I know somethings wrong, but what ?

[anaberration]

Hiya all, I hope everybody is well today, I am sick of snow so I am working on this HTPC I am still building, stuck though:
My specs:
Asus m4a785-m
Amd Phenom x3 8450e 2.1ghz (factory)
HT ref. clock (bus spd) 240 mhz
core speed 2.52 (oc)
core multiplier 10.5x
core voltage 1.25
NB speed (ht link) 1920 mhz
NB Mulitplier 8x
6gb PNY xlr8 pc2-6400 ddr2 at 1.9 volts confirmed running dual channel
memory Frequency 399.64 (400)Mhz set at 333mhz in bios
memory set at 4-4-4-12 per mfg.

My results:
My FSB-DRAM per CPU-Z is 3:5
I keep seeing 1:1 as being"what you want"
but the system is stable (4 hrs now,still running Prime)
And 5 hours on AOD Utility Stability Test passed fine.On every other configuration I have had yet, the calcuation tests fails everytime !
The AOD Utility software has it at over 6000 which is the best
I have done yet. I get FSB-DRAM 1:2 with bios set at default (only memory set at correct speed, everything else at AUTO).
Nothing is overheating, it's all just right where it has always been, checked, checked and rechecked. My o/s is responding fine (even my AVI,which normally hates any changes to memory freq which is strange).


My Questions:
What am I doing wrong ?
I assume the cpu is the bottleneck ?
This is hard on the memory ? Damaging ?
Have I hit the "sweet spot" I have been looking for ?



Asus M4A785-M mobo Amd Phenom X3 8450e 2.1Ghz AM2+ cpu
EVGA GTS 450 (Fermi) FPB 1gb DDR5 gpu
Cooler Master Hyper N520 Copper Heatpipe CPU cooler
6gb PNY XLR8 pc6400 ddr2 Thermaltake V3 Black Edition case
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

 

[Groov3st3r]

Right....
So is your memory frequency set properly? So that in the bios you see that the TRUE memory speed is equal to FSB? (By equal I mean, it should normally be TWICE as much, but it may be different for you as you have 6gb of the bloody thing).

You may need to loosen the timings. Or change them. I would also try switching down your memory frequency to its lowest setting. Does anything else happen?

From common sense stuff, is your bios up to date?
Is your PSU able to take the extra load you are asking it to take?

I dont think its damaging. It would be if you ran it fast under high voltage. Components hate voltage....
CPU appears to be quite decent. Its not the BE though, I wouldnt expect wonders but AMD is known for putting lots of potential into budget cores.
Your mobo also seems fine.
Maybe its your RAM speed after all?

 

[boucher91]

6 gig is 2 or 4 sticks? 4 sticks have to have slightly higher latencies and slightly more voltage at the nb...2t or 1t? you should be at 2t..also wondering bout your cpu voltage possibly being too low?

 

[anaberration]

kk, oh and thanks for the quick replies:
6gb in 4 stick, 2x2gb channel a and 2x1gb chanel b
Memory is PNY xlr8, same latency and voltage and 800mhz
same product but 2 different amounts.
In bios it would be 400 because of dual channel, but i reduced it to
333 mhz so it posts and reads in CPUZ and AOD as 399.6 (400) perfectly.
If I let the bios manage the memory it would set it one step down to 266mhz (thats normal for this) and the bios would set my timing at 6-6-6-18. Cool and quiet is off also or it would back the cpu down.
The command rate is 2T.
Power supply is quite adequate, Cooler master GX series.
Bios is up to date. (Oh, I gave up golf because of the word "drivers") haha.
Its passed Prime,its been on since 6 am est., run all day and it is running vey well, no issues with any apps and I have been stressing the heck out of it. Reboots fine, no shutdown issues, seems to good to be true. All voltages are normal (except the cpu as you know). I even set the proper voltage for the memory in bios before I started this morning. IDK.

 

[Groov3st3r]

Okay, Command Rate has to be 1T if you want speed.

Right, I gather that C1E is therefore disabled?

Now, onto the timings. tighten them and see what happens. 6-6-6-18 i quite loose for your memo. Set it a step down to 5-5-5-15 and set your frequency to go 1:1 with the FSB.
Anything else and as a result your PC may not even boot. Now I dont know too much about memos but my common sense is screaming that you could be better off using only 3 banks with 2GB per bank each instead of your 2 by 2 setup. This might be an issue but I cant say it is.
So task for today is to setup all your controls to manual unless after O/C they work on auto. Disable SPD timing setup and enter your own. Switch to a 1:1 ratio yourself (work out which one will be 1:1 for you) and set timings tighter to 5-5-5-15 (later try going back to 4-4-4-12 and see if it works).

 

[QuietIce]

to OCF!

Hiya all, I hope everybody is well today, I am sick of snow so I am working on this HTPC I am still building, stuck though:
My specs:
Asus m4a785-m
Amd Phenom x3 8450e 2.1ghz (factory)
HT ref. clock (bus spd) 240 mhz
core speed 2.52 (oc)
core multiplier 10.5x
core voltage 1.25
NB speed (ht link) 1920 mhz
NB Mulitplier 8x
6gb PNY xlr8 pc2-6400 ddr2 at 1.9 volts confirmed running dual channel
memory Frequency 399.64 (400)Mhz set at 333mhz in bios
memory set at 4-4-4-12 per mfg.

My results:
My FSB-DRAM per CPU-Z is 3:5
I keep seeing 1:1 as being"what you want"
but the system is stable (4 hrs now,still running Prime)
And 5 hours on AOD Utility Stability Test passed fine.On every other configuration I have had yet, the calcuation tests fails everytime !
The AOD Utility software has it at over 6000 which is the best
I have done yet. I get FSB-DRAM 1:2 with bios set at default (only memory set at correct speed, everything else at AUTO).
Nothing is overheating, it's all just right where it has always been, checked, checked and rechecked. My o/s is responding fine (even my AVI,which normally hates any changes to memory freq which is strange).


My Questions:
What am I doing wrong ?
I assume the cpu is the bottleneck ?
This is hard on the memory ? Damaging ?
Have I hit the "sweet spot" I have been looking for ?

I don't think you're doing anything wrong at all.
Maybe - see below.
Your RAM should be fine as long as you have good case airflow.
Maybe.


First off, I don't see any problems with the way you're running the RAM. Given the same heardware I'd have it set up the same way. The "1:1 is best" saying is a thing of the past - it got dropped along with the front side bus clear back in '05. Anybody that says different is either running an LGA775 Intel, an ancient AMD, or hasn't done any testing on their own recently.


As far as what's limiting you it could be a couple of things, the CPU may have reached it's end for the vCore (CPU voltage) you're using at the load core temp you have OR the board may not be able to run a higher clock than that. To find out which one, drop the CPU and RAM settings down one notch and try to increase the clock. If it still won't budge without becoming unstable then you've reached the limit of the board.

If the clock will go higher then either your load core temp is too high and/or the vCore is too low. Those two kind of go hand-in-hand. As you raise the vCore the temps increase, which creates more resistance, which requires more vCore, which raises the temps - and 'round and 'round we go! You've got to find the balance for your system cooling and CPU.

What are your load core temps? I try not to recommend increasing voltage without knowing the temps are good enough to be safe.

 

[anaberration]

to OCF!


I don't think you're doing anything wrong at all.
Maybe - see below.
Your RAM should be fine as long as you have good case airflow.
Maybe.


First off, I don't see any problems with the way you're running the RAM.

What are your load core temps? I try not to recommend increasing voltage without knowing the temps are good enough to be safe.

@Groov3st3r, sorry but what I said under my results was if I let the bios manage the memory "it" sets the memory at 266 and 8-8-8-16, (under my specs) I have it at 4-4-4-12. I tried 5-5-5-15 with same results. I have seen the 1T and 2T debated and I really dont know which I should use. Asus gives a few dozen options in changing the memory in the bios. CAS-tRCD-tRP-tRAS is all I have changed along with telling the bios to run it at 333mhz, that runs as 400mhz (almost exactly) when she posts.

@QuietIce,thanks for the vote of confidence.
I can/have bumped core voltage and have gone as high as 1.30-1.32 and the system was stable during testing.
Core temp is 23c, cpu temp is 36c and mobo temp is 44c at post.
I was concerned slightly about the mobo temp, I checked around and it seems the NB runs hot. Well she wasnt very warm, wasnt cold. I have removed the rock hard,factory thermal paste and put on a dot of silver. That Northbridge heatsink is very warm to the touch now. Southbridge is fine, warm not overly hot. I have a 120mm in the front, a bottom mount power supply with a huge intake fan (both are filtered). I have that huge cpu cooler, its a Cooler Master Hyper N520 Copper Heatpipe CPU cooler that has 2 80mm fans on it (pusher/puller). And the case has top mount ventilation and the EVGA GTX450 has its own excellent fan and heatsink (she takes up 2spaces). I can still crank up the voltage on core I believe, I'm at 1.28 right now and running AOD Stability test.Idk, I will continue to try very small changes and see where it gets me. Thanks again.

 

[QuietIce]

It's load core temp we look at for OC'ing - nothing else really matters. If you clock it for the worst possible scenario then there won't be any surprizes down the road. Running Prime95 or OCCT for ~5 minutes is the typical way to find the load core temp.

 

[anaberration]

It's load core temp we look at for OC'ing - nothing else really matters. If you clock it for the worst possible scenario then there won't be any surprizes down the road. Running Prime95 or OCCT for ~5 minutes is the typical way to find the load core temp.

Ok, 29.5-30c after 3 minutes of Prime and/or AOD and no higher, Stays right there. No problem there. thanks for your quick replies and suggestions.

 

[QuietIce]

I'm sorry - I forgot you were under water when I wrote that. You'd have to run it at least 30 minutes and for a real test you'd have to crank up the GPU as well using Furmark or Cinebench. Still, with temps that low for just a few minutes I wouldn't expect to see more than ~40 with a real test and if I were you I wouldn't worry about running one.

 

[anaberration]

I'm sorry - I forgot you were under water when I wrote that. You'd have to run it at least 30 minutes and for a real test you'd have to crank up the GPU as well using Furmark or Cinebench. Still, with temps that low for just a few minutes I wouldn't expect to see more than ~40 with a real test and if I were you I wouldn't worry about running one.

No, no my bad, i should have said "after 3 minutes and it stayed there all day", I have had AOD or Prime running for 5-6 hours each. I started on this early Saturday morning with AOD and switched to Prime 5 hours later and ran (blended) it for 6 hours. Sorry my bad I didnt explain that again and I agree a 3 minute test isnt much of a test, lol. The cores never went over 29.5-30c all day. Hey thanks, but back to my 3:5 ratio, I was concerned that it would be a severe issue. Many thanks.
Oh and I use the EVGA OC Scanner and with it running with AOD , the cores never exceeded 32-33c.

 

[anaberration]

@QuietIce,thanks for the vote of confidence.
I can/have bumped core voltage and have gone as high as 1.30-1.32 and the system was stable during testing.
Core temp is 23c, cpu temp is 36c and mobo temp is 44c at post.

Update: I removed the crappy rear case fan that came with it, it never went above 1180 rpm, and installed a new 120mm Coolermaster SF120 fan and took the original fan and installed it on the side panel and wow ! What a difference.
Core temp is 19.5, cpu temp is 32c and mobo temp is 38c at post
The Thermaltake V3 case has 2 perforated areas on top of the case and I can feel the breeze on my arm resting on my chair ! As designed for max airfow.
Now I can focus on getting my overclock settings correct. And my thanks to
QuietIce, you put my mind at ease about the dram ratio.



Asus M4A785-M mobo Amd Phenom X3 8450e 2.1Ghz AM2+ cpu
EVGA GTS 450 (Fermi) FPB 1gb DDR5 gpu
Cooler Master Hyper N520 Copper Heatpipe CPU cooler
6gb PNY XLR8 pc6400 ddr2 Thermaltake V3 Black Edition case
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit