Overclocking troubles with A64 3000+ 90nm

[milkrocks]

I have had reasonably good luck overclocking my system but i am hoping you guys can help me figure out what might be limiting my ability to increase my FSB.

MB DFI Ultra-D
Thermaltake CPU Fan
Athlon 64 3000+ 90nm
OCZ 3200 VX Gold (Dual Channel)
74GB Raptor
6600GT (XFX)
Cooler Master Real Power 450W Active Switching Power Supply

I can only get the CPU to run Super PI at 255mhz bus speed. RAM is not the limiting factor here - i can keep the memory at the stock 200mhz speeds but Super PI produces errors when the CPU is running at anything over 2295mhz. The CPU temperature sits at around 38 degrees C under full load - this doesnt seem too high to me. I am currently running the CPU at 1.5250 Volts.

I have a suspition its Power Supply related. Think if i buy an OCZ 520 or 600 i will have better results? The Cooler Master was rated well by a couple of websites - and has 2 12V+ rails (seemed like a particularly good feature for its price range), but i know it still may be holding the machine back.

Is it likely that i should be turning down HT? I am running it on the auto setting right now.

Let me know what you guys think!

 

[Painman]

Update the BIOS to version 310 first, if you haven't already. It solves a lot of RAM compatibility issues. The board can be VERY finicky even at low RAM clocks.

Manually set HTT multiplier to 3x or 4x.

Increase VCore if these don't help. It may be that your chip just doesn't want to fly all that high.

CoolerMaster PSU's aren't bad, they're not considered the best either, but I wouldn't tag it as the culprit at this point.

 

[milkrocks]

Its running 310. I just tried it at both 3X and 4X w/ the FSB at 260. It boots just fine but Super PI gives a NOT EXACT IN ROUND error. Hmm

 

[Painman]

Looks like a juice issue then. It might be that you have a craptastic chip that's going to need 1.6+ VCore to run 24 hours Prime stable @ that OC - not an unreasonable estimate if SuperPI is crapping out. Could be PSU also - the best way to diagnose that is to hook a multimeter up to the +12V of the PSU while it's under load and see if it dips... but since it's a dual rail PSU it's hard to tell you where to hook up for the measuring, as they all seem to have different power configs. That's one of the reasons why I prefer single rail.

I'd do one or both of 2 things if possible: 1) Try the chip out in another known good OCing rig, 2) have the PSU tested under some dummy loads.

 

[user1234]

i doubt it's your PSU, it seems good enough. Just probably you hit the max speed for this CPU at your current voltage. Try to increase the Vcore more and see if it improves the overclock, but since it's already above 1.5, I'd guess you won't be able to improve it much more. It's just the luck of the draw dude. I have two 3000+ winchesters, one can do 365x9=2385 and the other 270x9=2430 stable at 1.58Vcore. btw, why you waste so much money on memory when it has negligible eefect on performance, when you can invest this money in a better CPU instead ? or at least a better graphics card. I really don't get why people spend $200 EXTRA on memory instead of getting X800XL/6800GT - memory will give you 1-2% AT MOST, the high end video card will give you 50-100% increase in frame rate.

 

[milkrocks]

Sounds good -
It will run Super PI at 260FSB at 1.62V - still with reasonable temperatures.
I decided to buy the OCZ VX because i dont think i will need to upgrade it in the forseeable future. This MB, RAM, GC combo should last awhile. I definitly plan on getting a dual core 939 at some point. (Hopefully one can be had for under $200 by Christmas time) The dual core chip will be able to take advantage of the faster memory (it runs at 260 w/ 2-2-2-6 timings). I also have a feeling that the dual core chips arent going to overclock quite as well, but having the 2-2-2 timings at 235-245 mhz should prove for a really fast dual core machine!

I only do a little bit of gaming anyway - i am extremely impressed at the bang for the buck in the 6600GT. Its running at 590/1100 right now and is very playable on my 1280X1024 Dell 1901FP.

Thanks for the help!

 

[user1234]

incorrect !! while I agree that the 600GT is the best bang for the buck among the midrange video card, and is a great value - it is defintely coming up a little short for enjoyable gaming. I'm running my 6600GT at 580/1160 and the other day I tried running far cry on that machine (winchester at 2430 mhz) at 1024x768 with medium graphics detail, and while being quite playable and looking great, the game felt a little slugish to me. It would be much worse at 1280x1024 with high detail which is the settings you'd want to really maximize your enjoyment. But it would just be too damn slow at these settings. You'd need x800xl or 6800gt to play like that and really enjoy this game as well as most of the other new games. So maybe you should've cut down on the memory and invested in a higher end video card. Can't understand how people spend on memory 2.5X what they spend on the CPU - does it makes sense to you or you just accept it as crazyness but reluctantly jump along like a sheep in a herd ?

 

[milkrocks]

I dont own Far Cry right now and dont really plan to. I think at some point i am going to buy Empire Earth II and WoW both which should run just fine on my rig.

I researched a lot before i bought the components for my system. I like how the added memory speed increases the responsiveness of the PC. I also like knowing that this memory will stick around for some time. I paid $228 for the OCZ and $129 for the CPU at the time. I still think that for under $1100 that i have a hell of a machine!

 

[ksherman]

I have two 3000+ winchesters, one can do 365x9=2385 and the other 270x9=2430 stable at 1.58Vcore.

not sure on the math, but isnt 365x9=3285? If so, you have on helluva OC on your hands

 

[milkrocks]

I think he meant 265 - The math is right here.

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: milkrocks
I dont own Far Cry right now and dont really plan to. I think at some point i am going to buy Empire Earth II and WoW both which should run just fine on my rig.

I researched a lot before i bought the components for my system. I like how the added memory speed increases the responsiveness of the PC. I also like knowing that this memory will stick around for some time. I paid $228 for the OCZ and $129 for the CPU at the time. I still think that for under $1100 that i have a hell of a machine!

you might be exaggerating the memory effect. For example, try running super-pi of 8M and see what your results are. My winchester at 9x270=2430 with 1GB kingmax pc3200 at 220 mhz 2.5-3-3-7 does it in 384 seconds. I paid $119 for the CPU and $72 for memory. I'm just saying the extra 90 mhz of my CPU (2430 - 2340) is worth a lot more than your memory's short latencies and overclocked speed. So my cheap memory machine is more "responsive" then yours. And I'm not even mentioning graphics performance differences due to x800xl vs 6600gt.

 

[user1234]

nice theory you've gots there about how fast ram will help with dual core, but the actual fact is the DDR1 is at the end of its line, and it's silly to spend too much money on it, as even AMD is going to switch to DDR2 later this year (according to their offficial roadmap). Plus the fact this extra money buys you next to nothing in performance.

 

[imported_SLIM]

Originally posted by: user1234
nice theory you've gots there about how fast ram will help with dual core, but the actual fact is the DDR1 is at the end of its line, and it's silly to spend too much money on it, as even AMD is going to switch to DDR2 later this year (according to their offficial roadmap). Plus the fact this extra money buys you next to nothing in performance.

Let it go man...
He bought some high quality memory that will add a couple percent to some benchmarks and may help more when he upgrades to dualcore. DDR2 won't be used by AMD until q1 '06 using socket m motherboards. I don't see how the life expectancy of ddr400 matters that much when EVERYBODY will have to buy new mb, cpu and memory (might as well be a whole new box). He spent HIS money on good hardware that you don't agree with; it's not like he bought a 925xe with ddr2 and a p4ee for a gaming rig. Just let it go...

Did the extra voltage make a difference in stability?

 

[superkdogg]

Originally posted by: user1234
nice theory you've gots there about how fast ram will help with dual core, but the actual fact is the DDR1 is at the end of its line, and it's silly to spend too much money on it, as even AMD is going to switch to DDR2 later this year (according to their offficial roadmap). Plus the fact this extra money buys you next to nothing in performance.

Wow, man-he didn't spend your money!

 

[user1234]

i'm just trying to help other people avoid mistakes, especially people looking to maximize gaming performance on a limited budget