ASUS 650i Overclocking

[akaliel]

Hi everyone. I just picked up an Asus P5N-E mobo, and C2D E6400. I experimented with overclocking it and the fastest I can get it is 1333FSB (2.66Ghz CPU). I've been reading the big thread on this board and realize that it's capable of much more. I'd like to aim for 1600FSB/800RAM.

I noticed that my PC is still slightly unstable even at 1333FSB. I had two lockups yesterday, while the PC was idle. I had the CPU/MB temperatures up at the the time and they were both under 40C. So it wasn't a heating issue. My Vcore was set to 1.5 (high I know, but it was more stable than 1.40). I didn't touch the NB voltage though (current set to Auto), so I think either that, or that my RAM is still located in the yellow slots, which apparently has caused some headaches, might be the problem. So I'll increase the NB voltage and change the RAM tonight and give that a shot. However, I'd really like to hit 1600FSB, and at the moment, if I attempt any 1600FSB my board won't even post. Does this sound like a result of NB voltage being too low?

As a side note, if I attempt any FSB speed other than 1066 or 1333 it won't boot into windows. At 1266 it just made it past post. At 1466 it started loading windows but then BSOD with an error message of "STOP", even 1366 crashed. 1333 seems mostly okay, it didn't lock up when I left it overnight last night, just a couple times during the evening, when it wasn't being stressed at all.

I don't have a fan over the NB. (the NB is under the big heatsink just below the CPU, correct?) However, I do have an Antec Nine Hundred case. Which has two 120mm fans in front, one 120mm fan in the back, one side 120mm fan which blows on the video card and NB and a 200mm fan on the top (PSU is mounted on the bottom). And the case is almost entirely a hard wire mesh with lots of air flow (I love it). So I have plenty of case cooling.

I guess my main question is, would NB voltage being set to Auto and RAM in the yellow slots, make your PC not even post if you attempt 1600FSB? That sound familiar to anyone?

 

[idiotekniQues]

i wouldnt set voltage to auto if you are overclocking - control it yourself.

what kind of ram do u have? just give a list of all your parts.

 

[akaliel]

Oh yes. I have 1G Mushkin DDR2 6400 running the factory tested timings of 5-5-5-15 (2T). It's unlinked from my FSB. I'm leaving the RAM at 800Mhz with those timings. Just trying to change the FSB.

Enermax 535W PSU
XFX 8800GTX, 100.30
X-Fi XtremeMusic

 

[idiotekniQues]

i edited my post but not fast enough. list all your parts just so we can see them.

what voltage are you running your RAM at?

 

[akaliel]

RAM voltage is set to auto. Since I left it at 800Mhz with the factory timings I left the voltage for RAM alone.

 

[idiotekniQues]

is this your ram without heatsinks?

http://www.mushkin.com/doc/products/memory_detail.asp?id=527

 

[akaliel]

This is my RAM:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.php?...tDetail.php&DisplayProductID=8426&SID=

And I just noticed it should be 5-5-5-12, not 5-5-5-15. Okay, I'll have to change that too.

 

[idiotekniQues]

the timings shouldne be a problem since they were also looser.

try upping your RAM voltage to 2.0 and see if that helps.

if not also try to set your NB voltage to the 1.39 setting and then the 1.5 setting to see if it is that. keep the ram voltage at 2.0 though for now. it is rated at that.

 

[akaliel]

And that should work for 1600FSB?

 

[idiotekniQues]

try running 1500 FSB & 750 ram unlinked and see how that works.

 

[akaliel]

Okay, so tonight, the following procedure:

- Change RAM to black slots
- Set NB voltage to 1.39
- Set RAM voltage to 2.0
- Set CPU voltage to 1.4 (I'm not comfortable with 1.5)
- Try 1500/750 (does synchronous speed make a difference?)

Anything else?

 

[idiotekniQues]

you shouldnt need to raise your cpu voltage that high unless your chip is a weak one. most people have gotten the e6400 to those speeds with voltage in the 1.3's. this board has some serious v-droop so 1.4 really is no biggie. but if you dont need it, why use it? is my opinion. but i am just one man!

that antec case should really keep the NB cool especially with that 120mm on the side panel. if you get the speeds with the NB at the 1.5 voltage then reboot and try it at the 1.3 voltage. if it doesnt run stable you know what it is. keep doing that for all parts and youll know which one is holding you back.

control your voltages so you know what is going where, so you can find the culprit by isolating the changes you make.

try it at 1.35 first IMO.

 

[akaliel]

I really gotta take time off work whenever I buy a new PC. I need a good week without the wife or kids or work interrupting me to do this. 1 hour in the evening just doesn't cut it.

Alright. So I'll try NB voltage at 1.35, Vcore at 1.4. For starters, if it doesn't work I'll give 1.39 NB voltage a shot.

 

[idiotekniQues]

Originally posted by: akaliel
I really gotta take time off work whenever I buy a new PC. I need a good week without the wife or kids or work interrupting me to do this. 1 hour in the evening just doesn't cut it.

Alright. So I'll try NB voltage at 1.35, Vcore at 1.4. For starters, if it doesn't work I'll give 1.39 NB voltage a shot.

well the way i learned to OC, and i dont OC a ton - is that it takes some patience and a lot of rebooting if you want to do it the finesse way. you can always just start by throwing all the voltage at you parts at once and go willy nilly but most advice i have seen is to be patient, find a reasonable starting point and then isolate each component so you can find out what is holding you back if anything.

you sohuld be able to find out some stuff about your gear in an hour, probably not your optimum settings but you may get close. also, you can always overtweak as in obsess about 1 memory timing here or there. ive done it, but if you dont have the time dont sweat it. just get a nice basic OC going without overvolting your stuff.

 

[akaliel]

If I never get above 1333FSB I'll be happy (although dissappointed). I would like a stable 1333FSB though. I'm suspect that changing the memory slots and increasing the NB voltage will be enough to acheive that.

But I will take a shot at hitting 1600 first. If it's still unstable, no worries, back to 1333 I go. I have plans to upgrade the CPU to quad-core next winter anyway.

 

[idiotekniQues]

well list your other parts just for informative reasons like PS, vid card, hard drives etc...

as far as your parts so far, 1333 is way too low IMO.

mushkin actually lists a the other p5n32 mobo as a recommended one so it shouldnt be an issue.

 

[akaliel]

All my components and their current configuration are in my sig now. That should be easier to keep track of.

 

[idiotekniQues]

http://www.enermaxusa.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=72

?

 

[akaliel]

-- Deleted to avoid confusion --

 

[akaliel]

Oh, sorry, you were right. Ignore my last post.

 

[idiotekniQues]

well the 8800gtx recommends minimum 30a on your 12v rails and you have 34a total.

you may be cutting it too close. however you seem to be crashing not when gaming so your gc isnt really drawing near its max power when you get your bsod so just work on tweaking your voltages/fsb/timings etc.

this board oc's like a champ, you should have a nice oc soon enough

 

[akaliel]

Ya, in fact I kinda regret getting that PSU. Since I was buying a new one anyway, I should have just gone for a big 800W or larger PSU and be done with it. But noooooooo, I had to be a cheap bastard! An extra 50 bucks could have gotten me a 650W at least. Anyway. Gaming seems fine, I tried Oblivion, with Qarls Texture Pack 3, maxed settings and at 1680x1050 and it never fell below 50 fps. After hours and hours of patching, I tried WoW and it REALLY flies now. Then I tried NWN2..... I still have to reduce the lighting options to keep the fps above 20. Worst graphics engine EVER!

I called the wife and asked her to check on the PC. She says it's still running fine and not locked up. 14 hours of idling without a problem. Perhaps it was just a case of breaking it in. I've seen it before. Or perhaps it was a completely unrelated software issue. It is Vista afterall with beta drivers for my soundcard, video card and motherboard. Definitely a possibility.

But I'll try and increasing those voltages, moving my RAM sticks and seeing if I can at least get 1600FSB to POST. That would be nice.

 

[idiotekniQues]

that whole vista thing just threw a monkey wrench in the works!

it could still be something as simple as usin the yellow slots vs the black slots. running stable at idle is one thing, you need to run BSOD free with some stress on the pc, like gaming or a test like orthos.

 

[akaliel]

That was the thing. None of the games I played, nor the three times I ran 3DMark created any problems. It was just when it was sitting idle did it lock up. Weird. I need a good stress testing program though. To give my system a big workout, just in case I get 1600FSB working. What can I use to stress it?

 

[akaliel2]

Hi, it's me, akaliel. Had to create a new login, the old password is in my work email. Anyway, I'm on the overclocked PC right now. I got it at 1600FSB. I'm running 1.45 for Vcore, and 1.56v for NB. I tried 1.39v and it posted but would lock up within a minute. 1.56 seems alright so far. So I must ask. Is this too high? Right now I'm looking at my CPU temp and it's 35C, my MB temp is 31C. This program doesn't give a NB temp, but my side case fan blows plenty of air on it, so there should be sufficient cooling. But is 1.56v too much? I won't damage it, will I? I wish I could have picked a voltage inbetween. Let me know, as soon as you can, thanks.