anyone with same hardware and a stable oc' please?

I have been trying real hard to get this system overclocked for ages but havn't had a successful one yet, its been frustrating and disappointing. I really think i need pro advice on it. I bought a cooling fan so i could overclock this baby right from the start, but so far it has done nothing for me cause i am still running at stock speeds, it hasn't been as simple as I thought it would be. I really wanna put it use and get my system overclocked, i know this cpu can do it, and i thought i could save some money getting this one and overclocking it to the same as a better one. even just the slightest bit so it wasn't a complete waste of $200 for the cooling fan, I hope I may get some assistance here...

Intel wolfdale core 2 duo E8500 @3.16ghz
scorpion cooling fan and thermalright ultra 120 heatsink
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS4P updated bios F8
Corsair dominator ddr2 1066mhz 2.1v 4gb (2x2gb) with a cooling fan

I use prime95 to run a load test
I watch the temps with coretemp
I have CPUz to check settings

I would really like it if some member with the experience could just give me the settings i need. I just want an overclock at least 3.33ghz or over, I dont even need to go to 4ghz, maybe 3.50ghz would be ample.

i dont know what is wrong, when i do some torture tests with prime95 i get fatal error: 0.49898576934 less than expected 0.4 or something like that
it says hardware failure
could this mean my ram is bad, i have had a few pfn_list_corrupt bsod's lately
should i do a memtest? or is it just my overclocking settings are wrong?

qdbp said:

I have been trying real hard to get this system overclocked for ages but haven't had a successful one yet, its been frustrating and disappointing.

Click to expand...

Back in April you posted Prime stable settings for a 3.8GHz clock w/ your E8500... what happened?

Overclocked settings for E8500, GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS4P, 2gb 1066mhz 2.1v 5-5-5-15
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=640377

it only lasted a couple days and i started having bsods and memory problems, it turned out it wasnt as stable as i thought, the settings kept getting reverted back to the default and bios would say it was unstable overclock. i had to send both faulty ram cards back to corsair for replacements cause my system stopped booting at all. eversince then i didnt try to overclock again until now. Ive been busy the last several months sorting out alot of other issues on my system, im just wishing i could get a good overclock now like i always wanted. i hope my ram isnt faulty again...

yes, you should do memtests
but generally there is a lot of tweaking and not so much resturning of things, so many things can be adjusted and changed, and sometimes untill they are adjusted , all the RMAing in the world doesnt fix them.

while your goals are not Huge, any of this stuff takes some time.
there are situations where Different ram can certannly act completly different, many times i have changed ram for Cheap garbage ram and done better even, much of it to do with how the ram itself SPD stuff is Timed, and it can take time to tweak ALL those settings on the ram.

Even if you have ram issues, and Specifically Identify them as ram issues, setting all the timings Up to increase the "wait states" can get past them, that and persistance that will pay off when you write them down, and can forget about it for ages after.

If your busy with many things, and you got high end duel processor for that board, might not be worth the time it takes to deal with it, and just enjoy what you have.

I got mine at 425fsb X 9.5 @1.21vcore and +1v mch overvolt. If i remember was able to overclock mine to 3.8ghz on stock voltage. Usually if i got that fatal error (1 core stops) then my vcore was too low

I understand what your saying, and fortunately I do have time and i know its not easy and that it will take time, but it is worth it to me. I will enjoy what i have once i do what i set out to do with it. Can you tell me where i can learn about how to optimize my RAM timings please? im wondering should my CPU be overclocked to where i want it first then do tests and adjustments on the RAM? When Im increasing the wait states on the RAM will i use bigger numbers or smaller numbers? could i find someone else with the same RAM to copy their optimized timings and settings, and where?

...oh and what software do i use to check settings im trying, memtest?

I left my timings at stock 5-5-5-15

Lucky23 said:

I got mine at 425fsb X 9.5 @1.21vcore and +1v mch overvolt. If i remember was able to overclock mine to 3.8ghz on stock voltage. Usually if i got that fatal error (1 core stops) then my vcore was too low

Click to expand...

could that fatal error msg also be if vcore is too high?

great news, i been trying different settings all evening and just passed 30min on each of the three prime95 tests, i think i might be onto a good setting here, im gonna post what my settings are tomorrow. they could probably do with just a little touching up but i think i might have worked out my problem, it has to do with my ram timings cause i changed them a little, my ram is default 1066mhz but im running it at 800mhz with a looser timing and lower volts added a little nb volts and upped the vcore with a little lower fsb and and little lower multiplier...i cant wait till tommorrow im posting settings now, please anyone comment if they seem odd or could maybe be improved for optimal setting:
400 fsb x 9 = 3.60ghz
vcore 1.2v
spd multiplier 2.00d
dram timing 5-5-5-18
mch core 1.4v
dram volt 1.8v

i know and hour and a half isnt much, but its a good sign, im gonna try for longer maybe tomorrow

The vNB / MCH voltage of 1.4V is too high w/ 2 x 2GB modules running 1:1 at a FSB of only 400MHz on a P45. A vNB of ~1.2V or lower is all you should really need to apply.

With all timings the number represents the number of clock cycles it needs to wait. Lower (tighter) numbers represent less wait (more perfromance), but the RAM may not be stable there. Higher (looser) numbers represent less performance, but more stability.

redduc900 said:

The vNB / MCH voltage of 1.4V is too high w/ 2 x 2GB modules running 1:1 at a FSB of only 400MHz on a P45. A vNB of ~1.2V or lower is all you should really need to apply.

Click to expand...

Thanks for noting that, i will make the change, i appreciate your advice!
Do you think my timings for the RAM are ok? they were 5-5-5-15 with the 1066mhz 2.1v (default), now with the 800mhz i have it at 5-5-5-18 1.8v i changed the last cycle number to slow it down a bit to possibly help it get past errors for more stability, but i wonder if i need to change the first three numbers at all.

Since the RAM is currently underclocked at 400MHz, and you're still in the process of trying to find your max. FSB / clock speed, you can just leave the timings at their defaults for the time being. Once you find the max. FSB / clock speed, then concentrate on running the RAM at the highest frequency possible w/ the tightest timings.

ok thanks.