Overclocking the K6-III+ 400ATZ

Discussion relating to Socket 7 hardware.

Applying 2.1Volts to a 1.6Volt K6-III+ 400ATX is a:

Bad Idea - You were ripped off on Ebay badly dude!!
2
29%
Phhhfffttttt!!! No pain no gain! The CPU can take it man!!!
5
71%
 
Total votes: 7

Chips
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Overclocking the K6-III+ 400ATZ

Post by Chips »

OK, I want to hear from anyone who has been overclocking K6-III+ 400 ATZ CPUs to either 550mhz or 600mhz.

I've been reading some posts here in this forum suggesting that it's a really bad idea to run them at 2.1volts for several months (which is what you need to do to get them to go > 550Mhz).

I recently purchased two of these things after been told they were an "Overclocker's Dream" - I just don't want to turn them into "Overclocker's nightmares".

Here is the Ebay ad that makes the claims:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... %3AIT&rd=1
Jim
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RE: Overclocking the K6-III+ 400ATZ

Post by Jim »

First I would say that I have never owned a 400 ATZ, much less OCed one. Having said that, It is my opinion that they are either near or at the bottom of the line of K6-3+ processors. The 450 ACZ, 450 APZ, and 500 ANZ, in my opinion are all better, (and more expensive). Does this mean they cannot clock 600 MHz? No it does not. They can, but the voltage they require to do it is likely to be higher than the others I have mentioned. How much voltage is it safe to run in a K6-3+ processor? I don't know. I have never exceeded 2.1v. with any of the ones I have had; but those people who are OCing to very high speed levels are probably exceeding the limit that I use. The key there is cooling. According to TA152H, who knows a lot more about these things than I do, all the different types come from the same "wafer"; so in theory it should be safe to run any of them at the same voltage; but that is supposition on my part. If you have one that will do 600 MHz @ 2.1 v., then you have a processor that is as good as most. The one that will only do 550 MHz @ 2.1v. is somewhat inferior to the average ACZ, APZ, & ANZ. I hope that answers your question.
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Chips
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Post by Chips »

The one that only does 550Mhz is because the mobo doesn't like it running @ 600 otherwise it runs at 600 OK.

I have used reasonable fans/heatsinks and thermal compound so I'm not worried about heat - it's the 2.1Volts I'm putting into them that has me wondering. I guess only time will tell....

If someone is reading this post a few months after I've posted it, feel free to BUMP the thread and I'll update you all with how it's been going.
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Post by Jim »

Glad to hear they are both alright then. The 2.1 should by rights be ok; if it is ok for an ACZ; and they both come from the same wafer then it should be ok for yours too. Did not notice how old the post was, just noticed everybody was avoiding your question, so decided to give you a straight answer. BTW what temp are you getting under load @ 600 MHz?
Superpuppy 3
K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
2x256 Meg PC 133 Hynix SDRAM
1x 20G Maxtor (7200)
2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
8/4/3/12/24/16/32 LG Super Multi
ATI 9000 aiw Radeon AGP
SB Audigy 1 MP3 Sound
CMD 649 IDE Controller
NEC USB 2 Card
Chips
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Location: Adelaide, Australia

Post by Chips »

Well, I'm not sure how to measure it - All I know is that the heatsink was much cooler than running a K6-2 550!.

Are there any utilities I can run that probes the CPU, or does the BIOS/mobo have to support temperature reading?

I've got Sis Sandra and CPU-Z installed, but I don't think they report temperatures.
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Post by Jim »

Sandra does. Edit : I should have said that Sandra does, if your mobo has the necessary sensors to report it.
Superpuppy 3
K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
2x256 Meg PC 133 Hynix SDRAM
1x 20G Maxtor (7200)
2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
8/4/3/12/24/16/32 LG Super Multi
ATI 9000 aiw Radeon AGP
SB Audigy 1 MP3 Sound
CMD 649 IDE Controller
NEC USB 2 Card
sylvan2626
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Post by sylvan2626 »

A couple of other programs that will monitor temperatures are Everest Home Edition and Motherboard Monitor.

I am currently using one of these 400ATZ CPUs on an EPoX MVP3G2. I really like Motherboard Monitor because it will load a small temp display in the systray, thereby allowing me to keep a constant eye on temps as I play with the CPU/core voltage/speed settings.
Chips
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Post by Chips »

sylvan2626 wrote:...I am currently using one of these 400ATZ CPUs on an EPoX MVP3G2. ...
G'day Sylvan2626 - I think you are the same one from the PC Chips BBS - if so, I also have had some posts there - small world! :D

What core voltage and CPU speed do you run your ATZ with?

Also, Jim - I think I'm out of luck - I don't think my mobos have temperature sensors in them :( Thats Why sis sandra doesn't rerport anything - I've found only certain mobos have it. I'll try "Motherboard Monitor" just to make sure.

I use a similar utility on my Pentium M notebook called I8kfanGUI at http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/index.htmlthat gives me a system tray display of my CPU/GPU temps - very handy. 8)
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Radeon 9200SE, AMD K6-III+ 550Mhz, PC PARTNER VIA MVP3
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sylvan2626
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Post by sylvan2626 »

Hey, Chips, yep that's me at PC Chips BBS....

Core voltage and speed for the 400ATZ:
I haven't really settled on one yet. The board/CPU combination will run stably at 1.3V/400MHz up to 1.8V/550MHz on a 100MHz FSB and 112MHz FSB. I can boot up and load W2KPro at 2.1V/600MHz on 100MHz FSB, but I don't like that core voltage setting. I have not tried a FSB greater than 112MHz because I don't have PC133 RAM in my board yet. I think that I will eventually land upon a combination of low core voltage/moderate speed on a 100MHz FSB - probably something like 1.4 or 1.5V and 500MHz for this mobo and POSSIBLY passive CPU cooling. The passive cooling part is a goal - the summer months will determine the feasibility of that goal.
Jim
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Post by Jim »

Passive cooling; that is how TA152H half baked one of his 400ATZs. Though he was running at 550MHz. After a while of that; errors; had to back it off to 500MHz, (heat damaged), permanently thereafter. (Fair warning).
Superpuppy 3
K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
2x256 Meg PC 133 Hynix SDRAM
1x 20G Maxtor (7200)
2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
8/4/3/12/24/16/32 LG Super Multi
ATI 9000 aiw Radeon AGP
SB Audigy 1 MP3 Sound
CMD 649 IDE Controller
NEC USB 2 Card
sylvan2626
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Post by sylvan2626 »

Yeah, the risk of heat damage is why I use Motherboard Monitor (systray display) and have my CPU temperature alarm set for 70 Celcius. Using those two features allows me to closely monitor what's happening inside the box (whether I am running active or passive CPU cooling).

Still playing around with it.
Jim
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Post by Jim »

Useful that, (systray heat display), Where you get? Also, would set that temp warning lower if I were you, get errors below 50 C anyway.
Superpuppy 3
K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
2x256 Meg PC 133 Hynix SDRAM
1x 20G Maxtor (7200)
2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
8/4/3/12/24/16/32 LG Super Multi
ATI 9000 aiw Radeon AGP
SB Audigy 1 MP3 Sound
CMD 649 IDE Controller
NEC USB 2 Card
sylvan2626
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Post by sylvan2626 »

Motherboard Monitor home site is here: http://mbm.livewiredev.com/

That site has links to the mirror sites. I believe that I got mine from the MajorGeeks site here: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=311

I really like it - it's a shame that the author no longer supports it. (I think that the last update was in 2004, so it is OK for the motherboards that I am using.)


Jim,
On the 50 C thing - Are you saying that I MAY or WILL get errors at 50C or higher operating temperature?
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Post by Jim »

I have had them at less than that temp. (Though they may have not been heat related, I assumed they were.) Actually a K6+ should run in the high 30s at most. If you are getting 40 odd, it is either passive cooling or something wrong. (In my opinion). I always set my temp warning as low as it will go, (50 C), because these processors don't run that hot, unless something is wrong; - but then I am not a noise concerned person; I use HSF combos.

Actually recently I have been getting some errors from Superpuppy 2. Nothing serious, just annoying ones. What has concerned me is Sandra has sometimes reported the mobo as being running hotter than the processor, and I have never seen that before; but then I have never OCed the FSB before either.
Superpuppy 3
K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
2x256 Meg PC 133 Hynix SDRAM
1x 20G Maxtor (7200)
2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
8/4/3/12/24/16/32 LG Super Multi
ATI 9000 aiw Radeon AGP
SB Audigy 1 MP3 Sound
CMD 649 IDE Controller
NEC USB 2 Card
sylvan2626
Senior K6'er
Posts: 139
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2005 3:25 pm
Location: Florida, USA

Post by sylvan2626 »

What type of errors?

The 400ATZ that I am currently tinkering with runs in the upper 40s with medium-heavy to heavy CPU useage (while using active cooling, 1.8V and 550MHz on 100MHz FSB). If set at 400MHz and all other settings unchanged, then I get temps around 37-38 C. As I decrease multiplier and core volts, temperature falls (as expected). Haven't noticed any errors, though. What should I expect to see?
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