Software tweaks

Discuss software and how to tweak more performance out of your system.
Jim
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Post by Jim »

In the case of the DFI K6BV3+/66, I think the settings were set the way they were to allow the user to put in 3 pieces of cardboard in the DIMM slots and still be able to run 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
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theEMP
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Post by theEMP »

so if you know which registers to adjust in wpcredit, can you adjust voltage? Say perhaps on an OEM board of some type (HP, Dell, etc)
Jim
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Post by Jim »

For that you probably would need the Chipset datasheets. I have seen some power settings, ("read latch" etc), but not the main RAM voltage setting. That might be a "Reserved" setting of some sort.
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
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KachiWachi
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Post by KachiWachi »

I/O voltage is a hardware design function.

Something like "USB Drive Strength" might be available though.
Moderator - Wim's BIOS

PC #1 - DFI 586IPVG, K6-2/+ 450 (Cyrix MII 433), 128 MB EDO. BIOS patched by Jan Steunebrink.
PC #2 - Amptron PM-7900 (M520), i200 non-MMX, 128 MB EDO
PC #3 - HP8766C, PIII-667, 768 MB SDRAM
PC #4 - ASUS P3V4X, PIII-733, 256 MB SDRAM
PC #5 - Gateway 700X, P4-2.0 GHz, 768 MB PC800 RDRAM
PC #6 - COMPAQ Evo N1020v laptop, P4-2.4 GHz, 1 GB PC2700 DDR
PC #7 - Dell Dimension 4600i, P4-2.8 GHz, 512 MB PC2700 DDR
PC #8 - Acer EeePC netbook, Atom N270 @ 1.60 GHz, 1 GB RAM
PC #9 - ??? ;)
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theEMP
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Post by theEMP »

what about dividers KW? Can you run the cpu at 133 and the ram at 100?
Jim
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Post by Jim »

@ KachiWachi : Actually you can do quite a bit better than what you are saying w/ WPCredit. You are not taking into account the fact that there is a wide range of SDRAM quality available. Mobo designers have to choose settings that the RAM that is actually used will support, or risk having their products get a reputation for being difficult to get suitable RAM for.

The result is that the settings available in the bios only allow the user about half of the Memory Write performance; and three quarters of the Memory Read performance potential that can be achieved by using WPCredit to revise the settings to those which can only be supported w/ good quality SDRAM.

EDIT : @ The Emp : You can do that, (run the processor and RAM at different speed rates), with at least some VIA chipset boards. I know the DFI can do that.
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
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theEMP
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Post by theEMP »

EDIT : @ The Emp : You can do that, (run the processor and RAM at different speed rates), with at least some VIA chipset boards. I know the DFI can do that.
I know that's not the optimal way to run a chipset but it can give some ideas of what a processor or ram is truly capable of.

Thanks for the tip Jim :D
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KachiWachi
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Post by KachiWachi »

For the RAM, SPD usually takes care of that. The chipset should follow what the SPD tells it to do...assuming it has the capabilities to do so timing-wise.

As for other settings, those will depend on the combination you actually have there.

You can surely run the CPU and RAM at different speeds...if the chipset is designed to operate that way.
Moderator - Wim's BIOS

PC #1 - DFI 586IPVG, K6-2/+ 450 (Cyrix MII 433), 128 MB EDO. BIOS patched by Jan Steunebrink.
PC #2 - Amptron PM-7900 (M520), i200 non-MMX, 128 MB EDO
PC #3 - HP8766C, PIII-667, 768 MB SDRAM
PC #4 - ASUS P3V4X, PIII-733, 256 MB SDRAM
PC #5 - Gateway 700X, P4-2.0 GHz, 768 MB PC800 RDRAM
PC #6 - COMPAQ Evo N1020v laptop, P4-2.4 GHz, 1 GB PC2700 DDR
PC #7 - Dell Dimension 4600i, P4-2.8 GHz, 512 MB PC2700 DDR
PC #8 - Acer EeePC netbook, Atom N270 @ 1.60 GHz, 1 GB RAM
PC #9 - ??? ;)
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theEMP
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Post by theEMP »

KachiWachi wrote:For the RAM, SPD usually takes care of that. The chipset should follow what the SPD tells it to do...assuming it has the capabilities to do so timing-wise.

As for other settings, those will depend on the combination you actually have there.

You can surely run the CPU and RAM at different speeds...if the chipset is designed to operate that way.
well SPD is usually less than optimal ram timings.

KW, can your board run dividers? I realize the options are limited at best being that most of the chipsets are topping out around 133, but still it's nice to know what the options are.
Jim
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Post by Jim »

The VIA chipset allows for FSB speeds up to 150 Mhz. Whether or not that can actually be achieved is another matter entirely. I have never experimented w/ that sort of thing.

Another point worth mentioning is that the various ASUS Super 7 boards do allow you to vary the i/o voltage by way of onboard jumpers. Again that is something that I have not tried, because the nominal i/o voltage is supposed to be 3.3v; and the lowest setting the ASUS P5A-B has is 3.5v, (and that is UNDERSTATED, - ASUS overvolts beyond what they claim the voltage is for just about everything), and they go up from that to 3.6v, 3.8v, & 4.0v (Stated)
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
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KachiWachi
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Post by KachiWachi »

SPD should reflect the specifications of the installed components.

If not, then SPD as a whole becomes useless.

My board is old, so no clock dividers are possible. I either have to underclock, meet spec, or overclock my machine as a whole.

Since I run a SCSI card, which bases its timings from the PCI bus clock, overclocking my system is not an option at this time.

The only option I have is to create a synchronous clock doubler for the CPU clock. If possible, this would allow me to run my CPU closer to 600 MHz, without affecting other PC operations. This assumes that the CPU will take a 133 MHz input clock...which is above spec to begin with.
Moderator - Wim's BIOS

PC #1 - DFI 586IPVG, K6-2/+ 450 (Cyrix MII 433), 128 MB EDO. BIOS patched by Jan Steunebrink.
PC #2 - Amptron PM-7900 (M520), i200 non-MMX, 128 MB EDO
PC #3 - HP8766C, PIII-667, 768 MB SDRAM
PC #4 - ASUS P3V4X, PIII-733, 256 MB SDRAM
PC #5 - Gateway 700X, P4-2.0 GHz, 768 MB PC800 RDRAM
PC #6 - COMPAQ Evo N1020v laptop, P4-2.4 GHz, 1 GB PC2700 DDR
PC #7 - Dell Dimension 4600i, P4-2.8 GHz, 512 MB PC2700 DDR
PC #8 - Acer EeePC netbook, Atom N270 @ 1.60 GHz, 1 GB RAM
PC #9 - ??? ;)
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theEMP
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Post by theEMP »

spd on the whole is pretty useless, it's a rough guideline at very best.

SPD only reflects what the ram manufactuer believes the ram will run at across the board.

@Jim: well if you can run the fsb at 150 and the ram at 133 or 100..then you might have something. Depending on your results.

@KW: synchronous clock doubler...tell me more :D
Jim
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Post by Jim »

The RAM speed is not the problem. There is PC150 SDRAM available. Problem is will the chipset, various other mobo components, and processor take going that far overboard?
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
User avatar
theEMP
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Post by theEMP »

Hard to say Jim, all my thoughts are purely theortical at this point in the game.

It's not as if chipset coolers are hard to come by though.

http://www.svc.com/chipset-cooler.html

or for ramsinks and sinks for mosfets

http://www.jab-tech.com/Motherboard-Chi ... c-225.html

I don't know how far a K6 will go.... most of the world record databases don't go back that far.
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KachiWachi
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Post by KachiWachi »

Keeping things cool isn't a cure-all.

Timing requirements must still be met. If they aren't, then you can't go that fast.

Thanks.
Moderator - Wim's BIOS

PC #1 - DFI 586IPVG, K6-2/+ 450 (Cyrix MII 433), 128 MB EDO. BIOS patched by Jan Steunebrink.
PC #2 - Amptron PM-7900 (M520), i200 non-MMX, 128 MB EDO
PC #3 - HP8766C, PIII-667, 768 MB SDRAM
PC #4 - ASUS P3V4X, PIII-733, 256 MB SDRAM
PC #5 - Gateway 700X, P4-2.0 GHz, 768 MB PC800 RDRAM
PC #6 - COMPAQ Evo N1020v laptop, P4-2.4 GHz, 1 GB PC2700 DDR
PC #7 - Dell Dimension 4600i, P4-2.8 GHz, 512 MB PC2700 DDR
PC #8 - Acer EeePC netbook, Atom N270 @ 1.60 GHz, 1 GB RAM
PC #9 - ??? ;)
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