Opteron 165 overclock - help, pulling hair out ;-(

[mmganga]

Ok, so I have the following:

(1) Opteron 165, CCB1E, 0550 stepping (supposedly on average 2.9 GHz o/c);

(2) DFI Lanparty NF4 Ultra Expert

(3) 2 GB (2 x 1) OCZ PC4000 Gold EL XTC RAM (DDR500)

I've been trying to overclock this thing over the last week or so...

I can get the recommended OCZ timings in the memory and have a FSB of 312 MHz, running the RAM at 260 MHz (5/6 divider). Works fine with the CPU at stock voltage BUT 8x multiplier.

Knowing these go up to 9x multiplier, I tried 8.5x and it fails prime95 after a few minutes. I raised the voltage only on the CPU from 1.35 all the way to 1.45 and the prime95 gets better but still eventually fails.

Any idea how I could bring this thing to 9x multiplier? I'd be happy with 312x9 CPU speed!

THANKS!!!

 

[dennisjk]

That core doesn't like fractional multipliers. Did you try just going to 9x?

 

[Captante]

Raise the multiplier back to 9 & crank the FSB down a few notchs ... my guess is that the mb doesn't like running the FSB quite that high, or that you simply have pushed the CPU a little past its oc'ing limits.
Also I'll bet you would be happy with 2.8ghz, but despite what you may have read, many Opterons simply won't run that fast with stability, you may have to suffer with 2.7 or (gasp!) 2.6ghz instead...this is btw as far as I was comfortable pushing my own Opteron 170 oc.

 

[RallyMaster]

Use the default 9x multi, increase the HTT speed to 265 and see if you can run it at 1:1 at 2.385GHz. From there, push up 5Mhz each time. Use as low of a voltage as possible. I'm pretty sure your chip can do 2.4GHz on stock voltage.

 

[mmganga]

Ok I am running right now at 290 x 9 = 2.61 GHz on 1.45 V

I still want to see if this can be pushed higher to 2.8-2.9 GHz...any tips?

THANKS!

 

[starwars7]

you could go to the DFI forum site and read up on the overclocking guide.

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28049

follow the guide and determine your max oc

 

[whovous]

I don't think there is ANY 165 that will do 2.9G as an average overclock.

2.4 is easy, 2.6 is common, 2.7 is where my 165 (CCBWE) topped out Prime stable, and 3.0 is the Holy Grail. Short of what might be done with phase cooling, 3.1 is about as high as anyone is ever going to get.

You have room for a little more voltage, and you need to make sure your RAM multi is dialed down to 3 (w/ a 1/2 divider) while you find the max your CPU can do. The idea is to take the RAM completely out of the equation until you find what your CPU can do. Then dial down the CPU while finding the max your RAM can do. Finally, do the math to figure out just what combo of speed and dividers give you the best of both.

 

[Kakumba]

actually, no need to do the maths, use Gogars script. There is a link to it in the A64 overclocking guide on this very forum.

anyways, sounds like all is going well, keep pushing. also, what cooling you using?

 

[Doctorweir]

What is your cooling and what are the temps?
You would be very lucky to hit 2.8 if on air...

 

[inveterate]

I would swapp the Bios on the DFI expert because,, it'z ballz

 

[DidlySquat]

Set RAM divider to DDR200 (1/2, default timings), FSB to 300, CPU multiplier to 9X, CPU voltage to 1.5 V. Call me stupid if your opty doesn't boot and primes stable with these settings. Now continue increasing the FSB 5-10 mhz each time and see where your limit is.

 

[mmganga]

You'll be surprised to find out that it actually reboots by itself before getting to Windows :-(

The info is as follows:

Temp of CPU is ~44 degrees

Temp of the Chipset is 55 degrees

Temp of the power converter is 59 degrees

But 300 x 9, with RAM at 200 (1:2 divider) doesn't completely boot Windows :-(

 

[DidlySquat]

Did you set the CPU voltage to 1.5 V ? Also I forgot to mention HTT multiplier should be set to 3X. These two are a MUST. Also just to play extra safe on RAM you can set it to 3-4-4-8-2T even though at 1:2 divider it should run fine on the default timings.

Call me stupid if it doesn't boot.

P.S. btw, I just got all the parts for my new watercooling kit (Swiftech H2O-120) and after I install it I will try Ocing to 3 GHz and beyond (hoping for 350x9=3150). I'm prime stable on air at 320x9=2880 but never tried to go higher due to concerns about overheating (esp the chipset which is gets close to 60C). So I reckon I can do AT LEAST 100-200 mhz more because like I said my opty (CCBBE 0610 DPMW) is 24/7 dual prime stable at 320x9=2880.

 

[whovous]

300 x 9 is not a sure thing. I got there, and was Prime stable, but my temps were uncomfortably high and it would not go much higher than that and remain stable. Lotsa folks report they could not even get that far.

Some have gotten into the 340 x 9 range, but that involves a large luck factor, I suspect.