Problems OC'ing 3.2 Prescott and Patriot RAM

[Marek21]

Setup:
Asus P4P800-E
Intel 3.2GHz Prescott
2x512mb Patriot PC3200 XBLK+ in dual channel

I have no problem running the system at stock speeds, but the second I try to OC past 210MHz it won't get past the Windows screen :mad: . I have RMA'ed the memory once (newegg) and am having the same problem. It appears the mobo recognized the RAM at 2.5-4-4-8 initially which is way off from the advertised 2-2-2-5. Is it possible the mobo is creating these problems? What could I be doing wrong in BIOS settings or should I update the BIOS altogether? I'm willing to accept that I may be missing something very obvious here so please suggest anything that comes to mind! Thanks!

[wing]

Try setting the RAM voltage to 2.8 instead of the stock 2.6 or 2.65 sometimes that helps. Also make sure you are using a divider on the FSB/RAM if you only have pc3200. Personally what I did when I had a 478 chip was I had PC4000 ram so I didnt have to use a divider when i upped the fsb...the ram could handle the higher fsb without one.

Also be SURE you lock the AGP/PCI frequency...I know there is a way to do it on the p4p because a friend has one and he had tha tproblem, sometimes when you up the FSB without locking the AGP it will change and if you change the AGP/PCI frequency one mhz it will take a crap on ya face.

Let me know if any of that helped.

[Marek21]

Dah, I raised the voltage to 2.75 and it didn't help. I then locked the AGP/PCI Frequency at 80.00/40.00 and 60.00/30.00 which didn't help either. The only time I managed to successfully OC was with a 3:2 divider. CPU: 215 RAM: 146. I'm still wondering if I've got one of the mobo "bells and whistles" features enabled/disabled and that's causing the problems. If anyone knows what I might be doing wrong in BIOS v. 1002.002 let me know. Any other suggestions??

[wing]

agp/pci frequency should be 66/33 I believe

[Marek21]

whoops..... that's correct and that's what I tried. Sorry for the typo.

[Randyman...]

Sounds like something with the RAM if it booted with a 3:2 divider. Keep the 3:2 divider, and see how high you can get the CPU. Keep the PCI locked to 33.3/66.6. Don't forget about the Vcore/Vdimm droop in the P4P and P4C boards, too... I would also set your RAM timings manually, NOT by SPD. Loosen the timings if you wish to retain a 1:1 divider (this RAM should OC well with looser timings). Also try disabling PAT or "Turbo" to see what effect that has. My P4C (PC #1 in my sig) won't boot with "Turbo" set to "ON" - even when running my DDR550 ram at 400MHz! :eek:

[Sleepy_Steve]

i had simalar issues with my rig... by the time i realized what had happened, i wished i had stuck with it's origional northwood, and uped the ram to 2gb =/

between power issues with the old PSU, and playing with some angry ram on the timings, i was left with - i think - a north bridge that wont take more than a 5mhz bump on the fsb with 1:1 ratio... so it runs stock now, hehe <-- going amd next time i think... ;-)

[Stewie]

I have the same RAM and also a Prescott (3.0 tho), and they work great together; I'm currently running @ 3.9 (and the rest shown in my sig) without any problems. I'd say it might be your motherboard that has the issue. Check your voltages, the seating of your CPU fan, etc....the obvious.

[Marek21]

Sounds like something with the RAM if it booted with a 3:2 divider. Keep the 3:2 divider, and see how high you can get the CPU. Keep the PCI locked to 33.3/66.6. Don't forget about the Vcore/Vdimm droop in the P4P and P4C boards, too... I would also set your RAM timings manually, NOT by SPD. Loosen the timings if you wish to retain a 1:1 divider (this RAM should OC well with looser timings). Also try disabling PAT or "Turbo" to see what effect that has. My P4C (PC #1 in my sig) won't boot with "Turbo" set to "ON" - even when running my DDR550 ram at 400MHz! :eek:

I loosened the timings to 3-4-4-8 with no luck. And the "turbo" feature is along the lines of what I was getting at earlier. I did turn that off originally, but I'm still wondering if I've got some weird combination of settings like that which are causing all the problems. If anyone has suggestions like randyman please keep 'em comin'! Also, if I were to opt to try a new mobo what're some recommendations? I'm out of the loop!

[wrangler88]

that memory i though runnds at 3-4-4-8 at 2.8volts, also you are upping the Vcore for the processor right?

[nathan2]

3.2s are not very good with over clocking when you put in ram with such low time rates try kingston and that should work.

[Tat2monsta]

i got prety much tha same probs but i got the next mb up... im stable at 3.51 on auto oc.. but cant get anything higher and stable useing manual settings (noob)... got it to boot at 4gig the other day but then it shutdown again