*** MSI P6N SLI Platinum OVERCLOCK 650i ***

[iluv2fly]

Awesome overclock considering you have not increased you voltage at all.

Did you manually set you Memory settings in the bios or did you leave it Auto?

If you did set it manually, your version of cpuz might not recognize your ddr2 memory corectly. If that is the case then wait for the next version of cpuz.

 

[Edge1]

Sitting at 2.8gHz, 400FSB, VCore 1.35 (+0.05), NB 1.4 (+0.1), RAM 2.15v. Temps 20C idle (cool basement), mid 40sC full Orthos load. Suffered from the now-becoming-infamous CT 0.95/L2 E6300 temp overestimate due to incorrect Tjunction calculation. CT 0.94, SpeedFan, Everest all agree now.

 

[revloc06]

Follow up for my previous post....

Apparently my aforementioned OC of 3.3Ghz wasn?t quite stable, I could get into windows fine and run some simple apps, even Orthos and TAT CPU load stress but when I ground the CPU thru 3DMark06, it would freeze during the CPU test. I went ahead and backed it to 3.0Ghz and it?s running fine since, 36 hours plus, games and all.

So not as great as the original, but I?m still pleased with a 25% increase without attempting to mess with voltages.

I think we all got a steal on this mobo. Performs like a 680i at a nicer pricetag, makes me wonder if the cheaper version of the same mobo performs just as good too, such as the MSI P6N SLI-FI. Anyone know?

Sidenote on my RAM:
Apparently the Corsair DDR2 800 TWIN2X2048-6400C4 ram is sold as latency 4, but most mobos including this MSI P6N SLI Platinum originally drives it at 1.8V at timings 5-5-5-18. I had to manually go into the BIOS, up the volts to 2.1, and manually adjust the timings to 4-4-4-12-T2, but although I've never done it before, it wasn't hard within the BIOS of this mobo.

 

[iluv2fly]

Originally posted by: revloc06
Follow up for my previous post....

Apparently my aforementioned OC of 3.3Ghz wasn?t quite stable, I could get into windows fine and run some simple apps, even Orthos and TAT CPU load stress but when I ground the CPU thru 3DMark06, it would freeze during the CPU test. I went ahead and backed it to 3.0Ghz and it?s running fine since, 36 hours plus, games and all.

So not as great as the original, but I?m still pleased with a 25% increase without attempting to mess with voltages.

I think we all got a steal on this mobo. Performs like a 680i at a nicer pricetag, makes me wonder if the cheaper version of the same mobo performs just as good too, such as the MSI P6N SLI-FI. Anyone know?

Sidenote on my RAM:
Apparently the Corsair DDR2 800 TWIN2X2048-6400C4 ram is sold as latency 4, but most mobos including this MSI P6N SLI Platinum originally drives it at 1.8V at timings 5-5-5-18. I had to manually go into the BIOS, up the volts to 2.1, and manually adjust the timings to 4-4-4-12-T2, but although I've never done it before, it wasn't hard within the BIOS of this mobo.

I think the key for a stable overclock is your Cpu voltage and North Bridge voltage.

I have red a lot of forums and it seems like the core 2 duo likes 1.45v and above to overclock well. Of course get better cooling, don't do it on stock cooling.

When it comes to the north bridge it seems like it opens up for stable overclocking at 1.4v. I mounted the Nothbridge fan that came with P6N SLI Platinum board. It is a little loud and I used a Zalman Fanmate to slow it down. I have it at the slowest setting and I cant hear it.

 

[Elias824]

I just ordered a fanmate as well its way to loud going at 8k rpm. I droped to about 2.55 from 2.8 the temps and the noise were to much and I really didn't see any gain from it anyways. I just wanted to so how high I could push it.

 

[yacoub]

thanks, bookmarking this thread as I'm looking closely at this board

This is what I'm considering currently:

Items

Any recommended changes regarding the RAM I have selected there? Any reason why it wouldn't run 1T timing? I would like to avoid 2T if at all possible. Are you all running 2T?

My goal is to hit 3.0GHz with the E4400, which with its 10x multiplier means a 300MHz fsb (or downing the multiplier to 9x and pushing 333MHz fsb for a bit more bus speed).
Will that RAM do those speeds without issue at fast timings?

Also for air cooling, will a Thermalright Ultra 120 clear fit on this board?

 

[iluv2fly]

If you need Memory I found:

OCZ OCZ2P800R22GK 2GB Kit DDR2 PC2-6400 Platinum Revision 2

OCZ 2gb PLATINUM For $108 after rebate. ***Free Shipping***

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85264&ps=ho1

The deal Expires 04/30/07

 

[iluv2fly]

Intel dropped their prices today. April 22

Cheapest E4400 found $139 at Mwave.com

Should be the new Overclock King (Price/Performance !)

 

[Spanki]

Yeah, the E4400 should be an excellent overclocker with that 10x multiplier - I almost wish I had one instead of the E6400 (8x).

Any decent DDR2 800 (PC6400) should run 1T command rate fine when down-clocked to 666/667 or even at it's rated speed of 800 (My OCZ S.O.E 667 sticks run 1T rates at 667).

Not sure about the Ultra 120 yet (oddly enough, noone's reported using one on these boards yet), but I don;t anticipate any clearance issues either. The one thing to look for at installation time is that there are some circuitry on the underside of the board, under the cpu - make sure your HSF mounting bracket doesn't crush those.

 

[Spanki]

Originally posted by: iluv2fly

Originally posted by: revloc06
Follow up for my previous post....

Apparently my aforementioned OC of 3.3Ghz wasn?t quite stable, I could get into windows fine and run some simple apps, even Orthos and TAT CPU load stress but when I ground the CPU thru 3DMark06, it would freeze during the CPU test. I went ahead and backed it to 3.0Ghz and it?s running fine since, 36 hours plus, games and all.

So not as great as the original, but I?m still pleased with a 25% increase without attempting to mess with voltages.

I think we all got a steal on this mobo. Performs like a 680i at a nicer pricetag, makes me wonder if the cheaper version of the same mobo performs just as good too, such as the MSI P6N SLI-FI. Anyone know?

Sidenote on my RAM:
Apparently the Corsair DDR2 800 TWIN2X2048-6400C4 ram is sold as latency 4, but most mobos including this MSI P6N SLI Platinum originally drives it at 1.8V at timings 5-5-5-18. I had to manually go into the BIOS, up the volts to 2.1, and manually adjust the timings to 4-4-4-12-T2, but although I've never done it before, it wasn't hard within the BIOS of this mobo.

I think the key for a stable overclock is your Cpu voltage and North Bridge voltage.

I have red a lot of forums and it seems like the core 2 duo likes 1.45v and above to overclock well. Of course get better cooling, don't do it on stock cooling.

When it comes to the north bridge it seems like it opens up for stable overclocking at 1.4v. I mounted the Nothbridge fan that came with P6N SLI Platinum board. It is a little loud and I used a Zalman Fanmate to slow it down. I have it at the slowest setting and I cant hear it.

Double-check your NB fan... I looked up the stats earlier today and it sounds like it needs 7v just to spin up... the Fanmate will drop down to just 5v at it's lowest setting, so your fan may not be spinning - of course that would tend to make it quiet .

 

[iluv2fly]

No need to worry it is spinning alright. Quiet and with a good breeze, he, he,,,,,

 

[yacoub]

Originally posted by: Spanki
Yeah, the E4400 should be an excellent overclocker with that 10x multiplier - I almost wish I had one instead of the E6400 (8x).

Any decent DDR2 800 (PC6400) should run 1T command rate fine when down-clocked to 666/667 or even at it's rated speed of 800 (My OCZ S.O.E 667 sticks run 1T rates at 667).
.

So to run 300MHz to get an E4400 to 3.0GHz (as opposed to the 200MHz setting which equates to an 800MHz fsb and 2.0GHz on the chip) I'd need PC2-9600 RAM in order to to run 1T timings 1:1 divider (i think that's called "linked"?)? Yikes... I thought for such a mild fsb speed almost any RAM can do it.... oh but i guess only at 2T timing?

 

[Puffnstuff]

Stucking check your email.

Edit: Your email host rejected it because of the attachment. You can get a free email account at yahoo, netzero or several other places that will allow you to receive attachments.

 

[iluv2fly]

Originally posted by: yacoub

Originally posted by: Spanki
Yeah, the E4400 should be an excellent overclocker with that 10x multiplier - I almost wish I had one instead of the E6400 (8x).

Any decent DDR2 800 (PC6400) should run 1T command rate fine when down-clocked to 666/667 or even at it's rated speed of 800 (My OCZ S.O.E 667 sticks run 1T rates at 667).
.

So to run 300MHz to get an E4400 to 3.0GHz (as opposed to the 200MHz setting which equates to an 800MHz fsb and 2.0GHz on the chip) I'd need PC2-9600 RAM in order to to run 1T timings 1:1 divider (i think that's called "linked"?)? Yikes... I thought for such a mild fsb speed almost any RAM can do it.... oh but i guess only at 2T timing?

I think it is going to be very interesting to see what the E4400 can do with it's 10X multiplier. , so please post your results.

If the E4300 will do:

CLOCK=(1467/4)x9
CLOCK=(367)x9
CLOCK=3300mhz

Then the E4400 will do:

CLOCK=(1467/4)x10
CLOCK=(367)x10
CLOCK=3667mhz

with the same settings.

I would not go for the 1T settings. I would aim for higher clockspeed instead. If you still want 1T then OCZ just released PC6400 4-4-4-15 1T :

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/m...c2_6400_sli_ready_edition_dual_channel

 

[yacoub]

Does that OCZ require EPP to hit those timings? 650i boards don't recognize EPP
(Maybe that's why folks can't use 1T at most speeds?)

 

[Spanki]

As I replied in that other thread, my DDR2 667 ram (see sig) runs with 1T command rate at DDDr2 666/667 speeds. If I recall correctly, it'll also run with 1T at DDR2 800 speeds and keep in mind that this is PC5300 memory (DDR2 667), running at it's rated 1.9v and 4-4-4-12 @667, 4-5-5-12 @800.

In short, this board seems very flexable for 1T timings, but I don't have experience with any other memory, or any other cpu, so your mileage may vary.

EDIT: Oh, on the EPP thing... that's basically just an expansion of the SPD spec... it tells the BIOS a few additional profiles that can be used, with some more detailed information to give the user some additional 'canned' options. As far as I know, dialing in all those settings in manually achieves the same thing.

 

[yacoub]

thanks for the correction Spanki, I didn't realize EPP was simply canned settings and not actual performance modification or something.

 

[Edge1]

Originally posted by: Spanki
In short, this board seems very flexable for 1T timings, but I don't have experience with any other memory, or any other cpu, so your mileage may vary.

Hmmm...you think I could do 1T then? I hadn't really even considered trying. Not real up on the RAM details. Its a bit confusing to me.

Speaking of RAM, one thing I've heard about 680i boards is that they burn up RAM (as in fry it). I think this is if left at "Auto" voltages. I had seen VRAM voltages (when in "Auto voltage" mode) get really high according to SpeedFan. Not sure if VRAM is the right measure to look at. Accurate or not I don't know but I saw fluctuating values as high as 2.33v. My RAM is rated for 1.9v-2.1v. Given that the 650i is the 680i's little cousin, I feel that manually setting the voltages assures me no RAM frying. Just thought I'd throw this out there for much more knowledgeable folks to comment on. Gave me some piece of mind, anyway.

 

[Spanki]

Originally posted by: Edge1

Originally posted by: Spanki
In short, this board seems very flexable for 1T timings, but I don't have experience with any other memory, or any other cpu, so your mileage may vary.

Hmmm...you think I could do 1T then? I hadn't really even considered trying. Not real up on the RAM details. Its a bit confusing to me.

Speaking of RAM, one thing I've heard about 680i boards is that they burn up RAM (as in fry it). I think this is if left at "Auto" voltages. I had seen VRAM voltages (when in "Auto voltage" mode) get really high according to SpeedFan. Not sure if VRAM is the right measure to look at. Accurate or not I don't know but I saw fluctuating values as high as 2.33v. My RAM is rated for 1.9v-2.1v. Given that the 650i is the 680i's little cousin, I feel that manually setting the voltages assures me no RAM frying. Just thought I'd throw this out there for much more knowledgeable folks to comment on. Gave me some piece of mind, anyway.

You could try 1T command rate, but each memory will have some cut-off point (bus speed) where you have to switch to 2T. I haven't researched it extensively, but my impression so far is that some memory will work at 800 (and above) at 1T rates, but certainly not all.

On the voltage thing... the problem, as I understand it, is/was with people setting thier vDimm to 2.4+ levels when overclocking. It also wasn't due to the extra 'heat' being generated, but due to the prolonged operation at the higher 'voltage' itself that fries the memory. Speedfan always reports my 1.9v BIOS setting as 1.87v in my setup (actually, I bumped it to 1.95v the other day and Speedfan did report that value). Personally, I'd set the voltage where you want it, manually.

 

[Edge1]

OK, all goals achieved for this board, and temps/voltages well under control. Rock stable well over 16 hrs in Orthos. I couldn't be happier with it :beer:.

MSI P6N SLI Platinum 650i, Bios v1.0 (original)

E6300@3.0gHz, 430FSB (x 4 = 1720mHz), 1.35v

NB: 1.4v

RAM: 860mHz, 4-4-4-15, 2.1v

The jump from 400 to 430FSB required zero voltage and/or timing adjustments. Have never even touched the SB voltage on this board.

Temps are 22C idle (in very cool basement), max of 46C full Orthos load. Ninja doing great and AS5 seems to have settled in by now.

 

[chizow]

I had that RAM problem with my P5N-E SLI. I did OC, but I didn't OC my RAM speeds or increase voltages at all. Set to the 2.3V recommended settings at RAM in slots 1 and 3 fried 2x on me. Board is going in for RMA but I ordered this board as a replacement anyways. The P5N-E SLI is a pretty good board I guess for the price, but overall its just been too problematic and an overall disappointment. I had a very early board and there weren't any other 650i boards out when I put my rig together (Jan 2nd), so they might be better now.

Personally I think the board spikes voltages to those 2 dimm slots which ends up killing the RAM. Could be my board, the high default voltages for my RAM, or a problem with the board design or components. Anyways, glad to be done with it.

Quick question for those who have this board. Any problems running all 4 dimm slots populated? I'll be installing Vista once I get this board running and would like to run 4GB without worrying about killing another RAM kit like with the Asus.

 

[Edge1]

Hi Chizow - no problems with all 4 DIMMs populated other than this: http://forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?topic=106608.0 - which is resolved via a BIOS update.

Check out Spanki's thread for all the details you might want: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1164174

One thing I will say is this board is more feature-rich (4 SATA cables, extra PCI slot, 8 channel sound, USB 2/D-bracket with LEDs for diagnostics) and apparently has significantly less memory issues than the Asus. Its why I chose this board. Gigabyte does have a 650i option now though, which is intriguing. I couldn't stand the wait for that one to get to market - took too long.

 

[chizow]

Thanks for the links Edge1, I'll definitely check them out prior to installation. Should be here tomorrow or Friday. I don't have too much of a need for the extra features, but I do really like the better stock cooling solution. The NB cooler on the P5N-E SLI is totally inadequate for OC'ing. Gigabyte would've been a nice option ya, I think that board got held up by onboard X-Fi and Vista drivers though?

 

[yacoub]

I wish I knew more about the backmounted items that are preventing folks from mounting aftermarket HSFs on this board. I like everything else about the board but this could be a dealbreaker for me as I must be able to mount a good aftermarket hsf on it and I do not own a dremel or similar tool to mess around with making things fit...

 

[Puffnstuff]

I like mine.