Best 2500 Barton Core

I've got a 2500+ right now that was stable at 2402. I say was because it was prime95 stable for about two weeks and now it's no longer prime95 stable (crashes after ~10 minutes) and getting less and less stable while gaming and such. I'm not sure why this is happening, I haven't been able to pin it down yet. I'm not overheating (load temps are no higher than 43C, in games the highest I've seen on my Aerogate II are 40C) and I haven't changed anything about my system except where it is (was stable in my basement, but upstairs it's no longer stable) and that shouldn't really matter because my upstairs bedroom (where it is now) is actually the same temperature as my basement (around 15C ambient). I cannot figure out why it's unstable (I'm actually getting restarts, not freezing, so I'm actually wondering if it's something else, not my overclock, which I'm looking into right now... virus scans all around and adware searching ).

This thread is actually supposed to be regarding the core that's giving the best overclocks. I have an AQXEA right now, but have access to get a brand-new AQZFA. I realize that most of the new ones are locked, however, I'm only fsb o/c'ing (don't need to change multiplier yet) so it's not a big deal to me. I'm wondering it would be worth it to go for the AQFZA and just scrap my AQXEA which isn't performing like I'd like it to .

I know this is gonna sound strange but did ya bump anything. Maybe you jarred the CPU into an unfavorable position. Try re-seating it.

Believe it or not, it is not entirely uncommon for chips to suddenly lose overclcoking ability. This is often caused by high temps or voltage, but can happen when temps and volts are not excessive. Try lowering your OC to get it stable. You should also note that the NF7 reads the temp from a sensor in te socket, not the on-die thermal diode. The sensor doesn't even touch the back of the cpu, if I remember correctly. This means that your core temp is a good deal higher than 43c. Which might be little warm. Games are also not quite ad full load as your cpu gets. If you really want load temps, try running cpuburn or prime95 at high priority for a couple hours, then check and see how hot it is (I see the warmest temps with cpuburn). Remember, the more voltage you add, the cooler you wannt your chip.

As for the best core, the latest one is likely to be the best if you don't care if it is locked or not.

id first be happy with 2.2 - 2.3 ghz stable then put it up a little like EVERY week i think thats the best way

jeeze i have a aqxea 2703 and i can hit 2.2 stock vcore and 2.4 @ 1.7

You should also note that the NF7 reads the temp from a sensor in te socket, not the on-die thermal diode. The sensor doesn't even touch the back of the cpu, if I remember correctly. This means that your core temp is a good deal higher than 43c.

Click to expand...

If you happened to read my entire post, you would see that I'm *not* using the socket diode, I'm using an Aerogate II thermistor that is set so close to the core, there is AS5 on the end of it. I am definitely getting accurate temps with ther Aerogate.

Well, more bad news, I went back to the d23 BIOS and some settings that I had before, then the board attempted to give me an alarm. Which ****ed me off, so I cleared the cmos, assuming that it was probably just being difficult, well, after clearing the cmos.... nothing.... the board gets power, everything turns on, except the HDD led stays on, along with the power led, and the system does nothing. Tried cleaing the cmos multiple times, but again nothing. The standby power leds are lit differently, one green another red (didn't pay enough attention to know if it's normal or not) and no matter how much I restart or clear the cmos, nothing changes... anyone know wtf is going on?

I did read your entire post. Sure you said you were using an aerogate II, which I assumed was a HSF. I did not know it had a thermisistor.

As for your latest problem, I want to know more detail abount the events. What happened? You flashed your bios, restarted, got an alarm, but it still posted? Or did it never post? Or give an alarm while flashing? You may well have a bad flash there. You wouldn't happen to have any other mobos around, would you?