Memory/FSB question - resolved

[Amart]

The system in the signature.
I've never actually managed to go higher OC because every time I try to run FSB at anything above ~330Mhz at 2:2 ratio the mobo fails to boot and resets all settings back to default.

Even if I use 400mhz but set the multiplier to 6x, which nets 2.4ghz, something the CPU can easily do.

Overheating? I have the case open and a window fan blowing air at an angle to the motherboard . I even tried it outside the box, with the fan. Ambient is cold right now in NY, so there shouldn't be a heating issue.

Memory voltage is at 2.2 (max within warranty).

OCZ, on their forums, claim it should work flawlessly.

_____________________

Possibly related:

The PSU is relatively new, ~ one year, and I don't have much connected to the system. Peak load should be below 340W. I am having some problems at startup - on very rare occasions it would not fully boot: video card fan (and others) spins but monitor shows 'no input'. I thought it might be PSU failing to power it so I tried disconnecting the DVD drive to reduce load and that, and a few minutes wait, seems to solve it. (then I can reconnect it and reboot as normal... until the issue repeats a week later).

I am also considering replacing the PSU, if I can somehow confirm that it's the source of the problems I'm having.

_____________________


Can this be faulty memory, or motherboard, or some incompatibility?
Am I missing something important? Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

 

[imported_Scoop]

Well you're already running the E4300 with a 1.2Ghz OC. Change the FSBRAM ratio to 4:5 with the FSB at 330Mhz so the memory would be running at 825Mhz which it should be able to.

 

[CallMeJoe]

It may seem counterintuitive, but you might try lowering your memory voltage. I recently upgraded to 2GB of OCZ SLI-Ready PC2-6400, and couldn't get my system Orthos-stable past 1.5 hours at 375MHz FSB with 2.1 or 2.2 volts; I dropped the memory voltage to 2.0 volts, and now it seems to run OK (6+ hours).

 

[cozumel]

When I'm overclocking the CPU I always have the memory at below JEDEC specification timings and speeds. This way I can raise the FSB for CPU in the knowledge that the memory will not cause a problem and that any instability will be around the CPU or maybe mobo voltages. Once I have a stable overclock on the CPU then I change the memory settings and see what overclocks can be got on the DDR2.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Originally posted by: Amart
The system in the signature.
I've never actually managed to go higher OC because every time I try to run FSB at anything above ~330Mhz at 2:2 ratio the mobo fails to boot and resets all settings back to default.

Even if I use 400mhz but set the multiplier to 6x, which nets 2.4ghz, something the CPU can easily do.

Overheating? I have the case open and a window fan blowing air at an angle to the motherboard . I even tried it outside the box, with the fan. Ambient is cold right now in NY, so there shouldn't be a heating issue.

Memory voltage is at 2.2 (max within warranty).

OCZ, on their forums, claim it should work flawlessly.

_____________________

Possibly related:

The PSU is relatively new, ~ one year, and I don't have much connected to the system. Peak load should be below 340W. I am having some problems at startup - on very rare occasions it would not fully boot: video card fan (and others) spins but monitor shows 'no input'. I thought it might be PSU failing to power it so I tried disconnecting the DVD drive to reduce load and that, and a few minutes wait, seems to solve it. (then I can reconnect it and reboot as normal... until the issue repeats a week later).

I am also considering replacing the PSU, if I can somehow confirm that it's the source of the problems I'm having.

_____________________


Can this be faulty memory, or motherboard, or some incompatibility?
Am I missing something important? Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

You discovered the OCZ scam. I buy quality 1.8V DDR2 667 or 800 RAM from Crucial or Kingston (N5 only). These are nominally rated at 5-5-5-18 but I have never had any problem @ 4-4-4-12 timing. Raising Vdimm to 2.0/2.1 will net at least another 10% overclock. The quality is in the ICs, not fancy heat spreaders to hide the chips.

 

[ryderOCZ]

Amart,

Where have you posted at the OCZ Forums? Can you show me the thread?

If you set the FSB to 266 with the ram set to DDR2-800 2.0V for the ram, does it run at that speed?

Thanks

 

[Amart]

Originally posted by: ryderOCZ
Amart,

Where have you posted at the OCZ Forums? Can you show me the thread?

If you set the FSB to 266 with the ram set to DDR2-800 2.0V for the ram, does it run at that speed?

Thanks

I didn't post on the OCZ forums, because I was never sure that its a memory issue. The title is somewhat misleading I guess.
My reference to your forums is because you have threads posted by your own testers to indicate if memory is compatible with a motherboard. There's a thread for my memory combined with my motherboard, where it's listed as working as specified.

I'll try the settings you listed, perhaps it was an issue with my settings.

 

[ryderOCZ]

Hold on... your CPU is a 200 FSB CPU, never mind what I said about 266.

Set the FSB to 200, set the ram speed to DDR2-800 (1:2) and tell me how things run.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

OCZ hasn't been touted as much in the DDR2 go-around as it was in the DDR(1) days, but some of these -- Platinum "Vista Upgrade" DDR2-800 kits, for instance, are supposed to use Micron D9 fat-bodies.

All the advice you've had here -- from Cozumel, CallMeJoe, Scoop, etc. -- is in the ball-park. My first thought has already been mentioned: The Allendale has a spec for FSB=800, and you seem to be attempting to OC it by another 65%.

I don't care how inexpensive these processors are, or how stellar some models like the E6300 have performed in over-clocking -- it's a bit much to expect more than a 50% OC.

By comparison, my mobo is rated for 1,333 FSB and my processor for 1,066. I might push the processor beyond 1,400, but it's still only a 32% OC. I'm not interested in breaking records -- either for speed or credit-card charges for replacement processors. In fact, I'm probably more comfortable with a 25% OC on this system. so I keep a set of OC "profiles" -- some store-able in BIOS, others on floppy -- so I'm not running the engine at red-line all the time. . . . .

 

[ryderOCZ]

Bonzai,

None of our Vista upgrade kits use Micron D9

PC7200 and up in the 2x1GB kits use Micron D9.

You can't build a 2GB module with Micron D9GMH or GKX that we all know and love, so definitely none of the 2GB modules use these.

 

[Amart]

200FSB at 1:2 worked, except my motherboard has a convoluted way of listing it (memory multiplier) and not all options are available even in advanced mode. I guess that's what tripped me.

I've left it at 300x9 for 2.7Ghz with 2.66 memory multiplier, resulting in memory running at 798.
Don't have a multiplier to keep it at 3.0Ghz while keeping memory at its standard rating.
I think I'll leave it at that. The system runs cool and stability testing is good so far.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Originally posted by: ryderOCZ
Bonzai,

None of our Vista upgrade kits use Micron D9

PC7200 and up in the 2x1GB kits use Micron D9.

You can't build a 2GB module with Micron D9GMH or GKX that we all know and love, so definitely none of the 2GB modules use these.

Well, it's different than studying the Kennedy Assassination. Here, you expect, upon recalling an Anandtech article about Crucial modules that mentions OCZ's using D9's, that there's no reason to cross-check and validate the "testimonies." "There," with the stories -- the actual histories -- of people working for CIA out of South Florida and planning assassinations with the intention that the cover-stories about them are at least as important and "instrumental" as the killing itself, one tends to be more suspicious.

So I stand corrected. Somebody else made a mistake, too. But I don't think there's such a thing as "computer-technical propaganda and psy-war."

I could ask "How big is OCZ's budget for advertising with Anandtech?" But -- really. Somebody else just made a mistake. Colon laugh semicolon. :laugh:

 

[ryderOCZ]

Ok, I think I know what you said, but at 2:15am....maybe I don't wanna know

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I'm relieving my frustration about thinking that I "know" what I think I know, and feeling alone knowing that other people don't want to know.

Technical s*** is good therapy.

And -- your d*** right -- it's getting late!