X2 4400+ o/c hit a wall

[Markbnj]

Rig in sig. My system has been stable at 2530/1.475 for over a week now. Don't really need to push it farther, but that's not really the point, is it?

Started with 230 mhz. HTT, LDT/HT 4x, 166 mem. mult, and 1.475 vCore as a baseline. The memory is running at 180 mhz, so neither it or the HT bus speed are at issue; both are below spec.

Stepped up to 235 Mhz, wouldn't boot Windows at 1.475 vCore. Stepped up to 1.50 vCore and it booted Windows. Stepped up to 240 Mhz, wouldn't boot. Stepped up to 1.525 vCore and it booted to the desktop, but failed Prime95 pretty quickly with a rounding error. Dropped back to 235/1.50 and failed Prime95 again. So I am back where I started: stable at 230/1.475 vCore.

Cooling was an issue, but the processor never got hotter than 52 deg. C before failing Prime95, so it wasn't the reason for the failure. If I try it again I will need a better cooler.

So anway, I'm happy with 2530, but I think it ought to be able to go faster. I'm a little wary about going to 1.55 or higher on the vCore. What do you guys think?

 

[imported_Kensai]

drop HTT to 3X, increase chipset voltage, increase HT voltage.

What kind of cooling are you using?

 

[Markbnj]

So you're thinking I'm running the HT too fast? I figured at 4x 230 I'd have 920 mhz, which is below spec. I'll give your ideas a try tonight.

I put a Thermaltake Venus copper hsf on it last night. I picked this up at Compusa for $19 bucks just to give it a try. Same size fan as the stock AMD cooler, but whereas the stock cooler is a heatpipe design with aluminum fans, the venus is a straight fin design in all copper. I didn't expect much from it, but what I got was slightly worse cooling but a little less noise.

Shopping for a better cooler now.

 

[imported_iliosis]

That is weird, maybe its the mobo's limit, but still sort of weak, my best friend got 2500ish on the same CPU but his HHT was closer to 300...and multiplier was 9 or 10ish...

 

[imported_Kensai]

PCI/AGP locks?
Get a Thermalright SI-120 or something else Thermalright.

 

[Markbnj]

AGP is locked in at 66 Mhz as far as I can tell.

 

[Bona Fide]

Get an SI-120 or a Big Typhoon. Then raise the vCore to 1.5V, and you should be able to get 240x11