Odd warning message while overclocking

[AaronMan]

I've come to a wall with my overclocking, but I'm pretty sure it's not limited by my CPU and my RAM is underclocked so I'm crazy confused.

 

Already my processor is up at 2.8GHz and it runs incredibly cool - 43C while running dual prime95 for 8 hours. My ram is rated for 400MHz but is running at 350. Right now my FSB is at 282 and if I try to just up it to 284, the system doesn't start. But then I can restart my computer and it seems like it's going to post, then it says "Warning: System is in safe mode. Please re-set the CPU frequency in BIOS menu. Press F1 to continue (where it will start Windows but then go back to stock speeds)" So now the weird part: I'm using the 266MHz RAM dividers right now, but if I drop my CPU down to 2.5G (FSB at 250) and set the RAM dividers at the 333MHz setting, I get the exact same warning message, which is weird since that a)has nothing to do with the CPU and B) is only a RAM overclock of 33MHz - so 833 actual speed which should be cake for these OCZ sticks.

 

So I'm really confused why this board is auto-limiting the overclock. Is there some other setting in the BIOS that I missed that I need to enable when overclocking or something? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Technohydra]

This occurs when the system has overextended itself in a dangerous manner. If the ram datastream is corrupt and failing checksums, the system will abort a boot attempt before the hard drives are accessed to avoid corruption system files. The safe mode warning is your queue that something has a serious problem with your settings and will result in system damage if it starts up. Back it off and make sure you have enough power to all the components. Remember, go slowly, and you'll get it done. Also, post your Genie bios and dram settings, and I'll see if I can help you out.

[red930]

Have you tired just using the Auto settings for memory? I've found them to be VERY good at determining what your ram can/cannot handle.

 

Edit: Also your ram is only rated at 400 mhz, whether a 33 mhz overclock should be cake or not is up in the air. You may need more voltage, you might need to mess with drive strengths, etc, etc.

[AaronMan]

Well, when I have my CPU at 2.8, my ram is actually underclocked to 350MHz, and I already am using the auto setting for all the timings and stuff. I've tried adding voltage to the CPU (for some reason I can only do the special add with percents, and I can't actually manually do the voltage), at 1.37v I've managed to get the FSB up to 286, but it only starts up and works half of the time. The other times I get that warning message. When I can actually boot to windows, it's very stable with dual prime, gaming, and temps look great. Should I mess with any other voltages than my vcore, like northbridge or something?

 

Oh and also, what should the HTT drive strength be? I have no idea about any of this drive strength stuff. My memory's set to weak I think.