P4 3.2 pressie OC

[Siggy78]

Can't seem to go any higher than 3.759...and that's not very high. Temps are good still. That's with 235 x 16. I can't even touch 236...windows won't load correctly. Yet with 235 x 16, I'm stable for almost 2 hours with Prime95. Voltage is set at 1.40, and CPU-Z has it pulling 1.44. Any advice? =D

[Siggy78]

Well..for some crazy reason, I didn't have the updated BIOS :shrug: Was using 1002, now using 1007. I managed to get it to 238 x 16. 3808 now. In process of testing it for stability. 239x16 wouldn't load at all.

[fAlCoNNiAn]

i used to have the same problem before on my 3.2e, then i found out that my pressie was throttling. download throttlewatch to make sure that its not.

what are your temps?

[Siggy78]

Well...I turned it down even further to 230x16. 3679Mhz. It was stable for 25 minutes 8( however, my temps are higher than ever. 63C during Prime95.

Something must have changed...might be the BIOS version. I could run 235FSB stable for almost 2 hours before. Might have to go over my settings again in BIOS as I had to re-do most of them after the flash.

As far as throttling..that's a whole new concept to me...what is throttling? =D

[fAlCoNNiAn]

When the processor overheats, or approaches overheating, the systems within the processor sends dummy instructions, or basically empty instructions so that the processor doesnt have to do anything in that period of time in hopes of which it will cool down.

[Siggy78]

Hmm...interesting. I downloaded Throttlewatch, and have it running-but not sure what I am looking for.

Also, I've noticed that when I'm running Prime95 torture test, my CPU load is at 50-60%. Shouldn't it be 100%?

[Siggy78]

Seems that I AM throttling..my icon turned red while testing. What should I do about it?

[Know Nuttin]

clock down, or get better cooling.

[dylskee]

Also, I've noticed that when I'm running Prime95 torture test, my CPU load is at 50-60%. Shouldn't it be 100%?

You have to run 2 instances of prime, Here's a link for instructions (http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=385942&highlight=instances+prime)

[fAlCoNNiAn]

clock down, or get better cooling.
basically.

you could try what i did. find the lowest stable vcore in which the processor will run on stock. for example mine is 1.185 vcore (stock 1.385), then increase fsb while increasing vcore as well.

i have 3.6ghz (from 3.2) with 1.3375 vcore (from 1.385), and it doesnt throttle. but at stock vcore and 3.6ghz it throttles. 24 hr prime stable. works like a charm.

with hyperthreading cpus/dual core, you have to run two instances of prime.

[Siggy78]

Ugh...ok, will work on doing 2x Prime instance. In the meantime, i've gotten it stable 3.6ghz for 3 hours before I gave up. Will run extensive testing later. Thx for the advice so far guyz..helping alot =D

[3DFlyer]

Once you get things maxed with what you have now, and figure out where everything runs good, you'll probably want to mod that board down the road with a droop mod. It depends on how far you want to go with things. Some people don't like the modding, while others go for every single FSB they can get by any means.

The droop mod is a good mod for that board. That particular board is known to droop badly under load. This is not something I would mess with right away. I would do this after you have learned your particular setup. Every setup is different...even using the exact same hardware. You have to tweak it first, and find out what is has in it, then mod it to get more later.

Better cooling always helps. If you get into the extreme OC'ing, you will run into a wall where the hardware has more in it, but the cooling won't let you go higher. Speed is addictive, and you can go to whatever level you want depending on your comfort level and how much money you want to get into. It's also alot of fun! :)

[Siggy78]

Well...I've stopped all Overclocking of my PC, as I have heat issues to take care of first (thx for the heads up on that). This means I need a new case, because my current case doesn't have very good airflow. I'm also curious what you guys think of my CPU cooler (in signature). I was thinking of switching to the XP-120 and AS5. Using the crap Cooler-Master stuff that came with my CPU cooler. I don't want to just throw down money if it's only going to net me 1degree difference tho. I'll be getting AS5 anyway, as well as lapping my heatsink and CPU, so that in itself should help a little at least.

When all is said and done, I plan on resuming my OCing. And I'll get to a point where I'll probably Droop Mod it, as was suggested by 3DFlyer. I remember seeing a sticky awhile back that had a Droop Mod for the P4P800E, but I searched the forums for it, and couldn't find it at all. Could use a little help here if anyone happens to know the thread I'm talkin about =D

Thanks for the tips and advice all...I'll keep workin on it once I get my heat under control. I feel as tho with the heat issues, I'm really just hurting myself trying to get a good stable OC. I'll fix the heat issues, and come back to send my speeds flying again soon =D

[Siggy78]

I didn't expect to be updating this so fast. I broke down and dug into my case tonight. Cleaned out my fans, cleaned out the case, and I hid as many cables and wires as possible behind the MOBO tray. I also reseated my CPU heatsink while I was in there.

I must have done something right, as I've reduced my CPU temp under full load by 9C!! My ambient case temperature is about the same, so I'm thinkin I must have had my CPU heatsink mounted incorrectly. That boggles me, as it's been years since I've done something like that...and on my own rig for that matter! That's ok, I admit to my screwup, and don't mind since I didn't do any damage, and my rig is ready for futher OCing.

Will be updating more soon as I get back into my overclocking duties =D

[fAlCoNNiAn]

I didn't expect to be updating this so fast. I broke down and dug into my case tonight. Cleaned out my fans, cleaned out the case, and I hid as many cables and wires as possible behind the MOBO tray. I also reseated my CPU heatsink while I was in there.

I must have done something right, as I've reduced my CPU temp under full load by 9C!! My ambient case temperature is about the same, so I'm thinkin I must have had my CPU heatsink mounted incorrectly. That boggles me, as it's been years since I've done something like that...and on my own rig for that matter! That's ok, I admit to my screwup, and don't mind since I didn't do any damage, and my rig is ready for futher OCing.

Will be updating more soon as I get back into my overclocking duties =D
airflow is your friend. :thup:

[Siggy78]

I now have a stable OC. 3602Mhz. 225X16. 57C max. Ran it overnight with no errors *cheers* I'll probably go up from here, but I had a question.

As I was messing with this last night - everytime I would use Prime95 to start testing, it would drop from 1.4v to 1.3v. Once I started the torture test it would drop every time. Am I having voltage problems or am I ok, since I was stable.

[Siggy78]

It's amazing what you can do when you're not over-heating....lol :rolleyes:

About the voltage issue I posted awhile ago *points up* - I'm guessing that I'll need to do a droop mod to accomodate this problem? I'm still looking for that thread, as I searched again, and can't seem to find it. If anyone knows where that thread is for the P4P800 E droop mod, since my searching skills are limited - I'd gladly give you punch and pie! ;)

[Siggy78]

CPU seems to have a decent score..but what's up with my RAM? Timings set at 2-2-2-6.

[Siggy78]

Well, that didn't come out so well...here's the numbers:

CPU Arithmetic
10850 MIPS
4460/7653 MFLOPS

CPU Multimedia
26375 it/s
34996 it/s

RAM Bandwidth
2340 MB/s
2339 MB/s

Also it said that my system bandwidth was memory-limited.

[Siggy78]

Hmm..I just keep bumping my own thread over and over ;)

I've been searching my BIOS, and I cannot seem to find a ratio (FSB-DRAM) option in there anywhere. CPU-Z has my memory at 155.3Mhz at 3:2 ratio. I was wanting to set this at 1:1 so I'd be 233FSB and 233DRAM Freq. Is there any way I can do this at all?

[Siggy78]

Well, I just started messing with more settings in my BIOS, and came up with the ratio option. It's not really a ratio option. There were options for what frequency to run my DRAM at, although none of them were the frequency I wanted, I didn't realize they pertained to ratio. Just set it to 400Mhz, and it automatically set it for 1:1.

So now I got a bit better score on my RAM Bandwidth test...3600-something. Not sure if that's good or bad or what.

I believe I may be stuck here for awhile until I droop mod my board. However I'm now stable at:

FSB 225
CPU 3600Mhz
DRAM 2.5-3-3-8 @225Mhz 1:1
47C Idle, 56C Load

[fAlCoNNiAn]

are you running un dual channel? do you have PAT enabled?

[Siggy78]

I'm such a RAM newb, among other things. CPU-Z was showing that my RAM was setup as single channel. I referred to my book only to realize I had it installed wrong. I wasn't utilizing my dual channel at all. That's been corrected, and my Memory bandwidth is much higher now: Integer - 5507 MB/s Float - 5490 MB/s.

I still however don't know what you mean by PAT. I have so much to learn :bang head

[JLK03F150]

PAT (Performance Acceleration Technology) status can be checked in CPUZ under Performance Mode Enabled/Disabled on the Memory tab. PAT is a Intel memory enhancement that gives you a 5% or so performance boost. Actually, I'm not real sure you can disable PAT on a i875 board. I have more experience with my Abit i865 AI7 board - still learning the IC7.

BTW, Everest is another app that good for checking bandwidth. Also provides lots of other system information.
http://www.lavalys.com/products/overview.php?pid=1&lang=en

[fAlCoNNiAn]

there is some way that you can enable PAT under a 865 chipset in the asus mobo, but it goes under another name. i dont know howto, since i personally dont have experience with it.

[hainer36]

on my p4p800se i had PAT enabled...i just used the 1009 beta bios and it was modded to enable it...maybe try looking for the newest bios and then work from there to get the PAT enabled

[3DFlyer]

The drop in voltage you spoke of is indeed "droop". A full 1/10th of a volt is alot, but it's nothing to be alarmed about. That is pretty typical of that particular Asus board. They are known for it, and they all do it. Most people don't have to worry about such things, but when you are OC'ing it matters.

You need good stable power for the system to be stable at the higher clocks. The droop mod will indeed cure the problem, and many have done the mod successfully. Do your homework though as there is much to learn when voltmodding. You must be ever vigilant to not get IC's too hot when soldering. There is a certain way to do it, and you'd be well served by going into the voltmodding section and doing some research. Visiting other extreme modding forums will help you as well.

Understand fully what you are getting into, understand the problem, and understand why are you are doing the mod, and exactly what the mod will accomplish.

I will also tell you that there is *some* risk involved as there is with doing any type of OC'ing. If you can accept that risk then go for it, but remember that things can go wrong. Saying that, they shouldn't if you study things carefully and have a thorough understanding of what it is you want to accomplish.

[Siggy78]

All righty. I've gotten my system stable, but at an OC much lower than my goal. My goal being 3.8ghz 24hr stable. That's 238FSB. At this point, I'm stable at 220 with 1:1 DDR at 2.5-3-3-8. Should I use a divider to get my clock higher? I need to get better OCable DDR for sure...this RAM is good, but not very OCable. I want to get the best performance out of my OC, and reach my limits before I do a Droop mod. Here are my CPUZ screens.

*edit* Wanted to add, that I couldn't get 225FSB at 1:1 stable even with laxest RAM timings. So I set it down to 220 with lax timings, tested it, and it was stable. I've been tightening up my timings little by little and retesting each time. Also, under load, I'm only hitting 57C max..sometimes a spike to 58C, but rare. Not sure what other info I'm missing, lemme know what you need and I'll post it ;)

[Siggy78]

Oh...and PAT was enabled. I believe on my BIOS it's called Memory Acceleration Mode (Turbo/Auto/Disabled). I don't think I'm going to reach my goal of 3.8ghz without a droop mod, but I'd like to get as close as possible before I mod my board. Thanks for the advice so far everyone...it's been incredibly helpful in my OC efforts so far =D

[Siggy78]

/bump

Any thoughts? Wondering if I should switch from 1:1 to 3:2 or 5:4 to get more FSB out of this. Not sure how much it weighs on my OC.

[fAlCoNNiAn]

/bump

Any thoughts? Wondering if I should switch from 1:1 to 3:2 or 5:4 to get more FSB out of this. Not sure how much it weighs on my OC.
change you divider to 3:2 so that you can find the max of the processor. once you find it, then make a wise decision and some benchmarks to see if its faster at a higher clock rate with slower ram, or at a slower clockrate but with faster ram.