Can't hit 3200+ with 2500+/NF7-S... HELP?

[travsav]

Can't hit 3200 with 2500+/NF7-S... HELP?
Here's my setup:

Abit NF7-S v2.0 (Latest Bios)
AMD AthlonXP 2500+ Barton (AQXEA)
1x512mb Mushkin PC3500 Lev2 (11-2-2-2)
Thermalright SLK-947U w/TT Smartfan2
Okia 550W PSU

extra stuff: Radeon 9100 128mb (200/250), SB Live! (used for gameport), WD 40gb 7200rpm, cheap fujitsu 10gb hd (not sure speed)...

@ 200x11, @ stock voltage, it will boot XP, and when I run prime95, the computer reboots... @ 1.75 vcore, prime has an error after less than an hour...

Could my Sb live! or crappy 10gb hd be causing this issue? I'm stuck here, this is supposed to be one of the best overclocking steppings for this processor, and I can't get it stable at 2000mhz...

Please help.

 

[Soulkeeper]

i had the exact same setup as you right down to the power supply rating and couldn't hit it either

hahaha kinda sucks
i think it is the mem
i guess the mushkin don't like that board


watch if you drop the fsb/mem ratio to something like 5:4 or whatever your cpu could prob crank way up past a 200mhz fsb
also try shooting your vdimm to something like 2.8
up your vagp
and i would just leave the voltage on the cpu like 1.72 or something just to rule that factor out (you shouldn't need more than 1.65 tho)

and try various mem timings
maybe even try different memory slots


good luck

 

[Soulkeeper]

btw this was my setup:


2500+
nf7-s
2x512mb pc3500 mushkin level II
geforce4 ti4200 oc'd to something safe
antec true control 550
10gb 5400 rpm hard drive was in the system along with many others
slk-800 heatsink
sb live! sound card (also used the onboard sound, tryed both)


i tryed the memory on 3 nf2 boards and this P4 board and this mem would not run 1:1 over 200 on the nforce2 ultra400 boards and would not run 1:1 over 214 or so on the i875 board
the same limit was reached with just one stick in at a time (roughly)

if i run the mem higher than the fsb i was able to get it as high as 230 to 240 but it would only be stable here and then
i found that increasing the voltage above about 2.85 or 2.9 would actually worsen things too (prob because of heat)
i also took the heatspreaders off to see if that would help but it didn't change anything
also i added custom cut copper heatsinks to both the northbridge and the southbridge and put a 60mm fan on them
i used subzero water cooling and even mounted two 40mm fans above the mosfets after placing copper adheasive heatsinks to any component i found to be hot to the touch

i even put two 120cfm fans right above the mem and cranked the voltage up to 3.3 with no luck
i even volt modded two diff boards to increase the nf2 chipset voltage

not to mention the fact that i tryed every memory setting combination (stayed up late many times)
it just won't run 1:1 to much over 200 fully stable all the time


one good thing about the memory is it supports lowest latencies
i found that i didn't get but 2 or 3mhz more from changing the timings from their fastest to any other setting
so whatever you run it at use one of the following timings: 2-2-2-5 2-2-2-6 2-3-2-6 etc
some people clame many programs prefer the higher last number tho as it looks like you already know

but anyways let me know what happens when you mess around in the bios some more
also you might wanna download a memtest86+ cd to make sure your system is stable enough to boot windows so you don't corrupt it (first time i tryed for 230 fsb this happened to me)
i usually run the memtest86 1 to 5 times usually if it passes once it won't corrupt windows tho

sorry the mem just don't seem to like anything higher than the 190 to 235 range and is very picky for some reason in my experience,
good luck

 

[cowdog]

Try 11-3-3-2.5

Funny, but I have the same experience as Soulkeeper with the Mush Lv II PC3500 RAM (BH-5) in an 8RDA+ and Corsair LL PC-3200 (BH-5) in an NF7-S Rev 2. I can run my 2500+ @ 11.5 x 200, but with the BH-5 memory I need to run 11-3-3-2.5. Tighter timings will error in Prime after awhile. With some CH-5 XMS PC-3200 I can run the same settings at 6-3-3-2 no problem. Go figure.

 

[cowdog]

Oh yeah, I can sometimes run Prime stable at 11-3-3-2 or 11-2-3-2 but then other times its not. So I end up with 11-3-3-2.5 which seems stable all the time, everytime.

 

[adams828]

Originally posted by: Soulkeeper


try various mem timings

i'd say try relaxed memory timings. yes, it might be rated for those, but just try i have some hyperx3500.. tried going from 166 to 200fsb without relaxing the timings.. posted but that was about it until i raised the timings

 

[WobbleWobble]

What are your temperatures like?

If you scour the boards, you'll notice that a lot of people can not hit 3200+. I think the success rate is artificially inflated as some of those that did hit 3200+ don't care if their CPU can pass Prime95 or not, especially at stock voltage.

 

[cowdog]

If I didn't worry about stability, at 11x215 (2.5-3-3-11) I can post, boot in WinXP , and run apps all day without any lockups or obvious issues. 3DMark2001 and every other benchie I can find runs fine (actually PiFast is the only thing that fails, interestingly). But Prime95 gives an error pretty quickly. Even at a low multiplier, I have the same Prime error until I get back down to ~ 200 FSB. It seems like 200-202 FSB is really the max I can run stable with my stock 8RDA+. BTW, the 8RDA+ rev 1.1 is really the better OC board in my case. It has been awhile but I actually think the max (stable) FSB I could get on the NF7-S was like 196 or something. Same cpu and memory. I figure that's the about the max for these boards at stock (given my n of 2 ). If there was a sort of averaged +/- 5% error of margin and assuming 200 is about the upper end, (190-200) or (192.5-202.5) FSB max for those boards at stock. I don't know if that's realistic, but conceptually I think it makes some sense.

Aside from that I think luck of the cpu draw is a big part of it, unless one is into giving the vcore volt mods a try. Way back this Barton 2500+ posted stock (optimized BIOS defaults) as a 11x200 3200+ from the get go on the 8RDA+. Worked fine, and that's where I ran it for many months before I got more serious about finding a more aggressive OC on air.

BTW, northbridge cooling was a big deal for me. On the NF7-S I ended up taking off the NB cooler and replacing the sticky square with AS3. That helped quite a bit; I was almost ready to RMA that board until I did that. I also added an aftermarket active cooler to the NB of the 8RDA+. The case with the 8RDA+ additionally has 2 side case fans blowing right onto the mobo.

I don't know if any of this helps, but its what I found with my little setups.

 

[Soulkeeper]

Originally posted by: cowdog
Try 11-3-3-2.5

Funny, but I have the same experience as Soulkeeper with the Mush Lv II PC3500 RAM (BH-5) in an 8RDA+ and Corsair LL PC-3200 (BH-5) in an NF7-S Rev 2. I can run my 2500+ @ 11.5 x 200, but with the BH-5 memory I need to run 11-3-3-2.5. Tighter timings will error in Prime after awhile. With some CH-5 XMS PC-3200 I can run the same settings at 6-3-3-2 no problem. Go figure.

i got some 3200 corsair with ch-6 chips
but i'm pretty sure it is faulty because i can't even boot my P4 system with it in

i don't even remember running it in my athlon system
heh

i just bought the mem a few months ago and never got to use it
too bad i didn't realize it and rma it

guess that's the last time i buy memory and let it sit on a desk for a month