Stability problems @ 2.5 with 1700+ Tbred B

[Ducker]

I've been trying to get my rig overclocked to 2.5 & stable on air. And I seem to have hit the wall. On my current settings listed below, it runs 2.5 great. I checked for mem errors with memtest, no errors after 30 min. I ran Burn in on Sandra, using the cpu arithmetic & cpu mulit media benchmarks for 10 runs. Temps started @ 24 mobo/43 cpu, ended @ 25 mobo/44.5 cpu. Ran great. I ran PCMark 2002 benchmark. Got cpu/7379, mem/4726, hdd/1307. All without any overheating or any other problems. But when I run Prime 95...it stops the test in less than a min. On the vcore voltage, I know that it should be higher...like say around 1.9v, but when I start raising the voltage much higher than 1.8v, it crashes & freezes up. I tried seeing what the max fsb is, by dropping the multiplier down to X5, the best I could get was 219 fsb. Any sugestions on what to try to get this thing a little more stable @ 2.5? Thanks! Here's my rig:

1700+ Tbred B DLT3C 0319
NF7-S rev2.0 BIOS 1.8
SLK 900-U w/Artic Silver Cemetric
Smart Fan II on hs @ max rpm's
WD Raptor 36gig SATA
GeForce 4 Ti 4200 64mb X8
512 Corsair XMS PC 2700 mem timings: 8-4-4-3.0
Lite On cd burner 52x24x52
6 case fans
Antec True480 psu

Here's my settings in BIOS:

218 fsb / X11.5 multiplier / 1.8v vcore / 2.9v DDR SDRAM voltage / 1.6v Chipset voltage / 1.5 AGP voltage / CPU Interface Disabled (I tryed both disabled & enabled...couldn,t tell any difference)

 

[Steven4563]

up the chipset voltage that might ler u hit higher fsb and it might be the reason prime cant run aswell im not sure on that one tho

 

[Ducker]

Ok, I try that. Thanks.

 

[Ducker]

up the chipset voltage that might ler u hit higher fsb and it might be the reason prime cant run aswell im not sure on that one tho

Steven4563, I tried that & that did the trick. Ran Prime 95 for 58 min's, & got an error. So I rebooted and upped the vcore from 1.8 to 1.825v. I've been running Prime ever since without any errors (2 hours & 47 min so far). Thanks a bunch!

 

[Ducker]

Steven4563, I tried that & that did the trick. Ran Prime 95 for 58 min's, & got an error. So I rebooted and upped the vcore from 1.8 to 1.825v. I've been running Prime ever since without any errors (2 hours & 47 min so far). Thanks a bunch!

Well....I spoke too soon. Cause when I went & checked it again after writing this post, it had stoped from an error, after 2 hours & 58 min. Dam, I thought I was home free. Upping the chipset voltage definatially helped. It was 1.6v, I raised it to 1.7v. Unfourtanatly, that's the farthest that my BIOS settings will allow it to go. I tried upping the vcore a little...to 1.825, then 1.85. That didn't seem to help, if anything, it seemed to make it a little more unstable. Any other thoughts, ideas? My mem timeings aren't very aggresive ( 8-4-4-3.0). Could increasing them maby help? Folks, I could really use some of your experance & sugestions! When I started planning & building this rig, my main goal was to be able to do 2.5 on air stable. I'm oh so very close. Help!

 

[Edward2]

I found that my setup (1700+ and NF7) was more stable when I tightened the memory timings from 2.5-3-3-11 to 2.0-2-2-11. My computer just did not seem to like the looser memory timings. I could run 200 FSB with 2.5-3-3-11, but could not go much higher than that. I then tried the tigher memory timings (2.0-2-2-11) and was able to increase the FSB to 220 MHz.

You might try tightening your memory timings (if your memory can handle it) and see if that helps any.

 

[Ducker]

I'll give that a try. But I'm also concerned about the memory. Corsair XMS is good mem, but I don't know if PC 2700 will be able to keep up. I think that's my week link. I plan on buying two sticks (256mb each) of Corsair XMS PC 3500. That way I can also take advantage of the duel memory channels on the board. But it may be a while before I can do that.

 

[Steven4563]

sorry about this lol

 

[Steven4563]

most 1700+'s cant reach 2.5ghz unless u are using around 1.9Vcore u havent got any heat problems from want i see u are using a slk-900 so 1.9Vcore shouldnt be a problem try that if temps dont go over 55C full load

 

[james.miller]

I'll give that a try. But I'm also concerned about the memory. Corsair XMS is good mem, but I don't know if PC 2700 will be able to keep up. I think that's my week link. I plan on buying two sticks (256mb each) of Corsair XMS PC 3500. That way I can also take advantage of the duel memory channels on the board. But it may be a while before I can do that.

way too overpriced for me. i'd get some twinmos pc3200 instead - mine does 235mhz dual channel easily.....

anyway to cut the northbridge out of the equation, try running 200x12.5

 

[Mr B]

way too overpriced for me. i'd get some twinmos pc3200 instead - mine does 235mhz dual channel easily.....

anyway to cut the northbridge out of the equation, try running 200x12.5

Good way to find if the CPU will hit it, and if the NB is the root problem... good call...

I seem to recall reading (mind ya, it was a while back...), that T-Breds don't always like more than 1.8v pushed thru them, and with the higher voltage, actually run worse, because they heat up more. Think this might play a factor here?

Still a phoenominal overclock....good work! My 2100+ "B" gets shakey at anything over 2200MHz....

 

[Ducker]

anyway to cut the northbridge out of the equation, try running 200x12.5

I tried running it set to 200x12.5. I've got it running Prime 95 now, 2 & 1/2 hours & still running fine ...no errors so far. What issue with the northbridge are you refurring to?

I seem to recall reading (mind ya, it was a while back...), that T-Breds don't always like more than 1.8v pushed thru them, and with the higher voltage, actually run worse, because they heat up more. Think this might play a factor here?

That seems to be a factor with my rig. I've noticed that when ever I raise the vcore much over 1.8v, it either won't boot at all, or after booting into Windows it freezes up or just crashes altogeather. I really haven't had any problems with heat. Overclocked @ 2.5 my temps are Idle: 28* mobo/43* cpu, running Prime 95: 32* mobo/47* cpu. If I could set my vcore up higher....say to 1.9, I think that would solve my problems. I think my cooling setup would be able to handle it.

 

[james.miller]

I tried running it set to 200x12.5. I've got it running Prime 95 now, 2 & 1/2 hours & still running fine ...no errors so far. What issue with the northbridge are you refurring to?

ok then that means you cpu is good for 2.5ghz. But, unfortunatly that means that either your motherboard or ram isnt stable at the 218mhz fsb you were using before. personally, i'm thinking its the ram.


twinmops pc3200 time for you i think

 

[Ducker]

ok then that means you cpu is good for 2.5ghz. But, unfortunatly that means that either your motherboard or ram isnt stable at the 218mhz fsb you were using before. personally, i'm thinking its the ram. twinmops pc3200 time for you i think

I think you may be right. That's a good stick of ram....but I don't think it's good enough to keep up with setup. If I got another stick of 512mb ram but PC 3500 & run it with what I already have (total of 1024 ), do you think that may help? Or would I be better off just getting two sticks of matching 256mb PC 3500, or PC 3200? BTW, where can you buy that twinmops pc3200 at?

 

[james.miller]

I think you may be right. That's a good stick of ram....but I don't think it's good enough to keep up with setup. If I got another stick of 512mb ram but PC 3500 & run it with what I already have (total of 1024 ), do you think that may help? Or would I be better off just getting two sticks of matching 256mb PC 3500, or PC 3200? BTW, where can you buy that twinmops pc3200 at?

normal twinmos pc3200 will do just fine (mine does 235mhz). you dont ever need to buy matched sticks. as for where to get it, somebody else will have to tell you - i live in the u.k lol


Beware though, that you can only run your ram as fast as the slowest stick will allow - meaning that the corsair would be holding the system back if you kept using it.

 

[Ducker]

Thanks James, I think I'll probably just look around & find some good PC 3200 mem (two 256mb sticks).

 

[Obsidian]

If mem dont end up helping you, it could be your northbridge is getting too hot under the extra voltage and the high fsb. I'd personnaly look into the better cooling before the memory. After all cooling = cheaper, and cooling = long term insurance anyway

 

[james.miller]

If mem dont end up helping you, it could be your northbridge is getting too hot under the extra voltage and the high fsb. I'd personnaly look into the better cooling before the memory. After all cooling = cheaper, and cooling = long term insurance anyway

good idea but very doubtful. there arnt many nf7-s v2's that cant reach 225+.. mine has no problems at 235 with the stock cooling.

 

[gazzrawly]

right some of my overvolting overclocking chipset genious...first apply the L12 mod coz it does work (apparently) then u wanna use the pencil trick on the Chipset to increase to around 1.85V this SHOULD with the right DDR get u to around 250FSB if all goes well...i wud suggest then running @ 240X10.5 = 2520mhz stream that and ur going some.....if u need more info dont hesitate to ask...gazz

 

[Ducker]

right some of my overvolting overclocking chipset genious...first apply the L12 mod coz it does work (apparently) then u wanna use the pencil trick on the Chipset to increase to around 1.85V this SHOULD with the right DDR get u to around 250FSB if all goes well...i wud suggest then running @ 240X10.5 = 2520mhz stream that and ur going some.....if u need more info dont hesitate to ask...gazz

I've got 2 sticks of Corsair XMS PC 3200 (256mb each) comming from Newegg, should be here tomorrow. That should help. I've been thinking of trying the L12 mod, I'll probably go ahead & do it after I install the new ram & bench it. I remember reading about the pencil trick. Do you know where I can look to find it? After I increased the chipset voltage from 1.6v to 1.7v (as far as the BIOS menu would allow me to go). I noticed that that one thing helped to stabilize it more than anything else. And being able to run a higher fsb & lower multiplier should help performance and stability both shouldn't it?