3.6ghz wall on p4 prescott 630 3ghz

MonkeyFaces

Senior member
Aug 4, 2006
200
0
0
My system does post at 3.8ghz, but that's when i set the voltage to 1.6, and even then it's unstable. I have cheap ram (mushkin value ddr2 533) and a fairly decent motherboard (gigabyte ga-8n-sli). Is the 3.6ghz
wall due to an unlucky processor? Can I do anything to increase system stability @ 3.8ghz with less than 1.6v to the cpu?

Second question: I have a thermaltake big typhoon slapped onto my cpu. My idle temps are usually 38-42 degrees and the highest I have ever seen it go was 62 degrees. Is there anything I can do to reduce temps? I live in southern california where it is often hot. Are these temperatures typical for my climate?
 

myocardia

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2003
9,291
30
91
You're probably being limited by your RAM, although, the only way to know for sure is to use a memory divider (i.e.- don't run your RAM 1:1). And any processors' temps are determined by 3 things-- 1) and most important, the ambient temperature 2) speed 3) voltage. Raise any of the three, and your temps will rise.
 

myocardia

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2003
9,291
30
91
Well, there's your problem. You want your RAM running either the same speed, or slower, than the fsb. Never faster.
 

The-Noid

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2005
3,117
4
76
16:18 200 fsb * 16 = 3.2 ghz.

Poster above does not understand Intel Nforce Mobo. You set the ratio for the ram seperate on Nforce chipset. I think you either need to change FSB Overvoltage (give it a boost), or get better cooling that chip runs hot and instable, nature of the beast :(. Thats why Intel never went over 3.8 ghz, and had to bin them to even get that high. Also the northbridge may need more cooling, it would help if you threw a 40mm fan or two on there. They run at the max of stability on nforce chipset all the time. I think you can get to 3.8 ghz stable with higher fsb voltage and fan on northbridge.

Also wouldn't hurt to bump the ram up by +.1 volts, value ram sometimes can not even hit its advertisied speed which kind of sucks. Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to pm me.
 

MonkeyFaces

Senior member
Aug 4, 2006
200
0
0
I think I will try cooling the north bridge. I'm sure it gets hot because the pro and royal versions come with a fan on it. Is there any utility that I can use to check NB temps? Also, how accurate is cpu-z's cpu voltage report? Even though I set the voltage to 1.45 in the bios, cpuz reports a consistent 1.32-1.36 volts.
 

The-Noid

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2005
3,117
4
76
Actaully on that chipset pretty accurate. But that is one incredible redroop if that is the case. There is a tool from gigabyte that monitors temp and also lets you change the fsb in windows might be something to look into. I know you can download it off their website under support.
 

MonkeyFaces

Senior member
Aug 4, 2006
200
0
0
The gigabyte tool helped. When overvolted to 1.47, my system crashed. I also went into my computer and felt the northbridge. It was extremely hot and I thought I was going to melt my finger if I placed it there for more than 20 seconds. Could cooling my northbridge provide a cure to my voltage drooping, and overclocking problems?
 

MonkeyFaces

Senior member
Aug 4, 2006
200
0
0
What exactly would an overheated northbridge cause? Right now, my voltages wont go past stock even when i put them on around 1.5 in the bios. When I do get a +.2 volts using the gigabyte desktop tuning tool, my system crashes after a few seconds.