DFI LANParty UT RDX200: ATI’s Crossfire AMD for the Bleeding Edge
by Wesley Fink on October 18, 2005 11:03 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Overclocking: DFI LANParty UT RDX200
The DFI matched the highest stock speed overclock that we have achieved with this Clawhammer 130nm processor. There is little to complain about with this kind of stock overclocking with this CPU.
When we discussed results with the DFI Design Engineer, we were told that our results were typical of what could be expected on this. The highest clock does not reach to 315 to 318 as a few other boards have because of the compromises made to achieve reliable operation with 4 double-sided DIMMs at 1T. However, most boards should be able to reach a 300 to 310 Clock frequency in overclocking with appropriate ratios.
| DFI LANParty UT RDX200 Overclocking Testbed |
|
| Processor(s): | Athlon 64 4000+ (2.4GHz, 1MB Cache) |
| CPU Voltage: | 1.425V (default 1.40V) |
| Cooling: | Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 Heatsink/Fan |
| Power Supply: | OCZ Power Stream 520W |
| Memory: | OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 (Samsung TCCD Memory Chips) |
| Hard Drive: | Seagate 120GB 7200RPM SATA 8MB Cache |
| Maximum OC: (Standard Ratio) |
245x12 (4x HT, 2.5-3-3-10) 2940MHz (+22.5%) |
| Maximum FSB: (Lower Ratio) |
305 x 9 (3x HT, 1T) (2718MHz, 2 DIMMs in DC mode) (+53% Bus Overclock) |
The DFI matched the highest stock speed overclock that we have achieved with this Clawhammer 130nm processor. There is little to complain about with this kind of stock overclocking with this CPU.
Lowering the multiplier to reach the highest CPU clock was a bit more difficult. While it was easy to reach a stable 270 with the default (mostly AUTO) memory timings in BIOS, getting to the eventual 305 proved more of a challenge. The design team tells us that the RDX200 was optimized for Crucial Ballistix 1GB DIMMs and not our standard OCZ TCCD DIMMs. We finally reached a stable 305 setting with the following settings:
- Tref (Refresh Period) - 2592
- DRAM Drive Strength - 7
- DRAM Data Drive Strength - 2
- Max Asynch Latency - 9
- Read Preamble Time - 6.5
When we discussed results with the DFI Design Engineer, we were told that our results were typical of what could be expected on this. The highest clock does not reach to 315 to 318 as a few other boards have because of the compromises made to achieve reliable operation with 4 double-sided DIMMs at 1T. However, most boards should be able to reach a 300 to 310 Clock frequency in overclocking with appropriate ratios.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
48 Comments
View All Comments
ozzimark - Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - link
it's very very very dependant on the cpu. notice that they used the FX-57 for those tests, which is a cpu that typically has some of the best memory controllers around.Wesley, how do 4xDS sticks perform with the 4000+?
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - link
THe 4DSx1T worked fine on the 4000+. The key to this feature is the DRAM Drive Strength option in the BIOS. With older A64 drive strength needs to be set at 14 to 15. You can get things to work with a bit less DRAM Drive Strength with the newer controllers like those on the FX57.We mainly used the FX57 in the iT tests becuase it's fast, and the high stock test numbers made it easier to see the impact of the iT Command Rate on the various memory configurations.
ozzimark - Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - link
awesome, thanks Wesley. that's definitly a good thing to knowmongoosesRawesome - Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - link
depends on how high your memory will clock, and at what timings.LoneWolf15 - Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - link
I'm trying to make sure I understand this quote, Wesley...at the end, were you trying to say that you get little additional performance with the 7800GTX when compared to the 7800GT?
dornick - Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - link
He means you're wasting your money to buy a 7800gtx and play games at those settings when there are plenty of cheaper cards out there that do the job just as well.j@cko - Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - link
can i use nVidia SLI on ATi mobo?Wesley Fink - Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - link
Not yet. I have seen nVidia SLI running on the ATI Crossfire board but it required hacked video drivers. You will not see this option, or the reverse, until nVidia and ATI sanction this in their drivers.