p4 2.6c with Asus P4P800 OC ... should I be happy?

[AEnigmaWI]

Ok, so I have this computer...

P4 2.6C
2x512 Corsair XMS PC3200

My current BIOS settings are as follows:

FSB - 240
Mem Speed - 266
DRAM Voltage - Auto
VCore - 1.6275
System Performance Toggle - "Turbo"

Memory Timings (after achieving above)

2-3-3-6
Mem bus (measuered in OS with Sandra) - 320MHz


The question is.. is this a decent OC? I have a Vantec Aeroflow.. CPU temp is stable at around 35 C.. system has been tested stable.. (100% load for a week running SETI and benchmark apps)

Would I benefit from higher latency but faster rated DDR? Like some 3500 or something? Is it possible to get to 3200 MHz ? I haven't been able to nudge past 245 FSB, and btw 240 and 245, my system reclocks the RAM, which slows things WAY down.. (245 produces 260 ish MHz RAM speeds)

I don't really understand fully how the 266/320/400 setting works on this board, I guess it is choosing the ratio (1:1, 5:4, 3:2) but I don't understand why mem speed goes way down when sys speed goes over 240..

Oh and anyone have problems with your internal USB headers with BIOS 1015? Mine stopped working altogether... bah!

 

[JCase]

I have a very similar setup (2.6@240fsb on a p4c800-e dlx), with my cpu topping out at the same speed. The only tweak I can suggest to you is increasing the mem speed to 320, which pc3200 should be more than capable of running at 5:4 ratio (192mhz). I'm using OCZ EL PC3200, which I tested at 200mhz until I began overclocking, as it would not go higher while retaining tight timings (2-2-3-5). If your ram can't reach the 5:4 ratio, try boosting its voltage (auto will be low...I'm not sure how much corsair xms can take, but the ocz takes a lot...2.85v I think). If the voltage helps a lot, you can even try tightening up the timings. Hope this helps!

 

[AEnigmaWI]

thanks jcase

I have tried changing the mem to the 320 setting, but didn't have a lot of luck.. I shall try increasing the voltage to the RAM and see if it makes a diff.

 

[Keysplayr]

You should be very happy even without an O/C LOL.

 

[Camofrog]

I have a very similar setup....... i have the P4 2.4c & asus P4P800-E deluxe.......i'm running it at a 250fsb (~3015 mhz cpu) with my memory set at 320mhz (5:4) so it is actually running at 400mhz (2x200 DDR Ram) .......... i have GeiL golden dragon PC3200 ram timings are 2-3-3-6 ..... my Ram voltage is at 2.75 and my vcore is 1.585........... also i left the sys performance at auto as well as the memory excel at auto ( it wont work after 200fsb on this board anyway) ........ and thats about it ......... i have a thermaltake spark 7+ copper heastsink with a 6000+ rpm fan plus alot of other fans......... my comp is a aluminum case and its in my nice cool basement ( not sure if that effects it much) anyway....... i dont get over 38-40 cel at full load with prime95, & 3dmark2002 running......... ive heard dont go over 55-60 cel tho.......

 

[ntrights]

Originally posted by: AEnigmaWI
Would I benefit from higher latency but faster rated DDR?

No, Faster mem is always better for day to day use..if you only use the rig for gaming then higher DDR is better. The 2.6c are not known to overclock high. 250FSB is about average for the 2.6 (with fast timings).

 

[boshuter]

I have the same setup as you with the exception of my XMS being PC3500. I run at 264fsb(3.44), with my memory at 5:4 2-2-2-5 timings. Try letting bios set your memory by SPD until you find the limit of your cpu. Then set your memory to run a 5:4 divider and start tightening the timings until you find that limit. I leave the "system perf toggle" set to "auto".

250FSB is about average for the 2.6 (with fast timings).

Timings, or anything else to do with the memory have absolutely nothing to do with how well a cpu will oc. The memory and cpu together will determine how your "system" will oc.

 

[fstime]

whats the diff from fast and turbo, when i change it to turbo my cpu temps jump a few.

 

[ntrights]

Originally posted by: boshuter
I have the same setup as you with the exception of my XMS being PC3500. I run at 264fsb(3.44), with my memory at 5:4 2-2-2-5 timings. Try letting bios set your memory by SPD until you find the limit of your cpu. Then set your memory to run a 5:4 divider and start tightening the timings until you find that limit. I leave the "system perf toggle" set to "auto".

250FSB is about average for the 2.6 (with fast timings).

Timings, or anything else to do with the memory have absolutely nothing to do with how well a cpu will oc. The memory and cpu together will determine how your "system" will oc.

True but if your ram is crappy then there is no way you will find out the "limit" of the cpu Nevertheless 250 seems to be the average with the few exceptions that goes higher, my 2.6 @3.35 2-2-2-5 and other 2.6 rigs i have seen have generally been running at that FSB with fast timings.

 

[AEnigmaWI]

I'm gonna try the 2.75 ram voltage and see if it boots.. wish me luck heh

I still can't get my USB headers to work.. is there some way to initialize the USB subsystem?

 

[AEnigmaWI]

so... now running system at 246 FSB, with ram setting at 5:4 multiplier.. RAM voltage 1.75, VCORE 1.65..

preliminary tests seem stable.. I had it at 248 FSB, but sandra memory bandwidth benchmark dropped dramatically.. Anyone know why this is? I had achieved much higher results with the 240 FSB.. (using compare options in sandra, the small block transfer rate seems to have slowed way down..) I had less total bandwidth, but faster xfer of small blocks before..

Is this just blah crap or does it actually mean something when this benchmark drops like this? I will run aqua mark etc, but might i actually be slower memory wise with this faster FSB ?

 

[AEnigmaWI]

ok so here is the latest stable overclock that is benchmarking where it should

btw, I enabled the ASUS PAT deal (enhanced memory interface or whatever) and it made a noticable performance diff, even though it says PAT is disabled in Sandra... My sandra benchmark and aquamark went way up... odd.

FSB - 248
Mem - 330 (3/2)

I can't seem to get 5/4 to work properly.. mem voltage is 1.75, cpu is 1.6275..

 

[AEnigmaWI]

YAY!

Mem Clock - 396MHz

aquamark 43.32 FPS
CPU Score 9,807.

and I didn't even disable Norton AV heh

thanks for all the good suggestions doods

 

[JCase]

Glad you got it all working! I still don't understand, though, why your ram can't handle the 5:4 divider, as you haven't passed 250fsb. It would be interesting to see if loosening up the timings allows your ram to run faster, though it's been debated whether higher ram speed or tighter timings is better at the same fsb (Duvie did a great writeup on it). I guess it bugs me because corsair xms is highly touted, but seems to be one of the limiting factors (in even reaching its advertised performance!) in overclocking your system. Anyways, congrats on the overclock!

 

[AEnigmaWI]

thanks jcase.. I guess I should be more clear..I did actually get it to run at 5:4 in the end.. hence the 396 MHz FSB speed... settings are 248 fsb, 320 ram speed in bios.. still running 2-3-3-6

what i really found odd is the large performance difference made by enabling the "enhanced memory interface" dealy right under the DRAM timings. I jumped noticable in benchmarks with it enabled vs disabled, almost as much as I did by tightening the timings originally (from 3-4-4-8)..

I was under the impression that the PAT was disabled at bus speeds over 200 MHZ, but it seems to still have some effect..

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: AEnigmaWI
thanks jcase.. I guess I should be more clear..I did actually get it to run at 5:4 in the end.. hence the 396 MHz FSB speed... settings are 248 fsb, 320 ram speed in bios.. still running 2-3-3-6

what i really found odd is the large performance difference made by enabling the "enhanced memory interface" dealy right under the DRAM timings. I jumped noticable in benchmarks with it enabled vs disabled, almost as much as I did by tightening the timings originally (from 3-4-4-8)..

I was under the impression that the PAT was disabled at bus speeds over 200 MHZ, but it seems to still have some effect..

I never head that comment before!!! That would be silly since the i865 mobos are 800fsb boards. I believe I may have heard or rumors of over 250 with some boards but never 200...I think I also heard anything not 1:1 also meant it did not work....

 

[Boyne7]

That O/C is average for a 2.6C you usually cant expect too much more than that out of a 2.6C

I got lucky with mine though,

 

[AEnigmaWI]

I think the Abit IC7 is a better mobo for overclocking than the one I have.. I seem to remember reading that somewhere..

Update btw.. system decided to crash when playing WC3.. dropped the FSB to 246, and stabilized out. I am still happy with that, as it lists 3.2GHz heh...

 

[zShowtimez]

WC3 likes to crash if your memory isnt stable. Ive had that happen alot. And your OC isnt to bad, congrats!

 

[AEnigmaWI]

thanx zshow.. i am perty happy with it, considering the price of a 3.2 GHz P4

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: AEnigmaWI
thanx zshow.. i am perty happy with it, considering the price of a 3.2 GHz P4

And that is the way you should look at it!!! money still in your pocket....