How To Overclock Using Advanced Chipset Features
Overclockers are PC enthusiasts who attempt to increase their system's performance by raising bus speeds and increasing their CPU speed beyond the figure at which it was sold and designed to run. They also quite frequently need to raise the voltage of these devices, since they are pushing them harder, which also generates more heat.
Overclocking no longer makes the performance difference it used to. It will also void your CPU warranty, could cause complete system failure requiring component replacement, and can cause random system instability. For that reason, many of the frequency and voltage settings offered in this part of the BIOS should be left alone or set to AUTO. But if you do want to adjust them, click on the ADVANCED tab on the BIOS screen.
CPU External Freq. (MHz) : Be sure to set this in accordance with the specifications of your processor.
CPU Frequency Multiple Setting : AUTO.
CPU Frequency Multiple : Be sure to set this in accordance with the specifications of your processor.
Asus should have called this the CPU Multiplier. To understand what this means, realize that the CPU processes data at a different speed than the rest of your system. In this example, an AMD Athlon 2600 CPU is used, which runs at 2.133 GHz. It talks to the motherboard at 133.33 MHz, which is referred to as the Front Side Bus (FSB) speed. Therefore, 133.33 MHz (generally referred to as 133 MHz) is the FSB speed, while the CPU processes data at a multiple of 16 x 133.33 for a total of 2,133, or 2.133 GHz. So the multiplier is 16.
Through testing, AMD has determined - as have many independent magazines - that their 2.133 GHz CPU runs as fast as (or faster than) an Intel CPU rated at 2.6 GHz. Knowing that most consumers shop looking for large numbers to equate to performance, AMD had to come up with a way to convince consumers that even though their clock speed number was smaller, the processor's performance was the same or better than an Intel system with larger numbers. This explains why an AMD Athlon 2600 (as used in this example) actually runs at 2.1333 GHz and not the implied 2.6 GHz.
System Performance : Optimal.
CPU Interface : Optimal.
Memory Frequency : By SPD. Most memory-chip manufacturers include a Serial Presence Detect (SPD) chip, which reports to the computer's BIOS the size, data width, speed, and voltage of the installed memory. These settings are determined by the manufacturer to ensure maximum performance and reliability, so "By SPD" is considered a safe, recommended setting. By adjusting these settings yourself, you may be able to squeeze more performance out of your system, but if you're not careful, you might cause your system to constantly crash, not boot properly, or not boot at all.
Overclocking no longer makes the performance difference it used to. It will also void your CPU warranty, could cause complete system failure requiring component replacement, and can cause random system instability. For that reason, many of the frequency and voltage settings offered in this part of the BIOS should be left alone or set to AUTO. But if you do want to adjust them, click on the ADVANCED tab on the BIOS screen.
CPU External Freq. (MHz) : Be sure to set this in accordance with the specifications of your processor.
CPU Frequency Multiple Setting : AUTO.
CPU Frequency Multiple : Be sure to set this in accordance with the specifications of your processor.
Asus should have called this the CPU Multiplier. To understand what this means, realize that the CPU processes data at a different speed than the rest of your system. In this example, an AMD Athlon 2600 CPU is used, which runs at 2.133 GHz. It talks to the motherboard at 133.33 MHz, which is referred to as the Front Side Bus (FSB) speed. Therefore, 133.33 MHz (generally referred to as 133 MHz) is the FSB speed, while the CPU processes data at a multiple of 16 x 133.33 for a total of 2,133, or 2.133 GHz. So the multiplier is 16.
Through testing, AMD has determined - as have many independent magazines - that their 2.133 GHz CPU runs as fast as (or faster than) an Intel CPU rated at 2.6 GHz. Knowing that most consumers shop looking for large numbers to equate to performance, AMD had to come up with a way to convince consumers that even though their clock speed number was smaller, the processor's performance was the same or better than an Intel system with larger numbers. This explains why an AMD Athlon 2600 (as used in this example) actually runs at 2.1333 GHz and not the implied 2.6 GHz.
System Performance : Optimal.
CPU Interface : Optimal.
Memory Frequency : By SPD. Most memory-chip manufacturers include a Serial Presence Detect (SPD) chip, which reports to the computer's BIOS the size, data width, speed, and voltage of the installed memory. These settings are determined by the manufacturer to ensure maximum performance and reliability, so "By SPD" is considered a safe, recommended setting. By adjusting these settings yourself, you may be able to squeeze more performance out of your system, but if you're not careful, you might cause your system to constantly crash, not boot properly, or not boot at all.
Memory Timings : Optimal.
FSB Spread Spectrum : Disabled. This feature helps systems pass European electromagnetic interference (EMI) tests. It accomplishes this by constantly varying, ever so slightly, the frequency of the Front Side Bus (FSB). Be warned that enabling this feature with large values can result in Internet connection disruption, as well as stability problems if you overclock your system.
AGP Spread Spectrum : Disabled. The description above applies here as well, except that this is for modulating the frequency of the Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) interface.
CPU VCore Setting : AUTO.
CPU VCore : Be sure to set this in accordance with the core voltage requirements of your processor.
There are so many processors out there that I don't know if one example would be better than none. Instead, here is a partial chart, showing the name of the CPU, its actual operating speed, its core voltage requirement, and how hot it can get before failing.
Graphics Aperture Size : 64 MB or 128 MB. This feature controls the size of the Graphics Address Relocation Table (GART) and the amount of memory address space used for AGP memory addresses. Regardless of how much on-board memory a system's video card has, a setting of 64 MB or 128 MB is recommended. This will allow the video card to remain optimized in the event that an application requires more memory for texture storage, while simultaneously limiting the GART to a reasonable size.
AGP Frequency : AUTO.
System BIOS Cacheable : Disabled. You might be under the impression that all cache is good, but that's not true. This feature can cause problems such as system crashes if a program tries to write to the BIOS area being cached. This is a great feature to enable if you're still using DOS.
Video RAM Cacheable : Disabled. This option allows the Video RAM to be copied directly to your L2 cache, which is considerably faster to access than ROM. However, Windows is so much more advanced than DOS, Windows rarely ever uses this ROM. Because the L2 cache is quite limited in size, it is recommended you let Windows use the L2 cache for enhancing the efficiency of other tasks.
DDR Reference Voltage : 2.6V. This setting controls the voltage of the Double-Data Rate (DDR) memory in your system.
AGP VDDQ Voltage : 1.5V. VDDQ is an engineering term meaning Voltage between Drain and common for Data Quad-band. In English, this refers to how much voltage should be supplied to the video card.
AGP 8X Support : Enable this if the system's video card supports 8X AGP speeds. You must install the VIA 4-in-1 drivers to take advantage of this feature on VIA-based motherboards.
AGP Fast Write Capability : Enabled is recommended. This feature, when enabled, allows the AGP device to bypass main memory when performing write transactions from the chipset to the AGP device, increasing performance by as much as 10 percent. However, some games and PCI cards may experience problems with this setting enabled. It is recommended that you experiment with this setting to determine what works best for your PC.
FSB Spread Spectrum : Disabled. This feature helps systems pass European electromagnetic interference (EMI) tests. It accomplishes this by constantly varying, ever so slightly, the frequency of the Front Side Bus (FSB). Be warned that enabling this feature with large values can result in Internet connection disruption, as well as stability problems if you overclock your system.
AGP Spread Spectrum : Disabled. The description above applies here as well, except that this is for modulating the frequency of the Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) interface.
CPU VCore Setting : AUTO.
CPU VCore : Be sure to set this in accordance with the core voltage requirements of your processor.
There are so many processors out there that I don't know if one example would be better than none. Instead, here is a partial chart, showing the name of the CPU, its actual operating speed, its core voltage requirement, and how hot it can get before failing.
| Athlon Processor | Speed (GHz) | Core Voltage (V) | Max. Temp. (°C) |
|---|---|---|---|
| XP 1700 | 1.467 | 1.50 | 90 |
| XP 1900 | 1.60 | 1.50 | 90 |
| XP 2000 | 1.667 | 1.60 | 90 |
| XP 2100 | 1.733 | 1.60 | 90 |
| XP 2200 | 1.80 | 1.60 | 90 |
| XP 2400 | 2.0 | 1.60 | 85 |
| XP 2600 | 2.133 | 1.65 | 85 |
| XP 2700 | 2.171 | 1.65 | 85 |
| XP 2800 | 2.250 | 1.65 | 85 |
AGP Frequency : AUTO.
System BIOS Cacheable : Disabled. You might be under the impression that all cache is good, but that's not true. This feature can cause problems such as system crashes if a program tries to write to the BIOS area being cached. This is a great feature to enable if you're still using DOS.
Video RAM Cacheable : Disabled. This option allows the Video RAM to be copied directly to your L2 cache, which is considerably faster to access than ROM. However, Windows is so much more advanced than DOS, Windows rarely ever uses this ROM. Because the L2 cache is quite limited in size, it is recommended you let Windows use the L2 cache for enhancing the efficiency of other tasks.
DDR Reference Voltage : 2.6V. This setting controls the voltage of the Double-Data Rate (DDR) memory in your system.
AGP VDDQ Voltage : 1.5V. VDDQ is an engineering term meaning Voltage between Drain and common for Data Quad-band. In English, this refers to how much voltage should be supplied to the video card.
AGP 8X Support : Enable this if the system's video card supports 8X AGP speeds. You must install the VIA 4-in-1 drivers to take advantage of this feature on VIA-based motherboards.
AGP Fast Write Capability : Enabled is recommended. This feature, when enabled, allows the AGP device to bypass main memory when performing write transactions from the chipset to the AGP device, increasing performance by as much as 10 percent. However, some games and PCI cards may experience problems with this setting enabled. It is recommended that you experiment with this setting to determine what works best for your PC.
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