Cant overlock FSB past 350... why?

[bprogar]

I have done a good amount of research concerning stable overclocking rates for my GA-965p-S3. In fact this web site has an overclocking guide specifically for my motherboard. It seems to me that everyone who has overlooked this motherboard has been able to reach a stable FSB of 450. I on the other hand am not able to surpass 350. Why is this?

Stats:
Motherboard: GA-965P-S3, Bios version F9.
Core 2 duo Conroe E6700
PNY optima memory, Dual channel ddr2 pc2-6400 2GB (2x1gb) (ddr2-800)
PNY optima memory, Dual channel ddr2 pc2-5300 1GB (2x512mb) (ddr2-667)

Am I not able to reach higher front side bus speeds because of my ddr2-667 memory? Or am I not able to reach 450 FSB because I never changed the memory timing in bios? When I try a FSB higher than 350 (highest checked boot up), my computer reboots and fails to save the overclock settings, then reverts to default settings for the FSB. Does anyone have any ideas as to why this is occurring?

Would anyone recommend that I get rid of my ddr2-667 memory and replace it with ddr2-800 memory?

 

[Capt Caveman]

Mixing RAM is not recommended when you're overclocking. Take out the ddr2-667 and try to oc.

 

[bprogar]

I removed the ddr2-667 ram, and discovered that I had to utilize the system memory multiplier, which i adjusted to 2. But I can still only get to about a 350 FSB. Therefore, if i had ddr2-1000 ram, I would be able to overclock at higher speeds while using the system memory multiplier?

 

[KeypoX]

Originally posted by: bprogar
I removed the ddr2-667 ram, and discovered that I had to utilize the system memory multiplier, which i adjusted to 2. But I can still only get to about a 350 FSB. Therefore, if i had ddr2-1000 ram, I would be able to overclock at higher speeds while using the system memory multiplier?

hmm 350 x 2 is 700, i dunno man try running a smaller multiplier with only your 800mhz ram in to try to figure out if its your ram or not.

So put ram divider at 1 or lower 5/6 or what ever your mobo has. to try to exclude the ram from your problem

oh also set your memory timings high ... then we start tweaking when you find the max OC for your CpU / mobo

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Your most likely hitting the wall with your CPU at 3.5ghz (350x10), you'll have to drop the CPU multi if you want to go higher with the FSB. Just because some can hit 450+ FSB with an E6300/E6400 doesn't mean you can hit that with the 10x multi on the E6700. All of the conroes top out around 3.2-3.6 regardless.

And you don't have to use the 2.0 memory multi, you can use 1.0 to take ram out of play.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Your most likely hitting the wall with your CPU at 3.5ghz (350x10), you'll have to drop the CPU multi if you want to go higher with the FSB. Just because some can hit 450+ FSB with an E6300/E6400 doesn't mean you can hit that with the 10x multi on the E6700. All of the conroes top out around 3.2-3.6 regardless.

And you don't have to use the 2.0 memory multi, you can use 1.0 to take ram out of play.

absolutely 100% true

I was going to say that but I came late to the show

 

[bprogar]

What would you guys suggest? After tweaking a bit I realized that the max depended upon the multiplier; please excuse my n00bness. Would you suggest I run at a 350x10, or run a higher front side bus with a lower multiplier. Does it make any difference as long as I'm reaching the 3.5 ghz range? In addition, what is the benefit of using a 2 memory multiplier? Would it be better to use a 1 mem multiplier and "take the ram out of play?"

I'm thinking that because of my lack of knowledge, I wont overclock until about 6 months down the road when games really put a load on my system. One last question: If I chose not to overclock, would you suggest that I enable both the CPU EIST and CPU enhanced Halt (C1E) functions? If those are enabled, do they cause the system to run slower during load times and gaming?

Thank you,
Brendt

 

[cmdrdredd]

try 425x8 (3.4Ghz) and put memory at 1 (850Mhz)

See what happens

 

[GuitarDaddy]

3.5ghz is a damn nice overclock on a C2D, if you can get that stable with all 4 sticks of your ram I would do that. At the 1.0 divider that's overclocking your DDR667 up to DDR700 which may require bumping the ddr volts to get completely stable.

I wouldn't wait, you've already pretty much proved that it will run 3.5ghz. The two keys to successful overclocking are stability and temps. As long as you do adequate stability testing, and your temps are reasonable you will be fine.

To test stability I use TAT(Intel Thermal Analysis Tool), it creates the most heat and will crap out an unstable overclock real quick. If you can run TAT 100% on both cores for 10-15mins, chances are 95% that your truly stable. To make 100% sure I run orthos overnight, then loop a graphics test like 3dmark for a few hours. The graphics testing is crucial IMO because it most stresses the power supply, I've seen many cases where the CPU overclock would pass orthos for hours and hours but the PS couldn't handle the O/C and a high end GPU at the same time.

As far as the power management you will just have to see what works for you. Some people have success running throttling while overclocking, others don't.
If you use C1E definately enable EIST, with just C1E it will drop the CPU multi but not the vcore which is useless IMO.

 

[bprogar]

Perfect! I'll do the testing. One last question; n00bishness again. Would you suggest that I remove the 1ghz slow ram (ddr2 667 2x512), or keep them in and see how it affects my stability? Here are my overvoltage controls which are tested not by me, but by http://www.fastsilicon.com/mot...oard-reviews/index.php (on the GA-955P-S3 MOBO). They use a higher ram speed than I and state that their stable overclock occurs at DDR Overvoltage Control of +.4v (crucial memory rated at 2.2v for DDR-1000). So I'm going to play it safe and overvolt at +.2 . Other than that, my overvolatage would be FSB +.1v, MCH overvoltage +.1v, and CPU Voltage- 1.43125v. From what I have learned, the only way to test is to to run till failure. Thank you for the comments, they have been informative and helpful in my learning process.

Would it be wise to spend the $100 and buy another 2g of ram at the same speed? My current 2 gigs of ram should be more than sufficient, but I have been out of the loop. This depends on if I can afford it of course, but should I remove or try to include the ddr 667 2x512 ram.

What I need to do is run some benchmark tests and discover what works best.

Thank you again for your information guys,
Brendt

 

[MarcVenice]

Dude, if you can run 3.5ghz at a fsb of 350 and a multiplier of 10, with ALL your memory in there, including the ddr 667, and your LOAD temps don't exceed 60-65 celsius, then you should stop asking us stuff, because if it is stable, you have allready reached a VERY VERY nice overclock.

As to the reason you couldn't surpass 350fsb is because your ddr 667 would be running 700mhz at 1:1, which means it's overclocked, any more, and it apparently would crap out. Now, you COULD use a divider to go for an even higher FSB, if your cpu allows it, or you could try overclocking it more by giving it more voltage. If it is wise to spend another 100 bucks on 2 gig of ram and get rid of the ddr 667, well, if you got a stable OC at 3.5ghz with both kinds of memory in it, then no, it would not be wise.