Need help with my PC

[Q2S]

I am wondering if anyone else might have some suggestions/experiences for me in regards to some problems I am having with my PC.

First off, the original specs of my PC:

AMD BARTON 2500+ (oc'd to 3000+ for reasons stated soon)
KRETON PC3200 RAM (2X256; always ran in dual channel)
GEFORCE 5200 (BLEH)
LITE ON CD-RW/DVD COMBO
MAXTOR 120GB SATA HD
SOUNDBLASTER LIVE 5.1 (5 YEARS OLD)
ASUS A7N8X DELUXE REV.2 MB (VER1007 BIOS)


The above system was put together late last year, and was running well for the most part. There were a few things that were bugging me, such as the fact that I wasn't able to OC the processor to 3200+ stably. The pc would heat up to nearly 57C, and some games and applications would simply stop, hang, or the pc would randomly reboot. This was, I thought, due to the low quality ram and stock heatsink and thermal paste. Also, the video performance simply wasn't up to par, so I decided to upgrade some of the items as listed below:

RADEON 9800 PRO (128 MB RAM)
CORSAIR PC3200 RAM
VANTECH 80MM PC FAN
ARCTIC SILVER THERMAL PASTE

The Radeon I ordered and installed a couple of months ago, and with no problems.

The other items I ordered and installed a few weeks ago, and this is where it gets interesting.

With the RAM, I was no longer able to run my PC at anything over 180 MHZ FSB. The PC wouldn't get past the POST screen at over 180MHZ before it would hang, or more often reboot.

With the new fan and thermal paste, my CPU temps actually went up, and this is while running the system at slower speeds than when I started prior ro installing the "upgraded" equipment.

So, as it stands now, my system is not even able to run at stock speeds, and the idle temp is normally 47C, and 54-56C under load. Higher if I play a graphics intensive game. And my system still acts up from time to time (programs stop running and/or random reboots).

Other information:
CPU Voltage: 1.7~1.725
DDR Voltage: 2.7~2.8
CPU Freq: 180 MHZ
CPU Multiplier: 10~10.5
RAM TIMINGS: 7-3-3-2.5T

I am hoping that their are some people who can give me an idea of what I should do or try in order to get my system running stably, preferrablt at or around 3200+ speeds.

Oh, in addition to the above, I had to send in my SATA hard drive since it crapped out on me. It seems that using Norton Speed Disk on a SATA hard drive with XP PRO equals hard drive destruction. Advice on what to use to defragment a sata drive without ruining the drive would be appreciated as well.

 

[lobadobadingdong]

Advice on what to use to defragment a sata drive without ruining the drive would be appreciated as well.

did you try the windows defrag utility? I've found it works better than speed disk anyway.

you can use the run command
Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks
to drastically speed up startup times.

as to the OC'ing, run your fsb@200, lower your mulitlplier for a more stable overclock, get a better hsf, a good thermaltake silent boost or volcano, or (even better) perhaps a thermalright slk900A with a 92mm fan, and get some Arctic Silver 5. I say never OC with stock cooling.

 

[Q2S]

Thanks, Loba. That command you mentioned, mind of I ask how I utilize it (where do I put the command)? Not entirely sure about that.

As for the fans and such, I am presently using a new fan and the Arctic Silver 5 at the moment, and the CPU is still idling at 50C. I cnnot understand this, and it is getting quite frustrating. The following are the items I am using, which has since actually increased the temps of my pc:
20-145-432 DDR 2x256MBTWINX512-3200LLPT COR RT 1
35-100-007 CPU THERMPASTE|ARCTIC SILVER5 3.5G% 1
35-110-007 CPU FAN|AERO FLOW VA4-C7040 VTEC RT

All of these were ordered from NewEgg pn March 24, and installed a few days later.
I can't even think about running @ 200MHZ FSB anymore without the PC rebooting, not to mention being able to fry eggs on the PC.

And thanks for the tip about using Windows defrag. Kind of came to that conclusion as well.

 

[lobadobadingdong]

start > run then key in the rundll command.

as to the temp, what kind of case and case cooling are you using?
that hsf is a little dated for your temps I believe it's only supposed to handle up to a 2800+ (@50C idle) if I'm not mistaken.

if you bought the stuff from newegg, you can link the web pages to the exact models, it would help in figuring out the temp issues.

I have a maxtop full tower case with 5 80mm <20db fans, 2 front and the 1 side fan blowing in, 2 rear blowing out, and a fortron 350W psu w/120mm fan blowing out, my case temps stay within 1F of the ambient temp, my 2500+ OC'd to 2800+ runs 51C under full load w/77F ambient temp, but it's a little higher than most because I'm using a super silent speeze wisper rock hsf. (and is why I only have it OC'd to 2088Mhz)

you should be able to run it at 200x10 (2Ghz ~ 2700+ speed) without a problem with your mem, and mobo.

 

[Q2S]

The link below is for the case...there are 3 fans actually, 2 in the back and one in the side.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-156-139&amp;depa=1

The link below is for the fan I got...
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=35-110-007&amp;depa=1

The temps have actually gotten higher now, as well...I am IDLING at 50 celsius. Any ideas/

 

[GMac123]

Changing your multiplier will not help. It is locked at 11.5 for the Barton 2500. (this is what I use as well) However, you may want to try starting at base for all your components and slowly raise them up. Make sure to increase your v-core w/ the fsb as well (unless you like fried comp parts) I have been told that I should be able to OC my barton 2500 to a fsb or 220 w/ vcore at 1.825... However, i currently run mine at fsb 200 and auto vcore (about 1.625)

 

[amdskip]

Dude, check out those power supply specs. That is way under sized for what you are throwing at it. Look at the +12v rating of 13A, that is too weak. You need at least 15A if not more. I would buy an antec true power power supply.

 

[Q2S]

Would the power supply cause this increase in heat as well? I am surprised, since I though that 420watts would be plenty. Would getting a better PS being down the temps, though?

As for this Barton, I got this back in September, and it is unlocked. I have no problems choosing any multiplier up to 12.5, I believe (lucky me, I guess).

 

[amdskip]

420 is not a real life rating. I would rather have an Antec 300w power supply than a non name 500w power supply. It may or may not affect temps.

 

[Q2S]

What should I get with the following, then:
Barton 2500+...Radeon 9800Pro...SounblasterLive 5.1...Sata 120GB HD...IBM 27GB HD...Lite on CD-RW/DVD combo
Other possible additions: DVD-R, second SATA HD

Does anyone have any idea about the heat problem I am now experiencing, as well?

 

[amdskip]

Those temperatures are reasonable considering your overclock. I don't see it (might have missed it) what is your case temperature and what fans are you using for it?

I would personally buy an Antec true power 430w power supply.