d2.6c at 3.25 GHz but unstable

[fluxquantum]

hello everyone,

i managed to overclock my 2.6c to 3.25 GHz but 3dmark will not finish and i just get back to the desktop.

my specs are: Abit IC7, P4 2.6C, 2 x 512 MB Kingston HyperX 3500, 350W Antec Power Supply, Geforce 4 ti-4200 128MB

my RAM is set to 2-3-3-7, AGP/PCI bus is locked to 66/33, using 5:4 ratio.

at 3.2 GHz with cpu voltage at 1.575, the proc. runs fine. should i increase the voltage to 1.6 to get stability at 3.25? i am afraid to push it too high. i am using stock cooling.

any advice would be appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

[Technonut]

Put it @ 1.6V, run Prime95, and see what your load temps are. You should be OK...

EDIT: Many ABIT mobos will show undervolting compared to BIOS settings in Winbond Hardware Doctor or CPU-Z. Check it out when you are @ 1.6V. It may show up as 1.55V idle.

My IC7-G on the other hand is pretty much on the money. I set it @ 1.6V, and WHD / CPU-Z shows 1.6V @ idle. Same with VDIMM and voltage rails....

 

[Lyfer]

If you add more voltage and still get no luck, you're ram is prolly not capable of running 5:4 ratio.

 

[Technonut]

Do you have the last two GAT settings disabled, and the rest on Auto? It should help you greatly @ 5:4 if you do...

 

[fluxquantum]

i am kind of a noob, what exactly is GAT? i apologize for my ignorance. so far i have things stable at 1.625V. i will soon get a zalman to keep things cooler. i am not sure if my power supply is the problem as well. it is an antec 350. i use motherboard monitor and it says 12V and then below it says something like 11.70 and fluctuates lower then higher.

 

[Technonut]

GAT = Game Acceleration Technology. It basically just manipulates RAM timings. ( Street Racer, F1, etc..)
You will find it in the BIOS where you adjusted your RAM timings...

 

[fluxquantum]

oh, duh...i did see those options. i was just afraid to mess with them. okay, i will do that. by the way. i got it stable at 1.625. i hope that's not too high. so far all seems well.

 

[Technonut]

After you set the GAT settings as I suggested, drop back down to 1.6V and slowly bump your FSB up 1 or 2 notches at a time, testing for stability. Raise the VCore in between to where you had it (1.625) if necessary..

Install Winbond Hardware Doctor from your installation CD, and let us know what the VCore, VDIMM, and voltage rails are showing compared to what they are showing in the BIOS.

 

[Polar2002]

With the same m/b at 1.65v in bios (actual 1.63v mbm), my 2.6c runs stable at 3.4. I had to do baby steps with the fsb raising 2 mhz at a time after 250. Now at 263.

 

[fluxquantum]

Originally posted by: Technonut
After you set the GAT settings as I suggested, drop back down to 1.6V and slowly bump your FSB up 1 or 2 notches at a time, testing for stability. Raise the VCore in between to where you had it (1.625) if necessary..

Install Winbond Hardware Doctor from your installation CD, and let us know what the VCore, VDIMM, and voltage rails are showing compared to what they are showing in the BIOS.

okay, i changed the GAT settings. i also installed winbond. here are the results for 3.25 GHz:

Vcore - 1.6V

VDIMM - ( i assume this DDR) - 2.58V

Voltage Rails - 3.20V, 4.95V, and 11.68V

 

[Technonut]

It is safe to run your HyperX @ 2.8V, and not void your warranty.. (Kingston tech support confirmed )

I would try that and push the FSB higher.. (notch at a time)

 

[zShowtimez]

I know when I recived my RMAd IC7-G it couldnt OC at all in 5:4, in fact it wouldnt run stock speeds with 5:4. I dont know if that might be an issue for you.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: zShowtimez
I know when I recived my RMAd IC7-G it couldnt OC at all in 5:4, in fact it wouldnt run stock speeds with 5:4. I dont know if that might be an issue for you.

Doesn't seem like it, since he's got it running @ 3.25Ghz, huh?

 

[fluxquantum]

Originally posted by: Technonut
It is safe to run your HyperX @ 2.8V, and not void your warranty.. (Kingston tech support confirmed )

I would try that and push the FSB higher.. (notch at a time)

okay, i will bump up the RAM voltage a notch. it is very stable except i notice that after playing medal of honor for like an hour or so the computer will crash to the desktop. i hope it's not my power supply. is 350W enough?

 

[jdogg707]

What kind of PSU is it? I have also heard that Kingston HyperX memory doesn't run very well in the Abit IC7 motherboard

 

[fluxquantum]

Originally posted by: jdogg707
What kind of PSU is it? I have also heard that Kingston HyperX memory doesn't run very well in the Abit IC7 motherboard

my power supply is an Antec 350W.

 

[jdogg707]

Antec's are pretty good, I've had mine for about two years and it has always been rock solid. Check the power rails and see if they look normal, if not, then your PSU might be the problem.

 

[fluxquantum]

Originally posted by: jdogg707
Antec's are pretty good, I've had mine for about two years and it has always been rock solid. Check the power rails and see if they look normal, if not, then your PSU might be the problem.

well, if you read above you will see my settings. i went with bumping the RAM's voltage to 2.8V and everything is stable. no more crashing to the desktop when playing games. thanks for the help guys

 

[l3ored]

waitamminute, if you have 3500 ram at 5:4, your cpu is 3.51, not 3.25 (unless your ram is at 400mhz...)

 

[fluxquantum]

Originally posted by: l3ored
waitamminute, if you have 3500 ram at 5:4, your cpu is 3.51, not 3.25 (unless your ram is at 400mhz...)

yes, i believe it runs at 400 MHz

 

[Duvie]

Flux...

I hasd a 2.6c that did 3.25ghz as well on that board...

I can confrim that 1.625v set on my board equals 1.58v as seen by cpu_iz and hardware monitor....I wouldn't go above 1.65v set since anymore vcore past this point rarely garners anymore but 1-2 more fsb and a lot more heat....


Definitely make sure you are running bios version 17 or newer...older versions had some stability issues...Newer version may also help if there are any issues with memory compatability...

Also try dropping the cas timings and even try running 3:2 to rule out any other limitations other then the cpu...

 

[fluxquantum]

Originally posted by: Duvie
Flux...

I hasd a 2.6c that did 3.25ghz as well on that board...

I can confrim that 1.625v set on my board equals 1.58v as seen by cpu_iz and hardware monitor....I wouldn't go above 1.65v set since anymore vcore past this point rarely garners anymore but 1-2 more fsb and a lot more heat....


Definitely make sure you are running bios version 17 or newer...older versions had some stability issues...Newer version may also help if there are any issues with memory compatability...

Also try dropping the cas timings and even try running 3:2 to rule out any other limitations other then the cpu...

i do have the latest BIOS and i will definitely try 3:2 since i have it on 5:4 right now. my cas timings are at 2-3-3-7 at the moment. any suggestions?

 

[Duvie]

That really depends....Who knows the compatability issues, but I have tried my ram at cas 2.5 as well as cas 3...With 3:2 I sure would hop the ram ran cas 2,3,3,7 but be sure to try cas 2.5 as well when testing as you never know....


New bios is good though I have heard some saying they had stability issues with version 19...May want to try 17 and 18 as well...I use the new flashmenu so it is pretty quick to change and find out in windows...


other settings I make sure I do is...

bios cacheable: disabled
video cacheable: disabled

Last 2 GAT setting disabled (though right now with a 3:2 ratio with my 292fsb I can run normal and last 2 settings on auto)

I also manually set to NB strap of 800 and not "CPU"

vdimm = 2.8v (remember the abit undervolats that as well to usually 2.78v)
vagp = 1.6v-1.65v

notice how the VTT and VDDQ get much bette lines when those 2 are upped in combinations....Try it...some boards have been known to set the vcore of the northbridge by the vagp....


How are the temps?? list reportings...

How are the voltages idle to load???

 

[jeffason]

Hey, I seem to be having a similar problem with my p4 2.6ghz setup.. I can push the fsb to 245(DDR 392, 3.20 CPU frequency) but when I try to push it up to 250 I get problems.. Im using 2x512 Corsair xms pc3200 ram(2-2-2-5 @ 2.75v) on an asus p4c800-e deluxe mb.. The system seems fairly stable at 250 FSB but if I run CPU arithmetic benchmark using sandra it freezes everytime.. I have the vcore at 1.60v and tried several different voltages, up to 1.7 and I still got the same problem.. Both the cpu arithmetic and cpu multimedia benchmarks freeze @ 250, but do fine @ 245.. Anyone have suggestions how I can get some extra performance? I thought it might have something to do with the ram because its an older model corsair xms series but I tried higher latencies and still got this problem.. It couldn't be a ram problem if the ram benchmark works fine @ 250 but the cpu benchmarks dont, could it? Thanks for any help on this!

 

[batmang]

increasing the vagp helps with oc'ing? i didnt know that.... maybe ill give that a try and see if i can get the magic 250fsb. i have a is7-e, is version 16 bios not good for oc'ing? i beleive for the is7-e the 16 bios is the newest.