Overclocking my E6400

[James Bond]

I put together my new computer yesterday. It consists of:

E6400
P5B-Deluxe
2GB OCZ Platinum, Rev.02

After getting everything going, I went ahead and overclocked.
As I type this, I am running at 3.2GHz (400FSBx8Multi)--it seems stable (I will do 12hr test tonight).

I tried bumping it up to 3.4 (425FSBx8Multi)--when I did this, I read that it would be advisable to change the timings on my ram, since I was going above the 800MHz mark. I changed the timings from 4-4-4-15 to 5-5-5-15. I successfully got into windows, but it locked up soon after.

What is the most likely reason for it failing at 3.4GHz? I realize that overclocking is all about luck, but I want to get the most I can out of my system.

My vCore is currently at 1.3v (windows says 1.26). My temps seem ok, I'm idling at 38c.

What route should I take? Would I be ok if I raised my vcore, or is that even the problem?

Any guidance would help greatly!

Thanks.

 

[thilanliyan]

It probably locked up because of the vcore. Set it higher, along with maybe changing the ram divider to run it at a lower MHz, not just lower timings....this way you can isolate the CPU and work on overclocking that first.

 

[James Bond]

I ran prime95 overnight (using 400FSBx8Multi = 3200MHz). I ran two instances of the program, one for each of the cores in my CPU.

When I woke up, one of them had 0 errors, but the other encountered 1 error.

Is 1 error bad? Should I up my vcore?
Where should I take it from here?

 

[cmdrdredd]

that depends on your paranoia. Do you think getting 1 error on such a stressful program is considered unsafe and not stable? Or would you try gaming for a few hiours and see if you crash, or do some decoding/encoding of video and see?

It probably doesn't mean much to get 1 error.

 

[James Bond]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
that depends on your paranoia. Do you think getting 1 error on such a stressful program is considered unsafe and not stable? Or would you try gaming for a few hiours and see if you crash, or do some decoding/encoding of video and see?

It probably doesn't mean much to get 1 error.

Okay, good to know

I suppose I should try raising up my vcore a little and pushing it a bit further.
Is heat the only thing I need be worried/looking for?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Tizyler

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd
that depends on your paranoia. Do you think getting 1 error on such a stressful program is considered unsafe and not stable? Or would you try gaming for a few hiours and see if you crash, or do some decoding/encoding of video and see?

It probably doesn't mean much to get 1 error.

Okay, good to know

I suppose I should try raising up my vcore a little and pushing it a bit further.
Is heat the only thing I need be worried/looking for?

yes heat, but I've ran my system at 3.4Ghz 1.5vcore and it got about 70c at load and was 24/7 stable. Until my memory crapped out.

 

[thilanliyan]

What cooler are you running? Don't overclock too much on the stock heatsink.

 

[James Bond]

Originally posted by: thilan29
What cooler are you running? Don't overclock too much on the stock heatsink.

Tuniq 120.
I'm idling at about 40C on both cores (according to coretemp)

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: Tizyler

Originally posted by: thilan29
What cooler are you running? Don't overclock too much on the stock heatsink.

Tuniq 120.
I'm idling at about 40C on both cores (according to coretemp)

Well then....overclock away. That monster should cool it fairly well.

 

[James Bond]

I am currently clocked at 3300MHz. (413x8).

I was running two instances of Prime95 (one on each CPU), and it ended up erroring and my computer crashed+rebooted.

The highest my temp got to was 57--then it dropped to about 54 (since one of the instances of prime95 stopped), then the whole computer crashed a few minutes later.

What is the most likely cause of this occuring? My vcore is set to 1.35.

Someone above mentioned altering some of my RAM settings--I'm not sure exactly how to do that. I have my timings loosened some (5-5-5-15). What is my next step?

Thanks.

 

[James Bond]

This may sound very stupid, but I just realized that my two sticks of ram are running on different channels (I put them next to each other, instead of slots 1, 3). Would that have any affect on what I'm doing?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Tizyler
This may sound very stupid, but I just realized that my two sticks of ram are running on different channels (I put them next to each other, instead of slots 1, 3). Would that have any affect on what I'm doing?

no but running dual channel is faster. Likely 1.35vcore is too low.

 

[Hans Gruber]

I have the same problem running into a big wall with the 6400 at about 3.3Ghz. I've got a ThermalRight Ultra 120. My CPU runs at 3.2Ghz at stock speeds with 400FSB and 4-4-4-12 on the memory timings.

I've got the V-core at 1.35v for added stability and to justify my cooler purchase. The stock Intel cooler was a joke. I tried it out for fun and the temps were almost 60C under full load. I thought I screwed up the install, but I didn't.

Core Temp says one core is running at 40C and the other 36C. Can this be right? CoreTemp is freeware beta junk. Does anybody else have different temps for different cores?

I bumped up to 8x 410FSB and the thing crapped out in Flight Simulator 2004. I had the V-core at 1.45v for that little experiment.

Under full load on SuperPi my CPU registers 43C for the highest temp @1.35v