[Deftism]

Hi let me just say that this is my first OC

P4 1.8a Northwood (400Mhz FSB)
Asus P4B266-C Mobo (JumperFree mode)
512mb PC2100 DDR SDRAM (K-Byte I believe (Generic crap))
Maxtor 120gb (5400rpm)
XFX nVidia Geforce FX 5500 (256mb)
Antec 300w PSU

I've heard how easy it is to get this cpu to run stable at 2.4ghz (even on stock Vcore) but I've been having some problems getting there..

I've managed so far to get it to run stable @ 122 FSB (2196 Mhz) 1:1 divider, with stock Vcore (1.500) and Vdimm. I'm using a stock HSF that comes with the P4 2.4C or the 2.6C (I can't remember which).

My temps are 28C idle and about 42C full load using Prime95 torture test. I set the 'Turbo 1' setting in the bios which apparently locks the AGP/PCI. And I recently lowered my memory timings and it's still very stable...

I'm determined to get 2.4ghz stable but it's a no go. Here's what I've attempted so far at 133 FSB (Everything is tweaked via the bios except for the Vdimm (And the memory timings are set by SPD))

- Stock Vcore (1.500) – No boot.
- Stock Vcore (1.500) , upped Vdimm from 2.5V (default) to 2.6V – Crash at windows loading.
- Stock Vcore (1.500) , upped Vdimm from 2.5V (default) to 2.7V – Crash at windows loading.
- Upped the Vcore to 1.525, same as above.
- Upped the Vcore to 1.550, loads windows but crashes while starting up applications.
- Upped the Vcore to 1.575, windows boots up, when I run a stress test the system reboots.
- Upped the Vcore to 1.600, windows boots up, when I run a stress test the system reboots.
- Upped the Vcore to 1.625, this time my system halts and 'Hardware monitor' says there's an error and that I should check the power settings in bios.

On an earlier attempt with stock Vdimm I ignored the warnings and went to 1.6500 Vcore. I was getting beeps while running the OS, I'm assuming it's a warning that the cpu is overheating or throttling down or that the Vcore was too high... And as I increased the Vcore the stress test was able to run much longer before rebooting.

The CPU temp >1.600 Vcore at full load went as high as 48C which isn't dangerously hot at all. I'm confused why I'm getting hardware monitor warnings and beeps when the system is running at a high Vcore.

Also I'm not sure why but the Vcore indicator in CPU-Z says I'm running @ 1.600V when the bios is set to the default 1.500V.. Could my Vcore actually be higher than what the bios is set to?

I'm wondering if I need a better PSU? I used a PSU calculator that had an overclocking option and the results were well under the 300W limit.

I also read that many northwoods are dying quickly from a Vcore increase. I'm not quite sure what to do next, any thoughts?

[batboy]

Run CPU-Z and see what stepping revision is listed. I suspect B0. Some of those early 1.8A Northwoods didn't always run at 133 FSB like most of the later ones.

Those Asus motherboards typically overvolt at idle (like you saw with CPU-Z running 1.6v when you had the vcore set at 1.5v). But under load they droop so that they undervolt.

You will need better cooling and high vcore to run at 133 FSB. I don't recommend going more than 1.6v for everyday usage because of the fact the mobo will overvolt.

Sounds like maybe you should just settle for 2.2 gig. Hey, that's still 400 MHz for free.

[Deftism]

You're right, it's stepping revision B0! I think I'll just settle for 2.2ghz...

Thanks for your help