Can a multi-vid C1 Pentium 4 OC well on my epox 4g4a+?

[Naruto]

My epox 4g4a+ is not the greatest of overclockers these days, and uses the older i845g. I have a it running on a 1.6a running at 2.4, but would like to get over 3 ghz. I was considering getting a Fry's SL6RZ 2.4b or a SL6S2 2.53b, but does my board have the "umph" to get these to 3.2 or 3.4GHz? Thanks.

 

[Duvie]

Honestly from a user that has had 2 of them...NO....You likely will max out in the 165-170 range...then there is the memory timing issues and even at those 165-170range it becomes tough to run memory at any speed and timing past 400mhz....I have had my corsair pc3000 that I am doing 450ddr on could never do 408ddr stable with lowest settings and vdimm jacked to the max.

To sum up not the best ocer board out there and not for the new c1 chips and high fsbs....

 

[Naruto]

Whats the memory timing issue?

 

[Duvie]

This fact: (all ran with same stick of pc3000 Corsair Cas2; ran in order as listed on the selected boards)

epox 4bda (i845d) ran 370mhz ddr at cas 2,3,3,6 w/ default vdimm; ran cas 2 all the way to 400mhz ddr; ran up to 426mhz ddr memtested and prime tested at cas 2.5,3,3,7 w/ 2.7v; booted at 440mhz ddr

epox 4g4a+ and 4g4a couldn't run 370mhz ddr at 175fsb at all, couln't run 370mhz at 148fsb w/ 4:5 ratio with rated defaults; max speed was 408mhz ddr cas2.5,3,3,7 w/ 2.7v; bsod at 410mhz ddr
(both confirmed roughly the same)

albatron i845pe ran 370mhz ddr at cas 2,3,3,5 w/ 2.5v; ran cas 2 all the way up to 400+ddr; ran 450mhz ddr memtested and primetested at cas2.5,3,3,7; runs at 454mhz ddr w/ no BSOD but gets memtest errors; boots all the way up to 458mhz ddr...


Also 4g4a+ mem scores were consistently the lowest even when cas 2 was being used compared to other boards...this was verified on 2 boards...something about the i845g chipset I imagine...

 

[Naruto]

I noticed that my epox board timings are messed up too. For example, running at cas2,2,2,5 makes it unstable at high fsb. However, running at cas2.5,3,3,6 gives me stability and better memory performance. Its strange that i get about 30mb/p/s more (with cas 2.5 and normal) in sandra than with fastest timings. Earlier versions of sandra reported my system to run cas 2,2,2,5 when actually set to cas 2.5 and normal in the bios. I am also able to run two sticks of 256mb pc2100 @ pc3200 @ 2.6 volts, if my 1.6a was good enough to hit 160mhz fsb.

 

[Naruto]

Well nevermind. Strange, I just ran comparison memory benchmarks again and it shows cas 2,2,2,5 faster over cas 2.5,3,36. This strongly contradicts when i first got the board, memory benches were faster on cas 2.5,3,3,6 than cas 2,2,2,5. This could be because i changed the memory, i don't know.

Thanks for the help Duvie, but I wouldn't mind trying and seeing how far I can go. Since i have a sis 645 running on a willemette (could seriously use my 1.6a northwood), I would like it for my epox 4g4a+ to get at least 3ghz. So is my best choice to get a 2.53ghz SL6S2, since the 19x multiplier and the average fsb limit on the 4g4a+ be around 3.1 - 3.2 ghz.