Which settings is Core Voltage?..

[Deleted]

running Linx at 3.4ghz (FSB to 220) for about 5 minutes gives a nice BSOD.
Havent raised the voltage though. Not quite sure which setting it is :/
And it might even be single stick of 1333mhz RAM limiting me? already at 1420mhz with 3.3ghz CPU Speed (213 FSB)

Which setting in my motherboards BIOS is CPU core voltage? CPU VDD Voltage or CPU Voltage

Pic of my BIOS Cell Menu:
http://oi55.tinypic.com/2wgso7m.jpg

I got abit afraid of overclocking though after i tried setting one of those voltages to 1.421 and my PC wouldnt even post. had to reset the cmos jumper

[nwo]

It's most likely the plain CPU voltage. Although I'm not sure, it's been a while since I have overclocked (nearly 5 years) and I'm not used to seeing the other 5-6 voltage settings that your BIOS is showing you.

Your RAM could very well be limiting you. Try increasing the RAM voltage, increasing some of the timings on your RAM, or changing the RAM:FSB ratio so that your RAM does not run too much higher than its stock speed.

Did a quick voltage search on your CPU, and it looks like you should never go above 1.4v.

[Deleted]

Alright thanks. Is the RAM voltage "DRAM Voltage" under all the other voltage settings?

edit: on this forum http://forums.overclockersclub.com/i...owtopic=177238 (First google result)
They say that even 1.59v is a safe voltage for an Athlon II 445. at 1.6 it starts to degrade.. (apparently)

[nwo]

Alright thanks. Is the RAM voltage "DRAM Voltage" under all the other voltage settings?

Yup. Should be the same thing.

First thing I would try is to increase your RAM latencies/timings, then I would increase the voltage, and finally if all else fails, change the DRAM:FSB ratio.

[Deleted]

Okay i couldnt find the settings for my RAM Latencies and timings. But i did decrease its ratio so that it runs at 1173mhz. Thats one ratio setting below the default. One even lower would make it 800mhz something and the one above default would make it 1.7ghz..
Then i increased my FSB to 220 to bring the CPU to 3410mhz.
But now running 2 "rounds" of LinX gives me an error. What should i do now?.. :S
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/91/linx1.png

Edit2: Okay i raised the voltage from 1.400v to 1.421v and the test passed 2 minutes now. But at 6 minutes im getting an error again.
Should i raise the voltage more? I really doubt that 1.4v is the max though. Since if i take it off AUTO either way its always on red (or not recommened)
1.400v is red. and anything below that is also red. anything over 1.4 UNTIL 1.423 is white (or normal) But when i change 1.423 to for example 1.424 it becomes "not recommended"

[nwo]

You could actually raise the voltage above 1.4v but it is not generally recommended unless you have good cooling (aftermarket HSF). In the reviews I have seen online, people are generally able to reach 3.9GHz by raising the core voltage to 1.5 or 1.55v and increasing the FSB to 255+. Some said that they reduced the HT link multiplier to x8 so maybe that would help?

A number of things could be preventing you from a stable overclock. Motherboard and RAM are probably the first two things I would look into. If you have a budget motherboard, it is probably not very overclock friendly which means attempting to reach a stable overclock will be difficult. Next thing is the RAM, ideally, you want your DRAM:FSB ratio to remain at 1:1 in order to see the greatest performance increase.

Just play around with your RAM and CPU voltages, taking one small step at a time, try decreasing the HT link multiplier. You RAM timings should be under "Advance DRAM configuration" change the CAS latency and all other timings up by 1-2 at a time. If you are able to increase your RAM timings and voltage, try going back to a 1:1 ratio and see if that makes a difference.

[Deleted]

Alright. But the config menu for RAM timings and latencies on my board is really weird..
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/6962/drame.png

btw. This motherboard is an MSI 760GM-E51.
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/760GM-E51.html

Also 1:1 ratio sounds weird. Cause the default (AUTO) for 1333mhz RAM with 200 FSB is 1:3 something.
1:2 is 880mhz

Edit: Okay now i was able to run 10 minutes of Linx before an error by locking the RAM Voltage at 1.5v (from AUTO)
RAM still at 1173mhz though

[nwo]

Alright. But the config menu for RAM timings and latencies on my board is really weird..
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/6962/drame.png

btw. This motherboard is an MSI 760GM-E51.
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/760GM-E51.html

Also 1:1 ratio sounds weird. Cause the default (AUTO) for 1333mhz RAM with 200 FSB is 1:3 something.
1:2 is 880mhz

Edit: Okay now i was able to run 10 minutes of Linx before an error by locking the RAM Voltage at 1.5v (from AUTO)
RAM still at 1173mhz though

That is weird, but at least it's an improvement. Try changing the 1/2T Memory Timing to 2T. Also, play around with DRAM drive strength (take it off of auto and increase it) since that could give you more stability in overclocking according to the description in the screenshot you provided. What is DRAM timing mode? Is that where you can enter all the timings for your RAM or is it something else?

[Deleted]

Okay so DRAM Timing mods and DRAM drive strength both have the SAME options. Those are:
Auto
DCT 0
DCT 1
Both

Should i change Timing more or Drive strength? Or both?
Right now i increased the 1T/2T Memory timing to 2T and running default memory ratio (1446mhz RAM)
Trying LinX now. CPU voltage 1.421v and memory voltage 1.55v (1.5 Default)

Edit: Okay running 1446mhz with 2T gives a BSOD pretty fast. Trying 1173mhz with 2T now.

Edit2: New record 12 minutes of Linx before BSOD with
220 FSB,
1.422V CPU
1.55v RAM
1173mhz RAM
Memory timing on 2T
HTlink multiplier on default 10x (2200mhz)

Trying with RAM voltage on 1.63v now.

---------- Post added 2011-02-03 at 06:00 PM ----------

This is hopeless. Error after 4 minutes 28 seconds while running RAM at 1.63v.
Just going back to 3.3ghz CPU and 1446mhz RAM.. @ AUTO voltage and Memory Timing 1T...
sigh

[Deleted]

1.63v on 1.5v rated sticks is over the top.
What I'd suggest is lowering the clock of your ram to 10xx (don't know the exact values), so it runs about at the same clock as it would without your FSB raised. Then slowly apply more voltage to the CPU to get it stable.
Also, depending on how high you're clocking your CPU, you might want to increase the HTlink multiplier, since this is what links your cpu to your ram, if this is not fast enough your CPU works faster than the ram, making it crash aswell.

[Deleted]

Yes i tried with running my ram at only 1073mhz..
Im only trying to clock it to 3.4ghz. Target would be 3.6 but since i cant even get it stable as 3.4 i gave up.
My HTlink multiplier is already on the max (And default "AUTO") 10x (2200mhz)

[Deleted]

And what are your temperatures when overclocking?
Also, does it just power down or does it Bluescreen?

[Deleted]

Well i posted results in each test with each setting. (earlier posts in this topic..)
Sometimes it bluescreens and sometimes it just said "Stopped due to error" or something in LinX.
It never powered down.
at 3.4ghz (which was stable until 10 minutes) the temperature was always max 53*C.
Stock cooling and TJMax = 71*C

[Cilraaz]

You could try overclocking properly, for starters.

1. Lower your RAM multiplier to the lowest your BIOS will allow. This will eliminate RAM as a stability factor.
2. Do not over-volt your RAM.
3. Put your vCore back to stock (but still manually set).
4. Manually set all voltages, but leave them at stock values.
5. Put your FSB back to 200MHz.
6. Raise your FSB by 1 or 2 notches, upwards of 5MHz per increase.
7. Run a 1 hour test in your favorite Linpack test (OCCT, LinX, IBT, etc)
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until instability occurs.
9. When instability occurs, raise your vCore by 1 or 2 notches and retest.
10. If stable, go to step 6; If not stable AND vCore is less than 1.5v, go to step 9.
11. Once your maximum clock speed at under 1.5v vCore (and under 75°C at full load), raise your RAM multiplier so that your RAM clock is at or below its rated speed.
12. Test again
13. If everything is stable, you've reached your maximum overclock; If there is instability, you may need to tweak a supporting voltage (IMC/QPI, PLL, etc) to maintain stability.

That's pretty general, but it follows the main rules of overclocking. AMD doesn't often need (or want) FSB increases. [edit: True for BEs, which Athlon II's aren't... oops.] The big rule is to isolate whatever you're trying to test, rather than overclocking everything and hoping for the best. Also, over-volting RAM is generally a very bad idea.

[Deleted]

Athlon II's have locked multipliers. The only AMD processors with unlocked multipliers are BE or Black Edition ones. And there are no Black edition Athlons.
First time i see you being mistaken in something.

And 2nd. I didnt realize i was overvolting my RAM... My BIOS showed cpu voltage 1.424 as RED (Not recommended)
But on DRAM Voltage the 1.63 wasnt even Red. And said it was a safe setting. So i went with that.. The next notch from 1.55 is 1.63

I would appreciate another OC guide though. But this time with the only way for my CPU, raising FSB

[Cilraaz]

Athlon II's have locked multipliers.
First time i see you being mistaken in something.

And 2nd. I didnt realize i was overvolting my RAM... My BIOS showed cpu voltage 1.424 as RED (Not recommended)
But on DRAM Voltage the 1.63 wasnt even Red. And said it was a safe setting. So i went with that.. The next notch from 1.55 is 1.63.

Yep, I missed them not being BE's and having locked multipliers. I'll change my steps from slow multiplier increasing to slow FSB increasing.

As far as what your RAM voltage should be... what's it rated for? The rating should be on the box.

[Deleted]

1.5v Currently running one stick of this http://www.jimms.fi/tuote/KVR1333D3N9%2F2G?t=false
my 2nd stick (Finally 4GB RAM) is arriving tomorrow.

[Cilraaz]

1.5v Currently running one stick of this http://www.jimms.fi/tuote/KVR1333D3N9%2F2G?t=false
my 2nd stick (Finally 4GB RAM) is arriving tomorrow.

At that point, without the manufacturer telling you to, you really shouldn't exceed 1.5v on the DRAM voltage. I know some manufacturers rate their RAM at 1.5v and allow up to 1.65v, but I can't say for your specific RAM modules.

[Deleted]

Alright ------
Will try your "upgraded" FSB OC guide tomorrow. Not enough time for 1 hour per 1 notch of FSB atm.
Edit: Actually. since the clock speed i want is 3.4ghz for STARTERS.. and that requires 220 FSB. It would take me 20 hours of work to test if its stable?

[Deleted]

The reason your motherboard shows it as safe is probably because some rams allow for 1.65v.
Also, my cpu shows red when going to 1.35v and it's at 1.4, so..