Starting over: P5WD2-E Premium Overclock Problems

[ejbragg]

Hi, guys,
I have my eye on a new Sandy Bridge (or Ivy Bridge) system, but it's going to be a while. In the meantime, I sure could use some help understanding my present system a little better. I've always had problem overclocking this thing and it wound up in the basement due to instability. Now I really need this computer, and after reading all the old news, I believe the problems were due to my ignorance of how to properly configure a smoothly tuned overclock.

A few years back, I assembled a system for the Pentium Extreme Presler. My initial attempts were riddled with problems, and I soon discovered I had underrated my power supply, after it failed on me. I moved up to a 650 W supply (purchased from Best Buy), and was able to create a pseudo-stable system, which I ran for about 2 years. I mean "pseudo" because it never would run Prime 95 for very long without crashing or freezing, but seemed fine on all other tests. Then it started kicking off again. I assumed it was a problem with the cooling block contact (dried out thermal grease), but my attempts to fix it failed. So in the basement it went.

I pulled it out 2 weeks ago, disassembled it, cleaned out everything and reassembled, w/ new BIOS chip, etc. I discovered my primary problems were, once again, the power supply - a BFI. So I ordered a Rosewill Hive & now have it running very stable on default clock settings, but when I attempt to overclock above 11%, I get the same problems running Prime95 - the screen locks up after 5-10 minutes.

I have backed up and come at this slowly - trying to get the FSB tanked up first, before increasing the multiplier. I get a stable system at FSB clocked to 298 MHz (default setting is 267), but anything over causes this problem, even after bumping the memory voltage up 3 places and the vcore up twice.

Can anyone please shed some light on this?
Thank you very much.

Here are my detailed settings:

BASIC CPU SETTINGS:
Multiplier = 13 (default value)
FSB setting = 302 (default is 267)
FSB resultant speed = 1209 MHz
CPU speed is therefore = 3926 MHz, only 13.11% OC
memory voltage = 2.05 (has been bumped twice from 1.95, default was 1.80)
vcore = 1.30 (default was 1.2875v)
MCH chipset = 1.50, default (movement to 1.55 had no effect)
ICH chipset = auto
CPU temp while running Prime95 = 38C
FSB termination voltage = auto

DRAM frequency = auto
Performance mode = auto
PCI ex freq = auto
PCI clk sync mode = auto
Configure DRAM timing by SPD = enabled
Hyper path 3 = auto
DRAM throttling threshold = auto

OTHER:
Power supply = Rosewill 650W (brand new)
Cooling system is Swiftech water cooling, CPU and N bridge wtrblks & 2-fan radiator
Highest stable overclock thus far is at FSB = 298 - runs Prime95 at length:
RAM voltage unknown (auto),
VCore set to Auto, but reads 1.23v on AiBooster
Chipset = 1.50

The highest stable OC thus far is at FSB=298:
RAM voltage set to auto (unknown)
Vcore set to auto (reads 1.26v in AiBooster)
Chipset set to 1.50v (default)

 

[JLK03F150]

I think your problem is with the DRAM frequency being set to Auto. You probably need to switch to manual & lower the memory frequency.

BTW you do know Rosewill is BestBuy's in-house brand, right? If you are gonna buy a high end PSU, get a good brand such as Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, Silverstone, etc... I have a BFG 1000w in my gamer - really nice unit, but it has odd cable lengths.

 

[Knufire]

Rocketfish is Best Buy's in house brand, Rosewill is Newegg's in house brand.

 

[ejbragg]

I think your problem is with the DRAM frequency being set to Auto. You probably need to switch to manual & lower the memory frequency.

Thanks, JLK - I was actually wondering about that. I think you just saved me some headaches. I just forced it to 666GHz (for the default FSB setting of 266) and raised it all to 300 MHz Clock rate (pushing up the Rated FSB to 1209 MHz and the CPU to 3931 MHz). I had also noticed that the vcore had been dropping down to 1.26 volts in auto mode. Referring to another O.C. project on this chip, I bumped the VCore to 1.4v. For the first time, it seems to be running w/o issues.

BTW you do know Rosewill is BestBuy's in-house brand, right? If you are gonna buy a high end PSU, get a good brand such as Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, Silverstone, etc... I have a BFG 1000w in my gamer - really nice unit, but it has odd cable lengths.

My original home-built PC was a P4T533-C Asus board and Pentium 4. I have been running that system endlessly all these years and it hasn't failed me yet. I finally noticed that the PSU is a Rosewill. After some research, I noted that this is actually a very well-made PSU. Seasonic was rated better, but was also a bit more expensive. After weighing the price / ratings, and with my extremely positive experience with Rosewill, I decided to be patriotic! Time will tell if this one lasts me like the other one has. If it craps out, I'll definitely take your advice.

 

[ejbragg]

Rocketfish is Best Buy's in house brand, Rosewill is Newegg's in house brand.

Interesting. I had assumed BFG was Best Buy's in-house brand, since that's all I ever saw in their stores (about 3 years ago, anyway). Anyway, my BFG 650 W did not handle the system above for very long. I never did bother breaking into the box to see if I might be able to find the point of failure. I just assumed I'd been had by a junky PSU (which wasn't all that cheap, by the way).

I later found the BFG brand rated so-so; I think hardwaresecrets had written an educational article and found some cheap parts in the PSU they had opened. No offense, JLK

 

[ejbragg]

I've been working on this all night...
I presently have the multiplier right where it was defaulted: 13
The FSB is now at 322 MHz
Vcore is up to 1.463v
RAM voltage is up to 2.10v
Present CPU while running Prime95 is 47C
MOBO temp is 35C

Do I still have room?

I've read that the temperatures are the main areas of concern. But I'm having trouble finding max temps for the Pentium Extreme 955 "3.46 GHz" chip.

 

[ejbragg]

Overclocked FSB from 266 to 315, then changed multiplier from 13 to 14.

O.C.'d from 3.46GHz to 4.410 GHz, vcore at 1.5V, RAM at 1.95V.

Runs Prime95 w/o failure.

Thanks, JLK, for your help.

 

[JLK03F150]

Holy cow! Nice overclock! I gave you one tip, the rest is all you. Congrats.

I should know Rocketfish is BestBuy - I have a Rocketfish case. I think my short-term is failing me...

As for BFG power supplies, I bought mine from the reviewer in this article. He's a member here and JonnyGuru is THE site for PSU reviews. The cable lengths are kinda weird because it was made for a specific BFG case, but it tested really well.

 

[ejbragg]

I have to admit, the article does make the BFG a good-looking unit. My BFG was a bit older and smaller - possibly a lower-end unit (?) I already threw the carcass away, so I can't provide the model number.

I went with the Rosewill because of...

1. My past experience (as noted above)
2. This article
3. The price.

... in order of importance.

As for the overclock - thank for the compliments... I did a lot of reading from site such as this one to conjure up a decent "set of instructions" that would work for my system. All the differences make this task less than straightforward. Nevertheless, I certainly increased my understanding during this project!

Anyway, thanks again.