, i'd
just get a cheap cooler like the TR2-M1 with a quiet 80mm fan with almost
twice the airflow and copper base (not nickel plated_

Thanks. Just to recap, I've summarised my experiences in the following
article.

Cheers,

P.

I've installed a 2600+ 266Mhz Athlon on an Asus A7A266 motherboard
(BIOS version latest non-beta at 1012). All went well at first and the
chip was automatically recognised with the following correct(*) BIOS
settings:

CPU Speed 2133MHz CPU Frequency Multiple
16x CPU/PCI Frequency Mhz 133/33

However, the machine then hung. I rebooted up and tried several times.
Initially I found that the machine would only boot if:

* I set the CPU speed to 1600, giving me a 1600Hz machine * I set
the CPU Speed to Manual and the multipler to 18x,
giving me a 1.87GHZ machine (equivalent of a 2200+)

After experimenting, I found that the machine will run at 15 x 133 (the
equivalent of a 2400+). Strangely, though it won't boot at 16x, it
_will_ at 16.5, although the machine only gets as far as just past the
XP login screen (just get to see my desktop for a few moments before it
restarts.

Restarting like this is many times power problems. Either CPU, MB (bad
caps), or weak PSU.

If I boot in again, I get to see a "System has recovered from a serious
error" messages, which takes me to a Microsoft page saying that a
device driver caused the problem. At this point, the system restarts
again....

Try booting with a memtest cd and running memtest, to take the OS out of
the picture.

Where to now to get it to 2133Mhz? There seem to be a number of
possibilities:

* Could overheating be a problem? The 2600+ is at 52 degrees C idle. My
current cooler is a Nexus KCZ-2700. Is it worth buying a new cooler for it?

52C for idlw is high.

Any recommedations if so?

TR2-M1, good, cheap, and quiet.

* Although the current BIOS I have is the latest release version, and
supposedly is compatible with the 2600+, would it be worth updating to
the beta version 1013? This beta version has been out for 15
months;
I'm not sure does this indicated that it is safe or that there are
still
concerns about it.

Unless you know of a problem with your current bios, it shouldn't matter.

* Power supply issue? My current is a QTechnology Ultra-Quiet ATX PSU
300W.

As I said, it should be enough unless it's weak. If you replace it, get a
cheap 550W.

Peripherals in my machine include a Radeon 9800 Pro 128K, a DVD
burner, CD-RW drive, and Audigy soundcard.

Ahhh,, Isn't that Radeon 9800 Pro pretty much power hungry? That could be
draining your 300w PSU.

* Vcore voltage issue? It's currently 1.650V; should this be raised?

1.65v is the default. Wouldn't hurt to try a little higher though.
Shouldn't need more than 1.75v, but with the cooler you have and your
current temps, even that small increase may be too much for your current
cooler.

I see I can raise the CPU/PCI
Frequency up as far as 166/42; should I change this at all? M

No. LKeave this at 133/33. There's not many PCI devices that will operate
at 42Mhz, and that would also put the AGP bus at 84MHz vs. normal 66Mhz.

In these modes, it works fine. Checking the temperature of the CPU using
Asus Probe, it's at either 52c or 54c, which is 5-10c cooler than what
my old 1800+ was running at (I did use Arctic Silver as the thermal
paste this time). This makes me suspect that overheating isn't the
problem.

Like I said, mine idles in the mid 30's.

Any checklist of ideas that I should try now, or things that I should
double-check? Should I try the new beta version of the BIOS - if so,
does anyone know where I can download it? Could overheating actually
be a problem? Do I need to play around with jumpers? Any help
appreciated.

I think i've covered about all that could be cusing the problem. Just keep
standard FSB/PCI settings and only work with the multiplier so that you
know it's not a bus problem.

 

[Paul Moloney]

[snip]

Hi Wes,

You've been a big help, much appreciated. I'll try
getting a loan of a 400W or up power supply and see
if that helps, and also add a new CPU fan.

Cheers,

P.