x2 4000+ & 8800gt WC max-OC advice

[cinnamonandgravy]

hi, after my old pc died of a watercooling leak, i realized my old socket 754 3400+ clawhammer and ddr1 pc3200 corsair i could sell for more than what newer hardware costs.

and so, heres what i have now for reference:

x2 4000+ am2 brisbane 65nm
biostar tf520 a2+ mobo
2gb ddr2 800 geil w/ carbon fiber heatspreads
xfx 8800gt 512mb
pc power and cooling 610w psu
asetek waterchill external watercooler

the watercooler covers my cpu, northbridge, and gpu in that order. shin etsu thermal compound is used for all.

so anywho, after a bit of playing around, heres what im at right now:

x2 4000+ (2.1ghz stock) @ 2731mhz @ 26C idle, 29C load (fans 1&2 @ 50%; fans 3&4 @ 0%)
--volt core 1.520v
--mult. @ 10.5x
--bus speed @ 260mhz
--HT link @ 1040mhz
--chipset volt. @ 1.30v
--mem volt. @ 2.30v
--mem freq @ 455mhz (910 effective)

id really love to push it over 3.0ghz+, but my mobo doesnt seem to like and fsb over 275mhz or so...after posting i get warned the mobo doesnt care for the cpu overlock and asks me to check on the settings.

think maybe a core voltage and chipset volt. push might fix it? am i pushing the voltage too high? could something else be keeping it from breaking the low (270 x 10.5) 2.8ghzs?

i can definitely get lowers temps too if you think it would help.
any thoughts would really help.



then theres my 8800gt. i havent really pushed it yet, but im still curious as to what you might think i could do with it.

xfx 8800gt (latest revision: black pcb with green dvi [600/1500/900mhz stock]) @ 725/1800/900 @ 33C idle, 36C load
--no voltage mod
--pcie freq still at 100mhz
--one (1) thick ass copper heatsink on each ram module, and two (2) heatsinks stacked on each other on each of the 4 small chips on the right/right bottom corner of the card

i havent overclocked the ram at all yet because i want to concentrate on the core first, plus the heatsinks of the ram get pretty hot already, so until i can double-up the heatsinks on each ram module, im leaving them alone.

i went in one step from 600mhz to 700mhz on the gpu because hey, its watercooled, it can deal with it. and it did. then i bumped it up to 725 and thats where i left it.

id LOVE to break 1000mhz but i really really doubt it. whats a more realistic goal? 725 is nice, but 850 to 950, in my mhz greed, would be better. is the voltage mod required to attain such a lofty goal?

so there you have it. thank you so much to anyone who actually reads all this, and please let me know what you think.:beer:

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: cinnamonandgravy
x2 4000+ (2.1ghz stock) @ 2731mhz @ 26C idle, 29C load (fans 1&2 @ 50%; fans 3&4 @ 0%)
--volt core 1.520v
--mult. @ 10.5x
--bus speed @ 260mhz
--HT link @ 1040mhz
--chipset volt. @ 1.30v
--mem volt. @ 2.30v
--mem freq @ 455mhz (910 effective)

You most likely just need to lower your HT multiplier, and probably raise your RAM timings a bit.

think maybe a core voltage and chipset volt. push might fix it? am i pushing the voltage too high?

Your vcore is already higher than I'd ever try with a Brisbane, at least for 24/7 use. BTW, welcome to anandtech.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

relaxing the timings and lowering the ht mult. didnt do a thing.

i lowered my vcore to 1.45v and everything seems fine. ive tried as high at 1.6v to push the fsb but no avail. ive seen others with watercooling push it up to 1.65v-1.7v to help in the 3.2ghz+ venture, but mine cant even hit 2.9 :/

ive gotten as high as 2.83ghz, which was perfectly stable in crysis for hours, but when rebooting the mobo only sometimes accepts that fsb. ??? ill reboot mult times until it eventually accepts it (sometimes after 1 reboot, sometimes after 10), and once im in windows i never encounter a hiccup. even crysis everything is just fine, and temps never break 30C.

but why the selective post?

any ideas at all?!?!

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: cinnamonandgravy
relaxing the timings and lowering the ht mult. didnt do a thing.

i lowered my vcore to 1.45v and everything seems fine. ive tried as high at 1.6v to push the fsb but no avail. ive seen others with watercooling push it up to 1.65v-1.7v to help in the 3.2ghz+ venture, but mine cant even hit 2.9 :/

ive gotten as high as 2.83ghz, which was perfectly stable in crysis for hours, but when rebooting the mobo only sometimes accepts that fsb. ??? ill reboot mult times until it eventually accepts it (sometimes after 1 reboot, sometimes after 10), and once im in windows i never encounter a hiccup. even crysis everything is just fine, and temps never break 30C.

but why the selective post?

any ideas at all?!?!

Your ram speed is too high.

You need to drop it back from 200 ---> 166MHz (or the 1:1.66 divider)

2.7-2.8GHz is a pretty good. You may get a little higher but you need to keep your volts down (1.7v ?? Egg-fryin' time! )

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

lowering my ram speed (down to ddr400) actually make it worse--it wouldnt post properly. lowering the ram voltage to 2.1 from 2.3v also made it fail the post. 2.2v seems fine though.

should i maybe raise my ram voltage to 2.4/2.5?

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: cinnamonandgravy
should i maybe raise my ram voltage to 2.4/2.5?

Not if you plan on having that RAM longer than a few days. BTW, you've yet to mention lowering your HT multiplier below 4x. If you have decided not to lower it, forget about getting your CPU higher.<<-- That's also most likely why you've developed boot problems at a slightly higher overclock.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

my ram is rated for 2.1-2.5v, so 2.5 shouldnt kill it, and if it does....warranty (i hope).

ive lowered my HT mult. before, and it didnt help really. my HT is only at 1048mhz or so anyway.

BUT WHY will my pc sometimes post and other times not post WITH THE SAME OVERCLOCK SETTINGS?!