Overclocking questions

[Rockwall]

Hey, first off here are my specs...

 

Asus M3N-HT Deluxe Mobo

4gb OCZ 1066mhz DDR2 Ram

AMD X3 8650 2.3Ghz processor

Asus nVidia 9800GT Ultimate series graphic card

 

Well I was able to actually get this thing to 3.1ghz by reducing the NB Multiplier to 7x, resulting in an HT Link of 1ghz. Ram was running at around 1100mhz. Was pumping about 2.3v into the ram, 1.4v into the processor. I ran a stress test and the highest the processor got was 59C, which is 12C under the 71C threshold on the processor. Even so, it kept BSOD, and sometimes freezing on the BIOS setup. I was wondering if this could be because of too much voltage going to the processor, or if i need to up the NB voltage more to get it to stop BSODing. At 2.9ghz with voltages reduced it seems to not BSOD as often, but still does. I'm kinda new to overclocking, at least when it comes to messing around with voltages. Can an Overclock be unstable even without overheating?

Any suggestions on Voltage settings, or other settings? I've heard these processors are really tough to overclock, but hoping someone out there might know a secret.

 

Thanks

Edited March 29, 2010 by Rockwall

[fullflavor]

I've fixed OC problems before by adding better cooling to the NB. Like adding a little fan around the NB.

 

Think you'll have to experiment some more. Do one thing at a time.

[cirro]

Can an Overclock be unstable even without overheating?

 

Overvolting can lead to instability.

what are your other voltages?

im not the best @ AMD overclocking, but im sure with a little more info on your setup someone will be able to!

 

whats your NB, CPU vcore & other's (every bios lists them differently)

 

Making your BIOS freeze can come from a number of things. If you get stuck with your bios freezing alot just reset it with a jumper or by removing the battery for over 15 mins (sometimes longer)

 

NB overheating is common since the NB usually runs rather hot and isn't given much for stock cooling.

adding a fan can help, if your problem is due to Overheating , but i think its a cpu/memory issue.

 

try lowering your ram back to stock (1066)

and place stock voltage on ram.

 

make sure with your BSOD's that it isn't memory related (memtest or similar program)

 

but in the meantime, can you give us some BIOS voltage settings & maybe a CPU-Z screenshot of the CPU & Memory tab?

[Rockwall]

 

 

 

This is currently what I have that runs stable. I can sometimes get the FSB to hit 269, but no matter what I do i cant get it to 270.

As far as voltages, when i was attempting 270 FSB, I had my HT Multiplier at 5x, CPU Voltage at 1.5v, and NB-CPU Voltage at 1.4v.

 

Other voltage that i dont touch are the 1.2V HT link voltage. The ram i have is actually a DDR2-800 ram that has been designed to overclock to 1066 once you set

the voltage to 2.1v. I have it set to 2.280v. Most of the time, i can tell when its unstable because my computer will just not even boot up. And attempting to isolate the motherboard, CPU, and Ram is almost impossible. I tried lowering the CPU to 5x, and ram to 400, then trying to push the FSB to 270, with 5x multiplier and different voltages, but it just would not do it. Im wondering if I should push the HT link voltage, or if the timings should be different cuz i have absolutely no idea about those things. One thing I should mention, is when running stock, my HT Link is 2000mhz.

 

I have an aftermarket cooler on my CPU, and the M3N-HT has this mem pipe thing to help dissipate a lot of heat, but i dont have the fan on it. Also im not sure if my temperature sensors are correct, here is a pic from SIW and Speedfan of my temperatures, you may notice one is extremely high, almost impossibly high and I cant tell what it actually is. Also this High temperature reading stays the same no matter if its overclocked or not.

 

 

 

You guys think ive hit my cpu's limit?

[fullflavor]

Your are trying to find your CPU's max?

 

To do that you'll have to lower your memory frequency to take it out of the equation.

 

Right now I think your memory is causing the instability.

[Rockwall]

Your are trying to find your CPU's max?

 

To do that you'll have to lower your memory frequency to take it out of the equation.

 

Right now I think your memory is causing the instability.

 

 

I thought so too, but I did try reducing the MHZ on the RAM to lower speeds to no avail. At one point in time, I had this ram at 1100mhz, dont know how but i remember it happened.

Any clue if the BSOD's or freezing in windows could be overheating, and can you identify what that 82C temperature is?

[cirro]

Does it stay @ 82 or does it fluc higher?

 

i have heard about this being a "dead sensor" that isn't connected to anything

 

either way that seems to be alot of voltage even for that chip for 2.9,

it could be your chip but something else is off.

 

 

do you have c1e, cool & quiet and such disabled? what about LLC options? (load line calibration)

 

if you still thinks its the ram, do a memtest

[Rockwall]

Does it stay @ 82 or does it fluc higher?

 

i have heard about this being a "dead sensor" that isn't connected to anything

 

Come to think of it, no it rarely ever changes from 82C. So that mean its prolly a dead sensor?

[cirro]

Yeah i wouldn't worry about it

[fullflavor]

I was thinking dead censor too.

 

This is a shot in the dark, but have you tried tighter memory timings?

 

I've had some strange luck in the past doing that.

 

Have you found the boards max yet? As far as FSB is concerned.

[Rockwall]

I was thinking dead censor too.

 

This is a shot in the dark, but have you tried tighter memory timings?

 

I've had some strange luck in the past doing that.

 

Have you found the boards max yet? As far as FSB is concerned.

 

 

I did try tighter timings, but to no avail. such as 4-4-4-12-24-2T or lower. I also tried extremely loose timings as well.

 

When i tried to find the boards max, it was really weird. The FSB can be up'd to 600, but with NB Multiplier at 5x, and CPU multiplier at 5x, and 400mhz with loose timings on the ram. I still couldnt get the thing to high 270 FSB. I didnt increase the NB-Chip Voltage by much nor did i increase the HT voltage. Just seems really odd though that it would only push below 270. Perhaps I should try to max the voltages? Or would that be too dangerous?

[cirro]

I wouldn't max the voltages unless you have adequate cooling.

 

whats the farthest you can go with leaving the NB at stock multi and stock voltage?