Video Lockups on OC-Help

[94transam]

Thought i'd create a new post thats more specific now.

I've got my OC stable But I want more power captain. Heres where i'm at.

13.5 multiplier - 165/32 FSB setting.
The rest on auto. My vcore is sitting at auto in bios, and 1.6 is blurred out. But Under the power tab it say around 1.68 and ASUS Probe say 1.71
I can't get my DDR above whatever i've set the FSB to unless i go back down to 133 (which i'm not!)lol

I've tried higher FSB vs. lower multiplier and lower FSB vs. higher multiplier. I get lockups during 3Dmark. I seem to run pretty stable at a higher fsb and like 12.5 on the multiplier except for 3d which mean its the radeon right?

Also, my temps are great. I'm at 28/28 right now and last night during 1.5 hours of morrowind and 3dmark it never got over 35c


What do you guys recommend?

Rob

 

[BigJ]

Have you Prime95d it yet for at least 6 hours? If not, your stable might really not be that stable at all.

 

[94transam]

No, your right. I probably am not that stable for 6 hours.
But i rarely sit here that long anyways. I might try that though. I sit here playing battlefield 1942 for 3 at the most. Played Morrowind for 1.5 last night on 1600x1200 with FSAA. ran smoother that ever.

 

[94transam]

chizow,
so raising the vdimm should help eliminate the video lockup you think?
Not raising the agp voltage? or raising the Vcore?

 

[SpeedTester]

94transam, Is yours a "b" Thoroughbred, I have the same system as yours
but with Crucial 2700 Memory and cant hit anywhere near your FSB speed.
What Bios rev for the MB are you using and is your memory set on auto?

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: 94transam
chizow,
so raising the vdimm should help eliminate the video lockup you think?
Not raising the agp voltage?

If you lock-up after raising the FSB, you should consider it a RAM issue before a video adapter issue. As I mentioned before, you need to do 2 things, get an idea of your max CPU overhead (probably around 2300-2400mhz), and then get an idea of your max FSB limits.

After you have an idea, you need to balance your FSB and multiplier to meet your target frequency. To test max CPU overhead, you should use a combination of relaxed FSB settings (160-175mhz or so with PC3200) and a higher multiplier to find a target frequency. To test the upper ranges of your FSB, you'll want to drop your multiplier and crank up your FSB w/out running into any possible CPU overhead issues. This will isolate the bottlenecks in your OC'ing attempts, and allow you to adjust accordingly. If you try running 12 x 200 right off the bat, you won't know if its your high FSB giving you problems, or if its the 2400mhz system clock that is giving you problems. You need to try different things to isolate the issue.

Once you get into Windows, try P95 first, as it will usually tell you if your system is stable in minutes (most crashes occur in the first 15 minutes). If you feel relatively confident it is stable. Then try other benchies, like 3dmark. If 3dmark crashes, then you may have a video card issue. With PCI/AGP locks, finding a stable OC has been made signicantly easier b/c instability issues are generally confined to north bridge subsystems (CPU, Memory controllers, RAM, AGP) and the PSU that powers them. You can try increasing VAGP, but I'd research it more before you consider doing it long-term (as the 9700pro already runs hot and uses a lot of power).

Chiz

 

[94transam]

chizow,
I actually did what you said last night and busted out the calculator.
I tried every combo of multiplier vs. FSB. i didnt just jump into 200.
I saw no posts with anything higher that 13.5 and more stability in the 12.5 -13 range. And it seems the video lockups were quicker in the higher fsb range. The settings i have now seem to be the most stable, but my question is, now that i've narrowed down what i can accomplish with all other settings to auto, what can i change to try higher fsb settings?

You said a ram issue. I've got top of the line ram. Its pc3200 @ 400 mhz, i just cant get there. its in my sig.
So you don't think its a video issue, because it doesnt lockup during sandra tests and i can surf the internet, check my email, listen to mp3 and still not crash, only 3d apps.

I tried to download p95 from the thread above but the link is broken
edit:
you also didnt mention anything more about vdimm

Thanks chizow
Rob

 

[94transam]

speedtester.
i just upgraded my bios to 12 and got a major temperature drop.
My cpu is a B
and once i past 133fsb in bios i am only offered auto and 333 in the ddr memory spot. If i choose auto it will match my current fsb but i am no longer offered 400.

 

[chizow]

Coulda swore I said set the Vdimm to 2.7V hehe dunno.

Anyways, I know you got Corsair, I've got mine in my hand What I meant is it may be a RAM issue b/c it may not be getting enough juice. The crashing in 3D apps at high FSB ~190 is pretty well documented with this board and a 9700pro. I'll know more tonite about it. You can find more info at amdmb.com (under Asus board forum) or rage3d.com (under 9500/9700 forum) about it.

The only thing you can do to try higher FSB speeds (200+) is to target a much lower total clock speed, like maybe 2000mhz and maybe a 9 multiplier to see if its a combination of high FSB + high clockspeeds that is causing the lockup. You can also try raising your VAGP, as well as trying different AGP frequencies. You can also try disabling fastwrites and AGP 8x. My hunch is its still an issue with this board and a 9700pro. Again, I'll know more tonite.

Chiz

 

[94transam]

ok, cool.
I don't really need to hit 200 yet, but somewhere around 170-180 would be nice. I tried that last night with 12x and still got the 3d lockups. vdimm is DDR voltage right (cause ther aint no vdimm in me bios)?
Shouldnt auto under ddr voltage read the spd and set it to 2.75, oh yea my settings are in increments of 2.55 2.65 2.75 and 2.85

 

[94transam]

Ok, i set the ddr voltage to 2.75 and it seems to be running a bit smoother.
I havent tried upping the fsb more though yet.

What program can i use to monitor ddr temps and radeon temp?

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: 94transam
Ok, i set the ddr voltage to 2.75 and it seems to be running a bit smoother.
I havent tried upping the fsb more though yet.

What program can i use to monitor ddr temps and radeon temp?

None, they don't have thermistors or diodes that read their temps. You can use thermal LCD readers and such, but they won't be 100% accurate either.

Chiz

 

[94transam]

ok. damn
So how do you recommend safely upping the volatages. It doesnt look like i need to touch ddr any more, but on the agp voltage.

Also i dont know much about the agp frequencies. can you give me a quick lowdown.

Thanks
Rob