Some FSB Help Please

[TheRealOmegaMan]

Hello and thanks up front,

 

Before I begin, here is my system:

 

Intel QX6700 Quad

Zalman 9700LED CPU Cooler

Asus Striker Extreme Mobo

2x SLI MSI OverClocked 8800 GTS 640MB video cards

Twin Corsair Dominator 8500CFD rated at 1066MHz @ 2.2v.

2x RE2 WD 500GB HDD in RAID 0

Enermax Galaxy 1000W PSU.

MS Vista Ultimate

 

Here is where I need some help folks. First, I have bumped the CPU Multiplier to 12x from 10x giving me 3.2GHz running on the CPU. I have the Voltage on the CPU set to

[Verran]

Well, the FSB adjustments shouldn't affect the PCIe speeds. Any decent board these days should lock the PCIe automatically.

 

One thing to keep in mind is that Prime95 will only stress one core, while orthos will stress two (unless a 4-core version has come out that I don't know about). So the fact that you're getting errors in orthos but not prime makes a lot of sense, since orthos will stress your chip twice as much. Your best bet would be to use OCCT for stability testing though, since that will stress all four cores.

 

As for your problems with bumping the FSB speeds, were you doing that with the stock multiplier, or at the higher one? And have you tried giving the cpu more voltage? If you run your memory at 1:1 ratio, you shouldn't have to mess with timings or voltage at all. Those sticks should easily keep up at stock settings.

[TheRealOmegaMan]

As for your problems with bumping the FSB speeds, were you doing that with the stock multiplier, or at the higher one? And have you tried giving the cpu more voltage? If you run your memory at 1:1 ratio, you shouldn't have to mess with timings or voltage at all. Those sticks should easily keep up at stock settings.

 

Thanks for the answer Verran. 1) Yes, I am upping the FSB with the CPU Multiplier and 12x (stock is 10x). 2) No, I have not tried any overvoltage for the CPU. On Auto, using ASUS Probe II, the VCORE sits around 1.30 on AUTO. Everything works well, so why when I up the FSB does Vista give me the BSOD with a "memory dump" error?. Should I up the voltage on the CPU, if so, should I go to 1.35? Some of my research showed there was no need to up the VCORE on the QX6700 with 12X, but as we know each system is different.

 

If you run your memory at 1:1 ratio, you shouldn't have to mess with timings or voltage at all. Those sticks should easily keep up at stock settings.

 

I had the memory on AUTO as well and the voltage ran about 1.8. Still, I keep it on MANUAL and have the voltage at 2.0v.

 

Well, the FSB adjustments shouldn't affect the PCIe speeds

 

The reason I mentioned the PCI-E was the video Artifacting. The ASUS logo during boot up was all broken up pixel-wise which hinted to me the graphics. What do you think?

 

Thanks for the help Verran.

[Verran]

OK, here's what I would do if I were you. Put the multiplier back down to 10 and try the FSB again. See if you can get an extra 5 or 10 mhz on the FSB at stock voltage. If you can, then you know you're doing it right. If you can't even get 5 FSB on stock volts and stock multi, you're probably missing something. I'm assuming that you -are- doing it right, but if you can get the FSB up a bit without problems, we'll know for sure.

 

What most people with an unlocked multi do is OC the FSB first. Push the FSB as high as you can, and -then- step the multi up. I would do the same thing, if only for simplicity. Try pushing the FSB to 270. If it boots OK, run a few SuperPi 1M and 4M tests. If those pass, run a 30 minute OCCT test. If that passes, go to 275 and rinse/repeat.

 

Just keep stepping up until a test fails. At that point, you should probably push the chip voltage up a little bit and try again. If stock is 1.3, then try bumping to 1.35, and then 1.4, etc. Keep the increments fairly small. I think the key right now is starting with the stock multi.

 

I've also found that writing this stuff down helps a TON. Take notes on what speeds you try out, and what the test results are. You'll thank yourself later

 

And one other thing, I generally prefer not to use "Auto" settings whenever possible. If you know the voltages/timings/speeds/etc that you want to use, then put them in. Even if it's the same as what "Auto" will set it to, I prefer to set it manually if I know that's what I want it at.

[TheRealOmegaMan]

Many many thanks Verran for all your time and help here. I will set the Mult back to 10 and move the FSB up slowly. I do write down all my changes so I keep a log of what works and what doesn't. Glad to see you agree on this since I thought I was being anal

 

Also, I will set the AUTO VCORE to MANUAL at 1.30 when backing the Mult back to 10x. I will let you know how I do.

 

Thanks again Verran

Edited May 21, 2007 by TheRealOmegaMan

[TheRealOmegaMan]

Ok, I set the MULTIPLIER back to 10x then raised the FSB which is running 1:1 with the memory as I stated. I bumped it to 270 from 266 and once again, Vista during loadup throws the BSOD Memory Dump error. I locked the VCORE at 1.3. I even lowered the Mulitplier to 9x and 8x and still, Vista threw the BSOD. I'm at a loss and beginning to think this maybe a Vista issue. There should be NO reason I shouldn't be able to bump the FSB to 270 with any volt changes. The memory during this test was also locked at 2.0v. Ideas anyone?

[Verran]

Well, I'm not sure how much more I can help, sadlly I don't have a C2D rig, nor do I have anything that even runs on DDR2. I think you're beyond the realm of generic OC info now.

 

Sounds like you need the help of a C2D user, and one with a Striker board would be really helpful. If your setup can't even boot a 1.5% OC, something else is wrong. Either in hardware or configuration.

[Guest ecthlipsis]

Leave your multiplier at 10x and turn all voltages and speeds to stock. Try changing your ratio away from 1:1 in favor of a 3:4 or other ratio. Give it a shot and see what happens. Slowly increase the FSB, and only the FSB, and perhaps we can see what the issue is. And don't set anything to auto, as Verran said. I could have avoided many problems in the past had I done that. Set everything to the stock rated voltage for now. Also, be sure your memory timings are not set to auto. That screwed up my overclock big time.

[Guest ecthlipsis]

...There should be NO reason I shouldn't be able to bump the FSB to 270 with any volt changes. The memory during this test was also locked at 2.0v. Ideas anyone?

 

2.0v is actually low for that ram. I'd set it to 2.25 personally. While I doubt that was the problem (it is possible, though), better to make sure it has a bit more power than you need rather than too little in the case of troubleshooting. I run mine at 2.25 and it could easily handle more. In fact, the D9's I have can take around 2.45, lol.

[TheRealOmegaMan]

Leave your multiplier at 10x and turn all voltages and speeds to stock. Try changing your ratio away from 1:1 in favor of a 3:4 or other ratio. Give it a shot and see what happens. Slowly increase the FSB, and only the FSB, and perhaps we can see what the issue is. And don't set anything to auto, as Verran said. I could have avoided many problems in the past had I done that. Set everything to the stock rated voltage for now. Also, be sure your memory timings are not set to auto. That screwed up my overclock big time.

Thanks for the help ecthlipis. I did try to up the voltage on the memory while 1:1 at 1066MHz. Anything over 2.0v threw up errors and at 2.2 got the wonderfull Vista BSOD Memory Dump error. I will try the 3:4 (can you explain the difference?) and will leave the hard setting at 2.0v.

 

Well, I'm not sure how much more I can help, sadlly

Still, many thanks. I'm hoping to bump into a Striker owner as well. Maybe a setting in the Board is throwing me off. I am still wondering if Vista is causing some sort for issues. The only thing I haven't tried is setting memory back to 800MHz, which ecthlipsis touched on and I gotta try to say " I tried everything". At least I have been able to up the Mult on the CPU to [email protected] with no problems shown running PRIME95 or OCCT. If all else fails, at least till a resolution is found, I can bump the CPU up to 13X with a slight voltage increase and live with that. My only concern here is the heat. At 12x OCCT pushed the temp to 60C at full load. At 13x with a voltage increase, it may hit the 65C threshold.....we'll see <_<

[kingdingeling]

memory voltage fior most modules is 2.1V's or more...

[TheRealOmegaMan]

memory voltage fior most modules is 2.1V's or more...

 

Hey King....As I said upping the memory caused NO BOOT or BSOD when Vista loads. At 2.0v I ran OCCT and PRIME and all runs well at that voltage. On AUTO the memory voltage would show 1.8v. I tried adjusting the voltage in small increments all the way to 2.25. All increments gave me errors or boot issues. The 8500 Dominator is even rated at 1066MHz @ 2.2v. Yet, mine won't go there. I have run Memory tests with Vista and MemTest and recieved no errors.