OC versus wireless lan

[78stonewobble]

Mjello again... I've run into another problem with my overclocking efforts. First the hardware:

xp-m 2400
8rda3+ with latest official bios
2x512 mb ballistix ram pc3200
9800 pro
80 gb hitachi harddrive
10 gb ibm harddrive
DVD reader
CD-r 32x burner
Topcom pci 154 (super G) wireless lan card
To the mobo theres 3 fans connected via 3 pin wires...
Antec trueblue 480 watt psu

Voltage settings (bios setting/mbm reported): Vcore(1,75/1,72), Vdimm/+3.3(2,9/2,87), Vdd(1,8/1,79), +5.00 (4,92), +12,00 (11,73 - 11,80 Never seen it higher than 11,80 even at stock sooo), -12.00 (-6,63), -5.00 (-1,32)

Everything except onboard audio is turned off in bios (onboard lans and IO)

Now my problem is that I can hit 215 fsb and even 220 fsb with no errors in either memtest or prime.

BUT when I go to 220 fsb from 215 I loose all connection on my wireless card. I had it show connection very briefly at startup but then it was lost and never came back.

Restarting with 215 fsb and not even touching the antennae gave me good reception again.

Any suggestions on why this happens and how it can be solved?

Hugy thx in advance...

PS: My own initial thought was that there simply wasnt enough power to drive the card. :S

[EPoX Tech]

I'm sorry I have never heard of this particular wirelss card. It may be that with such an overclock you may be causing cross-harmonics in the wave spectrum that are interfering with the sireless channels and wireless frequencies base harmonics.

Try enabling spread spectrum in the BIOS if possible.

[robbie]

I've haven't had any luck overclocking ANY of my boards with my wireless lan in place.
Sorry.
Rob

[SteveI]

Ditto, wireless cards seem to be very sensitive to overclocks for some reason... I'm running my wireless system w/ a 200fsb, even with pc3700 memory for that very reason.

[78stonewobble]

AFAIK but dont take my word for it, this card is based on the chipset of a more known maker like linksys og d-link.

Thx for the quick answers

I guess I'll have to try enabling onboard lan or maybe use a regular pci netcard.

PS: I noted one thing during my 11x220 overclock!!! Memtest reported memory frequency as 221 mhz and not the 220 mhz i set it to in bios. Now I know that a few mhz settings are not selectable in bios but the next one is 223 mhz (isnt that a bit too close to eachother?)

UPDATE: Enabling FSB spred spectrum lets me connect to the wireless lan again. It does however account for a rather large drop in performance .

PCMark: Cpu from about 7400 to 6900, memory about 7000 to 6500

Sticking to 215 sofar *ss*

[Áedán]

Actually, there's only a few companies who make the chips for Wireless adaptors, like Prism, Broadcom and Atheros. I don't know who actually makes the chip in the Topcom PCI 154G though.

[cadaveca]

Wireless, with an attenta...and an overclock....Lol...


I don't have cable TV. I hate TV. So my wife is demoted to peasant-vision, and if i set my board to 207, 211, 217, 221, 227, 237, it affects the reception of the TV. I ended up re-arranging the livingroom because of it.

Wireless interent, and it's antenna, is going to be subject to the same interference, IMHO, becasue of the attenna...all devices are set to recieve any interference that may be floating in the air..i'm sure aedan or gizmo could explain why, but the reasoning escapes my mind right now.

[Áedán]

Clock frequencies and harmonics basically.

However, you can change channel on WiFi to see if that affects it.

[cadaveca]

Originally Posted by Áedán

However, you can change channel on WiFi to see if that affects it.

LoL..don't tell that to my wife...she ditched TV for the pc a while ago, and only really watches a show or 2, besides the news! Dont ruin the conversion to gaming addict i have going on! PLEASE! LoL.

That's the best idea i have ever heard, Aedan..so simple..but will most likely work, at least to some degree.

[78stonewobble]

Well every evening around 5 to 9 my signal gets slightly weaker. I kinda figured out it was the neighbors washing machine or w0tever...

But that it should be my own comp. didnt even think of it.

Only problem is: I should be able to change channel, but im not. Router works fine but the ****ty software wont let me change channel. It's allways stuck on channel 6. :S

So I wont be able to test it until they send out some updated firmware / drivers.

PS: Regarding chip maker ... dunno... just know that it should be the same as more well known manufacturers...

[SteveI]

THat makes so much sense... Even at 200fsb, the connection isn't 100% stable. I tried manually setting the channel to 5, and the results improved significantly.... still not 100% but good enough for me to not throw away the wireless card.

[Kaitain]

Originally Posted by Áedán

Actually, there's only a few companies who make the chips for Wireless adaptors, like Prism, Broadcom and Atheros. I don't know who actually makes the chip in the Topcom PCI 154G though.

TopCom SkyR@cer Pro PCI 154 is an Atheros chipset.

TopCom SkyR@cer PCI 154 is not (spot the difference). The people at madwifi seem to think it's a Texas Instruments ACX111, but this is unconfirmed.