How do I pump up a CPU's core voltage?
 

I'd like to pump up the core voltage on an unstable CPU I have (it sometimes
crashes while trying to load Windows XP and I'm having difficulties
unzipping large files. When I check the System using Control Panel, the
computer reports having an AMD Duron Processor that runs at 1.3 GHz. In
BIOS, the PnP settings inform me that the machine's processor is "Pro 2000+"
and that the machine's core voltage is 1.808. I'd like to raise the core
voltage to 2.0 to see if that improves my system's stability. However, I've
never overclocked a machine and I'm not sure what I have to do to the
processor in order to raise the voltage manually. I can't get it higher than
1.808 in BIOS. Does anyone here know of a website that could assist me in my
overclocking efforts?

-Rob

Rob wrote:
I'd like to pump up the core voltage on an unstable CPU I have (it
sometimes crashes while trying to load Windows XP and I'm having
difficulties unzipping large files. When I check the System using
Control Panel, the computer reports having an AMD Duron Processor
that runs at 1.3 GHz. In BIOS, the PnP settings inform me that the
machine's processor is "Pro 2000+" and that the machine's core
voltage is 1.808. I'd like to raise the core voltage to 2.0 to see if
that improves my system's stability. However, I've never overclocked
a machine and I'm not sure what I have to do to the processor in
order to raise the voltage manually. I can't get it higher than
1.808 in BIOS. Does anyone here know of a website that could assist
me in my overclocking efforts?

Your CPU should definitively show up as a Duron 1300, so you might have
a problem with that, not the voltage. 1,8V should be perfectly enough
for this chip, as you're overvolting it already.
Which mobo?
Set system bus to 100MHz and see. You might have to change a jumper on
your board. The manual can be found online.

"Egil Solberg" wrote in message
...
Rob wrote:
I'd like to pump up the core voltage on an unstable CPU I have (it
sometimes crashes while trying to load Windows XP and I'm having
difficulties unzipping large files. When I check the System using
Control Panel, the computer reports having an AMD Duron Processor
that runs at 1.3 GHz. In BIOS, the PnP settings inform me that the
machine's processor is "Pro 2000+" and that the machine's core
voltage is 1.808. I'd like to raise the core voltage to 2.0 to see if
that improves my system's stability. However, I've never overclocked
a machine and I'm not sure what I have to do to the processor in
order to raise the voltage manually. I can't get it higher than
1.808 in BIOS. Does anyone here know of a website that could assist
me in my overclocking efforts?

Your CPU should definitively show up as a Duron 1300, so you might have
a problem with that, not the voltage. 1,8V should be perfectly enough
for this chip, as you're overvolting it already.
Which mobo?
Set system bus to 100MHz and see. You might have to change a jumper on
your board. The manual can be found online.

I have an M810D Socket A motherboard. I have the manual, but I don't see an
option for changing the system bus speed. I've conducted further research
and see that 1.75 volts is nominal for a Duron 1300. My system seems to be
overheating at higher voltages (it reached over 120 F), so now I'd like to
set the processor's jumpers to a lower value instead of a higher one. "Pro
2000+" is written on the fan that goes over the processor, but when I
removed the fan to look at the processor underneath, it was a Duron 1300.
I'm not sure what the jumpers on the Duron processor do, but I'm guessing
one can help me manually lower the voltage so that my system doesn't
overheat? If all else fails, I suppose I could buy a more powerful heat sink
/ cooling fan.

-Rob

Rob wrote:

I have an M810D Socket A motherboard. I have the manual, but I don't
see an option for changing the system bus speed. I've conducted
further research and see that 1.75 volts is nominal for a Duron 1300.
My system seems to be overheating at higher voltages (it reached over
120 F), so now I'd like to set the processor's jumpers to a lower
value instead of a higher one. "Pro 2000+" is written on the fan that
goes over the processor, but when I removed the fan to look at the
processor underneath, it was a Duron 1300.

I thought you said that "Pro 2000+" was shown at BIOS startup screen?
Pro2000+ is probably only some specification for your heatsink/fan
combo, then.


I'm not sure what the
jumpers on the Duron processor do, but I'm guessing one can help me
manually lower the voltage so that my system doesn't overheat? If all
else fails, I suppose I could buy a more powerful heat sink / cooling
fan.

Be sure that you use a thermal interface material and use it properly.
If the HSF had a thermal pad, you should not use paste at the same time.
Remove pad and reapply paste in a very thin layer, and only on hte CPU
core itself.

I see you have a PCchips mobo, oh no. What does it read out for CPU
speed when you boot the computer?

"Egil Solberg" wrote:

I have an M810D Socket A motherboard. I have the manual, but I don't
see an option for changing the system bus speed. I've conducted
further research and see that 1.75 volts is nominal for a Duron 1300.
My system seems to be overheating at higher voltages (it reached over
120 F), so now I'd like to set the processor's jumpers to a lower
value instead of a higher one. "Pro 2000+" is written on the fan that
goes over the processor, but when I removed the fan to look at the
processor underneath, it was a Duron 1300.

I thought you said that "Pro 2000+" was shown at BIOS startup screen?
Pro2000+ is probably only some specification for your heatsink/fan
combo, then.

Yeah, Pro 2000+ is shown in the BIOS instead of "Duron" and there's no
way for me to change it. I even tried resetting the CMOS to see if
"Duron" would show up, but "Pro2000" showed up again.

I'm not sure what the
jumpers on the Duron processor do, but I'm guessing one can help me
manually lower the voltage so that my system doesn't overheat? If all
else fails, I suppose I could buy a more powerful heat sink / cooling
fan.

Be sure that you use a thermal interface material and use it properly.
If the HSF had a thermal pad, you should not use paste at the same time.
Remove pad and reapply paste in a very thin layer, and only on hte CPU
core itself.

When I removed the heatsink/fan to check if the processor underneath
was actually an AMD Duron processor, I accidentally touched the
thermal compound. I didn't know what it was, so I searched online and
found out about its importance. When I look for a more powerful
heatsink/fan, I'll buy thermal compound. Part of the overheating
problem might be due to incorrectly applied thermal compound.

What do you recommend for removing the paste that's on the CPU chip
now?

I see you have a PCchips mobo, oh no. What does it read out for CPU
speed when you boot the computer?

Is the PCchips mobo prone to failures? It used to print a page that
let me know the computer's specifications at startup, but I changed
some BIOS settings and now it doesn't, so I don't know what CPU speed
it reports. The System area in the Windows XP Control Panel reported
1.3 GHz, though.

-Rob

Duron 1300 MHz is aka Pro 2000+
Notably ECS and PCChips motherboards tend to show this misleading cpu
indicator, but next to that there is nothing to worry about it.

Considering the fact that your system is unstable and the Duron is
overvoltaged already, you may want to suspect a different hardware piece,
like the memory, that is causing instability.

--
V