P4 not overclocking well

[fustercluck]

I recently upgraded my PC and my original plan was to overclock my 2.4b to2.8 GHZ (at least ) but it's not going well at all... i've been working on it for a couple of days and the max fsb i can get it at stablely is 146, and i have to have my Voltage at 1.550 to get it this high, everything higher i've tried is unstable... and my games crash and go right to the desktop. Did i just get a crappy P4 that doesnt OC very well? I knew i would get a crappy P4 ;/, aye, just my luck. But maybe it's something else?... *crosses fingers*

 

[Lonyo]

What's your RAM and timings? If you have poor RAM, that would be a big hinderance in your overclocking ability.
Just saw in sig you'res shouldn't be too bad, but what timings are you running, and what is it rates as? (CAS 2, 2.5)

 

[Tates]

I need 1.65v to push my 2.4b to 2.8GHz. Your Kingston DDR may also be the culprit.

 

[fustercluck]

I dont have any special ram settings right now, but i'm also thinking the ram might be the culprit, how should i change it? All the ram settings are most likely on default now.

 

[Lonyo]

DRAM CAS Latency - set to 2.5
Precharge to active (Trp) - set to 3
Active to recharge (Tras) - set to 6
Active to CMD (Trcd) - set to 3

These options should be somewhere in the BIOS, under something such as DRAM Clock/Drive or something (I wouldn't know on your motherboard, hunt through the options)
You might have to change DRAM timing to Manual to be able to change the settings.

Try upping the DDR voltage as well, and see what happens with the above settings. Take the DRAM voltage up to something like 2.65-2.75, but not any higher for now, and see if that helps at all. With slower timings on the RAM you might be able to up the FSB more.

 

[oldfart]

Are you running your ram 1:1 or 4:5? If you are @ 4:5 try 1:1 or even 4:3. That will tell you if its the ram holding you back. Try a single stick as another test.

 

[huthut]

Yeah, try it with 1 stick of mem at 4:5 with lower timings and more voltage. Also try upping the CPU voltage.

 

[ChampionAtTufshop]

Originally posted by: huthut
Yeah, try it with 1 stick of mem at 4:5 with lower timings and more voltage. Also try upping the CPU voltage.

well first try it at 1:1 ratio

raise vcore a bit (DONT GO PAST 1.65V, my friends asus p4pe overvolted it quite a bit...and yours most likely does too [to follow the asus tradition])
raise vdimm to 2.7 (i think thats the next highest jump)

also, you did lock pci/agp right?

 

[fustercluck]

I dont think i have those options in BIOS, i guess i'll just have to live with it, i was really hoping to get it past 2.8 Ghz, but it cant even get past 2.6

maybe i can sell it, but i really doubt it will.

 

[THUGSROOK]

yes you do
read up a bit about your motherboard in different threads and READ THE MANUAL!

when you have a better understanding of what you own ~ your task will be easier

 

[THUGSROOK]

also ~ please tell us the "pack date" and "s-code" written on the side of the cpu box

 

[fustercluck]

pack date was 11/11/02, the "s-code" i think your talking about ends in SL6EU, it's a B0, not a C1.

I could find 1 one of the options, i think... not sure about the others

My SDRAM CAS latency is already at 2.5
RAS to CAS Delay is 3T
RAS precharge delay is 3T
active precharge is 7t

not sure which ones your talking about, lonyo, i guess you mobo has diffenerent settings or somethin like that, can you translate for me?

 

[Duvie]

The memory ratio option should be found in the bios in the same sub menu as where you change the cpu fsb speed.....

Switch to 1:1 for testing and make sure if you can lock agp/pci you do it....I think live soundcards are notorious for not liking much increase in pci...

 

[huthut]

Sorry, I meant to say try 1:1 first. And yeah lock the AGP/PCI bus to take that and all of its related devices out of the equation.

 

[fustercluck]

alright, but how should i change these?:
My SDRAM CAS latency at 2.5
RAS to CAS Delay is 3T
RAS precharge delay is 3T
active precharge is 7t

and only try the 1:1 with one stick of ram? Why would that make any difference?

 

[fustercluck]

I need to know, because i'm going to do change it soon, lil help?

 

[Technonut]

I need to know, because i'm going to do change it soon, lil help?

The memory timings that are shown above (2.5-3-3-7) are fine to start. The reasoning behind setting the memory ratio to 1:1 is to help eliminate the RAM as hindering your processor overclock since the memory is only running 2x the FSB speed at 1:1.

Personally, I would keep both sticks of RAM installed since that is what you will be running. Be sure to lock your PCI/AGP to 33/66. I would also bump the Vcore and VDIMM a notch or two past default settings before testing unless you want the maximum overclock with default voltages.

Just out of curiosity, if you get the chance, look at the markings on the Kingston RAM chips and post what they are. (If each stick has different markings, post both)