OC XP2100...CPU Burn ok, Memtest, ok, Prime 95 (not ok)

[Mattlock]

just built the following rig:

XP2100 rev B, AIUHB, 0248
Epox 8rda+
Slk-800, Smart Fan II
Antec True430 (power supply)
Zalman Northbridge HS (passive)
1x512 Corsair XMS3200 (low latency) w/ platinum Heatsinks

My first attempt at overclocking was to up my FSB to 166= 13x166= 2,157mhz
Upped CPU voltage to 1.7 (Vdimm, still default), RAM timings (default)


1) I ran CPU Hot Tester for 3 hours, no problem (will run for 6 tonight)
2) Ran MemTest for 3 hours, no errors
3) However, Prime95 ran for 1 hour with a "Sumout error".


My CPU temperature never got above 38C under stress. In fact with CPU Hot tester temp was 35C with fan wide open.

Questions
1) Is the Prime95 error a hardward or possible software(read that somewhere?) error?
2) If CPU Hot Tester runs 6 hours with no problems....am I stable?

3) I want to overclock further...what settings shoudl I change next?
4) What's probability of getting to 2.3 or 2.4ghz based on my results so far?

thanks
Mattlock

 

[Namtaru]

first off, congrats on the machine, she's a beaut.

prime95.......as far as i'm concerned, that prog is far too overrated. I know many of people (including myself) who have failed prime in less than 30 seconds, yet I play UT2k3, BF1942, work with Flash, and run every program i own without any crashes, lockups, or problems period. If i am able to daily run all of my programs without problems, how is that not a stable system? .... anyways

3.) here are a couple of my settings
(to see my exact specs you can click on my system rig, they are very close to yours)

CPU Voltage: 1.850
AGP Voltage: 1.6
DIMM Voltage: 2.9
mem timings: Expert @ 6, 3, 3, 2.5
agp freq: 66MHz

as anyone knows these setting will change for almost every computer, but these settings have gotten me past 200fsb

4.) the probability of hitting 2.3 with your machine is high, while 2.4 is probably with a few mods. I myself am running 210x11 @ 2.31GHz

 

[Mattlock]

Thanks Nam...

I am very pleased so far but the PRIME95 error bummed me out at first but after running HOTCPU for 3 hours at 35C... i felt better.

Gonna ease up my OC.

Should I leave the multi at 13x? or drop it and up the FSB more?

What about the Vdimm?

Mattlock

 

[mboy]

Try dropping it to 11 and up the FSB from there.

190 x11 should be very doable on your rig at the very least!

 

[Shimmishim]

up your vcore from 1.7 to ... 1.75 or up to 1.8 even... your temps are pretty cool right now...

sum out errors can be fixed by upping the vcore...

my 1700+ right now doing 2300 summed out in 1 hour at 1.775V

summed out in 2 hours at 1.80V

no sum out error at 1.85V

also... i dont' think there's any need to up your vdimm any... you can do 2.63 or 2.77 but i wouldn't recommend 2.9



btw.. i have almost the EXACT identical system as you minus the corsair.. i'm using kingston hyperX which will be replaced by pc3200 winbond later this week (corsair uses winbond memory)...

 

[eklass]

my same problem

i don't know, but the system seems fine except for prime95's complaints

 

[Medellon]

I agree with the above post on Prime95. I have a computer that craps out on the Prime95 test after a couple minutes and nothing is overclocked! That computer runs anything I throw at it without a freeze, lockup, or anything unusual for weeks at a time. As long as your computer runs what you want without any problems who the hell cares whether Prime95 runs for 1 minute or 1 week.

 

[Mattlock]

To get from 2157mhz to 2400mhz should I?

1) Up my FSB to 185 (13x185) or

2) Drop my multi to 12x and up fsb to 200? I think my RAM can handle it.

Never quite understood which is best....

thanks,

Mattlock

 

[mboy]

Higher FSB and lower multi is the way to go for sure, unless your other components cant handle it ( If no locks or dividers), otherwise, biggest bang for buck is OC'ing the system bus 🙂

 

[Shimmishim]

1. no guarantee you'll hit 2400

2. 12 x 200 is the way to go with your corsair pc3200

3. i dunno... 3 hours on memtest isn't enough.... try 10+ loops at whatever speed you decide and also use these settings

once memtest starts, hit c-2-3-1-2-0 spacebar ... this will also test the cache on your cpu so it'll not only determine the stability of your ram but also of the processor... THUGSROOK says that doing this will find errors that prime won't be able to find for hours and hours...

 

[Balex99]

I agree also with the statement about Prime95 being overrated. It would be nice to run another bench and it run just fine but I am not going to let Prime95 hold me back from my overclock because my cpu or mem can't pass the test when I can play everything else and not have any problems. Basically, I don't play prime95.

 

[Sahakiel]

Originally posted by: Balex99
I agree also with the statement about Prime95 being overrated. It would be nice to run another bench and it run just fine but I am not going to let Prime95 hold me back from my overclock because my cpu or mem can't pass the test when I can play everything else and not have any problems. Basically, I don't play prime95.

Running Prime95 is like going offroad with your daily commuter. Few people do anything similar on a daily basis, but when doing a complete test, one shouldn't skimp just because it's not a daily routine.
That said, I believe it's alright if your computer runs what you want how you want it without hiccups except for this one failure. Just keep the fact in the back of your mind when you run a new piece of software that doesn't seem to want to work.

On a side note: I've found Diablo 2 and WC3 are either pretty good stability tests, even though they're rather time consuming. I've had systems that would pass most "standard" burn-in and stability tests yet suddenly crash or blue screen a few hours into gameplay. Very annoying, but it does go away if the timings or the speed is backed down a bit.