MSI K9VGM-V

[Igbaäl]

Hi everyone,

In the BIOS Cell menu [1], there is an Adjust CPU FSB Frequency option but the maximum allowed value is 232MHz whereas I succeeded in changing it to 285 with the MSI DualCoreCenter tool [2].

I would like to change this myself (to not bother you) but neither Modbin6 versions I tried nor awdbedit let me change the value.
As there is no tutorial, I have to ask here.

I would be very glad if I could reach the 2GHz.
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Motherboard : MSI K9VGM-V
BIOS : v1.8
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Thanks in advance !

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[1] What a strange name...
[2] These settings only apply when the software runs. Otherwise, my CPU frequency defaults to 1.6GHz

[TheWiz]

Hey,

As the quote goes "sometimes people see what they want to see" I checked your findings in Modbin, and indeed there is an option under Cell Menu, but it does not say Adjust CPU FSB Frequency, it simply says Current FSB. This means that it is merely a readout of your current FSB and not the actual setting to change it.

Thanks,
TheWiz

[presola]

Well, I wouldn't be sad about it if I were you. This board uses an old VIA chipset having no PCI/PCIe locks, which means that any FSB higher (or lower) that the default 200MHz is a ponential threat to the other PC components.

[Igbaäl]

Thanks for your quick answers.

@TheWiz :
I don't know what you did but you can believe me : I can change the FSB in the Cell Menu :
see my screenshot

If you need another proof, just go to the Manual tab from the MSI K9VGM-V link and you should see a BIOS screenshot page 11 (p17 from the PDF).

@presola :
My CPU is AMD Sempron 3000+ and I was told that it was very stable up to 2.4GHz
I ran Prime95 and OCCT (FSB@280) for an hour and no error occured.
I'm just using a PCI-E 16x slot for my GeForce 8800GT

I think you're experimented and you know what you say but the BIOS let me change the FSB up to 232 so I guess this value is safe, isn't it ?

I know overclcking can cause overheating and so cause damages but during my tests, the CPU never exceeded ~40°C (reasonable right ?)

I'm quite new in overclocking so any advice is welcome.

[presola]

The VT8237A southbridge is quite old - it was first used in combination with the KT400A northbridge, if I remember correctly. As all VIA chips, it lived a long life, mainly because of it's low price. Well, that price was low because it lacked several features it's competitors had - like PCI/AGP locks (yes, it was designed for motherboards with AGP slots!), proper SATA implementation, etc, etc. But it was great to build budget mobos, targeted to the non-clocking ordinary user - one who doesn't know what a BIOS is, nor does he want to know.

Now, to get to the point here. As you may probably know, overclocking in not officially endorsed by all hardware vendors - despite their hardware being advertised as clocked, clockable, featuring industrial-grade components for better overclocking, etc. In this case, your motherboard is a rather budget one, and the FSB adjustment option is there just as an added bonus. Unless MSI has added custom PCI/PCIe dividers in the BIOS (I've seen this phenomena in a Gigabyte s.478 mobo some time ago), overclocking with this board is just shortening your other components' life.

To prove my point a little, here's some basic info and calculations. The standard PCI frequency is 33MHz, and the standard PCIe is 100MHz. If there are no custom dividers added, the following happens:

PHP Code:

FSB     PCI     PCIe
========================
200MHz 33.3MHz 100.0MHz
232MHz 38.6MHz 116.0MHz
280MHz 46.6MHz 140.0MHz 


The PCI and PCIe frequencies are far from nominal and are definitely not safe for your VGA, mobo, hard drive and any other add-on cards you may or may not have installed in your system.

[Igbaäl]

Oh ... many thanks !

I was tempted because you know 1.6GHz is very low nowadays.
But after all, a low but working computer is better than a dead one so I will stay at 1.6GHz.

We always want what we can't have

[TheWiz]

Interesting, seems the newer version of MODBIN didn't show that setting. I'm pretty sure though its editable I'll try just for fun later.

TheWiz

[presola]

Oh ... many thanks !

I was tempted because you know 1.6GHz is very low nowadays.
But after all, a low but working computer is better than a dead one so I will stay at 1.6GHz.

We always want what we can't have

You can always get a second-hand motherboard with good clocking abilities for almost next to nothing. IMO, the most clocking AM2 boards were those with nForce 4 Ultra - as a matter of fact, until recently I was using such a board - the good ol' EPoX MF4 Ultra-3