How crucial is PSU to OC?

[11427]

I have been wondering just how crucial the PSU is when trying to OC?
My set up:
A7N8X Deluxe 2.0 bios 1005
1048 Samsung DDR333
2500+ and CoolerMaster Aero 7+
Ti4400 clocked at 301.5 core and 607.5 mem
WD 80gb 8k HD, CD/RW, FDD, 4 case fans and a USR modem.
The case is a Raidmax (looks like the Alienware box from a year or so ago) and the PSU that came with it. Sticker says it is a "Works" 360W. +5V is 30A, +3.3V is 28A, and 12V is 15A.

Here is where I am at,.... stuck at 2.19 GHz. 175 X 12.5 I don't expect miricales, but if the mem will run at 400 speeds I should think I could get the 2500 to also. Even at 200 X 9.5 it will fail Prime95. I have tried many combinations (over 70 that I kept track of) and cannot get any more out of it. I think I have ruled out the mem as a problem, it ran memtest86 at 400 for about 12 hours no problem. Temps never get over 116 f. at full load so I don't think its a heat issue, so I'm starting to look at the PSU but I would like more info. Just how does the PSU affect OCing? I am half tempted to go out and buy a new one, but before I do I'd like to know why I would want a new one.

Any thoughts?

 

[pelikan]

Originally posted by: 11427
I have been wondering just how crucial the PSU is when trying to OC?
My set up:
A7N8X Deluxe 2.0 bios 1005
1048 Samsung DDR333
2500+ and CoolerMaster Aero 7+
Ti4400 clocked at 301.5 core and 607.5 mem
WD 80gb 8k HD, CD/RW, FDD, 4 case fans and a USR modem.
The case is a Raidmax (looks like the Alienware box from a year or so ago) and the PSU that came with it. Sticker says it is a "Works" 360W. +5V is 30A, +3.3V is 28A, and 12V is 15A.

Here is where I am at,.... stuck at 2.19 GHz. 175 X 12.5 I don't expect miricales, but if the mem will run at 400 speeds I should think I could get the 2500 to also. Even at 200 X 9.5 it will fail Prime95. I have tried many combinations (over 70 that I kept track of) and cannot get any more out of it. I think I have ruled out the mem as a problem, it ran memtest86 at 400 for about 12 hours no problem. Temps never get over 116 f. at full load so I don't think its a heat issue, so I'm starting to look at the PSU but I would like more info. Just how does the PSU affect OCing? I am half tempted to go out and buy a new one, but before I do I'd like to know why I would want a new one.

Any thoughts?

200FSB should be easy. It's probably your memory. When you ran the mem at "400" was that in sync with the cpu? If it was not in sync then your mem can't handle the oc.
I used to have some samsung pc2700 that did 200FSB. I would put the mem voltage at 2.8V, Cas 2.5-3-3-6. Drop the multiplier to 9 or 10, give the cpu 1.85V and see if it will run prime95 and memtest86 at 200FSB. If that works try higher FSB. Once you find the limit you can probably reduce the cpu voltage fine tune.

The psu should not be an issue to only get to 200FSB. What do the rails look like in Asus Probe while running prime95?

 

[11427]

Yes, it was in sync. Passed Memtest86 no problem, booted to Windows, fired up Prime95 and it ran for 9 minutes. That was with vcore at 1.85v, mem at 2.8v and timings at 7,3,3,2.5

Not sure what you mean by "rails"?
12V = 12.928
5V = 4.811
3.3V = 3.328
yes?

 

[Soulkeeper]

I think the PSU is one of the most overlooked parts of a system wether yur overclocking or not
i've had two psu's hold back my overclocks in the last few years

 

[Richdog]

Doesn't seem like a PSU issue as you rails (the stats you gave) look absolutely fine and healthy, if they were'nt they would be around 0.2-0.4 below what they should be, yours looks like it's giving plenty of juice. If your PSU was'nt cutting it your system would be randomly rebooting or maybe freezing every now and then. If your system is running fine but can't get any higer with the FSB it's almost guaranteed to be a hardware issue, such as memory as someone suggested. Don't take Memtest as gospel, I have run it fine for 7 hours only to have it fail on Prime95 after 25 minutes, which is a FAR better judge of system stability in my opinion. Relax your timings and keep experimenting, you'll ind the cause soon enough. if you can, try and find a friend who has some PC3200 RAM and ask if you can borrow it for a night for testing. Good luck!:beer:

 

[11427]

Originally posted by: Richdog
Don't take Memtest as gospel, I have run it fine for 7 hours only to have it fail on Prime95 after 25 minutes, which is a FAR better judge of system stability in my opinion. Relax your timings and keep experimenting, you'll ind the cause soon enough. if you can, try and find a friend who has some PC3200 RAM and ask if you can borrow it for a night for testing. Good luck!:beer:

Yes,... I ran my Samsung DDR333 at 400, ran memtest86 for 12 hours no problem then Prime would fail after 9 minutes or so. Everyone kept saying it was likely a memory problem, but I didn't want to believe it....so,..... I broke down and bought some HyperX pc3500. To make a long story short, I'm at 11 X 200 now and slowly working my way up ;-)

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: Soulkeeper
I think the PSU is one of the most overlooked parts of a system wether yur overclocking or not
i've had two psu's hold back my overclocks in the last few years

That is a money statement there!!!! I have seen ppl put together great systems to cheap out on a PSU and then piss and moan when they can't oc and then after we help them for like 3-4 days and constantly telling them "its your power supply" and yet they change every other item out until they finally get a better PSU and have it work...