For this quasi-advanced overclocking tutorial, assuming the overclocker knows the basics, I am using an AMD Phenom II X4 Socket AM2+ 940 BE CPU w/an ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe motherboard w/the 790FX NorthBridge and SB600 SouthBridge.

CPU overclock settings

The AMD Phenom II 940 BE is 3.0GHz from factory in which the speed is determined by multiplying the FSB (Front Side Bus) setting (200 by default) and the CPU multiplier. If you do not own a Black Edition CPU, the CPU multiplier will be locked meaning you have to increase the FSB in order to overclock your CPU, but, by doing this, you also overclock your RAM (memory) as its speed is determined by the FSB x Memory Divider. Thus, if you have to increase the FSB, adjust the memory divider accordingly to avoid running your memory faster than what it can support. Memory settings are explained in greater detail on my other overclocking guide for Athlon X2s.

Now, assuming we don't want to mess around w/the FSB speed, we can use the BE--Black Edition--unlocked multiplier to make the CPU faster. You should be able to go from an overclock of 0% - 29% using your stock cooler. Phenom II 940 X4 CPUs are stable @ 3.4GHz w/no voltage increase.

To go above 3.4GHz, you will need to voltage bump the CPU. Socket AM2 Phenoms are, generally, stable up to 3.8GHz @ 1.52v but I do not like running that much voltage and possibly shortening my CPU life-span so I run it at 3.4GHz w/the stock voltage setting of 1.35v. For the 3.4 - 3.7GHz range, you should be running the voltage around 1.45v; 3GHz - 3.4GHz @ stock voltage or below if you can, 3.4GHz - 3.6GHz @ 1.35v to 1.4v, 3.6GHz - 3.8GHz @ 1.4v to 1.45v, 3.8GHz - 4GHz @ 1.45v to 1.5v, and anything above 4GHz @ +1.55v if you're feeling froggy.

They say that in order to avoid bottlnecking a CrosssfireX rig, you need your Phenom II X4 @ 3.8GHz or higher but this is incorrect. As of late, I've been running my Phenom @ 3.4GHz w/two HD4870s and the CPU has never been above 75% usage under heavy game load. It's usually around...

Various Vista Speed Tweaks

DisablePagingExecutive: this tweak is intended to load the OS kernel onto the RAM; it is intended for systems w/512MB of RAM or greater. I'd recommend 2GB - 4GB for Vista systems.

Open Registery Editor; run/regedit.

-- navigate to: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

-- right click on DisablePagingExecutive and select modify. Enter a new DWORD Value of 1 instead of 0. Save. Reboot.

Unneeded Windows Services: the following services can be safely disabled for gaming rigs.

-- To disable services, open services.msc by pressing the Windows key + r (open a run box) and typing services.msc in it. Right click on each service you want to disable and select Properties. First, stop the services if it is running and then by set it to disabled.

1. Certificate Propagation -- creates certificates from smart cards.

2. Offline Files -- the Offline Files service performs maintenance activities on the Offline Files cache, responds to user logon and logoff events, implements the internals of the public API, and dispatches interesting events to those interested in Offline Files activities and changes in cache state.

3. Remote Registry -- enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer. If this service is stopped, the registry can be modified only by users on this computer. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.

- THIS IS A SECURITY RISK AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DISABLING IT.

4. Smart Card and Smart Card Removal Policy -- disable this if you don't use smart cards.

5. Windows Defender -- Windows Defender sucks balls.

6. Windows Firewall -- Windows Firewall sucks balls. Use a firewall like NetLimiter 2 Pro, ZoneAlarm, Comodo, etc.

7. Diagnostic Policy Service -- I don't need Windows telling me something is wrong and pointing me in the wrong direction for a fix. I'll diagnose the problem myself. Thanks, MS.

Dual/Quad-core boot

-- run msconfig- navigate...

Initial Load Screen -- An example of the first screen to idle after pressing Delete to enter BIOS upon system boot. Welcome to BIOS.

IDE -- IDE options typically common for storage devices/HDDs:

-- 16-bit data transfer is enabled by default usually, I enable 32-bit transfer always to double the bus. Data transfer is full-duplex.

Core System Configuration pt.1, pt.2 -- The Fun Stuff:

-- For overclockers, there are a few options here to toy with. One can typically choose the preset overclock profiles from the default BIOS or push further.

-- In order to go further, select Manual AI Overclocking. Research the CPU you are running and find if others have tips for it. This is up to you how far you want to push your clock. A good aftermarket heatsink/fan combo is recommended if you are playing around in this area. Don't fry your CPU.

-- Voltages will have to be raised incrementally in order to achieve stable overclocks. Raise the FSB in 3-5MHz intervals. There is no method to the madness here besides using common sense and monitoring temperatures after new clocks and/or voltages are applied. Do your research on what your CPU temperature thresholds are and monitor accordingly. Go slow. Measure twice, cut once.

Memory Configuration -- Advanced options for memory:

-- This is based on the type of memory you are running. Research what your memory can do and enter the data accordingly.

DRAM Timing -- Advanced Memory Timing:

-- If you are running high quality RAM, try and run more aggressive timings for your memory to maximize system "snappiness" and performance.

-- Run CPU-Z and click on the SPD Tab is probably the easiest way to find out what your RAM is capable of. Write down what the voltages should be and the timing. Enter the data accordingly.

-- DISCLAIMER: THIS IS THE #1 CAUSE OF SYSTEM INSTABILITY.

- If overclocking, run easy/loose timings for your memory until you find out your set CPU overclock. Once you know your CPU settings, THEN tweak memory.

- It is...

NETWORKING PROBLEMS OF VISTA AND ROUTERS THAT MS IGNORES.


A: Vista TCP/IP scaling crashes older routers.

--It is related to a bug with a new feature called "Scaling," or, to be more precise, TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol) Auto Scaling and the RWIN (Receive Window) tuning.

--Microsoft claims it is not a bug - it is a feature - and blames router manufacturers and the affected models which don't support this new feature. Scapegoating router manufacturers for an option that wasn't supported previously by Windows operating systems is classic Bill Gates. Their inept handling of this flaw crash many local area networks which aren't likely to ever have their firmware patched to support this new feature.

** How to check your TCP Tuning/Scaling in Vista:

1. Open elevated command prompt with administrator’s privileges:
(run -> cmd and hit control-shift-enter or right-click on the command prompt under Windows accessories and select run as admin).

2. Type the following command and press Enter:

netsh interface tcp show global

--The system will display the following where you can check on the AutoTuning setting:

Querying active state…

TCP Global Parameters
———————————————-
Receive-Side Scaling State : enabled
Chimney Offload State : enabled
Receive Window Auto-Tuning Level : normal
Add-On Congestion Control Provider : none
ECN Capability : disabled
RFC 1323 Timestamps : disabled


** How to Disable TCP Auto-Tuning in Vista:

1. Open elevated command prompt with administrator’s privileges.

2. Type the following command and press Enter:

netsh interface tcp set global autotuning=disabled

--The system should display the following indicating a changed Auto-Tuning setting:

C:\Users\chrome\netsh interface tcp set global autotuning=disabled
Ok.

** ECN Capability:

E...

In overclocking AMD 64-bit Dual-Core processors, three things have to be accounted for which are the CPU, FSB/HTT (HyperTransport) link, and Memory (RAM) timing and latency (speed).

The CPU speed is determined by multiplying the FSB (Front Side Bus) setting (200 by default) and the CPU multiplier. If you do not own a Black Edition CPU, the CPU multiplier will be locked. Black Editions are nice because you can overclock by just increasing the multiplier from it's default and leaving the FSB alone if you want to. If you overclock by increasing the bus, you also have to account for increased HTT link speed and RAM speed. Sometimes it's better to go this way even if you own a Black Edition because maybe you have great memory that you want to overclock. Increasing the FSB gives you finer tuning but affects more "stuff." Depends on the situation.

The front side bus/hypertransport--FSB/HT(t)--is the bus which the CPU and northbridge communicate; the speed available for the memory to be sent over controlled by the northbridge chipset. You want to keep the HTT link as close to 1000MHz as you can normally. This link is figured by using the bus multiplier times the FSB; the default multiplier is 5x (or 1000MHz meaning 5 x 200FSB). For a 201 - 250 FSB setting, use a 4x HTT, for a 251 - 333 FSB, use a 3x HTT. A common mistake of new overclockers is thinking the HTT (CPU-NB link) and the memory divider are one and the same. Not so. One must set the HTT and memory divider separately. Socket 939 CPU HTT buses can overclock to 1100MHz typically, an AM2(+) socket can typically overclock to 1300MHz w/a voltage increase to the bus.

The memory runs at your CPU speed divided by the preset BIOS memory divider. You should set the speed as close to the EPP (Enhanced Performance Profile) as you can get. The EPP is what your memory is rated to do, this requires a 0.1v bump to the memory. There may be a few EPPs to choose from which is nice, most only have one profile though. CPU-Z can tell you that memory...