Unable to OC an E8400 to 3.6ghz

[Tempered81]

yah, trying to get 3.6ghz+ from 1.14 Vcore is kinda difficult to do

 

[Dorkenstein]

Well I was under the impression that the more voltage you apply the less lifespan your components have. If it is at 1.14 then what should I raise it to?

 

[Razorfist]

Hey Dorkenstein, I'm also OCing an e8400, but on an ASUS P5N-e motherboard.

The stock voltage for the e8400 is 1.225, which I was able to use to get to 3.6 GHz.
However, some people say that 1.225 is very low.
Many people use 1.4 volts VCore to get to 4 GHz.
There are some that use up to 1.5 volts.

I would say you are safe experimenting with up to 1.3 volts. Safe being REALLY safe.

I do not believe the problems you are having are voltage problems however.

Your memory is rated for 800 MHz operation, but it is DDR memory.
DDR means it runs at dual data rate. So it is actually 400 MHz.

This means that if you were to overclock your CPU (standard 333 MHz = 3.0 GHz) to 400 MHz (3.6 GHz), you could run your memory divider at a 1:1 ratio. 1:1 is ideal.

The problem I believe you are having is in the way the BIOS is presented. I also had a very hard time deciphering what the BIOS options meant (No two BIOS companies are exactly the same).


I suggest you set everything back to default and start there.

Once things are at default settings:

Try to find the FSB.
a. If you find 333 MHz, great! Change that to 400 MHz.
b. If you find 1333 MHz (what I found), change that to 1600 MHz (this was labelled as QDR).
c. If you find 666 MHz (no idea why you find this), change it to 800 MHz.

Then find the memory timings. I looked up your memory and it looks like your rated timings are 5-5-5-12 2T.

So in the memory timing options, manually set this up:

CAS latency (CL): 5
RAS to CAS Delay (tRCD): 5
RAS Precharge (tRP): 5
Active to Precharge Delay (tRAS): 12
Command Rate (CMD): 2

Leave all the other settings you have if you do not understand them.
After you have manually set these timings, find the memory speed.

a. If you find 400 MHz, leave it there. If you find anything less than 400, put it up to 400.
b. If you find 800 MHz, leave it there, if you find anything in between 550 and 800, put it up to 800.

Now you are done. If there IS a memory divider settings... leave it be. Your computer should auto detect that you are running at 400 FSB and 400 MHz RAM and set it to 1:1.

IF it should happen that it does not auto set it to 1:1, I guess do what I told you again, or maybe it has it all saved, then also set the divider to 1:1.

Hope this helps, good luck!

 

[Dorkenstein]

Yeah, if I take the fsb to 400 and at a 1:2 ratio it sets my memory to 801. Why the extra number is in there and why I can't set it to 1:1 is beyond me.

 

[PolymerTim]

Originally posted by: Dorkenstein
All I know is that when I set it to 1:2 the cpu clock is 400 and the memory says 800 in gladiator bios. I thought I had things working, but I just had another bsod so I am going to bring it back to stock until I know more. I'll run memtest next.

OK, I think some of the confusion here is due to FoxConn Mars BIOS using a different convention for naming memory dividers than most other motherboards. I have heard of this before and is why I got suspicious. If you look at the divider options on the board (here is an example). They range from 1:2 up to 1:4. I can only assume the ratio is FSB to memory speed, so the OP does in fact want 1:2 to make his DDR2800 run at 800MHz assuming a 400MHz FSB. As usual, the manual is not at all clear on this.

With that cleared up, I think the problem is a lot more obvious. I think you have a voltage problem with either cpu, RAM, or both. Your RAM is rated for DDR2-800 @ 5-5-5-15 @ 2.0-2.1V. I think you have the speeds right, but not the voltage. Also, as others have said, some E8400's need a little extra voltage to hit 3.6GHz (although not all).

A note about voltage. Yes, increasing voltage (as well as heat and frequency) reduce the lifetime of your chip. The question is just how much. The chip doesn't have to last forever. If it can last 10 years, it is unlikely anyone will be using it any more anyway. As mentioned above, 1.3V is still a pretty safe voltage for the E8400. I would start there to remove voltage as the source of your problem and then reduce once you have a stable overclock. Similarly, your RAM is rated at 2.0-2.1V. Your are effectively running it out of spec at 1.8V. You should at least set it to 2.0V so you are in the spec that it was intended to run.

So try once again with all these changes at the same time:
-RAM voltage: 2.0V
-CPU voltage: 1.3V
-CPU Clock Ratio: 9 X
-Target CPU Core Speed: 3600 MHz
-CPU Clock: 400MHz
-CPU Clock vs Memory Speed: 1:2
-System Memory Speed: 800 MHz
(Note, I'm not sure which items you control and which are readouts, but you want them to match the above)

Once you've done that, try your standard stability test (maybe P95 and memtest) to check for stability.

Let us know how it works.

-Tim

 

[Razorfist]

Does you computer post and load windows at a 400 MHz FSB with a 1:2 ratio?

Using 800 MHz DDR2?

Either you are communicating something incorrectly, reading the BIOS incorrectly, or the BIOS is itself incorrect.

There is no way your DDR2 memory is running at 800 MHz (1600 MHz actual).

Please post a CPU-Z screenshot of your settings (you can open multilple instances of CPU-Z).

EDIT: Due to the poster above me stating facts about the FOXCONN bios, things are a lot clearer.

 

[Dorkenstein]

Okay, will try this, but one thing first just so I am totally clear. What cpu functions do I disable for the best overclock? (Like C1E etc.)

 

[Diogenes2]

Originally posted by: Dorkenstein
Okay, will try this, but one thing first just so I am totally clear. What cpu functions do I disable for the best overclock? (Like C1E etc.)

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2057083&enterthread=y

 

[Dorkenstein]

Okay, I set everything to PolymerTim's specifications but when I apply the changes in bios, I restart to a long burst of beeps followed by another restart and then the post screen tells me an overclock recovery has happened and I am running in safe mode. Should I turn recovery off or is something else wrong? Thanks again.

EDIT: This is my memory kit.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820211282

 

[PolymerTim]

Originally posted by: Dorkenstein
Okay, will try this, but one thing first just so I am totally clear. What cpu functions do I disable for the best overclock? (Like C1E etc.)

Disable C1E and EIST while you are experimenting. I think you can try enabling them after you've found your final settings and stability tested.

But you should definitely read the guide linked above. It's pretty deep, but there is some important stuff in there and well worth your time to read it a couple times.

 

[Tempered81]

here are some screenshots of the foxconn Blackops Bios with a little info on overclocking. It may be similar to your foxconn Mars bios.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...howthread.php?t=187199

 

[Dorkenstein]

Thanks for all the help. Still stuck at the beep/recovery hurdle.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Dorkenstein
Thanks for all the help. Still stuck at the beep/recovery hurdle.

And you will be until you raise the proper voltages.

 

[soldano]

I am running my 8400 with no problems at 4 Gz and the following settings:
FSB 444 , Multi 9, V Core 1,336v (CPUZ).- V RAM 2,20v.-
Mobo: Asus Formula Maximus
Zalman 9700 cooler.-
My Ami Bios doesnt have any multiplier option.-
It has the following parameters:
FSB Strap to North Bridge: 200, 266, 333, 400 and auto.-
Dram Freq: DDR2 890, 1069, 1116, 1186, 1338, 1425, 1484, 1783 and auto.-
I have both in auto, and I wish to know what are them for, and if they have any relation to the multiplier.-
Thanks.-

 

[Dorkenstein]

I think I got it to work @ 3.6. If by tomorrow things are still okay, what do I need to get to 4.0? Better memory or cooling? Thanks!