nTune question

[imported_MadHatter]

My system specs are as follows:

Asus A8N SLi Deluxe
Athlon 64 4000
Corsair 3200C2PT 2x1GB (2.5-3-3-6 1T)

Well I decided to try the nTune software and it determined that the sweet spot for my hardware is 248 HTT putting me at 2728 and memory at ~206MHz. Pretty spiffy if you ask me. It was only prime stable for 1hr 55min initially but after a few days of Doom 3 action it was prime stable at 6 Hrs (I stopped the test) so I guess that's my evidence for "burning in." I guess I should get to the point of the this post.

CPUZ shows my RAM running at 195 MHz, but nTune shows it running at 205.5 (shows up as 411MHz). Doing the math based on the 5:6 divider (0.83*248), nTune should be right. If that's the case, why does CPUZ show 195? Any ideas would be much appreciated.

 

[TGS]

The memory dividers are not straight dividers. It's based off of the cpu multiplier and the base memory divider. With a 22x multiplier and 5:6 base memory speed, the actual divider on the memory works at (cpu multi[11] * (HTT[248 in your case]/14). All of which gives you 194.85 or 195

excel linakge

 

[imported_MadHatter]

Thanks for the reply and that's a pretty cool spreadsheet. I'm tinkering around with values and it seems that I should try 243x11.5 with the 5:6 divider to reach 2800MHz with RAM at 200MHz. It probably won't work since running at 240*11.5 wasn't prime stable before, but it's worth a try.

 

[TGS]

It's a great simple spreadsheet. The only problem is my board goes tango-uniform when I try to apply anything higher than 230-240 HTT. So even though I see some good potential overclock configurations, my board won't comply.

 

[imported_MadHatter]

Luckily I haven't had that problem. From what I can tell it's the processor that's the limiting factor for me. I tried to run it at 12*240 and it called BS on me. It could boot into windows after bumping up to 1.4v, but wasn't prime stable at all.

 

[imported_MadHatter]

Well I'm beginning to think nTune was right about my optimal settings, but I'm getting some weird results. When I OC to 2800 (either 11.5x243 or 11x255) prime is unstable after 30 seconds. Now this is the weird part. I can play BF2 and Doom 3 without a problem. I only tested both for around 30 minutes each so they could still crash. Should I be concerned that my system is prime unstable, but gaming stable? By the way, upping the voltage has absolutely no effect. I'm still running at 1.35v

 

[monster64]

That high oc and you havent raised the vcore??? That chip could probably do 3ghz at 1.5vcore or higher. Its a san diego im assuming. Raise the vcore to 1.5-1.55 and then see how high you can oc it.

EDIT: It has no effect cuz you raised it to 1.4v. Raise it to 1.55v and see if you reach atleast 2.9.

 

[imported_MadHatter]

Yeah, I'd love to pump up the vcore, but my cooling solution isn't good enough. I can only increase the vcore to 1.45 before the temps get too high for comfort (68C). I have a Thermaltake Venus 7 and my load temps are 61C. I don't want to push it any further until I have a better HSF. The fact that I can game without flaw at 2.8GHz and 1.35v let's me know I have a winner on my hands :Q

 

[rise]

you're doing all the settings in bios? i haven't used ntune for a while so i forget if you can do that stuff with it.

 

[monster64]

V7? Try the stock cooler, it might be better, no joke. A SD shouldnt run that hot, only the 130nm cores should. Whats your room temp? My 3500+ venice at 1.55 vcore at 2.7 ghz and runs at 51C max.

 

[imported_MadHatter]

Well it's hot as hell here and while I'm at work I wouldn't be surprised if my rom reached 90F easy. The 61C load is before the AC really kicks in. With the AC going load is usually around 56-58C, however last night My temps were showing up as 51C after an hour of gaming I guess it's just too hot this summer. Oh well, I've decided to leave it as is. My final settings are:

248x11 = 2728MHz
2.5-3-2-5 1T @ 195Hz

I'll be happy with my FX 56 until I decide to get some better cooling or run my AC at 65F all the time :Q