Overclocking the 4200+
Like other "performance-rated" AMD processors, the 4200+ is locked at the top. In this case the 4200+ multiplier is fixed at a maximum of 11. As with all AMD Athlon64 processors, however, you can select ratios below 11. Only the AMD FX chips are unlocked at both the top and bottom of their range.| Front Side Bus Overclocking Testbed | |
| DFI LANParty nF4 SLI-DR | |
| Processor | Athlon 64 x2 4200+ (2.2GHz, 512KB Cache each core) |
| CPU Voltage | 1.55V (default 1.30V) |
| Cooling | Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 Heat sink/Fan |
| Power Supply | OCZ Power Stream 520W |
| Memory | OCZ PC3200 EL Platinum Rev. 2 (Samsung TCCD Memory Chips) |
| Hard Drive | Seagate 120GB 7200RPM SATA 8MB Cache |
| Maximum OC (Standard Ratio) |
245x11 (Auto HT, 2.5-3-3-7, 1T, 2.8V) 2695MHz (+22.5%) |
| Maximum FSB (Lower Ratio) |
326x8 (2608MHz) (Auto HT, 2.5-4-3-7, 2.9V) (1:1 Memory, 1T, 2 DIMMs in DC mode) (+63% Bus Overclock) |
For an early x2 Athlon64 processor the overclocking performance on air is impressive. The next speed step of 2.4GHz (4600+) was easily reached, and we moved on past the next logical step of 2.6GHz to 2.7GHz. This is faster than any of the currently available Dual-Core Athlons. We should mention that 240x11 (2.64GHz) was an extremely easy and stable reach. That speed required just 1.45V, was exceptionally stable, and ran quite cool. The last 55MHz required a great deal more voltage and generated a lot more heat. For day in and day out the 240 setting (2.64GHz) would be our choice with this CPU (stock 2.2GHz) on air.
In testing for the highest CPU Frequency a new record for TCCD memory was achieved. 326 or DDR652 is the highest yet achieved with these double-sided 512MB OCZ PC3200 EL Platinum Rev 2 modules. This improved performance of the TCCD memory is likley the result of an improved memory controller on the dual-core CPU.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
53 Comments
View All Comments
Viditor - Thursday, June 23, 2005 - link
"$500 would get you started on an Intel i955 motherboard and cpu, so why would you invest in the end-of-the-road on AMD socket 939 and old DDR1? It's crazy"Because we're more interested in computers than space heaters? :-)
porkster - Thursday, June 23, 2005 - link
$500 would get you started on an Intel i955 motherboard and cpu, so why would you invest in the end-of-the-road on AMD socket 939 and old DDR1? It's crazy..
dumbnewbie - Thursday, June 23, 2005 - link
Can anyone speculate as to when a <12" laptop would be made with a dualcore (if at all)?LoneWolf15 - Thursday, June 23, 2005 - link
Would have been nice to see the X2 4400+ in this mix too. It would answer several questins:a)Do the 1MB caches make it harder to overclock, or does it still go as high as the 512k models?
b)Will the extra cache make for a worthwhile performance increase over the 512k model for the extra $50 or so, and if it does, which apps could benefit the most?
I think most of us won't be able to afford the $800-$1,000 chips, but if you're going to spend for the 4200+, you might consider spending the extra for the 4400+ if it yielded more benefits. It'd be worth knowing.
cryptonomicon - Thursday, June 23, 2005 - link
hmm, this isnt that interesting, except it shows that the chip can OC... but its logical to assume it could hit the 2.5-2.8ghz ceiling like most a64s on the market right now. it would have been impressive if it did 3g.now the more interesting thing was the TCCD overclock. to me this indicates that AMD has worked on creating a much more robust memory controller. that was the main weakness of the a64 chip, and with it improved, some amazing ram OCs will be possible.
yacoub - Thursday, June 23, 2005 - link
So is a 4200+ running at 2.64GHz a 5000+? :)Does that make a 4400+ at similar speeds a 5200+?
yacoub - Thursday, June 23, 2005 - link
*about to turn to Page 2*Sweet! I hope they stick Rome: Total War in their gaming test comparisons! I'd love to see if having a dual-core chip runs the game smoother during large battles, as that would directly influence my coming PC upgrade.
*skips ahead quickly to Gaming Performance page and looks at game titles on charts*
Oh well, maybe one day... =\
ceefka - Thursday, June 23, 2005 - link
Like Dubb said, it would be interesting to see how these X2's stack up against 2 CPU (Opteron and Xeon) workstations.I like the idea of a 4400+ in my new DAW. An X2 with the right chipset should be able to handle massive loads of multitrack audio, not just 5.1.
Wesley, can you do a Thonex in the next dual-core Intel vs AMD comparison? A 2-3 year old PC would be brought to its knees, it's quite a heavy thing. The point is to get that whole load to play at the least possible latency and compare CPU-loads. Please include a nF3 board also when you do get to this.
Diasper - Thursday, June 23, 2005 - link
Aboput my point earlier - of course at this stage it may be somewhat problematic to check against all those questions as alot of things eg gaming will be testing only 1CPU etc - but suffice to say some sort of projections should be able to be made when we might have a game drawing on both CPUS simultaneously.A challenge :)
Any game demos for dual cores out there to test against?
MAME - Thursday, June 23, 2005 - link
you should have included a stock 4800+ to the benchmarks for a good comparison