overclocking problem

[moonboy403]

i'm currently overclocking my 3.0c to a fsb of 230 on default voltage
the cpu:mem ratio is on 5:4 using 1 gig of elixir pc3200 with timings of 2.5, 2, 3, 8
i tried relaxing the timings but even that didn't allow me to achieve a higher clock speed(not stable)
but on 5:4 the ram aren't even at their default frequency since they're rated as pc3200
with that said......should i go for better some better ram?
possibly the ocz pc4200 performance series
would that do me any good

 

[moonboy403]

anyone??

 

[itachi]

if the ratio is at 5:4.. then your ram isn't even at 200mhz yet. when fsb is at 240, ram will be at 200.

what kind of cooling are you using?

 

[daveybrat]

First thing i see wrong is that Elixir 3200 DDR is usually CAS3 ram, not CAS2.5 as you're running it.
I've used Elixir ram, and it's fine for value systems, but not recommended for overclocking or performance.

 

[Geomagick]

The only thing I can think of here is that you are already running a reasonable overclock.

230*15=3450MHz which is really about as far as you can usually go without altering cooling and/or voltage on most systems.

Obviously it is possible to go much higher.

As the others have said your RAM is a weakpoint regardless of whether it is at or below stock speed as you have it.
Also check to see how well the cooling setup it working. Maybe also notch the vcore up one notch.

You don't mention what m/board you are using - is the northbridge sufficiently cooled?

Just a few ideas..

 

[Stormgiant]

As daveybrat said, Elixir ARE value ram chips.

Mine would do CAS2.5 until +/- 190, then CAS3 to 202 and then nothing...

They are for default running systems only. Also, 230 is getting to the point were most 3.0c need a litle bit of juice to get running. maybe jumping from 1.525v to 1.537v would be enough...

 

[moonboy403]

my motherboard is gigabyte 8IPE1000-G
and it doesn't seem to have a agp/pci lock

 

[Bad Dude]

Hey Moonboy,
I don't advice to get higher clocked RAM as I have tried. I think your chip is Max out at that overclocked speed. Don't waste your money on upgrading the RAM. Just look for a better overclocking chip if you want to go higher or wait for the higher clocked speed chip to go cheaper. It won't go any higher.
At least your overclock is at default voltage.
Also your board might be a factor with higher FSB. Most likely your chip maxed out already.

 

[TStep]

Of the 4 (I think) P4 3.0c cpus I've tried, IIRC, two went about 3.3-3.4 and two went 3.5-3.7. 3450 may be all the chip has to give. I really don't overvolt anything too often anymore, so I'm pretty sure that was probably at default voltage.