Problem with Iwill kk266 & 1.2 athlon

[Jdub]

I have a 1.2ghz 266fsb T-bird with an Iwill KK266 board. The only other things that are installed is 128mb crucial pc133 and an ATI Radeon 64mb ddr.
Problem 1)
When i start up the first screen pops up with a bunch of info along with,"CPU: AMD Athlon 900mhz". So i figured i just needed to go into bios and change the multiplier and fsb. Iwill has a thing in bios called micro stepping where you can change CPU Clock originally at 100, CPU Clock Ratio set to Auto, and CPU VCore also set to auto @1.82V. No matter what combination i use with the multipler and fsb settings i can't get the processor over 933mhz and somtimes will not boot into windows at 933. Every time i go over that i get these vertical lines or nothing at all. Most of the time it seems like it wants to work and windows starts to load and then it freezes with those lines. Forgot to mention the mobo also has a jumper to set the fsb to 100mhz or 133 and it will only start using 133 if i set the mulitplier to something less than 7. It's not running hot, normally around the 105 degree F range. Never been over 110 degrees when i checked. The other problem will probably be fixed along with the first.

Problem 2) Before i noticed that cpu was only running at 900mhz i installed a game, No One Lives Forever. Install goes well but as soon i start the game i get those darn vertical lines and the system freezes.

This is my first build so i don't have the experience everyone else has but ya gotta learn sometime. Since this is my first build please break the news to me gently if the answer to my problems invole a new cpu, mobo, or vid card just got married and my wallet can only take so much :)

[Kubie]

Hey jdub. Quick question. Where did you buy your Athlon? Compuwhiz?
Carl

[Jdub]

Carlgif,
I got the athlon from Computer Builders Warehouse (cbwnet.com) It was brand new in the retail box.

[Kubie]

jdub, I was curious because I bought a Duron 950 (unlocked) and installed it on my Iwill kk266 mobo. It reads 800mz. The fsb is at 100mz for the Duron. No matter what I attempt at "micro-stepping", the monitor goes black and the cd-rom and floppy run continually. I have to reset or clear the CMOS to get it working again.
I'm not going any further until I learn more about it. The Iwill manual is sorely lacking in detail on the procedure.
Carl

[wedor]

9*133=1200, 9*100=900, have you tried other RAM? what are the RAM timing settings in BIOS? what are you using for cooling? what other components do you have installed? And Carl, I don't understand how much more info you are looking for in the manual, you should be able to set the FSB, multiplier, and core voltage without a problem, if your CPU defaults at 800 what are the settings at in the Microstepping? have you tried raising the voltage first?

[WJWheels]

On the IWill kk266 board, pins 2-3 on jumper JP3 must be closed for the board to operate at 133fsb. Shipped/default setting is I believe, 100fsb. This would explain a 1.2 cpu running at 900.

Carl: The "guaranteed" to OC Duran should work at a fsb of 100 and a multiplier (Iwill calls it CPU Clock Ratio) of 9.5. I don't think you should have to go past 1.65 on the vcore. If it doesn't run at 950, it should be sent back for replacement. Your JP3 (as mentioned above) should have pins 1-2 closed (100fsb).

[Jdub]

wedor, I haven't tried any other ram becuase i don't have any more at the moment i have some more coming from crucial. The timing is set to 2 which is right becuase i have cas2 ram. only things installed besides the video card, cpu, ram is a toshiba 16xdvd, floppy, and 30gig WD hard drive.

WJWheels, I have adjusted to jumpers on the board to 133 but it will not boot into windows the screen goes black or i get a bunch of lines. The only way i've been able to get it to work with the fsb on 133 is to lower the multipier to something below 7, 7*133=931. anything higher than 6.5 or 7 i get the same result.

[wedor]

I would try pulling out all but essentials and set the board to "Optimized Defaults" first to see if it will run there.

[Kubie]

Wheels & wedor,
She's running at 950mz now. Went into BIOS and I see I didn't go far enough before. The core voltage is left at 1.65v and the cpu clock ratio is at 9.5. I notice two things. I can visually see the difference 150mz makes and the cpu temp runs at 40c instead of 38c. I do believe the Alpha Pal6035 fan and heatsink is a quality unit. The highest temp ever reached was 43c and that was while playing Hoyle Casino, listening to mp3s and on line at the same time.
Your short sentences of instruction did the the trick for me as usual.
Many thanks.
Carl

[Xayd]

Jdub, lowering the multiplier and raising the FSB is exactly what you want to do when overclocking Durons/Athlons. You get the most performance increases out of raising the bus speed, not the multiplier.

Carl, same thing ;). Give it more voltage if you want. A Duron well-cooled can take up to 2.1 volts, and your mobo won't give you anything close to that, so raise the voltage if you want to go higher.

Xayd

[Kubie]

Xayd, are you saying I can get more than 950mz?
Carl

[Jdub]

I pulled out all the essentials like wedor suggested, reseated the vid card, put the ram in a different dimm, went into bios set it to "optimized defaults" restarts and still says 900mhz. i went back into bios and played with the FSB and multilpier agian and still had no luck getting anything over 900. i can get it to say over 900 but as soon as windows starts to load i get nothing but lines or no screen at all. i even set the multiplier to 9 and moved the jumper to 133fsb and i couldn't even get into bios.
Jdub

[WJWheels]

Jdub: Time to start all over it seems. Clear the CMOS (manual page 5) and make sure JP3 is set for 133fsb. Go into bios, make sure everything on the Iwill Smart Setting page is set to defaults, Load Optimized defaults, F10 and let reboot. It should come up correctly.... good luck!

[Jdub]

WJWheels: I had tried you suggestion once before but i gave it another try since i have only the bare essentials installed this time.I cleared CMOS like you said, set the fbs jumper to 133 booted up ok. said 1200mhz, hit DEL to enter bios and screen goes black. Can't restart or shut down until i pull the cord out of the wall. Tried it agian just to make sure and didn't even make it to the screen to get into bios.:confused:

[Xayd]

Yeah Carl, you very well might get 1100. Try 7.5 x 133, at 1.825 or 1.850 volts. You might also try 7 x 140ish or 7 x 145.

Hell, my brother's runs at 6.5 x 150 on an Epox 8KTA3.

Xayd

[wedor]

Jdub what are you using for a power supply? what are you using for cooling?

[Jdub]

Wedor, I'm using a 300 watt power supply that came with a generic case. As for cooling I have the heatsink and fan that came with the processor. I've been keeping an eye on the temp, it's been about 35 degrees celcius 40tops.
Jdub

[wedor]

It would seem you are down to 3 possibilities, bad CPU, motherboard, or powersupply. One or more of these is the problem.

[Jdub]

Could a bad or cheap power supply cause it to run at only 900mhz? The case i bought was pretty cheap so i know the power supply in it can't be very good or possibly even bad.Should i go ahead and replace it?

[wedor]

Like I said, it is one, some, or all of the 3 possibilities, best if you can borrow parts from someone else rather than having to buy new.