KR7A-Raid OVERCLOCKED !

[tazdevl]

Well, if its OCZ... that's just OC'd RAM anyway. Do a search and see how many ppl have problems with it.

 

[Supertex]

So I see you are using the ASUS? How about the divider on that one? Will it go over 4:2:1??

 

[acidpad]

the ram i am using is generic micron, i only reason im using that is i needed ram fast. it is pc 2100, but its cas 2.5 and all the ram setting have to be set to the most lax settings, the only thing that i can use to boost performance is bank interleaving. with the crucial pc2100 ram or any other pc2600/2400 i could tighten up my ram timing alot, i reccomend that everyone use good ram, such as what crucial and corsair offer. it is my guess that had i had the time to buy good ram i could be at 200 fsb. i will post some different benchmarks in a little bit, i just need to get around to it, the ones i am going to post were run at 190 fsb x 8 with ram timing all the way down, except 4 way interleaving.

 

[acidpad]

alrighty i got those benchmarks up.

www.geocities.com/acidpad/cpu1.jpg
www.geocities.com/acidpad/cpu2.jpg
www.geocities.com/acidpad/memory190_4way.jpg
www.geocities.com/acidpad/wcpuid.jpg

 

[GRAFiZ]

Well AcidPad... I have to eat my words. Your overclock is simply amazing. The benches look nice... very nice. That is one kickass system you got there.

Keep up the good work, you have certinaly impressed me and many others. Thank you for not minding my mistrust in most that I read online.

Again, very nice work... very.

 

[billyjak]

Sweet scores, I just got mine today, am trying to unlock it now, hopefully tomorrow to get it running.
I went with the SB Audigy Platinum instead of the X-Gamer, thinking about the Digital camcorders now.
Hopefully mine will get up there also.
Great job

 

[Supertex]

I want to see how high the bus gets with the settings jacked up as high as the ram will allow. That is where the "make or break" will be, as far as I am concerned.

 

[acidpad]

supertex, unfortunantly i cant try that for you. my ram wont even go off of the most lax settings at a bus of 133, that is to say MY RAM SUX. but, even with shabby ram in here, its still performing beyond what i ever expected, and im sure that with good ram, the timing will be able to be set better. the timing control isnt like it was in the kt7a, but more like the epox 8kha(+), it is very nice, plus with control over the dram voltage, you really cant go wrong. if this is the only reason you are waiting to buy one, i say buy it, if your waiting on price on the other hand ... lol - u have a bit of waiting to do

 

[moocat]

Is the ram actually running at 192mhz or is it asyncronous? That is one hell of an overclock for even top notch memory.

I've got one of these boards in the mail to me right now and 2x256mb of Crucial PC2100...I can't wait to see what they can do together.

 

[Grendel99]

Does anyone know if the Alpha PAL8045 fits on this board? Damnit I want Christmas to get here, the KR7 is #1 on my list

 

[acidpad]

thats a good question about my ram. i would assume that it is actually running at 192, but in the bios it detects the ram speed as 133, but when i raise the fsb, i get better memory scores, so i can only assume that the bios just presumes that it is 133 being that its not 100 (i think that it just chooses between 100 and 133). like i said, my guess would be that the ram is truly running at this speed. as for the alpha HSF, i dont see any reason why it wouldnt fit, there is loads of space around it, i have my SK6 on it, no problem.

 

[billyjak]

Just got mine up and running, will play around with it and see what it does.
I don't know if my unlock process was sucsessful yet.

 

[acidpad]

ok i finally got myself a copy of sandra pro, and i rechecked the PCI frequency and it showed up ..... unfortunantly its is at 46 mhz (im currently at a 185 fsb) and
a 1/4 divider. while that isnt what we were all hoping for, it does still run, so i dont know what the deal with this is, maybe when anand gets his review up
some questions will be answered.

 

[moocat]

46mhz pci clock...wow, I guess pci devices are getting more forgiving...or maybe it's the result of a better controller in the 266a chipset..or Abit's design...or all of the above!

 

[Supertex]

Well Taz...you were right. OCZ just took pole position on my sh*t list. PC2700 is junk sh*t, and should only be used as a bookmark. I ordered 2 128 sticks of Corsair 2400 cs2 I hope that brings the potential of the board around. I can't run the 2-5-2 settings, it wont boot to windows, and I am assuming that the Ram is the reason. Any input on the bios settings guys?? Right now I can only manage to get 145 @ 10X!

Tex

 

[Supertex]

Oh yeah, how in the hell do I get rid of the winbond hw dr. and re-implement the VIA hm? I HATE the winbond prog. I want degrees F not C. Am I stuck with the winbond BS? I'd put it right below OCZ ram ! ! ! ! !

Tex

 

[ctk1981]

This board is so cool. I actually got mine by accident. I ordered a KR7A for 129 at a place and ended up getting a KR7A-Raid, but Im not complaining. Although mine isnt up and running yet (waiting for some cash flow, want another IBM 60GB for a raid) I do already have the Alpha heatsink mounted on there, It fits fine.

Bought some new ram, went crazy and bought a stick of mushkin high performance DDR 256MB 2-2-2. Hopefully it overclocks nicely.

 

[Hauk]

CTK 1981:

I almost went with the Mushkin. It'd be nice to see if it can handle DRAM Command Rate=1T (default=2T). This appears to be the most sensitve tweak, yet offers a pretty good bandwidth boost.

Again, here's the link for a wealth of info on this bad boy:
Paul's Unofficial ABIT KG7/KR7A FAQ

This is a sweet board!! Manual, bios, tweakability, all excellent. See ya later Asus...

 

[Hauk]

SuperTex:

I have to give a thumbs up to OCZ memory. I have two 256MB PC2400's which are actually Nanya PC2100 modules rated at CAS 2. One must realize: OCZ is simply a value added reseller, that is hand picking memory and slapping their label on it. They don't make the stuff. I've seen OCZ in both Nanya and Micron flavors, perhaps more.

Before slamming OCZ, maybe you should go through the memory FAQ posted play with ALL the settings. Mine works fine at: 150FSB CAS 2, 2-5-2, 4 Bank Interleave, Queue Depth 4 level. The only setting I had trouble with is DRAM Command Rate 1T. Also realize that ABIT is offering some serious tweak options on the KR7A. I doubt half the memory out there could handle all the tweak options available...

 

[Supertex]

I'm sorry man, but the only way I would slam it more, is in a car door. I am aware of its origin, but that doesn't change the fact that it is inferior to the likes of Corsair, and Mushkin; which, by the way, I was unaware of until coming across this forum. Only then did I notice that NO ONE that achieves high clock speeds is using it. Sandra reports the OCZ "PC2700"ram at cl2@133, and cl2.5@143. That is far from the advertised 166. At that rate it seems it would be about cl3.5@166(LMAO). I'm betting all my chips that the Corsair kicks it's @ss. AND for less money per stick. All of my timings are at the most aggressive settings except the 2-5-2, which prohibits Win ME from loading unless left at the default 3-6-3. It runs the 1T command fine, as well as ALL of the others. If you are still a fan of it, it has run for 2 days in my machine, and I'll sell it for 50.00 (256MB) shipped. I paid over 75.00. My Corsair will be arriving within the hour. At this point @147 fsb @10x, 3-6-3, 1T, Qdpth=4, ultra, etc., my UPDATED SiSoft scores are 2197/2089 running my 1.33 t-bird . So, its not total junk, it's just not what they say it was. I paid for what I was expecting to be the best of the best. Bad call on my part, and it just left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Apart from all that, there are 2 factors that still bother me about the new board. One is the Winbond hardware dr., and the other is the fact that my CPU runs constantly @ 127-129 degrees whether idle all day, or running 3dmark2001 for the 3rd time. Wtf???? Does everyone's machines run that kind of temps??
And what the hell do I have to do to get the VIA HM to run again?? I really liked it whole lot better than the winbond, or the MBM 5.x or CPU cool. Why mess with a good thing?!?!?

Tex

 

[Hauk]

TEX: Who actually made the module for the PC2700 you received? Just curious. I'll admit, I do wish I'd have dumped the extra cash for the Mushkin. But for a novice overclocker like myself, this OCZ stuff seems to be working out.

 

[Supertex]

Actually, I havent had it long enough to remember what chips are on it, although I have looked. I am at work right now(real busy huh?) but when I get to the house, I'll see. Now I'm curious too. You have any input on the temp situation I have, or how to get the VIA hardware monitor to work on this board??

Tex

 

[Supertex]

It's here! It's here! (dances a jig) My Corsair XMS2400 has arrived!!! (May have to take off early!!!)

 

[Hauk]

Your temps aren't that bad. You're well within specs, though a bit high. I have a t-bird 1.33 also. Here's my temp experience:

OLD:
Alpha 6035 or:
Taisol Copper Bottom or:
Thermaltake Super Orb and:
Crappy case with 300W p/s (80mm internal fan) and one 60mm exaust fan
Avg Temp F @ Idle = 120-123F
Avg Temp F @ Full Load (3DMark, Games) = 131-140F

NOW:
Alpha 8045
Antec SX830 with four low speed 80mm fans, and Antec pp352x dual fan 350W p/s:
Avg Temp either idle or at full load: 109-111F

As you can see, my case upgrade along with the 8045 made a HUGE impact. How's your case cooling?

 

[Supertex]

Well let's see, my case is good. It is the "hydraulic" Antec model, with a 50 cfm 80mm in the front and a 7k rpm 60 mm in the back. I cut out the MB tray behind the cpu, to facilitate airflow behind the CPU, avoid reflecting heat back onto the MB, and enable the addition of the Alpha type HSFs without removing the mb. I have used the OCZ Gladiator, then switched to the Vantec 6035 ( noticed no temp change ). Before moving to the KR7A, I used the KT7, I had the same CPU on it, with a FSB of 112 @ 12.5x. my Idle temps were NEVER more than 96 F, and only rose to around 131 F after prolonged, serious gaming (Q3,Seriuos Sam, Delta Force LW). The only thing I have changed, is the MB, and ram. So..............?

Tex