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I posted this elsewhere and thought to throw it onthese forums too. I've played with this bios quite a bit now; I can give you some of my experiences -- I'll start with the voltages.
Keep in mind every board varies one way or another. Some boards breach 500+ fsb; mine maxed at 470.
Rule #1: Use at *least* the P22 bios. My overclocking was aweful with P21.
Voltages:
Note: All voltage "sweet spots" were found using air cooling. My "system" temperture sensor on the mobo reads 90-95f when the case is open, depending on the cpu load. This is in florida and during these tests I had the AC off and the windows open. I use a scythe infinity on the CPU and the provided evga fan on the northbridge. Both fans are set at 100% 24/7.
CPU: Varies, but don't be overly conservative.
The more voltage the more mhz, until you hit a heat ceiling. Just monitor your temps is all. With each increase in voltage, my system ran even more stable in orthos. However, I stopped at 1.55v because -- with the infinity cooler -- my cpu hits 69c-70c under long load running orthos, and this is generally accepted as the absolute max. More conservative persons will definately want a lower max cpu temp, and hence a lower voltage. Those with water cooling shouldn’t be afraid of going a little higher on voltage, unless they want to try and run their system for many years before upgrading (more voltage puts more stress on the cpu). Overvolted cpu's can still run a long time, however.
FSB: 1.3 - 1.4:
This setting worked best for fsb voltage for me. Upping to 1.5 or lowering to 1.2 makes my system less stable in orthos. The "auto" setting should bump you to 1.4v. I had the same results with 1.3 and 1.4; so I stuck with 1.3.
MEM: stock at first; re-visit later.
When first OC'ing your CPU, I recommend sticking this at stock voltage and with unlinked mem. OC your CPU until you hit a wall. Once you find your highest CPU speed under orthos/dual prime, then you can later go back to OC'oing your ram. This will rule the ram out of the equation.
Try to avoid the "Auto" setting here, as your mobo might choose the wrong voltage for your memory. Find what your memory is supposed to be set at stock, and set it there for now.
NB: 1.4v - 1.45
Overclocking the NB allowed me to reach a slightly higher FSB. Without increasing this from stock, I cannot post at 470mhz FSB; although I can post at stock voltage at slightly less than 470. 1.4v was my most stable settings with orthos; any more or any less caused more instability.
SB: 1.5v
I set this at the minimal 1.5v setting. I 've only gained less stability when increasing this setting.
HT: 1.45 - 1.5
Increasing the voltage on the hypertransport bus between the NB and the SB greatly helped my overclock. The "auto" setting will bump this up to about 1.45. 1.45v ran most stable for me. At my current overclock, if I lower this one setting enough my system will not even post.
With the above settings my 6400 is presently running 3500mhz cpu, 1800mhz fsb(450x8), 1200mhz memory(600ddr, 3/2 ratio) orthos stable. I can get the cpu and FSB to run a bit higher, but my memory wont budge any further.
I hope this saves you a bit of time; please add your own experiences.
Cheers.
Keep in mind every board varies one way or another. Some boards breach 500+ fsb; mine maxed at 470.
Rule #1: Use at *least* the P22 bios. My overclocking was aweful with P21.
Voltages:
Note: All voltage "sweet spots" were found using air cooling. My "system" temperture sensor on the mobo reads 90-95f when the case is open, depending on the cpu load. This is in florida and during these tests I had the AC off and the windows open. I use a scythe infinity on the CPU and the provided evga fan on the northbridge. Both fans are set at 100% 24/7.
CPU: Varies, but don't be overly conservative.
The more voltage the more mhz, until you hit a heat ceiling. Just monitor your temps is all. With each increase in voltage, my system ran even more stable in orthos. However, I stopped at 1.55v because -- with the infinity cooler -- my cpu hits 69c-70c under long load running orthos, and this is generally accepted as the absolute max. More conservative persons will definately want a lower max cpu temp, and hence a lower voltage. Those with water cooling shouldn’t be afraid of going a little higher on voltage, unless they want to try and run their system for many years before upgrading (more voltage puts more stress on the cpu). Overvolted cpu's can still run a long time, however.
FSB: 1.3 - 1.4:
This setting worked best for fsb voltage for me. Upping to 1.5 or lowering to 1.2 makes my system less stable in orthos. The "auto" setting should bump you to 1.4v. I had the same results with 1.3 and 1.4; so I stuck with 1.3.
MEM: stock at first; re-visit later.
When first OC'ing your CPU, I recommend sticking this at stock voltage and with unlinked mem. OC your CPU until you hit a wall. Once you find your highest CPU speed under orthos/dual prime, then you can later go back to OC'oing your ram. This will rule the ram out of the equation.
Try to avoid the "Auto" setting here, as your mobo might choose the wrong voltage for your memory. Find what your memory is supposed to be set at stock, and set it there for now.
NB: 1.4v - 1.45
Overclocking the NB allowed me to reach a slightly higher FSB. Without increasing this from stock, I cannot post at 470mhz FSB; although I can post at stock voltage at slightly less than 470. 1.4v was my most stable settings with orthos; any more or any less caused more instability.
SB: 1.5v
I set this at the minimal 1.5v setting. I 've only gained less stability when increasing this setting.
HT: 1.45 - 1.5
Increasing the voltage on the hypertransport bus between the NB and the SB greatly helped my overclock. The "auto" setting will bump this up to about 1.45. 1.45v ran most stable for me. At my current overclock, if I lower this one setting enough my system will not even post.
With the above settings my 6400 is presently running 3500mhz cpu, 1800mhz fsb(450x8), 1200mhz memory(600ddr, 3/2 ratio) orthos stable. I can get the cpu and FSB to run a bit higher, but my memory wont budge any further.
I hope this saves you a bit of time; please add your own experiences.
Cheers.