Overclocking an E2180 and the RAM

[TheRyuu]

I just upgraded from an Opty Rig (which is still in my sig, should update that) and I've hit 3ghz with 1.425v (in the bios, 1.39 reported in cpu-z) and I want to see if I can go higher.

I have watercooling so temps really aren't an issue (idle at 22C, load at ~44C at 3ghz 1.425v).

Was wondering what I can do to further increase my overclock.
I have an Abit IP35 Pro and was wondering if I should touch the NB voltage or any of the other voltages (cause I never had to do that on my Opty rig).
I'm new to the "Core2" scene so I'm just wondering like what would max voltage be for the chip, max voltage for the P35 NB, etc....

Also a question regarding the my ram.
I have 2x2gb (4gb total) running at DDr900 at 2.1v (rated for DDR1000 at 2.1v 5-5-5-15). For some reason I can't hit the rated speed at said voltage. Any ideas?

Thanks for any help.

 

[imported_Scoop]

Try increasing the northbridge voltage for the memory issue.

What you can do to increase your overclock would be increasing your fsb and voltage Why have watercooling if you're not going to take advantage of it

 

[TheRyuu]

Yea, NB voltage fixed the memory issue.
Is it bad to run the P35 NB at 1.33v? (or more?)
And what's max vcore for a 65nm E2180?

Also I seem to have hit some sort of wall at 300mhz fsb and I can't get over it. Any ideas? I've tried raising CPU vcore to 1.45 and NB to 1.37, neither helped.
Even if I get the same processor speed in the end (like 333x9 or 300x10, only the 300x10 will work). I must be forgetting something.

 

[Thund3rb1rd]

you can run a 65nm core2 at 1.465 vcore 24/7

 

[DSF]

For what it's worth, running your RAM at DDR2-900 isn't giving you much in the way of real-world performance, just synthetic benchmark scores.

 

[TheRyuu]

What would be safe max settings for the VTT voltage and the NB voltage?

Seems if I increase the VTT voltage (vfsb) I can achive a higher stable fsb speed (duh ).
Also, does a load temp of 44C on 1.425v sound right?

It's always in adventure moving to a platform you've never used before

 

[Tempered81]

load of 44, man my load get hot as crap, i have one of the older l2 core2's at 3.3 - load is over 60 sometimes. i'd say you're safe.

read an abit ip35 ocing guide. i read one for my ds3 and it recommened disabling a lot of options which in turn allowed my fsb to go higher.

 

[Replay]

... Also I seem to have hit some sort of wall at 300mhz fsb and I can't get over it. Any ideas? I've tried raising CPU vcore to 1.45 and NB to 1.37, neither helped.
Even if I get the same processor speed in the end (like 333x9 or 300x10, only the 300x10 will work). I must be forgetting something.

Try underclocking the ram, and relaxed ram timings, while you test the limits of the cpu (5-5-5-15, 1:1 ratio cpu:ram). As DSF pointed out, DDR900 DDR1000 ram speeds don't do much for real-world performance. Aim for the highest prime95 stable CPU speed.

Your "wall" at 300 Mhz fsb is low. The mobo should do much better (some do 500 MHz), and the cpu should have some more to give you (~3500 or more if you are lucky).

CpuFSB will let you do some fsb overclocking on-the-fly. I have an old 40G drive, with WinXP, just for testing, to avoid corrupting my "good" OS install.

 

[TheRyuu]

Originally posted by: Replay

... Also I seem to have hit some sort of wall at 300mhz fsb and I can't get over it. Any ideas? I've tried raising CPU vcore to 1.45 and NB to 1.37, neither helped.
Even if I get the same processor speed in the end (like 333x9 or 300x10, only the 300x10 will work). I must be forgetting something.

Try underclocking the ram, and relaxed ram timings, while you test the limits of the cpu (5-5-5-15, 1:1 ratio cpu:ram). As DSF pointed out, DDR900 DDR1000 ram speeds don't do much for real-world performance. Aim for the highest prime95 stable CPU speed.

Your "wall" at 300 Mhz fsb is low. The mobo should do much better (some do 500 MHz), and the cpu should have some more to give you (~3500 or more if you are lucky).

CpuFSB will let you do some fsb overclocking on-the-fly. I have an old 40G drive, with WinXP, just for testing, to avoid corrupting my "good" OS install.

I have underclocked the ram to 5-5-5-15 1:1 at 2v. That's how I reached 300mhz. But it seems to top out there for some reason.

I can give the cpu 1.465v and it won't do anything. Do you think it could be NB or VTT voltage? or even the ICH?