OC'd my 3700+ today...

[SparkyJJO]

OK I'm pretty much a n00b when it comes to OC'ing these Athlon 64 CPUs. My first OC was a Pentium 100MHz which I OC'd to 133MHz Then I had a 1700+ which I OC'd to 1.8GHz, then a mobile 2400+ which I OC'd to 2.2GHz. However this stuff with HT and memory timings (which I have never played with before until today) is pretty new to me.

But being a n00b at this I think it came out fairly well. I got my san diego 3700+ up to 2.86GHz @ 1.5v. If I go much higher I run into stability issues. Would bumping the voltage up to 1.55 help? I'm just scared to touch voltages too much because I'm not sure at what point I'll fry something. I'm on air cooling by the way, a Zalman CNPS9500.

My memory I think sucks at OC'ing, I have G.Skill PC3200 2x1GB kit at 2.5-3-3-6 1T @204MHz. I was messing with dividers and at the 260 I have the HTT at I could either have 204 or 224-ish on the memory. It wouldn't even post at 224 tho So pretty much it is at stock, haven't messed with the timings any because I don't know what to change. Link to memory

SuperPI calculation, CPU-Z, and temps

My 3dmark05 score before I OC'd was a little under 10K, I can't remember exactly what it was. But now I have a score of 11125, not a bad increase.
current 3dmark05 score

OK, here are my questions
What is the max safe voltage?
Any ideas on pushing the ram farther?

My full system specs are in the link in my sig.

 

[furballi]

1.55Vcore is about as high as I would go. Try 2.8Vdimm or 166/133 memory divider. I suspect that you're within 50MHz of the maximum speed of this CPU.

 

[SparkyJJO]

dang you know what I totally forgot about mem voltage /smacks head on desk
that might be it, more tweaking tomorrow!

 

[SparkyJJO]

OK I've hit the max of the CPU, you were right furballi. When I bumped it to 1.55Vcore I got another 55MHz out of it and that was it. Not worth the voltage increase and added heat IMO. I messed with the memory timings, stock is 2.5-3-3-6 as soon as I dropped it to 2-3-3-6 I had no POST and had to use the CMOS reset jumper to get going again. That's what I get for buying $160 ram huh It did do 2.5-3-3-5 but I don't know if that is helpful or not.

Not bad though, paid $200 for my CPU and got the speed of the $800+ FX57

 

[Cheesetogo]

1.65 is generally safe for single core chips, as long as the temps are ok.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

I honestly wouldn't take it over 1.54V That would be the max of the 10% safe voltage zone.

 

[SparkyJJO]

well I'm not going over 1.5v because I think I've hit a wall, when upping to 1.55v only gets me 55MHz increase it isn't worth it.

Running prime95 now - about 10 minutes ago my system froze then rebooted so far no problems. I'm wondering about PSU tho, I have my Asus PC Probe software up and at one point the Vcore dropped to 1.45 for a moment. Didn't freeze up however when I saw it. Generally it is at 1.49-1.5v but occasionally it drops.

What is the lowest the 12v line should go? It tends to drop to 11.79v, I haven't tested with a DMM to make sure it is accurate yet. It was dropping there even before I OC'd. Highest it ever reads is 11.86v. I'm running an Antec TruePowerII 550W. And please, no PSU fanboys coming in here saying AHA you didn't use PCPC or Fortron or whatever I've owned 3 antec PSUs before this one and never had any trouble.

I'm gonna borrow a DMM here soon to check this. According to PC Probe my 5v is currently hanging right at 5.06v and 3.3v line is staying right at 3.3v.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

The system freezing and then rebooting while running Prime95 is pretty extreme - it usually just stops with an error message.

I'm running the same CPU as you, OC'd to 2.6ghz w/stock hsf running between 30-60%. My vcore bounces 1.45-1.47, 12v line flat steady at 11.84v. I'm using an Enermax Liberty 400w.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
The system freezing and then rebooting while running Prime95 is pretty extreme - it usually just stops with an error message.

I'm running the same CPU as you, OC'd to 2.6ghz w/stock hsf running between 30-60%. My vcore bounces 1.45-1.47, 12v line flat steady at 11.84v. I'm using an Enermax Liberty 400w.

That's the strange thing, it was running flawlessly all day today running stuff like COD2, 3Dmark, and a couple other things.
Prime95 just ran for almost an hour no issues at all. Maybe a glitch, since it froze and rebooted in the first few seconds of running prime. I'll keep an eye on it.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: SparkyJJO

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
The system freezing and then rebooting while running Prime95 is pretty extreme - it usually just stops with an error message.

I'm running the same CPU as you, OC'd to 2.6ghz w/stock hsf running between 30-60%. My vcore bounces 1.45-1.47, 12v line flat steady at 11.84v. I'm using an Enermax Liberty 400w.

That's the strange thing, it was running flawlessly all day today running stuff like COD2, 3Dmark, and a couple other things.
Prime95 just ran for almost an hour no issues at all. Maybe a glitch, since it froze and rebooted in the first few seconds of running prime. I'll keep an eye on it.

Sounds like a "pushed your o/c too far with not enough voltage" glitch to me . Prime95 doesn't just crash on a whim; it's either due to the CPU o/c or a weak PSU. With the CPU being that high, it's gotta be the CPU, meaning it's not totally stable. So you're going to have to either increase the voltage or decrease the clockspeed for stability. Simple as that...

 

[SparkyJJO]

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024
Sounds like a "pushed your o/c too far with not enough voltage" glitch to me . Prime95 doesn't just crash on a whim; it's either due to the CPU o/c or a weak PSU. With the CPU being that high, it's gotta be the CPU, meaning it's not totally stable. So you're going to have to either increase the voltage or decrease the clockspeed for stability. Simple as that...

I'm wondering about PSU, since my vcore drops occasionally by .05v, and the 12v line is as low as 11.79 half the time. I'll verify the 12v line once I get my hands on a DMM.

If it acts up any more I'll up the voltage by another .05 and see if that helps. So far no more issues.