Advice with a nice Asus Mobo

[Axeman098]

Okay, I am no stranger to Overclocking, but I'd like some advice on a few specifics to get the most out of my system.

I am running an Asus P4P800 Deluxe mobo with a P4 3Ghz, 512Mb of PC3200 Crucial Ram, FX5600 256Mb video. Using both my Bios AND the Asus AIBooster Overclocking software, I have been able to achieve about 3.4Ghz stable. This is around the "20%" setting for the AI overclock. I can eek out a few more Mhz if I do it manually, but I am not sure as to what is holding it back. I would like some suggestions on the memory timings and voltages, as well as the CPU voltage. So far I have not raised the CPU voltage beyond 1.6v, and have not touched the memory voltage or settings. The memory is decent 400Mhz Ram, and I am reasonably sure I could hit close to 4Ghz if I knew how to make more specific tweaks... Even a stable 3.6 would make me happy.

Any suggestions? :shock:

[jurtje]

Okay, first a question, on how much did you set you FSB? Are you running your mem 1:1 with your FSB?

I suppose you have a P4 prescott, they are known to run very hot, so probably your biggest problem will be the CPU temp, are you monitorng that? Do you have a decent HSF?

Another problem will be that your pc3200 doesn't necessarily like anymore increases, I wouldn't recommend running your fsb mem not 1:1.
You will have to find out first how much your memory takes, since that probably is your limiting factor. You have to use memtest for that.

Increase your mem step by step while having your timings on SPD (the mobo will choose the correct timings according to your mem freq) and on every increase let memtest run all of it's test, if it starts failing, you'll know you hit your ceiling. In that case you can try relaxing your timings even a bit more, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Bump your mem 0.1 volt, or something.

Raise your cpu volt, when you know your mem is stable and you are trying to run prime 95 and it crashes. Ofcourse, more voltage means more heat, so you'll closely have to check your temps in mbm for example!

Start with that! Good luck.

[ericxw]

your mem seems to be keeping u back.........like jurtje said........bump that mem voltage a little. Crucial memory modules are reliable, but they weren't meant for ocing.

What's your HSF?

[Axeman098]

I have all the memory stuff set to auto. I am pretty sure the Memory is the culprit. I can easily make the adjustments, just not sure how to play with the memory. I have it in "Normal" mode in the BIOS settings. Would switching to turbo be good or bad? I know the crucial memory isnt the best for overclocking, so I'm trying to be as careful as possible. I know I can hit 3.6Ghz or higher with the chip. It's a Northwood, with a custom Air cooling setup. 120mm, 110v blower fan mounted on proc, so heat isnt a big issue. Basically I am familiar with everything EXCEPT the memory timing stuff. Guess it's time to experiement.. WOOHOO! :D

Okay...stable limit so far is fsb 240.00 (x4=960.36Mhz) 3.60Ghz
CPU 1.62v
Memory 2.75v BIOS settings still at auto.
AGP/PCI set manually in BIOS to 66/33....this change seemed to REALLY help!
OMG! CPU temp IDLE 37C/98F!!!!! not bad for air cooling eh? Thank GOD it's not a Prescott! =)
It's surfing the web just fine.....going to try PCMark2004 and see if it survives =)


More to come...

[Axeman098]

Okay, I am sitting at fsb 245 (980Mhz!!!) 3.67Ghz!!! Not too shabby, but proc temp at 38C/100F at Idle all voltages same as previous post....not that bad really, but I'm sure the CPU temp will jump under load... will try PCMark2004 and see what it does.

[undergroundtech]

Thats not bad at all, considering ur using Crucial PC3200. When you get ready to upgrade look for some high quality PC4000 or faster. Wait that contest is running....Not just high quality by Corsair. :D
That should put you in the sweet spot.

[Axeman098]

Okay, I can surf at 3.67, but PCMark2004 Locks up, so I can't exactly call it stable. It's GOT to be the memory though, because once I set everything manually in the BIOS INCLUDING the memory frequency at 400Mhz, it cranked up just fine. I could probably squeeze more out of it if I knew how to set memory clocks and sucks, but I can't really complain. Guess there will be some pc4000 memory in my future eh? :shock:

[undergroundtech]

I knew that if you got that PC3200 running stable at that speed, I was going to have to do some more tweeking on my own box.

[Axeman098]

I am doing something wrong or missing something. Keep in mind, I am still running memory by SPD because I am not that familiar with specific memory timings. Still though, it will run completely stable at 3.5Ghz, so I really can't complain. I'd love to hit 4Ghz, but I doubt I could do it safely even if I had premium memory. I'm fairly sure the CPU could do it, but I'd have to do some MAJOR tweaking and switch to a watercolling solution. Frankly, I ain't really that keen on having water around my nice PC. The gains aren't worth the potential risks to me.

I suppose I can just wait for a 3.4 or 3.6 Prescott, since my mobo already supports them, but I know I'll just be adding to the heat issue by switching. However, I think my air cooling setup is pretty robust to keep me around 100F at idle with a 20% overclock on my 3Ghz, so it may not be a terrible issue. I can't complain with getting a stable 3.5Ghz out of it. I'm sure with premium memory I could probably get it stable at 3.6-3.9. Corsair memory is unGODLY expensive, although I do like the "Bling Bling" of the ones with the LED's on the memory. That's pretty phat.

[undergroundtech]

What are your current SPD timmings? You can raise them some and it should help your OC.

BTW nice avatar....its all most hypnotic.....I could hardly read 2 lines without having to look back again. Then I would have to find where I left off reading and by the time I found my place, I had to look again. :shock:
Its a vicious circle. :)

[jurtje]

Like Undergroundtech said: what are your current SPD timings (sandra)?
If you put it on turbo, you'll be sure it won't work, cos it tightens the timings.

Anyway, let's say for ex, your timings are 3-4-4-9 now (by SPD with this specific FSB). Run memtest and see if any errors come up. If not, let's continue upping the FSB until memtest gives errors.

When you reach that point, decrease the timing to eg: 4-4-4-10, and try memtest again, and so on and so on.

Nice way to fill your weekend ;-)

BTW: Read this (http://arstechnica.com/guide/building/bios/bios-1.html) article about memory timings and it'll enlighten your life. I mean, you'll understand even less!

[Axeman098]

I can live with it without burning up a stick of RAM for now. Glad you like the Avatar....The bad thing is I can't even read my OWN posts without coming back to it too! :P

I have some dirty ones too, but I don't think they'd be appreciated by the forum admins. =)

[jurtje]

I think it's physically very difficult to fry memory. As long as you keep the voltage in range (+/- 0,2 volt), you really can't go wrong trying to overclock your mem. The worst thing that can happen is an unstable system.

I have some dirty ones too, but I don't think they'd be appreciated by the forum admins. =)

And the ladies browsing this forum might not appreciate it either 8)

[siq]

hehe you would be right... some people here might not be of the mature age ;)

[Axeman098]

I figured that was as racy as I could get while still being tasteful. :wink: