Northwood 1.6a, any OC difference between Malay or Costa Rica? Updated-Some Early Conclusions

[Uclagamer_99]

haha actually im using 4 case fans at the moment...so i guess it might be that...maybe if i took out the fans i could OC higher? lol that sounds kinda contradictory though huh?

 

[Tesser]

Kroffty, I realize that the 5 Mhz translates into 80 Mhz on the cpu but I wonder if it is the Ram and not the cpu.

The system moves along well at 2400 at 150 fsb, 1.6 volts, but it errs in prime95 after a couple of minutes - is that indicative of the cpu or the ram?
- is there a way to tell the difference if it is a function of the ram (which is effectively working at 580 Mhz vs. 600 Mhz...) or cpu?


I don't know if it is worth trying to tweak higher, as 80 Mhz is only 3.45% difference from the speed I'm running now.


Tesser.

 

[Flatbroke]

HenHowC, Bios voltage readings agrees with MBM5? You could disconnect 2 or 3 case fans and check 12v in MBM5 or bios and see if that helps. Be careful, I'd leave side off case to watch to make sure you didn't pull CPU fan header in error before test.
Tesser, I got this from Prime95 page, btw, FPU is floating point unit? has to do with CPU, so uses both, don't know if anyway to know what failed. From the outside looking in... I would be happy at 2.4 if it does what I want to do (games) without getting too hot and/or crashing. Prime95 is much more of a stress than a game IMO.

program determine a number composite even though it is prime - the program's heavy use of memory and FPU

 

[F155mph]

Damn!!! I finally broke down and order one of those 1.6a. So what board should I get? I need one that have raid and DDR.

 

[Dug]

I'm up to 145fsb so far. I had to raise the voltage to 1.65 though to do it. I'm going to leave it here for awhile before I go up to 150.
This is a Costa Rica chip, so I don't think where they come from is going to make a difference. But who knows

 

[DRS]

Another little update about AS3 for those considering switching from the stock thermal pad...

I installed MBM5 and my full load temp is now 47C - must be the AS3 settling in because yesterday it was 50C.

Today I found that my idle temp is 31C!! Again, Asus probe (or the bios) has a floor error and its lowest reading is 40C. I wish I had downloaded MBM5 earlier for a comparison against the stock thermal pad

So just a little summary. It appears, at least based on my experience, that the Costa Rica chips do not differ in any significant way as compared to the Malay chips. Still running at 150FSB, Turbo 1, Mem CAS 2, and vcore set to 1.6 (~1.65 according to MBM5) without a single lockup or hickup. This is after multiple hours of Prime 95, 3 runs of 3dMark2001 and a few hours of Medal of Honor. And again, no problems with any of my 7 USB devices or my Promise Fasttrak 100 controller.

I'm willing to bet that the few that are experiencing problems going above 133fsb have a confounding variable at play that is not being addressed (read memory and/or powersupply).

Hello weekend!!

 

[DAPUNISHER]

<< Damn!!! I finally broke down and order one of those 1.6a. So what board should I get? I need one that have raid and DDR. >>

MSI 845 ULTRA-AR P4I Fire Dragon Gigabyte P4 Titan DDR

 

[Uclagamer_99]

hmm i unplugged all 4 of my case fans and STILL my 12V line is only doing about 11V...is this enough juice or could this be why my cpu can't overclock at higher FSB?

im thinking my powersupply might be the problem...but it is a P4 powersupply...can someone else who is overclocking over FSB133 and running STABLE check out their voltage readings on their 12V line so i can compare? not a big deal, but i'd be nice to be able to hit 2.4 like some of you guys

 

[johto]

see my post above, lots of info there... but in general it seems my power supply is putting out 11.4-12.1V, and usually sits at 11.77 (according to pc probe)

 

[Tesser]

HenHowC

mbm5 results:

core 0: 1.61
core 1: 1.61
+3.33: 3.36
+5.0 : 5.11
+12.0: 11.43
- 12.0: -11.81
- 5.0: -4.96

fsb 145, cpu 2320, v 1.6, prime95 stable >20 hours


I am getting the lower reading too, but it DOES not effect my stability.


Tesser.

 

[Uclagamer_99]

cool thanks for the quick info guys...my 12V line hovers around 11.10~11.25 according to motherboard monitor...so at least i know the case fans have nothing to do with it and i can re-attach those i will try two different sticks of crucial memory and see how that goes

 

[DRS]

From MBM5 using an Antec PP303X PS:

12V full load: 11.13
12V idle: 11.37

I did notice, for those using the p4b266-c asus board, some information from the MB manual, "Make sure that your ATX 12V power supply can provide 8A on the +12V lead and at least 1A on the +5-volt standby lead (+5VSB)." p. 2-28

HTH...

 

[Uclagamer_99]

yikes! i'm getting mbm5 readings of my core voltage at 1.7 when i set it at 1.5 default! what is up with this?
this isn't just in mobo monitor either...the BIOS hardware monitor reports the same

should i been worried? if it has this kinda behavior when i up the voltage as well...that could be a problem and i could be damaging my hardware...anyone else noticing this or maybe i have a bad board...maybe when i try and overclock my core is being upped to 1.8?!

 

[nvektus]

Dammit!! I finally gave in!!

I just ordered a Northwood set-up from newegg too. I'll probably get it next week... can't wait to OC!

Heres what I ordered;

1.8A / AVC Sunflower
OCZ pc3000 1x256M
P4B266 - stripped down version
Seagate X15 18Gig SCSI
Seagate 60Gig IDE

Re-using old zhit for other stuff!

I'm kind of worried about my SCSI drive (first scsi for me), will it hold me back or ruin the drive, which cost me ~$500 with the controller, if I OC too much? Has anyone successffully OC'ed with a SCSI/P4 combo?

TIA

 

[Flatbroke]

Ok, I couldn't wait, I got it built a few minutes ago, using a 20gig HD until the 40 gets here. No, not typing on it, have no nic card in it yet. Gonna get some video drivers, MBM5 burned on a CD to put on it. I have only built AMD rigs up to now with Via chipsets. So here we have Intel chipset, so it's necessary to load the ini and accelerater drivers off the MB cd, right?

 

[Dug]

You don't need to load the ini drivers if you are using XP. They're already built in.
The application accelerator is not necessary. Some say it helps, some say you can't notice any difference at all.

 

[Rebels7]

I have a 1.6a that I ordered from New Egg and it is a Costa Rica chip. I am running it on a P4B266-C at 150 FSB for 2400 mhz. It is very stable, however, it will sometimes randomly re-boot at that speed. I am currently running it at 133 FSB.

 

[Uclagamer_99]

on a side note...intel app. accelerator 2.0 is out

 

[Flatbroke]

costa rica xxxxA709 P4b266-C
After a blitz to get the dull stuff of building finished, I got it up to 16 x140 for 2240 at 1.625v in bios. I need to do more tweaking. Right now no Sandra loaded to see PCI and AGP frequency. I only have Turbo 1 set and memory to 1:1. I did try 16x145 at 1.65v bios, wouldn't boot Windows ME (yes, I know..) Idle temp with ASII, stock HSF, is 38c and only gets to 43c running 3dMark2001. (6816 with stock ti200) After I get Sandra installed I can see what my PCI and AGP is at and make any necessary settings in bios to get them in spec if need be. I will play with it a little more this afternoon, switching vid card and fans from this computer to the P4, waiting on the parts to finalize P4. Hope I read the posts right about Turbo 1 locking (setting?) the PCI and AGP correctly at 140 FSB.
Edit: added motherboard and remembered the real voltage

 

[Tesser]

Err this is irking me,

I can boot at 2400, V1.60, temperatures 32 idle, max 48-49 (Q3 running + winamp)
- it is completely stable- no reboot- up and running ~20 hours.
- Prime 95 will crash out within 5 minutes


How important is it to run the computer at a speed where it is completely "prime95" stable?

2320 vs. 2400 not a big difference.



Tesser.

 

[cyberizer9]

<< cyberizer9, I would give you the link to the thread but I don't know how. Do a search for Staples, it is the thread that says "Warm! Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM HD @Staples.com for $79.95 - no PM or MIR". They DO charge tax to all states so my total was $85.13 I think for retail HD. Some report getting ATA100 drives and some ATA133 drives, where have I run into receiving different versions before, hmm... still ok enuf for me, Staples say ATA66, but no one got that, so it's an upgrade either way. >>


Thanks anyway Flatbroke. I bought 60GB WD from Office Max instead for $100. Here is the link to my deal Office Max deal

 

[x86]

On a side note: Intel is totally against OCing, so they must be $hitting in their pants because they have unleashed such a MASSIVE OCer!!!

-x86

 

[JellyBaby]

<< Intel is totally against OCing, so they must be $hitting in their pants >>

Somehow I doubt it. Overclockers are a drop in the bucket in terms of processors sold. Plus, they may just be selling some P4s that otherwise wouldn't move due to cheap 1.6A and 1.8A pricing.

 

[bmg]

People that used to be hard core AMD fans are buying and getting enthused about Intel processors again. That's got to be good for Intel. Notice that most of the trash talk about the P4 has died down. All of us might not directly account for a lot of profit to Intel, but don't forget that we influence a lot of others when it comes to PC's. Family, friends, purchases at work, etc.

 

[rgowen]

The overclockability of these chips and the stability of the platform is one reason I want to switch from AMD. I have been running AMD stuff for the past 2 years and my setups have been rock solid with a Duron 700 @ 1000 and a Tbird 1.4 @ 1.47 but hearing my 7000 rpm Heatsink fan whirl can get annoying at times. The fact that I can reuse most of my components from my current setup is another plus. Hopefully I will have an intel setup running in the next few weeks and hopefully I can at least hit 133 fsb with a 1.6a.