Need tips tweaking OC on e4500

[tsponholz]

Hello,

I just finished putting together my new system (in sig) and need some tips on tweaking OC.

I have it currently running stable at 9x333, but was wondering if there was a way to better optimize my settings:
1) How does the modifier affect the OC? Am I better to run at 10x300 or come up with an 8x setting or stick with my current settings?
2) Ram currently runs at 800MHz 4-4-4-12 2T (5:3 I think I hate Gigabyte's bios for ram settings): should I look to set a 1:1 ratio or does it really matter?
3) Currently the e4500 temps seem to peak at 72 degrees but average 65-68 at load (based on SpeedFan while running Prime95 torture test). Is this too hot? It seems to be stable.
4) Currently using "Auto" voltage setting on the MB, should I try to tweak these lower? Will that help much with heat?
5) Does anyone know how to set RAM to 1T on a Gigabyte P35 board? I don't think it can be done, but I thought I'd ask.

Answers to these questions and any other suggestions are welcome.

My target OC is 3.0GHz, RAM 800MHz and running stable, but if it's realistic to push a bit more I'll do it. I haven't used it in "real" applications and probably won't until I am certain I have a stable setting. Plans are to dual boot OS X, so I don't want to start putting anything my system that I am not afraid of losing.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[Regalk]

First do not use AUTO vcore - this will overvolt too much
Set manually to default (1.25 or thereabouts) - you can bump to 1.35-1.40 later to go over 3.0 to get around 3.2 or 3.3 or possibly higher.
Using 1T is begging for trouble stay with 2T. Most DDR 2 ar 2T but some may argue otherwise
333 X 9 is better than 300 X 9 but not by anything thats really out of this world. Also 333 X 2.4 will run DDRRam at 800 = OK
Set PCI-e to 100 or 101.
Increase DDR2 volts to about 2.00

 

[Amart]

4500 has x11 multiplier right?, why not use it at x11?
____________________

In my experience the Gigabyte boards need active cooling, good airflow, or will otherwise limit the overclock.
Check the temps of your northbridge, consider adding a fan if they are high when OC'ing.

Good luck.

 

[tsponholz]

These are great tips! Thanks guys. I'd like to clarify a couple assumptions I'm making from your comments:

1) the RAM to FSB ratio doesn't really effect performance in any noticable way, ie. 1:1 isn't any better than 2:3? (I don't really care about an extra FSP or two, or synthetic benchmarks.)

2) Everything else being equal, higer multiplier = better, I'm assuming because you can put the FSB setting lower you will produce less heat/need less voltage. ie. 11x273 = 3.0GHz is better than 8x375 = 3.0GHz. Maybe this is wrong.

I've done a fair bit of research, but I have never really been clear on those two points. And since they are tied together, it make it tough to pick the best settings. (Of course if I had the time I'd take a week and do trial and error temp monitoring, but who has that time.:roll

Now here's my noob question -- how can I tell which temp monitor is the Northbridge on Speedfan? I have on sensor (listed as #2 on speed fan, but I can't remember what it was tied to) that was pretty high -- again peaking at 72. Are there any other temp monitors I should use in tandem with Speedfan, or is it acurate enough?

 

[GundamF91]

Are you hitting "FSBwall"? My e4500 can't get above 310mhz FSB, and that keeps me at 300x11, so I can get 3.3Ghz, and tha'ts about as high as it'd go. Have you tried 300x10 or 300x11? That'll get you to 3Ghz for sure

 

[Modelworks]

Use orthos for dual core instead of prime95.
http://sp2004.fre3.com/beta/beta2.

I'm running an e4500 at 11x300.
I started at 1.25v and then started running orthos.
It wasn't perfectly stable until 1.34v .
I left all other voltages alone.

72C is too hot. Max temp according to intel is 73C, then the chip starts throttling.
I'm maxing out at about 53C after running orthos for over an hour.
lower the voltage, I expect thats why your temp is so high.

Motherboard is P35-D3sl, 2GB Crucial 667, 2Gb super talent 667.
E4500 M0 stepping, 1.34V , Artic Freezer heatsink.

 

[tsponholz]

Originally posted by: GundamF91
Are you hitting "FSBwall"? My e4500 can't get above 310mhz FSB, and that keeps me at 300x11, so I can get 3.3Ghz, and tha'ts about as high as it'd go. Have you tried 300x10 or 300x11? That'll get you to 3Ghz for sure

Yeah there might be that FSB wall... I tried 10X320 up to 1.40v and can't get it stable. I've decided to try a few combos to see what can do. I'll post back with results.

I did already have one surprising find. I got stable 3.0GHz @ both 11x273 & 10x300, both at 1.325v. What surprised me was that the 10x300 seems to run cooler by 3 to 4 degrees. Does that make sense?

 

[tsponholz]

Just thought I'd post my final stable settings/results.

e6400 @ 3.00GHz (10x300) @ 1.31875v; PC6400 Ram @ 900MHz 4-4-4-12 (2:3 ratio) @ 2.10v.

I tried at 1.31250v and was not stable. Tried ram at above settings but a 2.0v and was not stable. Temps seem to average about 65 degrees for both cores and the Northbridge (if I'm reading the right info for the northbridge). Ambient case temp 41 degrees. I may try to post my logs somewhere for others to see.

I could not get a stable run at 3.10 or higher, but I did not try vCore above 1.4. I don't think I'm ready to chance the heat to push it more. I might try again when the Peryns are more out and affordable.

Overall though I'm happy -- 36% gain on processor power and acceptable heat level. Now I have the fun of trying to install a dual XP/OSX boot!

Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[GundamF91]

Hey tsponholz, I managed to break the previous limitation after flashing new BIOs on the IP35E board. Now I'm running 333x10 3.33Ghz. very nice 51% OC and stable at 1.37v. with PC6400 @ 800 @ 1.8v. Highest temp is about 56c under full load, I'm using CoolerMaster TX2 which I got for nearly free. It's a good deal better than stock cooling. I'm using Abit IP35E by the way.

You should set vCore at 1.45 and see if you can get it to 3.3Ghz. I think you can, you might even do it at 1.4v. I would suggest lowering your memory, there's no reason to run it at 900mhz @ 2.1v. it'll just stress your memory, and the extra 100mhz in memory is not nearly as good as extra 100mhz in core speed.

I'm curious as to how good my number is. I'm still tempted to go higher. I've heard aobut people hitting 3.5Ghz on E4500 with air cooling.