What's wrong now...

[looper]

OK, cleared bios... back to "333" cpu freq....so back to "3.0" on the E8400... mem voltage at 1.9v... and settings at 5-5-5-15.

WEIRD... rig would not handle me setting cpu freq to ONLY "370" getting the E8400 to only 3.33 ???? Now, what I did NOT do was to raise the cpu voltage... but I should not have had to... for that small an OC, right? When the cpu was at '3.33" mem got kicked up to DDR2@-1111... at 1.9v... maybe mem needed more v?

What's up, here? Seems almost everyone at all the forums I read have their E8400's up to AT LEAST 3.6, many many at @ 4.0, and some up to @4.2 on air...

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

Yes, as I said -- you should not run your memory beyond spec when you're trying to OC your CPU. This is detailed clearly in any good overclocking guide. OC one component at a time in order to isolate your limitations. But yes, if you are looking for something quick and dirty, you could try the same settings and increase your Vdimm. It's just bad practice to randomly take a shot in the dark at overclocking both CPU and RAM like this because you won't know what's actually stopping you from going higher.

What you should do is run your RAM as slow as possible and keep cranking your FSB 10MHz at a time until you get some instability. Then add Vcore. Repeat until you hit a wall -- whether it's a mobo limitation, a heat problem, or you've reached the maximum voltage you're comfortable with. That's your max OC for your CPU.

Then you can either adjust the RAM divider to best match the OC you found, or go through the effort of finding the maximum OC for your RAM and try to reconcile the two results.

 

[looper]

What happened next...

CPU-z and Coretemp "saw" cpu running at 6x333 @ 2.0. Went back into bios, and disabled "CIE support" and "cpu-tm function" per friend at XBit Labs forum...that took care of it...back to stock 3.0 on the E8400. He also wanted me to disable "VanderPool Tech" and "Intel Speed-Step"...."VanderPool" was greyed out...couldn't disable, and I couldn't find "Speed Step" in bios...

Your above comments are great... think I'm now starting to understand how inter-related everything is.... cpu/mem/voltage/fsb... being a semi-novice, this is challenging... plus, I'm a "History/English/Psychology" college guy, not "Math/Science" !!

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

Glad to help. I'm sure others who are more experienced than me can offer more detailed advice.

Anyway, C1E and SpeedStep/EIST are settings that reduce your CPU multiplier and voltage to save on power and hopefully reduce heat when the processor is not under load. It's a good feature for a cool and quiet build, but it can lead to issues when overclocking (as you saw). If your CPU multiplier isn't being dropped any more, you should be ok, but also double check your BIOS for anything related to EIST and turn it off too.

I don't know much about Vanderpool Technology. Something to do with virtualization, so yeah you probably don't need it right now. If it's not even an available option, don't worry about it.

Now that you have any extra features turned off, you should be ready to give it another go.

 

[looper]

I'll tell you one thing....my comp is "flying" w/ the new GTX280 vid card and the GSkill memory...son and I are "gamers", and COD-WaW is awesome at 1600x1200 with all "visuals" cranked way up!!

 

[looper]

Just did fairly mild OC...

fsb to 390x9... 3.51ghz on E8400
GSkill 8800 @ DDR2-975 at 1.95v

Weird, I wanted to raise cpu vcore to @ 1.325v, but was on
"auto" and could NOT be changed!!

re-booted...right into Windows

CoreTemp initially showed as @ 44c idle, but quickly went to
@ 38c

What do you think?

 

[looper]

Also...

Suddenly, no matter what server my son and I are on, the game is very choppy....like our syestem is really slowed down...

???

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

You shouldn't have Vcore on auto. That can be very dangerous, as the BIOS might raise Vcore significantly for a fairly minor FSB bump. You can easily go beyond the safe limits for your CPU like this. Since I'm not familiar with your BIOS, I don't know how to unlock it, but make sure everything is set to manual control and set the Vcore to what you need.

44C or even 38C seems a little high for idle temps to me, but I think the 45nm Wolfdales have higher temp limits than what I'm used to with my E6600. 60-65C is considered an upper bound for safe load temps for mine; you should do some research and find out yours. You should be doing stress testing while you're going through this process, and I'm betting you'll see temps exceeding 60C and possibly even 70C if you start up Linpack or something similar. If your temps are getting too high, you'll need to back off on the Vcore or get a better aftermarket cooling solution. If your cores don't get that hot, then you can keep going.

As for your gaming problem... That could be almost anything, but I suspect that the PCIe bus may be dropping the speed of your GPU when you're overclocking. Take a look at the Mainboard tab of CPU-Z and note what is reported for Graphics Interface > Link Width and Max Supported. You should be seeing x16 for both, but if your PCIe frequency is too high, your Link Width might drop to x1 and you could see poor performance in games. The PCIe bus is usually tied to the FSB on auto settings, but you should be able to manually set PCIe speed to 100MHz in BIOS.

 

[looper]

If the PCIe bus is slowing the gpu down, then that "100mhz" increase there is ok, even though, as you said, you aren't that familiar w/ this MB...?

Some progress...
"AI" is on "manual", have cpu freq at "400", I had cpu vcore at "1.3"v...but when I re-booted and it did go into Windows,...looked in bios...cpu core voltage on "auto" and it can't be changed... dram freq at "ddr2-1000"- PC2-6700, mem voltage at "1.95", cpu at (400x9) 3.6ghz, re-booted...went into windows ...working...temps fine

I think one of these following settings is preventing me from changing cpu vcore...
1)"CIE support"...enabled
2)"Vanderpool"...enabled(& sometimes cant change it)
3)"CPU TM Function"...enabled
4)"Intel Speed Step"...enabled
I had these disabled before...but that seemed to cause other issues...

So issues are 1)cpu vcore can't change, and 2)games "choppy", where before all were very fast & smooth...

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

You don't want to increase PCIe frequency by 100MHz, you want to lock it manually at 100MHz. That's the speed at which the bus is supposed to run. If it's set to auto or is otherwise left alone, it's probably being linked to FSB in some way. So as you increase your FSB to overclock your CPU, you are also overclocking the PCIe bus. If you clock the bus too high, your card may drop to a lower link width because it can't handle the increase. Did you check CPU-Z?

You need to disable C1E, EIST/SpeedStep. It's wise to leave CPU TM function on because it throttles your chip if it gets too hot. That might actually be what's happening to you if your temps are high while gaming. I still think it's the PCIe link width, but if SpeedStep is somehow kicking in while gaming (it shouldn't, by design), then you may see the framerate stuttering you're describing.

 

[looper]

Thx, appreciate input...

Will do what you say on Sat. morning...away for a few days at friends' house...

 

[looper]

sat morning 9am

Interesting:
1) put PCI express freq to "100" from "auto"
2) I was wondering why the "cpu vcore" one time would be on "auto" and could not change it, and then I could change it to 1.325, reboot to Win, reboot it...showing "auto" again and could not change it, regardless of which other settings I "enabled/disabled", then I could change it again...back & forth... WELL...
3)I'm such a 'douche" sometimes...turns out that to change "CPU RATIO SETTING" it involved doing something a bit differently...and I did not realize that....for other options when changing settings you simply hit enter, then it gives you the choices....with "CPU RATIO SETTING" you change it by typing right over the "AUTO" instead of "selecting' it by hitting "enter"and waiting for options to present themselves...SO, now I CAN CHANGE CPU RATIO SETTING... therefore... CHANGE IT TO WHAT BASED ON THESE SETTINGS I AM USING NOW:
1)cpu freq-"400"x9= 3.6ghz
2)dram freq ddr2-1000 (but when rebooted, at bios startup screen- shows pc2-667)
3)PCI Express on "100" before was on "auto"...maybe why games were choppy/slow...
4)memory voltage "1.95v"
5)cpu vcore- "auto" again...but when we change cpu ratio, maybe resolved?(go to 1.3125?)
6)CIE- disabled
7)Max CPUID value-disabled
8)Vanderpool- enabled & can't change- greyed out
9)cpu TM function- enabled
10)speed-step- disabled
11)speed spectrum- auto
12)fsb terminal voltage - auto
13)NB vcore "auto"... choices here are: 1.25, 1.45, 1.55, or 1.65...maybe change this later(up it a bit to help stabilize OC, as some believe it would) after we figure out my cpu vcore, and set up cpu ratio...

So, cpu ratio setting should be what based on the above, or should some of the above be changed & reset cpu ratio....YIKES...

Then, I hope cpu vcore can be changed and will STAY AT THAT SETTING AND NOT GO BACK TO "AUTO"...which PISSES ME OFF.... sorry...I feel better now...


Wow, my head is spinning but I think we're almost there....OK, guys....read this poop, analyze, and let's get it done... CableGuy... "GET 'R DONE"!!!

 

[looper]

All is running fine at 3.6 now...going to leave it alone at this point...tired of clearing cmos...games better w/ PCI freq at 100 rather than auto. Also, turned down "visuals" a bit...

Later in the year if I get bored, I will go for a 4.0 OC. Also, get another 4 gig of same memory, use a backup HD, get Win7 64bit, and set up a dual-boot system.

Thx for your help and patience!

 

[techmanc]

"Later in the year if I get bored, I will go for a 4.0 OC. Also, get another 4 gig of same memory, use a backup HD, get Win7 64bit, and set up a dual-boot system."

Is that the overclockers creed "Where so bored we create our own computer problems? "

 

[looper]

That's the ticket...

Also, (sic)... "Where"... typo, right? You meant "we're"?