Soltek SL75DRV5 - setting up for PC2700 RAM problems - newbie, please help

[chris@dvddebate]

Hi guys, I hope that you can help.

I have built a PC based around the Soltek SL75DRV5 motherboard. I have one stick of 512MB DDR (PC2700) 333 RAM. Am I right in thinking that this should make the FSB run at 166mhz?

I have tried upping the FSB using the Overclock Doctor thingy in the BIOS, but it will only let me OC it to 138MHZ from the original 133MHZ. If I go any higher the machine becomes unstable and refuses to load.

Do I need to make any changes to the motherboard dip switches?


The specs for my new machine:

Athlon 2000XP processor
Soltek SL75DRV5 motherboard (overclocked to 138Mhz)
512Mb DDR (PC2700) 333 ram
GeForce 4 Ti4200 graffix card (overclocked to 300/600)


My 3DMark is 10300. I was expecting a score of around the 11500 mark... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[KingJackal]

Originally posted by chris@dvddebate
Hi guys, I hope that you can help.

I have built a PC based around the Soltek SL75DRV5 motherboard. I have one stick of 512MB DDR (PC2700) 333 RAM. Am I right in thinking that this should make the FSB run at 166mhz?

Wrong. It makes bugger all difference unless you overclock ( literally, I mean ZERO difference ).

I have tried upping the FSB using the Overclock Doctor thingy in the BIOS, but it will only let me OC it to 138MHZ from the original 133MHZ. If I go any higher the machine becomes unstable and refuses to load.

Do I need to make any changes to the motherboard dip switches?


No, you need to UNLOCK your chip. Try a Google (http://www.google.com/) search for 'Athlon XP unlocking'.

Basically, when you up that fsb by 10%, the chip's speed get's 10% higher. than means 10% more heat, so you'll need 10% better cooling. That also means 10% more power-draw, so you may need to increase the voltage to keep it stable ( NOT reccomended unless you know what you're doing - I take NO responsibility if you fry it ).


My 3DMark is 10300. I was expecting a score of around the 11500 mark... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Make sure you've done the following:
Turned off V-Sync
Turned LOD down low
Set all Direct-X defaults toward speed
Turned off Antialising
Turned off Anisotropic Filtering
etc
etc
etc

....I could blab on all day about tweaks to get more 3D Marks, but rather than spending the next 4 hours typing, I suggest you go do some reading:

To understand memory a bit better ( and WHY PC2700 is no faster ), read my article here:
http://www.radiativenz.com/guides/memoryguide/index.shtml

To get some of the most basic tweaks working for 3D Mark, try this older article I wrote here:
http://www.radiativenz.com/guides/tweakguide/index.shtml

Note that nVmax is no longer being supported. I would suggest trying RivaTuner.

Welcome to the world of overclocking and tweaking - you have much reading ahead of you.... :)
( but it's worth it )

[AcurA]

with that chipset (KT333) - u can run your Mem @ 166 while still running @ 133 FSB. Makes no much diff though... but does a little... and since your ram is speced as such - why not.

U should be able to see what i'm talking bout in your BIOS settings for RAM timing.

[chris@dvddebate]

Thanx for the replies guys...

I have checked the BIOS further and it does indeed look as if it is set correctly and currently has the RAM clocked to 166mhz.

Is there anything else in the BIOS that should be manually set to increase performance? I'm only wondering as my 3dMark (~10300) seems low compared to others with the same un-clocked spec as mine.

[Humantuckshop]

Overclock Doctor thingy? Do you mean the Redstorm Overclocking utility? Don't use that it's a bunch of arse. I used that on my old Soltek 75KAV - all it did was increase the FSB by 10MHz. :rolleyes:


Also, do you know what KT333 chipset revision you have? If you have the 'C' revision, then FSB overclocking won't be happening. If you have the 'D' revision chip then you shouldn't have any FSB overclocking issues.

Some good BIOS tweaks for extra performance are memory settings. Set the CAS or DRAM Timings to 2 instead of 2.5 and (if applicable) set a 4-way interleave and set the command rate to 1T. I haven't used a Soltek DRV5 so I'm not too sure about the memory options in the BIOS.........

If you are new to the world of overclocking I suggest you read whetu's overclocking FAQ: http://forums.overclockers.co.nz/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1096