P4 2.4c & Asus P4P800 deluxe - need suggestions

[UncleAelfrich]

Pentium 4 2.4c
Thermalright SLK-800-u with PANAFLO fan
Asus P4P800 deluxe
2 x 256 Corsair XMS Extreme PC-3200C2
GeForce 4 Ti4200 128mb
Maxtor Diamondmax Plus 80gb
Antec Plus 660 AMG case w/TruePower 330
3 case fans (NOT connected to FAN ONLY) plus a fan over a stock Northbridge heatsink

I am a new overclocker, and right now I seem to max at:
247 fsb, vcore=1.6v, Performance Mode=Standard, ddr frequency=2.75, 2-3-3-6-4, MAM=Enabled

I have run 2 instances of Prime 95 for 45 mins. with no errors.
Temps run 29 C/34 C (cpu/mb) idle; 59 C/43 C w/load

SCORES
SANDRA
CPU Arithmetic - Dhryston 9032, Whetsone/ISSE2 2562/5250
CPU Mutimedia - 13629/20645

PCMARK
CPU 7287
Memory 8181

AIDA 32
Read 4287
Write 1244

Any suggestions as to how to improve my scores? When I try to go to 250 FSB, I get errors on Prime 95; I tried it with vcores up to 1.7, but no go.

Thanks for your help.

UncleAelfrich

 

[stardust]

put turbo on...and disable MAM, according to CPU-Z performance mode gets disabled after DDR400.
Lower fsb to 245 and try to increase memory timings/perameters..reduce actual bottleneck as much as possible even though theoretical bottlenecks are gone.
Use the Memory-Cache benchmark from Sisandra.
If u dare..bump VCORE to 1.65, but with the Asus, ur gunna overvolt to about 1.685

 

[Yeti101]

My 2.4C and P4P800 (Non deluxe) should be here monday.. I'd also be interested in any information or 'tips' to OCing, it's my first OC, but I feel fairly confident all will go well.

 

[UncleAelfrich]

pardon my ignorance ... but .. exactly what do I change to increase memory timings/performance

 

[mechBgon]

The routine for relaxing the memory timings is going to be somewhat analogous to the P4C800, methinks, so peruse these instructions and see if they steer you close enough to the target that you can take over: thread

I'll type up a custom one for a P4P800 if I have to, but I bet you can adapt that to your needs. Go for it

 

[UncleAelfrich]

hmmm ... I tried some things ... but setting the DRAM frequency to 400 rather than Auto ... the system wouldn't even POST

 

[mechBgon]

Did you also change the sub-timings to the relaxed values (2.5-3-3-7) like I described? That should be done first, if anything.

 

[UncleAelfrich]

ok ... after trying several things ... it appears that running the DRAM frequency at 400 causes errors in Prime95.

running the DRAM settings at 2.5-3-3-8-8 gives AIDA scores of 4117/1080, while DRAM at 2-3-3-8-8 gives 2804/979. (I must say I am a bit confused since these corsair chips are supposed to be 2.0 latency.)

I'm testing Prime95 on the following settings
CPU freq.-240; DRAM-Auto; vcore-1.6; DDR-2.75; 2.5-3-3-8-8; MEM=Enabled; Perf=Std.; Graphics Aperture=64

Also, memtest86 crashes under all three memory sizing methods.

I'm confused, and I don't know whether what I have learned and know now is greater than what I realize that I don't know that a week ago I wasn't even aware I didn't know it.

 

[mechBgon]

The Corsair modules aren't the issue. The mobos sometimes just don't want to do the timings that the Corsair is built to do, even though the same module will run those timings in other boards. BIOS updates may resolve this eventually.

Now, why is your DRAM at Auto? You should probably take manual control over that setting, because if it's running 1:1 with the CPU, that PC3200 is doing PC3840 :Q If it were me, I'd follow the conventional wisdom and start by testing at stock frequencies on the RAM and CPU instead of jumping straight to a 20% overclock like that.

 

[UncleAelfrich]

I appreciate your help. I must not have made it clear in my earlier post; when I set the DDRAM at 400, the only CPU frequency that will run without errors in Prime95 is 200 ... (which I believe is the stated speed). So ... I am running the DDRAM at Auto because that doesn't produce errors when I clock up the CPU to 205, or 210 ... or 240.

 

[UncleAelfrich]

I appreciate your help. I must not have made it clear in my earlier post; when I set the DDRAM at 400, the only CPU frequency that will run without errors in Prime95 is 200 ... (which I believe is the stated speed). So ... I am running the DDRAM at Auto because that doesn't produce errors when I clock up the CPU to 205, or 210 ... or 240.

 

[mechBgon]

Ohh, gotcha.

 

[stardust]

the auto feature is a soft limit that intelligently compensates for ur cpu's HT. thats why many OC'ers choose to shut HT down when reaching high fsb.
after ur natural settings for ur ram, even at 1:1, ur MAM will start to lose its function. Turbo in this case is more effective and by turning off MAM u get more stability