Only 2.4GHz out of a Venice 3000+?

[Ian]

ADA3000DAA4BW​

LBBWE 0548TPCW​

Just finished upgrading from a AXP-M 2.4GHz system to DFI nF4-D and Venice 3000+ E6. I was expecting 2.7GHz out of this Venice but somehow I hit a wall at 2.5GHz. Wish I had waited for an Opteron.

Right now, my 3000+ is prime stable at 2.4GHz 9x267 at 1.5V as set in BIOS (software says 1.44-1.46V).

I've already loosened RAM timings to 3-4-4-8 2T and running on the lowest divider to factor out the RAM issue. HTT ratio is set at 3x and have bumped the LDT and chipset voltage to 1.3V and 1.6V respectively.

Temps seem to be fine, small fft with SP2004 is about 45C/47C/38C (CPU/PWMIC/chipset).

At 2.5GHz (9x278), I've tried all the voltages from 1.5V up to 1.55V in BIOS but will still fail Prime95, temps are still below 47C. I was told that I should not exceed 1.55V~1.6V with the Vcore and since I was still on stock cooling, I haven't tried higher voltages.

What seems to be the limiting factor? I see that most Venice will do 2.4GHz right out of the box with default Vcore and most are clocking at 2.8GHz easily on air.

 

[rseven]

The later Venice cores generally do not OC as well as the earlier ones. Also, I would not be adding voltage on stock cooling. Despite what your temps are reading, you could be encountering heat induced failure at that 1.55 with stock cooling. Of course you could just be reacing the limits of the chip. What's your case coolin like?

 

[Ian]

The later Venice cores generally do not OC as well as the earlier ones. Also, I would not be adding voltage on stock cooling. Despite what your temps are reading, you could be encountering heat induced failure at that 1.55 with stock cooling. Of course you could just be reacing the limits of the chip. What's your case coolin like?

I have a Chieftec case with two 8cm fan in front drawing air in, one 8cm at the back and the PSU blowing out. Are the temps from DFI somewhat inaccurate? Room temperature is about 20C and I think my temps are too low to be true. What do you think?

Do I expect too much out of a 3000+?

 

[rseven]

The DFI boards don't read temps any better or worse than most boards, but most boards do not give you an accurate reading. Yes, I think it's reading on the low side, but it's only an educated guess. I just think it's safer to overvolt with extra cooling as stock cooling is only adequate for stock vcore. I do think your expectations of the Venice are a bit high. The first ones out did reach those numbers, but the later ones have not. In real world performance we are not talking a huge difference between 2.4 and 2.6, so don't let it get to you.

 

[SteveLord]

yes, you expect too much out of a 1.8ghz cpu with a 9x multiplier. a +600mhz gain is nothing to complain about. that puts your $120 cpu at the speed of a $280 3800 venice.

 

[Oroka Sempai]

Yeah, I ran into the same thing. Stable at 9x277 (@2430Mhz), 9x278-9 is stable, but my wireless nic wont work, after that lock-ups and bsods. Now, mind you , I havet played with my RAM much, it is OCed by 22Mhz, so I am not sure if that would help my OC.

I am eyeballing a cheap opteron 144 right now.

 

[Ian]

Yeah, I ran into the same thing. Stable at 9x277 (@2430Mhz), 9x278-9 is stable, but my wireless nic wont work, after that lock-ups and bsods. Now, mind you , I havet played with my RAM much, it is OCed by 22Mhz, so I am not sure if that would help my OC.

I am eyeballing a cheap opteron 144 right now.

What stepping is your Venice? Looks like I've made a bad choice. While I was getting my stuff, I had the chance to get a E3 for a lower price than this E6 but I thought the newer stepping will do better so I ended up with this. On further readings, it seems that E3 is generally overclocking better. Hmm...

 

[Ian]

Is my PSU the limiting factor? It seems that DFI only recommends a native 24pin PSU for overclocking, while I'm still using the Fortron 530W with a 20pin to 24pin adapter.

I notice that the Vcore undervolts a little bit as compared to BIOS, is this normal to the DFI board I have?

 

[azu]

um.. if i recall.. if you have a 20 pin mb, its always best to oc if you have a 24pin psu -.-"

 

[evancold]

a 600mhz oc is not bad at all. I could only get 450mhz out of my 3000 winny

 

[Cheator]

um.. if i recall.. if you have a 20 pin mb, its always best to oc if you have a 24pin psu -.-"

Agreed. And your PSU ain't to good as it stands. Get a nice stable one like Seasonic, Enermax or Antec, and maybe your OCs will increase.

It does look like your CPU isn't getting all the voltage it's given, as yuo say it hovers around 1.45 instead of 1.5. I would try uping it to 1.55 in the bios to see if it does get around 1.5 actual (temperatures permitting). This might help you out as well.

 

[IWasHungry]

Yes, it is imperitive that you use a good-quality 24-pin PSU, in order to get the best overclock possible on the DFI NF4 boards.
You could also try upping the LDT voltage to 1.4v.