Sudden loss in overclocking stability?

[DeSean]

Hello everyone.

 

I have screenshots showing stability after 6 hours of dual Prime95 when running at 2.7 ghz, 300 HTT.

 

I also have 9 hours shots of 2.5 ghz, 279 HTT.

 

Now it can't do 5 minutes at only 2.0 ghz!!!!!

 

Any ideas?

[NonDecepticon]

My 165 does the same "random stability" bit if Max Async Latency and Read Preamble are too tight at >285HTT. Try MAL9/RP6 to start with. Doesn't really affect performance luckily. It might be something else with the RAM or the CPU suddenly deciding it wants more VCore though.

[DeSean]

Hi

 

thanks for the quick reply.

 

I don't know where I stand with this board. It was fine for months with the only issue being the "hardlock after cold boot" problem.

 

Suddenly it is uber-unstable. Medievil Total War II seems to make it crash frequently.

 

I will try your suggestions and let you know.

[NonDecepticon]

Man I know how you feel, sometimes it's like finding the zen point or just getting the best Jenga piece out and the thing crumbles :mad:

 

This phenomena especially affects the K8 processors somehow, it could be the on-die memory controller, could be something screwy with the SOI process *shrug* Sometimes it can be something simple like the chipset fan crapping out or a barely visible coat of dust on heatsinks. It could even be a faulty cap, are any of those suckers bulging? One way to save some time, instead of booting into windows and going through the whole Prime thing, Memtest can be very useful. This board has it right in the bios (bottom of "Genie" page) so you don't have to mess with removable media (that alone has saved tons of time compared with my previous NF2 board). I like to run 50 loops of #5 (hit C, 1, 3, 5, enter, then 0 to loop #5 exclusively), then 1-4 hours of the full suite, and finally 5 loops of #8, all consecutively. #5 is pretty reliable enough though, even just 25 loops if you need to use the machine. If it produces errors, it can be stable in Windows, but I never risk it, especially for 24/7 operation. If it freezes or reboots, it may need more drive strength on the memory or more VCore (or anything, tweak that badboy!). Then after this, I like to run two instances of SuperPi 32M or in cooler weather, 1/2 hour of OCCT, and if it passes without issues, then I go for the Prime gold. Those two shorter tests save me a lot of time for finding settings that could possibly run Prime longer.

[DeSean]

Thanks again for all those tips!

 

I have managed to make it unstable even at stock now, which is funny in one way and depressing in others.

 

I'm anxious to get my new XP Pro delivered, then I think I will get a Raptor and start from scratch with that, just hammering the system until it is stable again. Only then will I install programs and games.

 

I will keep everyone here up to date if I find out anything interesting.

 

thanks again