Difficulty OCing a 4000+

[bneiderman]

So Anand's review of SLI boards can push this chip to nearly 2.9 Ghz on the DFI board. I unfortunately am running an A8N, but regardless, my chip will not post at even 2.7 Ghz. I am at a loss. I am running the same RAM as in the article too. OCZ 3200 Platinum rev. 2. I am using the Zalman 7700 all copper cooler as well which I thought was better than the cooler Anandtech was running in their review. I would be happy with a stable 2.7+ OC. Right now I can hit 2640 stable at 240 x 11. But even 225 x 12 craps me out. Any thoughts? Is it my luck once again to wind up with the one chip that can't OC worth a damn? I would appreciate any help.

 

[gobucks]

the 4000+ is based on the 130nm process, so it's not nearly as good of an overclocker as the 90nm chips. Throw in the fact that the 4000+ is already at the top end of the frequency spectrum for the 130nm process, and I'm not surprised you can't get much higher than 2.6GHz. Maybe anandtech got the best 4000+ ever, but I've never heard of any A64s hitting 2.9GHz on air, even the FX-55, which is limited to about 2.8GHz on average. I'd say your chip is pretty much on par with most 4000+ chips, in fact I've heard of many of them being unable to go past 2.6GHz, so you're kinda lucky to even get past that!

Out of curiosity, if you just wanted a 2.7GHz OC, why didn't you just grab a 3500+? it's less than half the price, and runs way cooler at high speeds than the 130nm chips do. Hell, you could have afforded watercooling along with the 3500+ and still have saved money. If you can still return the 4000+, I recommend you do, and pick up a 90nm chip.