Does this mean I need to RMA these highly regarded 2 mo. old buffalo firestix? (micron D9?)

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: adondeeres

Originally posted by: Fallengod
Either bios settings or motherboard. Theres nothing else to blame. Theres no way its the memory. Sorry but no way. Firestix can do 1000mhz easy. All of them, every single one. You didnt buy them at microncenter did you?

It could be bios settings. If you too tight of timings or something holding you back. Voltage? Hard to say. I dont know what to make out of those strange settings. It will do 400mhz but not 378? Or 425? That doesnt make any sense. Even the worst possible memory chips can overclock past 425mhz. And these are top memory chips were talking about.


I dont have too much experience with all different types of c2d mobos but, I thought the P5B deluxe was decent?

I bought these towards the end of February this year at Newegg. I haven't tried it at 400x8 yet. I will try it later tonight and keep everyone updated. All I know is that it has failed 378x9 and 425x8 at various settings, including the rated: 2.1V and 5-5-5-15.

Everyone: please let me know if there are any other settings/voltages at all from my BIOS that I can provide.

Last night, I tried to loosen the timing down to 6-6-6-18 @2.1V, but something happened and scared me so I won't be trying that again. It posted, but shortly thereafter, I get this screen that looks like I was in the BIOS (based on the .5 inch blue gradient strip at the top) and it just said "WAIT...". I left it like that for a minute and it didn't do anything. I turned off the power for 10 seconds, which is what ASUS recommends to activate CPR (I think it's called CPR) and turned it back on and hit the 'delete' key to go directly into BIOS, but same thing. Then, I turned off the power for a few minutes and was finally able get into BIOS. Strange. Possible sign of a mobo problem?

I'm using the final BIOS version which allow roll back. I think the later versions do not allow roll back to earlier BIOS versions.

Just a quick note that I did not mention...between 350 and 400Mhz FSB my board will not be stable, between 400 and 425 it's ok and between 460 and 503 it's ok too.

Maybe something similar for you? They're called "Black Holes" but I had assumed they were fixed...I just use 400Mhz FSB.

 

[adondeeres]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Just a quick note that I did not mention...between 350 and 400Mhz FSB my board will not be stable, between 400 and 425 it's ok and between 460 and 503 it's ok too.

Maybe something similar for you? They're called "Black Holes" but I had assumed they were fixed...I just use 400Mhz FSB.

Yup I thought I had read that somewhere, that's why I was trying to explain in earlier posts for why I decreased my multiplier to 8 and used a FSB of 425 instead of 378.

However, I don't remember reading that they had fixed that problem. Perhaps they did. I'll look into it.

 

[n7]

For an explanation of why the 370-400 FSB range is harder on the NB, & why using a lower multiplier is also, read about how the strap changes & how NB core clock is calculated here: http://www.bleedinedgesupport.com/ocz/forum/showthread.php?t=23803

Your RAM should be able to run stably @ stock CPU (9x266) 2:3 (DDR2-800).

Anything else is, including FSB & CPU overclocking is above what is warrantied IMO.

Since it sounds like your P5B-D is especially sensitive to NBCC speeds, i'd suggest bumping vNB to 1.55V.

Also, try loosing the RAM subtimings a bit.

Try something like 5-5-5-15-6-42-10-12-10-14, as those last 4 can actually affect stability greatly.

I will admit it does sound like you got a lower binned kit though, but that's overclocking for ya...nothing is guaranteed.

 

[Fallengod]

I agree, overclocking is definitely YMMV. All memory chips probably wont overclock the same. Still, I have a hard time believing that those micron d9gmh chips cant do over 850mhz. That is bizarre. I think motherboards are more "finicky" and picky when it comes to ocing than anything else. Thats why I would have to guess it is the mobo.

The only way youd know for sure of course, is either RMA the memory then retest, or get a new mobo.

 

[adondeeres]

Originally posted by: n7
For an explanation of why the 370-400 FSB range is harder on the NB, & why using a lower multiplier is also, read about how the strap changes & how NB core clock is calculated here: http://www.bleedinedgesupport.com/ocz/forum/showthread.php?t=23803

Your RAM should be able to run stably @ stock CPU (9x266) 2:3 (DDR2-800).

Anything else is, including FSB & CPU overclocking is above what is warrantied IMO.

Since it sounds like your P5B-D is especially sensitive to NBCC speeds, i'd suggest bumping vNB to 1.55V.

Also, try loosing the RAM subtimings a bit.

Try something like 5-5-5-15-6-42-10-12-10-14, as those last 4 can actually affect stability greatly.

I will admit it does sound like you got a lower binned kit though, but that's overclocking for ya...nothing is guaranteed.

Is 1.55V for the NB going to be a little high? I will probably have this computer on for about 12 hrs/day for a while. I don't feel comfortable messing with the NB heatsink and putting in AS like some people do. I'm just worried about my NB heating up. My CPU temps on the other hand are somewhat good: at 1.45V/3.4GHz, idle is ~29 C, orthos small ftt ~53 C, orthos blend ~48 C, and the highest temp I've seen with TAT 100% on both cores is ~57-58 C.

I just don't know about my NB, but I can surely try it and see what happens.

One other thing I suppose I could try is running orthos blend with 1 stick of RAM at a time.

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: adondeeres

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
If it can do 8x400 at 1:1 ratio, then there's nothing wrong with your memory.

Thanks. I'll try that when I get home later tonight and update this thread.

What would it mean if it were able to do 8x400 at 1:1 and not 378x9 @ 1:1 or 425x8 @ 1:1?

Would it be a sign that my motherboard is to blame?

I was assuming that you worked your way up to 425x8 before you had problems. If that was the case then your memory was working at least at specified speed, and therefore there was nothing wrong with the memory. I'm thinking now that I might have assumed incorrectly.

As n7 just said, "Your RAM should be able to run stably @ stock CPU (9x266) 2:3 (DDR2-800). " Anything above that is not guaranteed. Your memory is DDR2 800. So it only has to run correctly at 400mhz to be equal to its rated speed.

I think you need to go back and read how to overclock. You don't start with what other people can do with their setup. You start at stock and work your way up.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: adondeeres

Originally posted by: n7
For an explanation of why the 370-400 FSB range is harder on the NB, & why using a lower multiplier is also, read about how the strap changes & how NB core clock is calculated here: http://www.bleedinedgesupport.com/ocz/forum/showthread.php?t=23803

Your RAM should be able to run stably @ stock CPU (9x266) 2:3 (DDR2-800).

Anything else is, including FSB & CPU overclocking is above what is warrantied IMO.

Since it sounds like your P5B-D is especially sensitive to NBCC speeds, i'd suggest bumping vNB to 1.55V.

Also, try loosing the RAM subtimings a bit.

Try something like 5-5-5-15-6-42-10-12-10-14, as those last 4 can actually affect stability greatly.

I will admit it does sound like you got a lower binned kit though, but that's overclocking for ya...nothing is guaranteed.

Is 1.55V for the NB going to be a little high? I will probably have this computer on for about 12 hrs/day for a while. I don't feel comfortable messing with the NB heatsink and putting in AS like some people do. I'm just worried about my NB heating up. My CPU temps on the other hand are somewhat good: at 1.45V/3.4GHz, idle is ~29 C, orthos small ftt ~53 C, orthos blend ~48 C, and the highest temp I've seen with TAT 100% on both cores is ~57-58 C.

I just don't know about my NB, but I can surely try it and see what happens.

One other thing I suppose I could try is running orthos blend with 1 stick of RAM at a time.

I've ran my mobo 24/7 at 1.6v for like 3 months before.

 

[adondeeres]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom

I was assuming that you worked your way up to 425x8 before you had problems. If that was the case then your memory was working at least at specified speed, and therefore there was nothing wrong with the memory. I'm thinking now that I might have assumed incorrectly.

As n7 just said, "Your RAM should be able to run stably @ stock CPU (9x266) 2:3 (DDR2-800). " Anything above that is not guaranteed. Your memory is DDR2 800. So it only has to run correctly at 400mhz to be equal to its rated speed.

I think you need to go back and read how to overclock. You don't start with what other people can do with their setup. You start at stock and work your way up.

I actually did work my way up, but I worked my way up quickly and didn't necessarily do it in small steps. I tested with orthos small ftt each step of the way (didn't test with orthos blend). My goal was to get to around 3.4GHz and stabilize with orthos small ftt and then start messing with my memory timing/speed. I remember reading how certain people had done things this way (that is, overclock the CPU and then mess with RAM later).

Unfortunately, I didn't test for stability at stock. I only tested at 9x266 and DDR2-800 after the fact that it failed orthos blend at 3.4GHz -- 4 times in a row right around 2-2.25 hours each time. I can also go back tonight and run orthos blend at stock again to see what happens (I stopped it after around 2.5hrs last time). Even then, if it can run 2:3 DDR2-800, shouldn't it be able to do 1:1 DDR2-800? It's still running at 400MHz both times, right?

 

[adondeeres]

OK, the strangest thing just happened. Before I left for work this morning (~10 hrs ago), I ran an orthos blend at 378x9 @ DDR2-756. What's strange is that it hasn't failed yet whereas last time it failed ~2hrs.

I don't know whether or not it is worth noting that I removed/replaced one of my dimm last night when it was going through that "WAIT..." message I spoke about earlier. This is the first test since I removed/replaced the dimm and for some reason it hasn't failed like it did before.

Could this have anything to do with what was happening before? I just thought that if the RAM wasn't seated properly, it wouldn't POST/boot, period.

I'll let it for for a few more hours and see if I can overclock the RAM, then do another orthos blend.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: adondeeres
Even then, if it can run 2:3 DDR2-800, shouldn't it be able to do 1:1 DDR2-800? It's still running at 400MHz both times, right?

Nope & yes.

Sure, it's running @ DDR2-800 speeds both times, but what's not the same is the FSB & NBCC, which simply put, means there's more stress on the motherboard @ 1:1 DDR2-800 than 2:3 DDR2-800.

In fact, that additional stress can even mean more vdimm needed for the RAM to be stable, hence why i mentioned it's not guaranteed 1:1 operation @ DDR2-800, even though more than likely, it should be able to do that.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: adondeeres
OK, the strangest thing just happened. Before I left for work this morning (~10 hrs ago), I ran an orthos blend at 378x9 @ DDR2-756. What's strange is that it hasn't failed yet whereas last time it failed ~2hrs.

I don't know whether or not it is worth noting that I removed/replaced one of my dimm last night when it was going through that "WAIT..." message I spoke about earlier. This is the first test since I removed/replaced the dimm and for some reason it hasn't failed like it did before.

Could this have anything to do with what was happening before? I just thought that if the RAM wasn't seated properly, it wouldn't POST/boot, period.

I'll let it for for a few more hours and see if I can overclock the RAM, then do another orthos blend.

Clarify please.

You removed one dimm, as in you are now running a single dimm?

Or you just reseated them.

I assume you have run Memtest @ 9x266 2:3 (DDR2-800).
If not, please do, to ensure it's not one of the dimms perhaps.

 

[adondeeres]

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: adondeeres
Even then, if it can run 2:3 DDR2-800, shouldn't it be able to do 1:1 DDR2-800? It's still running at 400MHz both times, right?

Nope & yes.

Sure, it's running @ DDR2-800 speeds both times, but what's not the same is the FSB & NBCC, which simply put, means there's more stress on the motherboard @ 1:1 DDR2-800 than 2:3 DDR2-800.

In fact, that additional stress can even mean more vdimm needed for the RAM to be stable, hence why i mentioned it's not guaranteed 1:1 operation @ DDR2-800, even though more than likely, it should be able to do that.

Interesting. Thank you for the tip.

I'm still running orthos blend right now and I'm not sure why it hasn't failed like it did previously. It's over 14 hrs already. Settings same as when it ran/failed on Saturday. Weird.

Call me crazy, but for whatever reason, I'm not completely satisfied unless I can run orthos blend and small ftt for ~16 hr once more after a fresh boot at these exact settings. It's failed too many times before I removed and reinserted one of my RAM sticks.

 

[adondeeres]

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: adondeeres
OK, the strangest thing just happened. Before I left for work this morning (~10 hrs ago), I ran an orthos blend at 378x9 @ DDR2-756. What's strange is that it hasn't failed yet whereas last time it failed ~2hrs.

I don't know whether or not it is worth noting that I removed/replaced one of my dimm last night when it was going through that "WAIT..." message I spoke about earlier. This is the first test since I removed/replaced the dimm and for some reason it hasn't failed like it did before.

Could this have anything to do with what was happening before? I just thought that if the RAM wasn't seated properly, it wouldn't POST/boot, period.

I'll let it for for a few more hours and see if I can overclock the RAM, then do another orthos blend.

Clarify please.

You removed one dimm, as in you are now running a single dimm?

Or you just reseated them.

I assume you have run Memtest @ 9x266 2:3 (DDR2-800).
If not, please do, to ensure it's not one of the dimms perhaps.

I missed your post here.

I'm still running 2 dimm. In an effort to get that "WAIT..." screen to go away, while I powered off for a few minutes, I decided to take out one of the dimm. After a few minutes, I powered back on. After being able to successfully get into BIOS with one dimm, I powered off, put the second dimm back in the exacts same slot and booted at 378x9. I'm running orthos blend for 14.5+ hrs since that incident without it failing. I'll try it again and might even try it once at 425x8, DDR2-850 just for the heck of it.

 

[adondeeres]

I will run memtest @ stock. I ran it at 378x9 for about 20 min last night after the aforementioned incident without problems. I was just too anxious to overclock this system.

 

[adondeeres]

There is something very wrong here. http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=orthosblend050807nk0.png Stable for 16 hours. I restarted, immediately saved BIOS settings to profile 1 and proceeded to reboot. Attempted to open up ~28 items on my desktop at the same time, system failed and auto restart. This all happened at the exact same settings that allowed me to be orthos blend stable for 16 hours. I don't get it. What's causing this to be unstable?

I will do an overnight memtest run @ stock.

Is it more likely mobo or RAM at this point?

 

[n7]

Run Memtest.

Also, was video something you had running amongst the 28 items?

I had weird stuff happen w/ my current E6600 where everything was stable except running Orthos + high def videos = instant BSOD.

As far as i can tell it was due to one of my dimms flaking out (died eventually).

Also try 3DMark05/06 & OCCT for additional tests.

 

[adondeeres]

memtest overnight went through 7 passes, no errors---even at 378x9 @ DDR2-756. I'll do some other tests later tonight.

Video was not one of the files. These were things like folders, text docs, programs like core temp, speedfan, etc.

 

[Thor86]

Quick tips for ya.

1) Find your max memory overclock first, using Memtest test #5 until it errors.

2) Find your max memory overclock first (in windows), and use Orthos Blend, typically 24+ hours is enough, but I've had it fail on me at 27 hours, so now I test at least 48 hours.

3) Find your max cpu overclock in windows and use Orthos LargeFFT testing. Why? Because it will error out the quickest for any instability issues.

4) 2.1vdimm set in your motherboard bios will never be 2.1vdimm when you load you memory/board/cpu and whatever else you have in your system. What psu are you using?

My PC2-8000 Firestix can do DDR2-950 @ 4-4-4-22 timings with 2.25vdimm, but I'm on a different board.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Try increasing your NB, SB, ICH up a bit. Then put the memory at 2.1v and see how it does for you.

Increasing my voltages allowed my thought to be dead Crucial 10th Anniversary, run fine at DDR2-800 cas4 with 2.1v.

I don't run DDR2-1000 because I have 4GB of memory and it's a ton of stress on the board to run that speed with 4 slots filled. Performance difference is not that significant for me either.

 

[adondeeres]

Originally posted by: Thor86
Quick tips for ya.

1) Find your max memory overclock first, using Memtest test #5 until it errors.

2) Find your max memory overclock first (in windows), and use Orthos Blend, typically 24+ hours is enough, but I've had it fail on me at 27 hours, so now I test at least 48 hours.

3) Find your max cpu overclock in windows and use Orthos LargeFFT testing. Why? Because it will error out the quickest for any instability issues.

4) 2.1vdimm set in your motherboard bios will never be 2.1vdimm when you load you memory/board/cpu and whatever else you have in your system. What psu are you using?

My PC2-8000 Firestix can do DDR2-950 @ 4-4-4-22 timings with 2.25vdimm, but I'm on a different board.

I'm using the corsair 620W PSU. According to Asus AI Suite, my RAM should be getting 2.1V (I think). See here: http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=orthosblend050807nk0.png

Right, I have no idea why it could be orthos blend stable for 16 hours and NOT be able to open up 28 different files/programs/etc.

I messed up my MBR and boot files last night and my HD stopped booting up all together. I'm going to have to restore it from an image. I was messing with RAM timing and stuff to see if I could figure out why it is unable to open up 28 files/programs.

 

[adondeeres]

Question: The OS I have right now is XP SP2. I don't have any additional updates since SP2 (just installed fresh copy of XP with SP2 when I built everything)...could the lack of updates of hotfixes/drivers be part of the problem?

 

[Thor86]

Originally posted by: adondeeres
Question: The OS I have right now is XP SP2. I don't have any additional updates since SP2 (just installed fresh copy of XP with SP2 when I built everything)...could the lack of updates of hotfixes/drivers be part of the problem?

Always install the os using default bios settings, and yes, you should update the os and drivers before attempting any ocing.

As for you losing your mbr and hddisk becoming corrupted, that is why you should use Memtest and make sure there are no errors which could cause this before booting up the os at any oc settings.

 

[adondeeres]

Originally posted by: Thor86
Always install the os using default bios settings, and yes, you should update the os and drivers before attempting any ocing.

As for you losing your mbr and hddisk becoming corrupted, that is why you should use Memtest and make sure there are no errors which could cause this before booting up the os at any oc settings.

Hey Thor, thank you for the advice. It seems that it is noticeably more stable after I updated my OS with the latest hotfixes/patches. At least it doesn't crash when I try to open up 40+ files/programs this time around and I even raised my RAM to DDR2-945 @2.1V (on 378x9 @1.45V) and tightened my timing just a bit to 5-5-5-12 from 5-5-5-15 just to see if I could get it to restart like it did prior to updating the OS. So far, nothing yet.


I successfully ran 3DMark06 and PCMark05 without any problems. I'm going to put this through another orthos blend at my new settings...it seems most of my problems may have occurred due to me not updating my OS, so updates may have very well fixed at least that part of my problem.

*loudly smacks forehead*

I'll keep everyone updated on how this goes. Hopefully orthos blend doesn't fail at these settings. I'll also run orthos small ftt at these settings as well. If it fails, I'll lower the RAM and up my voltages for NB and SB a bit.

Thank you so much for those who shared their insight with a first time overclocker. I'm not trying to get the most out of my system, I just wanted to get more performance than was provided with an E6600 @ stock.

If it doesn't fail (that is, I finally get it stable at 378x9, DDR2-945, would it still be worth it to start over from scratch and find max memory OC and then max CPU OC? I've just read various approaches that people have taken and just didn't know if it was better to OC CPU first and then RAM or RAM first and then CPU.

 

[adondeeres]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Try increasing your NB, SB, ICH up a bit. Then put the memory at 2.1v and see how it does for you.

Increasing my voltages allowed my thought to be dead Crucial 10th Anniversary, run fine at DDR2-800 cas4 with 2.1v.

I don't run DDR2-1000 because I have 4GB of memory and it's a ton of stress on the board to run that speed with 4 slots filled. Performance difference is not that significant for me either.

Hey cmdrdredd:

I've always left my ICH voltage on Auto. I know there are only two settings: do you set yours on the higher of the two?

Also, what are your voltages for NB, SB, and vcore (how long do you leave your computer on at these settings)? I'm starting to feel that 1.45V is too much. Although I won't be running my system 24/7, is 1.45V high for 24/7?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: adondeeres

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
Try increasing your NB, SB, ICH up a bit. Then put the memory at 2.1v and see how it does for you.

Increasing my voltages allowed my thought to be dead Crucial 10th Anniversary, run fine at DDR2-800 cas4 with 2.1v.

I don't run DDR2-1000 because I have 4GB of memory and it's a ton of stress on the board to run that speed with 4 slots filled. Performance difference is not that significant for me either.

Hey cmdrdredd:

I've always left my ICH voltage on Auto. I know there are only two settings: do you set yours on the higher of the two?

Also, what are your voltages for NB, SB, and vcore (how long do you leave your computer on at these settings)? I'm starting to feel that 1.45V is too much. Although I won't be running my system 24/7, is 1.45V high for 24/7?

I run NB at 1.55 and ICH on the highest setting. my FSB Termination voltage is 1.4 and my SB is on the 2nd option from the lowest (forget the number). This is 24/7 (system is not on 24/7 tho).