Originally posted by: MJLorenzo
Alright, first post on the AnandTech boards and I need a little help. I'm assuming here that this is not the technical limit of my P4 2.4C (though it may very well be) and asking questions based on that assumption. (And if it is the limit, let me down gently, eh?)
Current setup:
Motherboard: Abit iS7
Bios: v1.5
CPU: P4 2.4C @ 3120MHz
FSB: 260MHz
vcore: 1.55v
N/B Strap: PSB800
divider: 5:4
RAM: 2x256MB Kingston HyperX PC3500 (@ 208MHz, 2-6-2-2)
vdimm: 2.6v
agp/pci: 66/33 (fixed)
HSF: Stock Intel HSF
Idle Temp: ~46C (as reported by Hardware Doctor)
Load Temp: 61C (as reported by Hardware Doctor during Prime95's torture test, though the temperature was still rising when the test errored)
PSU: Antec TruePower 380w (Came with the case I bought at a local store as there weren't any other cases available, I have a Thermaltake 480w I can replace it with if need be)
Even this is not technically very stable, as it only runs Prime95's torture test for like 3 minutes before erroring. I may increase vcore to 1.575 later (though I really don't like to) and see if that helps my stability.
My problem, however, is that I cannot even POST anywhere above this, even with lowest memory timings (even though the RAM will be at 220MHz, not too hard to handle for PC3500) and vcore 1.575v.
This setup wouldn't POST:
FSB: 275MHz
vcore: 1.575v
Mem Freq: 220MHz, 3-8-4-4
vdimm: 2.65v
N/B Strap: PSB800
Now for the questions:
A. I've heard 1.6v vcore is as high as someone should go when overclocking a Pentium 4. Would any of you recommend 1.6v for better results perhaps? I would like to spare the processor's life as long as possible.
B. What exactly is the purpose of the N/B Strap? When it was set to Auto, I couldn't reach 3GHz on default voltage. When I set it to PSB800, I could.
C. If cooling is restricting my overclocking ability, which HSF would be recommended? I've looked at the AVC Sunflower, the Swiftech MCX4000, and (IIRC) the Zalman 7000cu.
First thing you should do is update your BIOS to 1.6
I would stay below 1.6 Vcore. Some people may say up to 1.7 but with these D1 stepping CPU's they are pretty much maxed out at 1.6.
The strap is just telling it what CPU you are using 800=200FSB and so on.
The Voltage you have for your Kingston memory is too low and that is probably your biggest problem. Bump that up to the max of 2.8. I believe Kingston even states 2.6-2.9 VDimm.
Next is to go into advanced options and DISABLE the last two settings under GAT.
As a note if you would have read through the entire thread (I know it's long) you would have seen all of these things. Next is your Kingston ram. Some of them do not like the 5:4 divider. The stuff I tested would do 250 1:1 but not 260 5:4 but my OCZ has proven that my CPU is stable at 275.