does power supply really affect oc'ed computer stability

[leeperpsu]

first let me give you my specs and system symptoms....

ok i have a oc'ed barton 2800 from 2.08 to 2.35GHz.
my system info says under load my cpu is drawing 96 watts.

if i overclock my cpu any further i get lock ups with cold boots. and it will crash in 3dmark03 even with low cpu temps (well under 50c).

i have 5 80mm fans with LEDS, two cold cathode lights, 9700pro, santa cruz card, two ide drives, WD 80gig HD...

all running on a 400W sparkle ups. Is that too much to run with that ups. (don't forget the cpu is overclocked too). oh i should mention that i have a epox 8rda mobo with the Vdrr volt mod and a fan on the northbridge chip.

i guess after all that blah blah crap...my real questions are

can the power supply make a system unstable??
is my current power supply crap for what i'm trying to run??
and lastly what do you all think about the antec True480 watt ups??

thanks.

 

[bgeh]

1)yes
2)-
3)it's a great PSU

 

[bjc112]

Yes the symptoms you are describing are usually from a PSU...

However, Sparkle is a hell of a power supply company... That 400 watt should be PLENTY...

But yes, Antec makes a nice PSU also..


Instead of buying a new one, lets try and figure out the problem eh?

Have you upped your Vcore ( Stay below 1.85) Have you upped your Vdimm (2.8)

Those will also cause your system to crap out during high cpu usage and gaming...

 

[leeperpsu]

well my Vcore is 1.800 but my mobo overvolts to 1.82
my system is stable at that minimum voltage.

my Vdimm is set at 2.9 but usually reads 2.88 or so.
my mem timings are 11-2-2-2
my mem is corsair xms ddr400
my fsc is 203MHz

my Vdrr is 1.85
good cooling on both northbridge and southbridge.

my cpu cooling is thermalright slk-800
Tt tornado fan (big orange loud beast)

My cpu temps on hot summer day no central air on is...
40-42c idle
45-47c load
these temps are from SiSoft sandra 2003 MAX3 using burn in utility.

my computer seems to be stable at these settings but i want to go a little higher and i think my ups is holding me back because of all the stuff its powering.

any suggestions are greatly welcomed!!!

 

[leeperpsu]

also...

in the bios my 12+v rail reads like 11.89-11.91
and 5+v rail is like 4.91
12- and 5- are real close (as they should be ) they are like 11.97 and 4.99 respectively

now are those voltages off by too much?
cause when its under load i'm sure they get even worse!

maybe its time for a antec true480

 

[bjc112]

Well just to check,

IF you unplugged about 3 or 4 of those fans, does your voltage dip much?

 

[leeperpsu]

common guys lets make this a good power supply post.
many people totally overlook the power supply when building a system and overclocking

 

[leeperpsu]

i never really checked that

but i had two undone once and the voltages where still off about the same

 

[bjc112]

$hit,

I don't have my main system hooked up.. 2.3ghz on a 350 sparkle...

I would like to post my voltages, yours really aren't off by much...

What about the 2 cold cathodes... They don't draw much but, pop them out and see..

 

[leeperpsu]

i'm at work right now...but i'll give it a whirl tonight

i already ordered a antec true480

hehe i guess i'm an idiot
but i guess it will last a good while!

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: leeperpsu
i'm at work right now...but i'll give it a whirl tonight

i already ordered a antec true480

hehe i guess i'm an idiot
but i guess it will last a good while!

Ahhh, soooo early...

I will update you tomorrow with mine..

I have a 1700+@ 2.3 ghz

1 gig PC 3200

2 Cathodes

3-4 Case fans...

Sparkle 350w

 

[leeperpsu]

hey bjc,

are my volts all good??

if i wanted to get like 2.4-2.5 out of my cpu do you think its possible with the cooling i have?
also could my memory be holding me back from going to a higher fsb?
i've been tweaking for about 3 weeks now and i'm slowly getting faster.

another question...is it a good idea to enable bios cashable and video ram cashable?
does anyone know what that does and will it increase performance?

 

[render]

What's a model number of your power supply?

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: leeperpsu
hey bjc,

are my volts all good??

if i wanted to get like 2.4-2.5 out of my cpu do you think its possible with the cooling i have?
also could my memory be holding me back from going to a higher fsb?
i've been tweaking for about 3 weeks now and i'm slowly getting faster.

another question...is it a good idea to enable bios cashable and video ram cashable?
does anyone know what that does and will it increase performance?

Well what kind of memory are you currently running?

 

[leeperpsu]

oh bjc i just remembered something else i wanted to tell

i was in my case the other day moving some cables around and i noticed that when i moved some of the cables coming directly from the psu, my computer would sputter. i was playing music as i was doing the moving and the songs would skip when i'd move the power cables. wasn't touchin any of the ide cables. could i have a faulty psu?

 

[leeperpsu]

i'm not sure of the model number for my power supply but its a sparkle power supply w/ 400W

the memory is Corsair XMS ddr400
timing is 11-2-2-2
Vdimm is 2.9

 

[render]

Some old sparkle PS has really low(less than 12.0A) at +12v rail.

 

[Necrolezbeast]

I don't know, people have said how well the XMS overclocks, but the 2 sticks I had my friend order will not go above 202mhz without lockup with up to 2.9v to them...and yes they were tested single and with SPD config

 

[leeperpsu]

render

i just ordered a antec true480 psu. 22amps on the 12+ rail. so i hope i can get some more MHz from my cpu.

bjc

i've had my fsb to 215 and it ran for a lil while but then started giving me problems. this was when i first build the system so i don't know if it had anything to
do with being fresh components (all but mobo and ram was new). but now that i've had it running for a few weeks at 200fsb i just started slowly pushing the fsb up. i'm at 203 and all is well with the settings. i might try going a lil further after i get the psu. you guys have any advise??

 

[Mickey21]

Something that helped me, on my P4 rig with your same memory...
Running 3Dmark 2001 while I was overclocking, I would get lockups at 203-206 FSB with 2.8 volts on memory.
When I changed my timings to 2-7-3-3 from 2-7-2-2, 3Dmark 2001 worked fine. I would guess then you should give a try on 11-2-3-3 assuming the first 2 is CAS Latency...
Afterwards I could raise it to 215FSB without a problem...

And to agree with post#2

1: Yes
2: Dont think so
3: Great PSU

 

[leeperpsu]

hey mickey thanks for the input

i currently don't get lock ups with 3dmark03 and o1se at 203Mhz.
i'm gonna wait for the psu and up it some more. if i lock up i'll try the 11-3-3-2 or 11-3-3-2.5

 

[Mickey21]

Always glad to help, good luck...

 

[bjc112]

Leep...

Granted i am running this comp in my "old" case.. I am currently running 2.4Ghz (200x12)

This is with 3 case fans no cathodes at the time... Sparkle 350..

I think that PSU may be faulty,

We shall see when ever you have your new Antec...

 

[leeperpsu]

hey bjc,

i was checking out your rig...
you have the same mobo as me..good pick
did you do any volt mod for the chip set?
and what are your mem timings?
and FYI turtle beach just released a new driver for the santa cruz...a must have update!!
whats your voltages and temps for your mem and cpu (just curious)

i was tweaking some more last night and i was able to get the fsb to 204 with mem timings of 11,2,2,2
i ran 3dmark03, 01se, pcmark02, sandra burn-in, and a six hour loop of a cpu stability utility. no problems!

new speed is 2.36Ghz hope to hit fsb of 210 with new psu..

 

[leeperpsu]

also i checked out the ratings for my psu 12+ rail and it only can handle 15A.