Have E8400 that won't even OC to 3.6

[LittleJoe]

Hi. Fairly new to overclocking. I've been trying to overclock my E8400 for a while (a couple of weeks) now. I've read guides, other forum posts, other people's solutions...nothing I try seems to work. Here's what I've accomplished so far, with my rig...

My PC consists of:
Gigabyte X48-DS4 (flashed to F2 Bios)
Intel E8400 (C0 revision)
Zalman 9500 HS Fan
G. Skill Pi Black 6400 DDR2 RAM (stock voltages for this RAM are between 1.8 and 1.9)
HIS 4850 Video card (Dual-slot Turbo Edition)
OCZ GameXStream 700W PSU
Cooler Master CM 690 case

Here's where I am:
I can get to 3.42 Ghz (stable) by changing the FSB to 382, boosting the CPU vcore to 1.37 and boosting the RAM voltage three notches, to 1.97. I change the strapping (?) for the RAM to 2.40 B. This runs stable. Both Orthos and Prime95 (small FTT's) ran for hours. If I back off on the CPU voltage, though, it is not stable.

But, if I try to even go up to 3.5 or 3.6 Ghz, I can still boot, but Prime95 and Orthos give me rounding errors in one second. I tried boosting the FSB voltage two notches...it booted up, but Prime95 didn't last a minute. I tried boosting the MCH, same thing. I tried boosting my CPU voltage again, didn't help. I lowered my RAM voltage...didn't help. I tried following the Legion Hardware Guide and lowered all voltages back to normal and only increased the FSB...I can boot up, but, again, Prime95 and Orthos fail almost immediately.

What's the deal? Do I just have a chip that won't overclock? Should I boost the MCH voltage, the FSB voltage, the RAM voltage, AND the CPU voltage? Won't that generate a heck of a lot of heat? Please help, if you can.

 

[Rick James]

Let me find my 4Ghz E8500 settings. Give me a few bro

 

[Rick James]

Try These

Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 430Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:100

C.I.A.2 .................................:[Disabled]


Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: 800mv
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: 900mv
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: ops
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: 0ps


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: Standard
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.00D or yours may like 2.0B, one will let you set lower PL(static tRead)
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 800
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................5
tRCD .........................................5
tRP'...........................................5
tRAS..........................................15

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................Auto
tWTR..........................................Auto
tWR............................................Auto
tRFC...........................................52
tRTP...........................................Auto
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:2

Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength ............................Auto

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:Auto, note what this is and try lower later
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:Auto, note what this is and try lower later
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Motherboard Voltage Control
.....LLC=Enabled
CPU Vcore?.???.........................:1.35v
CPU Termination?..... 1.200V*.......: 1.22v
CPU PLL???????....1.500V*.......: Normal
CPU Referen.????....0.760V*.......: Normal

MCH/ICH
MCH Core?????.....1.100V...........: 1.26
MCH Reference?.??.0.760V...........; .74 or more likely .70 or .68, set this when VTT is 1.2v, then change VTT
MCH/DRAM Ref.?......0.900V...........: Auto
ICH I/O??????.....1.500V............: Normal
ICH Core????...??1.100V............: Normal

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ??....1.800V............: 1.9v
DRAM Termination .?0.900V............: Auto
Channel A Reference 0.900V............: Auto
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: Auto

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled]

 

[jandlecack]

Not to rain on your parade but I consider it extremely dangerous to apply somebody else's settings since every single chip, EVERY SINGLE CHIP, is different in many ways when overclocking...

 

[Rick James]

Originally posted by: jandlecack
Not to rain on your parade but I consider it extremely dangerous to apply somebody else's settings since every single chip, EVERY SINGLE CHIP, is different in many ways when overclocking...

Bro. Those settings have worked for countless C2D owners to get to 4Ghz. I borrowed those settings from someone else and i'm sure he borrowed them from someone else. It's like the universal settings for 4Ghz Haha

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

without doing all that, simply apply more VTT and PLL, maybe a little more NB

... bro :disgust:

 

[amenx]

Originally posted by: jandlecack
Not to rain on your parade but I consider it extremely dangerous to apply somebody else's settings since every single chip, EVERY SINGLE CHIP, is different in many ways when overclocking...

Not really. Only thing that may be dangerous are the vcore and vdimm values. If you know your limits in these 2 areas and work within them, there is no danger whatsoever. Anyone who does not know the safe boundaries of these 2 values on his particular cpu and ram has no business OC'ing in the first place.

p.s. this does not apply to i7 obviously, but only C2D which is relevant to the OP's case.

 

[E4300]

E8400 should be easy to overclock if you have a good chip, MB, and CPU. I've tested C0 and E0 chips with IP35-E board.

1. Set 1:1 memory divider (FSB = RAM speed). Use 5-5-5-18-2T timing with the recommended RAM voltage. Use memtest86 to make sure that the RAM is stable up to about 510MHz on that board (drop CPU multi to 8x to test).

2. Change CPU Vcore to 1.36. Be sure to have adequate CPU cooling. Peak coretemp should not exceed 63C.

3. Use 9x multiplier. Turn off C1E, EIST, and any power savings mode in windows. Start out with 400MHz FSB in BIOS. Run Orthos large mode for 2 minutes. If no error, then raise FSB by 10MHz and repeat.

Had to raise VTT and VNB up by one notch (1.2375 and 1.29, respectively) at 510MHz FSB when testing with 8x multiplier. My current 8400 E0 chip is stable @ 4.13GHz with 1.25VID, and 4.41GHz with 1.36V. Load voltage in CPUz is down by about 0.04V. VTT and VNB at default settings. Pay attention to the temp at the NB and PWM heat sinks. If you cannot comfortably hold the hottest region for more than 30 s, then you will need to apply active cooling. A hot NB will result in system instability.

I could push higher with 1.4V, but that would translate to early failure.

The 8400 C0 has a similar profile, except that the maximum stable speed is around 4.2GHz. The Abit IP35-E also didn't need extra juice at VTT and VNB to run this chip.

I think that you may have a bump chip. Common problem if the chip has been abused by the previous owner. It's best to manually set all other voltage settings on that board to the default values. DO NOT use AUTO. These chips run very well, often with only a minor bump in VTT and VNB.

In general, these chip will overclock by 50MHz for each 0.02V increase in Vcore.

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: Rick James

Originally posted by: jandlecack
Not to rain on your parade but I consider it extremely dangerous to apply somebody else's settings since every single chip, EVERY SINGLE CHIP, is different in many ways when overclocking...

Bro. Those settings have worked for countless C2D owners to get to 4Ghz. I borrowed those settings from someone else and i'm sure he borrowed them from someone else. It's like the universal settings for 4Ghz Haha

He has a C0 he's not getting anywhere near 4.0Ghz. Most only go to 3.6Ghz from what I've seen.

 

[Rick James]

Originally posted by: amenx

Originally posted by: jandlecack
Not to rain on your parade but I consider it extremely dangerous to apply somebody else's settings since every single chip, EVERY SINGLE CHIP, is different in many ways when overclocking...

Not really. Only thing that may be dangerous are the vcore and vdimm values. If you know your limits in these 2 areas and work within them, there is no danger whatsoever. Anyone who does not know the safe boundaries of these 2 values on his particular cpu and ram has no business OC'ing in the first place.

p.s. this does not apply to i7 obviously, but only C2D which is relevant to the OP's case.

The specs i posted were the ones i used for my E8500 🙂

 

[LittleJoe]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Going to dive back in, now. If these solutions don't work, I'm going to just accept my 3.42 Ghz chip and live with it. I'll hope for the best, though.

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: soccerballtux

Originally posted by: Rick James

Originally posted by: jandlecack
Not to rain on your parade but I consider it extremely dangerous to apply somebody else's settings since every single chip, EVERY SINGLE CHIP, is different in many ways when overclocking...

Bro. Those settings have worked for countless C2D owners to get to 4Ghz. I borrowed those settings from someone else and i'm sure he borrowed them from someone else. It's like the universal settings for 4Ghz Haha

He has a C0 he's not getting anywhere near 4.0Ghz. Most only go to 3.6Ghz from what I've seen.

Not true, my C0 did 4ghz, I just needed to be in a voltage zone that I was not comfortable with.

 

[LittleJoe]

I've reached a stable 3.6 Ghz, now, thanks to your help. I was being overly cautious boosting my CPU vcore, so I boosted it to where E4300 suggested and slowly worked my way down. I don't even have to boost the voltages on my RAM or my NB, either. I think what was causing all those errors in Prime95 and Orthos was my RAM timings. Once I loosened them from 5-5-5-15 to 5-5-5-18, I got no more rounding errors. My load temps were high, though, with the initial vcore of 1.36 (58 degrees,) but as I lowered the voltages, they moderated. I am still lowering the voltages and testing, too. I just lowered it to an idle 1.296 (according to CPU-z), and I'm going to try stressing this voltage. If this doesn't work, I'm comfortable with the voltage I just lowered it from and I'll raise it a notch back to that.

Thank you guys again for your help. I'm going to stick with 3.6, I think, but if I ever get any crazy notions about 4.0, I'll search these forums. They've been most helpful.

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: OCguy

Originally posted by: soccerballtux

Originally posted by: Rick James

Originally posted by: jandlecack
Not to rain on your parade but I consider it extremely dangerous to apply somebody else's settings since every single chip, EVERY SINGLE CHIP, is different in many ways when overclocking...

Bro. Those settings have worked for countless C2D owners to get to 4Ghz. I borrowed those settings from someone else and i'm sure he borrowed them from someone else. It's like the universal settings for 4Ghz Haha

He has a C0 he's not getting anywhere near 4.0Ghz. Most only go to 3.6Ghz from what I've seen.

Not true, my C0 did 4ghz, I just needed to be in a voltage zone that I was not comfortable with.

Well, yeah...
I might as well say my day was good except for the broken arm part...

 

[skillyho]

Am I the only one that thinks that vCore is waaaaay to high for those clocks? My 8400 does 3.6 on 1.22vCore (vDroop = 1.20-1.21).

As others have said, lower RAM multiplier, lower CPU multi (to check for an odd FSB wall on your mobo) and have fun not POSTING many times in a row until you find something that works.

 

[Absolution75]

1.4 is generally the highest acceptable voltage for long term use.

I've been running my E7200 at 1.392 for a long time now (thing doesn't OC worth crap =/)

 

[Rifter]

Never Ever give up!!! If you fail with your OC just buy a new CPU its a good excuse to upgrade.

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: skillyho
Am I the only one that thinks that vCore is waaaaay to high for those clocks? My 8400 does 3.6 on 1.22vCore (vDroop = 1.20-1.21).

As others have said, lower RAM multiplier, lower CPU multi (to check for an odd FSB wall on your mobo) and have fun not POSTING many times in a row until you find something that works.

Skilly you've probably got an E0 stepping. He has a C0.