OCing troubles

[SenorBeef]

Ok, I just build my system tonight.

1700 DLT3C 0310 WPMW
NF7-S 2.0
AX-7
Thermaltake smartfan 2
AS3
Corsair 3200C2 512


Booted up, installed win XP (apic on, cpu interface disabled), ran some programs to test things out. Things work fine, so I bump the fsb up to 166. Works perfectly. Decide to bump the FSB to 200 (200x11), fails to post. Hold insert, reset, set to 200x10.5 (2100), posts fine, but prime95 has errors.

My chip has a silvery CPU core, so I don't think that's necesarily the problem. Even though we took great care to install the sink, with a minimal covering of the core with as3, I'm wondering if perhaps I did it wrong.

My idle temp at 4500 RPM (like 70 CFM) is 47c at 1.6v (boosted a bit to improve stability). Is that normal? That seems high to me, compared to what I've seen. Does the nf7-s report cpu off a socket or a diode? is 47 a high idle? System temp is 31c and I'm running an open case right now (so I can yank cards and stuff if I need to until the system is solid).

When I run prime, it heats up to 52c after 15 or 20 minutes. The fact that there's a 5c difference between idle and load suggests I have good cooling - if the cooling were just getting by at idle, then the load temp would be a lot higher, right?

Well, if the cooling is decent, why can't I post at 200x11? Might be luck of the draw, but... dlt3c 310 with a silvery core? Doesn't sound like it.

I'm gonna run prime for a while and maybe give the thermal paste a chance to settle in or something and try again. Can someone give me some tips or suggest what might be wrong? Should I yank the sink and reapply it?

Oh, yeah - when I yanked the sink off my old cpu, the imprint of the core was still on it. I washed it with full pressure water out of a sink for a while and with isopropyl but couldn't remove it. Could that be a big problem?

 

[SenorBeef]

Oh, also, my negative voltages are out of spec according to the winbond hardware doctor (mbm 5 was giving me funny readings). -12v is way high at around -13.4 load, -5 is at -5.5 load. Is that a big problem? My positive volts are pretty decent, 1.6-1.61 for a 1.6 vcore, 3.17 for 3.3, 5.08 for 5, 12.05 for 12. It's a cheap powmax - would throwing money at a quality antec solve some issues?

 

[OC Detective]

Ignore the negative voltages they are for insignificant things such as data communication - try upping your vcore a bit further if the temps allow.

 

[jonspd]

I would thing that would need more then 1.6 volt's to get more then 2.2 on that chip.

 

[gogadgetman]

try installing MBM5 again. I have it installed on my system fine see signature, then if your temps are lower up your vcore. You should be able to get a higher opverclock then. I only get 51-53C @ load with 1.9 vcore

 

[SenorBeef]

MBM reads my diode temps as like large negative numbers.

What chips am I supposed to set it to with the nf7-s?

 

[SenorBeef]

Update:

I ran prime95 200x10.5 (2100) 1.75v last night with no errors, so it's rock solid there. Hoping that maybe it burnt it in a bit, I tried 200x11, same voltage, and it didn't work. I can boot into windows and run stuff, but prime95 will get an error in the first few minutes.

If I run prime95 at 200x11 at 1.8v it will lock up the computer within a few seconds.

Temps at the higher voltage are maybe 1-2c higher at idle and load, not significant.

Can someone tell me if the temps I'm getting are normal for my setup? What's holding me back? Bad chip, bad cooling?

 

[SenorBeef]

Hmm.. I kept running prime95 at 1.75v at 2.2 ghz even though it was giving me errors within 2 minutes just for the hell of it.

Now it's been running for 15 or 20 minutes straight with no errors. Maybe stressing helped it?