What are the recommended HT link and NB frequency settings?
What are the recommended HT link and NB frequency settings?
I assembled a computer for my eight-year-old using parts I already had, aiming to get the best performance from it. It’s an old M2N-SLI motherboard (nForce560 SLI) with a Phenom II X4 945 processor and DDR2-PC6400 memory at 800MHz. The video card is a 750TI and there are currently 6 Gb of RAM, though I plan to upgrade to the maximum 8 Gb the board can support.
CPU-Z shows:
Bus: 206 MHz
HT Link: 824 MHz
Dram: 412 MHz
NB Frequency: 1648 MHz
These values seem close to the original specifications. Any recommendations? I’m not a pro at overclocking and don’t want to invest much time tuning, but I’d like some safe or easy options.
I understand that the initial X2 and X4 range of Phenom CPUs had a physical hyper transport speed tied to the bus starting around 800 Mhz. For later Phenom II CPUs, the HT speed could be adjusted to 1000 Mhz, which was partly because the controller for these settings was integrated into the Phenom CPU itself. Nonetheless, if I'm being honest, memory doesn't help much when trying to overclock older CPUs that had multiplier locks, and achieving optimal performance is challenging. That's why I checked Tom's resources and discovered this thorough guide by Doa Jones. It provides detailed explanations of all methods and step-by-step instructions.
By default the HT in the bios should be set to a X5 setting.
200 x 5 = HT 1000 Mhz
Bus speed should be set to 200 Mhz 200 x 4 = 800 Mhz memory speed.
NB frequency 200 x 8 = 1600 Mhz .
DDR 2 memory will report running at 400Mhz, but due to it being Double Data Rate memory meaning it can read and write data at the same time during on memory clock cycle.
It is always times two.
Dram 400 x 2 = 800 Mhz.
The cpu multiplier on the cpu you have is locked.
So in order to overclock the cpu to a higher frequency. you must select a lower Dram clock speed for example 333Mhz
and lower the HT multiplier value in the bios so set to x4 HT link speed.
Then simply start adding from the base bus speed of 200 Mhz upwards
That in turn will start to add extra Mhz to the speed the cpu run at on your system.
You may reach up to 218 to 224 setting for the bus value before the cpu starts to freeze, or crash when running windows.
I think the limit on my old M2N board was about 224Mhz.
Anyway it`s what you need to do to get a decent overclock of the Phenom II X4 945 cpu you have.
Hope this helps and all the best.
Calvin7:
The BIOS version 5001 is needed for that CPU. I'm using BIOS version 1103 from April 22, 2010. It might be the problem, even though the system detects the processor and sets the right speed. I'll try updating to 5001 and check if it resolves the issue. Thanks.
scout_03 :
considering the asus ai overclocking option for this board, adding ddr2 ram would be more expensive because dual channel requirements and matching cas settings are necessary. I attempted AI overclocking but the system consistently failed to post. I plan to try it again later. Thank you.
The default HT setting in the BIOS should be configured as a X5 configuration.
200 x 5 equals HT 1000 Mhz.
Memory bus speed needs to be adjusted to 200 Mhz, which is 200 x 4 = 800 Mhz memory rate.
NB frequency is 200 x 8 = 1600 Mhz.
DDR2 memory will indicate it operates at 400Mhz, but because it's a Double Data Rate memory, it can read and write simultaneously during the memory clock cycle.
It always doubles.
Dram 400 x 2 equals 800 Mhz.
The CPU multiplier is fixed on the processor you own.
To achieve an overclock, you must choose a lower Dram clock speed—for example, 333Mhz—and adjust the HT multiplier in the BIOS to x4 for the link speed.
Then gradually increase from the base bus speed of 200 Mhz.
This will progressively raise the CPU's running speed.
You might reach speeds between 218 and 224 before the system freezes or crashes when using Windows.
I believe the maximum I reached on my old M2N board was around 224Mhz.
Regardless, this is what you need to do to successfully overclock the Phenom II X4 945 CPU.
Hope this helps and all the best.
Very Useful information. Thank you. Funny thing is when I set the HT link to auto in the BIOS it defaults to 4x but when I manually pick 5x in the BIOS it is still shown as 4x in CPU-Z. I managed to use the Nvidea performance app to increase it to 5x. This was the tool I used to raise the bus speed from 200 to 206, which seemed safe and straightforward. Most of my attempts to tweak OC settings in the BIOS have resulted in POST failures or simply not applying the changes even after confirming them. Perhaps the BIOS version I'm using is outdated—I thought I had the latest, but it was noted that I need 5001 while running 1103. At least now I can reach HT link speeds up to 1030.
I understand that the initial X2 and X4 range of Phenom CPUs had a physical hyper transport speed tied to the bus starting at about 800 Mhz. For later Phenom II CPUs, the HT speed could be adjusted to 1000 Mhz, which was partly because the controller managing these settings was integrated into the Phenom CPU itself. Nonetheless, if I'm being honest, memory doesn't help much when trying to overclock older CPUs that had multiplier locks, and achieving optimal performance is challenging. That's why I checked Tom's resources and discovered this thorough guide by Doa Jones. It provides detailed explanations of all the methods and step-by-step instructions.
I understand that from the initial X2 and X4 range of Phenom CPUs, the Physical Hyper transport speed connected to the bus began at approximately 800 Mhz. For later Phenom II CPUs, the HT speed could be adjusted to 1000 Mhz. This was partly because the controller managing HT settings was integrated into the Phenom CPU itself. If I'm being honest, memory doesn't help much when trying to overclock older CPUs that had multiplier locks, and achieving optimal performance is challenging. So I checked out Tom's guide by Doa Jones, which provides a thorough walkthrough of all the techniques and step-by-step instructions. It contains quite detailed information, showing exactly what to do. You can find it here: