Memory holding up overclock of e8400 at 3.6ghz, bad motherboard? Help!

[rizorith]

I have 2gbx2 g.skill ddr2-1000 pc8000 memory and i'm trying to overclock a e8400 on a gigabyte p35-ds3l motherboard. tuniq tower for cooling.

Even with the vcore up to 1.3 i can't go over 3.6ghz.

I tried pulling one of the sticks out and left the other in slot 1 and I can run prime for 15 mins. Adding the second stick to slot 3 and i can't even post. I tried swapping sticks and same thing. So I tried putting 1 stick in slot 2 and nothing in any other slots and its fine - 15 mins in prime. But if I put just 1 stick in slot 3 or 4 windows won't post. Does this mean that those slots aren't working right or is it normal for slots 3 & 4 to be pickier?

 

[error8]

What is your ram/cpu ratio? If it is 1:1 it means that the ram is also overclocked and maybe needs some voltage increase. Tell us more about your settings.

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: error8
What is your ram/cpu ratio? If it is 1:1 it means that the ram is also overclocked and maybe needs some voltage increase. Tell us more about your settings.

If he has DDR2-1000, and the FSB for 3.6ghz is 400, isnt his RAM underclocked @ 1:1? (800mhz)

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31

Originally posted by: error8
What is your ram/cpu ratio? If it is 1:1 it means that the ram is also overclocked and maybe needs some voltage increase. Tell us more about your settings.

If he has DDR2-1000, and the FSB for 3.6ghz is 400, isnt his RAM underclocked @ 1:1? (800mhz)

You might be right. Ups.

 

[Markfw]

doesn't the memory go in 1 and 3 to run in dual channel mode ?

 

[rizorith]

Originally posted by: error8
What is your ram/cpu ratio? If it is 1:1 it means that the ram is also overclocked and maybe needs some voltage increase. Tell us more about your settings.

Yes it's 1:1 and how is 1:1 overclocked?

I did bump the voltage up to 2.1v (the memory has a range of 2.0 to 2.1) and the northbridge by 0.1.

I put both sticks in slots 1 & 3 and also tried 2 & 4. The most I can get into vista is 3.72 using a 8 multiplier. Orthos only lasts a few minutes though. The best I've gotten it stable is 3.6ghz with very loose memory 1:1 and a vcore of 1.35. I'm reading about people easily hitting 4 at lower volts so I'm not sure why I'm struggling to hit 3.6.

For what it's worth I have batch Q745A830 which apparently is one of the better batches. Any suggestions on what to try?

 

[VirtualLarry]

RMA the ram?

 

[Big Lar]

I have the same ram, try your Northbridge voltage at 1.42 to 1.45v. It takes a bit more juice for the larger sticks. I am assuming you have a way of seeing what actual volts the NB is set at correct?

Also,once you get it stable, try 5/5/4/12 for the ram settings with about 2.05v for ram voltage. This is what works on my board anyhow which is different than yours, but the same principle. You shouldn't need to change the ram settings until you get over 460 or so fsb.

Larry

 

[Mondoman]

Have you tried memtest86+ yet to make sure the RAM is running OK? I'd set the CPU to default speed, then try the RAM at faster and faster speeds w/memtest86+.

 

[rizorith]

Originally posted by: Big Lar
I have the same ram, try your Northbridge voltage at 1.42 to 1.45v. It takes a bit more juice for the larger sticks. I am assuming you have a way of seeing what actual volts the NB is set at correct?

Also,once you get it stable, try 5/5/4/12 for the ram settings with about 2.05v for ram voltage. This is what works on my board anyhow which is different than yours, but the same principle. You shouldn't need to change the ram settings until you get over 460 or so fsb.

Larry

Thanks for the suggestions. My motherboard doesn't list any MB temps or volts - gigabyte p35-ds3l. In fact, when I overclock it only asks how much I want to increase the volts but I have no idea what I'm starting with. The memory I have set for 2.1.

I have gotten it stable at 455x8=3.64ghz but the ram is at 6-6-6-25. Is this going to be noticably slower than 5-5-5-15 or what you suggested? Frankly I've had it with this overclock and I've already had to RMA a motherboard and don't feel like RMA'ing anything else.

 

[Big Lar]

Try reacing in and touching the NB and see if its hot to the touch, if it is not, try a tad more NB voltage, if it is, don't add voltage. The ram Should run 5/5/5/15 with no problem all the way up to 500fsb and beyond. Like others said, run memtest, preferably in Windows and see if you get errors.

Maybe try 2.0V for the ram voltage as well/ your board may be over volting the ram.

Larry

 

[M1A]

Why are you using the 8 mult? Standard is 9 and I found you will have memory problems trying to run 1:1 at high FSB. I can run at 460fsb and a little more with my setup but to run 24/7 I have it at 456. My new dominator 1050 have taken me to these FSB speeds where the Ballistic would not be stable. They booted but under stress failed. Why are you running x8 mult?

 

[rizorith]

Originally posted by: m1a
Why are you using the 8 mult? Standard is 9 and I fould you will have memory problems trying to run 1:1 at high FSB. I can run at 460fsb and a little more with my setup but to run 24/7 I have it at 456. My new dominator 1050 have taken me to these FSB speeds where the Ballistic would not be stable. They booted but under stress failed. Why are you running x8 mult?

I've been trying to figure that out too. For some reason I can go higher with a 8 multiplier than a 9. I know that doesn't make sense but it's true.

 

[M1A]

But you have to look at the overall system speed (MHZ) (FSBxMult) That is normal to have higher FSB with lower Mult but the end result is lower speeds. But I guess you know that. One reason you want to go higher FSB with lower Mult is to see the FSB limits. But overall Highest Speeds usually is using the highest Mult.

 

[rizorith]

Yeah I've done this quite a few times but not in the last 3 years. I'm doing slightly better with a lower multiplier although it doesn't really make sense unless memory is not the problem.

Maybe I just got a crappy e8400. It runs pretty hot even at the 3.6ghz i'm holding it at. Goes to 60 under load and it's been pretty cool here the last week since I've been doing this. I'm sure it will get to 65 in the warmer months.

 

[rizorith]

Originally posted by: Big Lar
Try reacing in and touching the NB and see if its hot to the touch, if it is not, try a tad more NB voltage, if it is, don't add voltage. The ram Should run 5/5/5/15 with no problem all the way up to 500fsb and beyond. Like others said, run memtest, preferably in Windows and see if you get errors.

Maybe try 2.0V for the ram voltage as well/ your board may be over volting the ram.

Larry

Any suggestions on a memory test program other than memtest? I'm running vista 64 and memtest doesn't work.

 

[piotrgurin]

I'm having trouble OCing too and have similar gear to yours.

Only difference is i don't really know what i'm doing. ;p

 

[M1A]

Are you both sure your HS's are mounted correctly? Mine will do 3.8 at stock everything. But from there you have to bump up things with each step almost. Also I do not have the greatest cooler compared to the best. With a tunic I feel mine could be better but I am not complaining. A 3.0 OC to 4.0 and better is sweet and these 8400 are great for the price. If you give more details on your setups the guys here are a big help.

 

[Burrich]

Originally posted by: rizorith
I have 2gbx2 g.skill ddr2-1000 pc8000 memory and i'm trying to overclock a e8400 on a gigabyte p35-ds3l motherboard. tuniq tower for cooling.

Even with the vcore up to 1.3 i can't go over 3.6ghz.

I tried pulling one of the sticks out and left the other in slot 1 and I can run prime for 15 mins. Adding the second stick to slot 3 and i can't even post. I tried swapping sticks and same thing. So I tried putting 1 stick in slot 2 and nothing in any other slots and its fine - 15 mins in prime. But if I put just 1 stick in slot 3 or 4 windows won't post. Does this mean that those slots aren't working right or is it normal for slots 3 & 4 to be pickier?

I've got the DS3L, I've got the 8400, and I have/had bad RAM. I tried to OC and stability tested with Orthos, and it would consistently fail from anywhere from a few seconds to an hour. I ran memtest and it failed immediately. I took out one stick, ran again, failed immediately. Swapped sticks and was able to run for over an hour (which is roughly the length it takes to go through all tests) and didn't have an error. 1 bad stick of RAM, but have to return both because they're matched pair.

To run Memtest, Google,download, and burn Ultimate Boot CD. When you boot from it, go to motherboard utils, memory programs, then run Memtest86+. Let that run. If you get an error, either your RAM is undervolted or it's bad. Most likely it's bad and you'll need to RMA it. Try swapping around until you don't get errors.

If your memory is fine, then it's your voltages during your OC. The DS3L has a terrible vdroop and you can't go by the +voltage numbers. As of this moment I do not recommend someone to buy this board for overclocking for this reason. It's a very misleading board and frankly not easy to OC with - I personally hate +voltage numbers (i.e. +.1 on DDR). I've had to do +0.5 on my RAM just to get it up to about 2.05V. This should illustrate the horrible vdroop across this board.

What you need to do is adjust the voltage, then use a program like Speedfan to check the voltages. You will most likely need to set the board to something like 1.4V to accommodate for the vdroop before you'll be able to OC like you wish. I know some people don't like using software to measure voltage, but without a multimeter it's your best bet.

There IS a place in the BIOS to check voltages, it's under PC Health.

 

[ShockwaveVT]

Originally posted by: rizorith

Originally posted by: Big Lar
Try reacing in and touching the NB and see if its hot to the touch, if it is not, try a tad more NB voltage, if it is, don't add voltage. The ram Should run 5/5/5/15 with no problem all the way up to 500fsb and beyond. Like others said, run memtest, preferably in Windows and see if you get errors.

Maybe try 2.0V for the ram voltage as well/ your board may be over volting the ram.

Larry

Any suggestions on a memory test program other than memtest? I'm running vista 64 and memtest doesn't work.

You should be using the memtest86+ bootable CD image, not trying to run it from within Windows.

http://www.memtest.org/#downiso

 

[rizorith]

Originally posted by: Burrich

Originally posted by: rizorith
I have 2gbx2 g.skill ddr2-1000 pc8000 memory and i'm trying to overclock a e8400 on a gigabyte p35-ds3l motherboard. tuniq tower for cooling.

Even with the vcore up to 1.3 i can't go over 3.6ghz.

I tried pulling one of the sticks out and left the other in slot 1 and I can run prime for 15 mins. Adding the second stick to slot 3 and i can't even post. I tried swapping sticks and same thing. So I tried putting 1 stick in slot 2 and nothing in any other slots and its fine - 15 mins in prime. But if I put just 1 stick in slot 3 or 4 windows won't post. Does this mean that those slots aren't working right or is it normal for slots 3 & 4 to be pickier?

I've got the DS3L, I've got the 8400, and I have/had bad RAM. I tried to OC and stability tested with Orthos, and it would consistently fail from anywhere from a few seconds to an hour. I ran memtest and it failed immediately. I took out one stick, ran again, failed immediately. Swapped sticks and was able to run for over an hour (which is roughly the length it takes to go through all tests) and didn't have an error. 1 bad stick of RAM, but have to return both because they're matched pair.

To run Memtest, Google,download, and burn Ultimate Boot CD. When you boot from it, go to motherboard utils, memory programs, then run Memtest86+. Let that run. If you get an error, either your RAM is undervolted or it's bad. Most likely it's bad and you'll need to RMA it. Try swapping around until you don't get errors.

If your memory is fine, then it's your voltages during your OC. The DS3L has a terrible vdroop and you can't go by the +voltage numbers. As of this moment I do not recommend someone to buy this board for overclocking for this reason. It's a very misleading board and frankly not easy to OC with - I personally hate +voltage numbers (i.e. +.1 on DDR). I've had to do +0.5 on my RAM just to get it up to about 2.05V. This should illustrate the horrible vdroop across this board.

What you need to do is adjust the voltage, then use a program like Speedfan to check the voltages. You will most likely need to set the board to something like 1.4V to accommodate for the vdroop before you'll be able to OC like you wish. I know some people don't like using software to measure voltage, but without a multimeter it's your best bet.

There IS a place in the BIOS to check voltages, it's under PC Health.

Thanks a bunch for your help. I got the DS3l because i Heard it was a great overclocking board but maybe it's not for me. I have checked the memory in my bios and it shows 2.01 (my memory is set for 2.0 - 2.1) actual with a +.1 added. at +.2 it hits the 2.1. But this has not helped much. I've gone up to +.3 on my board but I didn't know what the actual was at and speedfan didn't work for me. Maybe it's a vista 64 thing. Any other programs I can try? Isn't 1.4 very hot without a chipset cooler?

I have a tuniq fan and I'm sure it's setup fine but the temps are very high. Under load I'm now getting 61 after a few hours building up heat in the case.

I don't know what the max is I should get my e8400 up to. I've heard max it at 1.35v but I don't know if that's actual volts or what you set on your motherboard.

 

[Burrich]

Originally posted by: rizorith
Thanks a bunch for your help. I got the DS3l because i Heard it was a great overclocking board but maybe it's not for me. I have checked the memory in my bios and it shows 2.01 (my memory is set for 2.0 - 2.1) actual with a +.1 added. at +.2 it hits the 2.1. But this has not helped much. I've gone up to +.3 on my board but I didn't know what the actual was at and speedfan didn't work for me. Maybe it's a vista 64 thing. Any other programs I can try? Isn't 1.4 very hot without a chipset cooler?

I have a tuniq fan and I'm sure it's setup fine but the temps are very high. Under load I'm now getting 61 after a few hours building up heat in the case.

I don't know what the max is I should get my e8400 up to. I've heard max it at 1.35v but I don't know if that's actual volts or what you set on your motherboard.

It looks like you've got a decent board. Maybe it's my board that has large droop and it's not the norm? Your RAM is responding decently to voltage adjustments. If your vDroop isn't bad on your board, then try stay below 1.385V. I've read that this is what Intel sets in their whitepapers as the highest "safe" voltage to run on Wolfdales. I know lots of others run higher, but I personally don't want to go over 1.4V. I'd settle for a couple hundred fewer Mhz.

Besides speedfan, there's HW Monitor to look at.

 

[rizorith]

What setting do you change to increase the motherboard voltage?

 

[rockfella79]

Dude u have 4GB Ram! Are you on 32 bit or 64 bit OS? U need to bump Vcore, upto 1.5 is safe, read something about Vdroop. Overclock 4GB RAM is slightly weird, specially if u have 4 sticks of a gb each. 2GB x 2 is still much more better, 4GB ram doesnot give you 400% jump in performeance..., 2GB 800+ Mhz is good enough. Bottom Line Increase Vcore... Keep DRAM Ratio to 1:1.

 

[rockfella79]

Originally posted by: rizorith
I have 2gbx2 g.skill ddr2-1000 pc8000 memory and i'm trying to overclock a e8400 on a gigabyte p35-ds3l motherboard. tuniq tower for cooling.

Even with the vcore up to 1.3 i can't go over 3.6ghz.

I tried pulling one of the sticks out and left the other in slot 1 and I can run prime for 15 mins. Adding the second stick to slot 3 and i can't even post. I tried swapping sticks and same thing. So I tried putting 1 stick in slot 2 and nothing in any other slots and its fine - 15 mins in prime. But if I put just 1 stick in slot 3 or 4 windows won't post. Does this mean that those slots aren't working right or is it normal for slots 3 & 4 to be pickier?

Oh i just saw u have 2 x 2, increase Vcore, dont exceed 1.4 as it decreases life of 45nm faster...