The Official OC (OverClocking) Thread!

That name is the HP/Compaq name for the board. It's actually an Asus A8M2N-LA board. It's a "proprietary HP board" which doesn't bode well!

Some interesting info here:
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?p=315974

 

lol heres a convo I just had with an HP tech rep


Scott : i have an a1268c pavillion

Sykes H: Okay
Scott : i want to overclockthe cpu but the BIOS has no advanced options

Scott : dont worry imnot going to file a warranty claim on a melted cpu
Sykes H: Please give me five minutes. I will check the system

configuration and will get back to you
Sykes H: Thank you for staying online.
Scott : no problem
Sykes H: Scott, I have checked the computer specification and found

that there is no over clocking feature is available. But I can provide

you some useful information about your motherboard if it is usefel
Sykes H: useful*
Sykes H: sorry for the typo
Scott : that would be great
Sykes H: Mother manufacturer's name: Asus
Sykes H: Motherboard name: A8M2N-LA
Sykes H: The HP name of the motherboard is: nodusM
Sykes H: System BIOS core brand: Award
Scott : yeah i racked my brain on all of that last night, it seems that

it is possible to oc the cpu if your LUCKY via software, so there is no

BIOS update available?
Sykes H: I have checked for BIOS update also. It is not yet available.
Scott : *crap*
Scott : lol
Sykes H: You may find all updates for your computer from the link:
Sykes H:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=228&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=

en&product=3214105&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN
Sykes H: But no BIOS updates.
Scott : guess ill just have to shop around for anew mobo thanks for all

your help
Sykes H: You are welcome
Sykes H: I am sorry that this motherboard does not support over

clocking
Scott : why is that...to avoid warranty claims? it is rather unusual
Sykes H: All the settings are set for optimal performance in BIOS
Sykes H: But Over clocking features are not not present for advanced

users like you
Scott : right, and If the cpu can be overclocked to atleast 2.4-2.9ghz

then that would tell me that it is not configured for optimal

performance
Scott : i figure it is to keep advanced users from buying a cheaper pc

and overclocking it to a more expensive one
Sykes H: Scott, actually over clocking is not recommended for most of

the cases. Though many are trying to do it.
Scott : obviously its not recommended due to the reaon i gave above ll

you need is an arctic chilling system and some knowhow, its not

recommended for people who dont know what theyre doing
Scott : i do and I cant and wasnt informed anywhere that this was not

possible had it been noted anywhere i would not have bought the pc
Sykes H: Scott.All motherboards does not support over clocking. I am

sorry that your motherboard does not support it.
Scott : why are you sorry?
Scott : haha im just messing with you man
Scott : its just bogus that it isnt noted on anywhere
Scott : thanks for the help
Sykes H: Scott, I would like to inform you that no motherboard from HP

will support over clocking because they are made in such a way that

over-cloking is
Sykes H: disabled because there is a lot of chance
Scott : basically hp is tellingme that they do not trust thier

customers
Sykes H: That most of the customer will be messing with these settings

and will burn their computer. But I know the advanced user like you

will need it
Scott : so your saying that i got owned via computer noobs!
Scott : haha
Sykes H: No.Scott.
Scott : no?
Sykes H: but I am saying that HP really trust customers.
Scott : but not enough to enable them to mess around with thier own

property?
Sykes H: Sorry Scott. no comments
Scott : OWNED!
Sykes H: Scott, pelase note that there is no over clocking feature is

available.
Scott : ill figure it out and ill be sure to let you know since i

already did it last night but didnt get the results i wanted
Sykes H: Okay. You may check for A8M2N-LA specification from Asus web

site.
Scott : asus doesnt even recognize that motherboard on thier site man
Sykes H: Then it is a custom made for Hp by Asus.
Scott : exactly what the public needs to be made aware of
Scott : you didnt even know that
Scott : maybe I should apply for a job there any openings?
Sykes H: Scott, please do not get angry on me. The over clocking is not

supported.
Scott : im not angry with you just the company you work for, imagine

this...i actually had a problem with the motherboard and needed to be

able to access the advanced settings...i be screwed because hp decided

theyd rather have you buy a new pc rather than google how to fix it
Scott: in which case you probably lost yourself a customer
Sykes H: There is no way to over clock the computer from HP. It is not

supported. I think it will be same with all computer manufacturers.

Most of the motherboards will be customer made/build.
Scott : if it was customer made/built then this customer would be able

to fully control the computer I paid for wouldnt I?
Sykes H: It depends on the motherboard he chooses. If the motherboard

supports over clocking. Then definitely he can try anything with it.
Scott : but hp doesnt offer it isnt that what you said?
Sykes H: Hp does not provide any motherboard with over clocking

features. It will be same with most of the computer manufacturers.
Scott : then why are you contradicting yourself?

then he got mad and ended the session....lesson learned..build it dont buy it!

 

koa_jesus,

Optimal, when it comes to Compaq, "Optimal" translates out to "Slow"! It's like giving you a gun and then welding the safety closed. After all, someone has to protect you from yourself! LOL!

I bought a new Dell 3000 P4 a while back thinking that I could do all these neat things much faster. It was slower than the P3 it replaced! Fortunately I was able to sell it without losing anything and built my own P4. While in this case it wasn't cheaper as I had to buy everything new, it was almost twice as fast! When I upgraded to a D-940, it cost me about $240 to upgrade the MB, CPU and Video!

Happy Computering,
theone

 

like the rep said there are very few pc manufactures that use high end feature rich mobo's. They design them to run at an optimal performance with the components used. it's not their fault. you can't blame HP. you got what you payed for. a feature rich OC'ing mobo costs much more. enthusiasts are aware of this and therefor buy each component indepently and built the pc themselves.

a lot of the time you can build your own pc cheaper even with better components because you are saving the cost of assembly.

 

Optimal performance? LOL I laugh, as if. Nice try HP. Afraid you just bought the OEM bullet. Do try that trick as mentioned in the forum thread i linked to above though, see if you get any results.

 

So in other words for me with the a1620.uk if I want to clock then its new motherboard time....? Guess its time to just save and build a new pc?

 

Afraid so yeah.

 

tinytom,
You will get lots of help here so don't let it all scare you. It's much easier today than when I started out almost 20 years ago. Good bunch of folks too!!

Happy Computering,
theone

 

thanks for the info sammoris it does enable me to change voltages and fan speeds by hitting F11, Im in the process of getting more info from e-support BIOS agent, heres a screenshot of the results of that, I was suprised to see they say that the 2.0Ghz 3800+ can go as fast as 3.7Ghz?!?!?!?!

 

It's as much a discussion forum as one for Questions and answers, but is there something you asked we've forgotten about?

 

anyone know where I can get a free BIOS update for my P.O.S.??

 

hey fellas, just got a question on the E4300 and overclocking, well its not so much a question, more of a need for reassurance lol. Im planning to use the E4300 in my build mainly since its so cheap, especially after the recent price cut, but I'm willing to buy a higher model if its necessary to achieve the 3.2Ghz (400x8)(1:1) overclock I want. Im going with an EVGA Nforce 680i, OCZ Platinum XTC REV.2 PC2-6400 4-4-4-15, Zalman CNPS9700NT, Antec 900 and so on. So basically is the E4300 'good' enough for this overclock and set up?, will it make it but die on me fast? It would be great to get to 3.2 stable with such a cheap chip, but I just wanna be sure...safe than sorry.

All help appreciated

Thanks

 

well to answer your last question, which nobody did beacues nobody is using a nf590 mobo.

no.

also if you had checked the post i made above your previous one you would of been able to see my (almost) full specs as it has a link to a cpuz validation in it.

you dont realy ask any questions, or if you do they are well hidden in your posts.

what exactly do you want to know?

your running at 2.85ghz with an amd x2 which is good going to start with, what other bits are in it? i know you have ASUS CROSSHAIR nVidia nForce 590i, AM2 X2 4200 (512x2 L2, 65w, 90nm ver). 512x2 PC4300 CORSAIR TWIN2X-4300C3PRO but what about cooling or your psu?

what are your temps?

what have you used to test for stability?


not everyone has all the answers if we dont have all the facts.

@esoteric
does this answer your question?

truth is not all cpus oc as well as each other and you may be unlucky and get a duffer. mine will hit higher fsb at lower multis but i run it 24/7 at this as it is cooler and needs less cooling (read makes less noise) on this voltage.

 

can anyone help me find a BIOS that is compatible with the A8M2N-LA or NodusM-GL8E so that I can flash a new BIOS into the board

 

@marsey99

whats your voltage on those 2?

thanks

 

sammorris; No prob there!. RE: "but is there something you asked we've forgotten about?" Not per say but was really looking for users overclocking the nVidia nF4 & 590i, or Intel editions 590i or 680i then to share comparibles "comps" or results,

marsey99; That is what I asked. You are the 1st one in many weeks to actually ask something back to folloew up. Lol!

For the nF4 ASUS A8N-SLI Premium w/ x2 4400 (ADV4400DAA6CD 89W/90nm) - CPU: 285x10 @ 1.350v (2.85g/1140HT), 4x HT @ 1.25, nF chipset @ 1.6v, DDR570, 1:1 @ 2.5-4-4-7, 2T @ 2.8v,

Loaded to descktop at CPU/MB = 38c/36c @ 1.31~1.34v
returned to 35c/36c @1.36 avg. aft 5Mins. as read by PC ProbeII. MB slowly warms to 38-39c during warm days.

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium BIOS v1009
Athlon 64 x2 4400+ (ADV4400DAA6CD) (89W/90nm)
OCZ PowerStream 520ADJ 520W (620 Peak)
2x BFG nVidia GeForce 6600GT OC 256MB
Corsair TWINx1024A-PC4400C2PT (2x512 dual ch kit)
Maxtor SATA2 200GB (40/150) Partitioned
OS: XP Pro x64 Edition w/ SP2 v2003
2x Raptor 74g, 10K RPM (RAID Ready pull from nF4 Intel Ed)
Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro w/MSC 3.2
latest BIOS as of 02-02-07

Will gather specs for CROSSHAIR soon and psot. (not that it will matter but will get em' to share)

I haven't got hold of any test apps as of yet but looking into it as we speak. Do you guys have a routine test prep and curriculum to go by? As for now I go by the old push, push, & slowly pull back till nice and steady for real world apps that I use. I do run a corse of these same apps in various rigs to comp time and performance overall. Not rocket science accurate but makes for fair refference point.

Nuckin Futs

 

For those who wanna know, This is not a new build. I built it almost 2 yrs ago with a (then decent CPU) A64 3800 OC'd on air to 2.6 as a decent daily user with very few crashes, but mostly due to software app test and family stressing it with high end PC games. For the 2nd year of its life, it has bean now running as the specs above for over 1 year to date and very stable.

So despite what a lot of you may have read of this mobo by ASUS, I have had good usage out of it in its 2 years. Only issue is the same but as on my CROSSHAIR and and older P5N32-SLI w/ heatpipe onboard, is they get warmer then as if on air. Any ideas as for replacing the mosfet coolers (custom copper heat sinkc) if removing the heatpipes off the chipset assy.?

 

esoteric,

I just got done building an E4300/Asus P5N-E for a young lady member here and the temps were laughably low (see benchmarks a couple of pages back in this thread). CPU idles at 29-32C and the MB never went over 38 while running OCCT for 12 hours. This was with a stock Intel cooler. I shipped it minus the stock cooler and she installed an Arctic Freezer 7 Pro when it got there and the temps are lower yet. It's running at 3.0GHz with just a mild 2 bump raise in CPU voltage and 1 bump to 2.1v in memory voltage. It's the luck of the draw. You get parts are at the top end of the scale and they mesh real well and good things happen.

I'm working on building another E4300 for myself, but this time with a GigaByte GA-965P-DS3 rev 1.33 motherboard which has more features than the rev. 1s or 2s, but not quite as many as the new version 3.3. Check it out here:
http://www.chiefvalue.com/product-_-productdetails.cv_-_item--13-128-042
It supports the 1333 bus and the Quad Core Extreme. Sound is only 6 channel but I only have Dolby PLII anyway so I don't care about that. It's at avery good price with the supplied link. At present, I've got everything but the memory and video card so I'm almost ready to go. I just hope I can get lucky for the second time in a row and get a decent OC. Like I say it's the luck of the draw!

Happy Computering,
theone