Too much?

NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
edited November 2003 in Hardware
Well, those of you who saw my other thread on OC'ing my barton 2500+ will remember I had problems getting my PC2700 Corsair XMS RAM to run at 400MHz on my Asus A7N8X Deluxe. Anyway, I took the easy way out and upgraded to the new Corsair 1GB (2x512MB) TwinX matched PC3200LLPRO modules (even got the LED's, hah). Anyway, I couldn't get my system stable at 200MHz until I did a few things.

To get the BIOS to not spit out an error, I had to set the memory to SPD... normal right?

Second, to get into windows i had to raise the vcore about 3 levels from 1.65, its at 1.74 now. I was able to get into windows now without the system rebooting when the "welcome to windows" music played. However, after a few minutes in windows and opening about 3 apps or anything remotely cpu intesnive, the system would reboot. So I raised my vdimm from 2.6 to 2.7 (vdimm = ram voltage correct?). Now I was able to benchmark my system with 3dm2001se and 3dm2003 fine, 17000/5,600 respectfully.

My question is as follows: Is vcore @ 1.74 and vdimm @ 2.7 too much? I have a 485w Enermax PSU. Temps are ~54C sitting in windows, i'm using a zalman CNPS-6000Cu with the lowest CPU fan speed. Should I lower my vcore and see if its still stable? I raised my vcore about 3 "levels" before I tried raising the vdimm... :scratch:

Also, is there any problem with raising the vdimm to 2.7 from 2.6 (default) and keeping the vcore at the default 1.65?

Thanks in advance.


Edit:
Actually, my vcore was set to 1.72 in the BIOS but showed 1.74 in MBM. When i launched a game of HL: Counter-Strike, the system rebooted. I raised the vcore to 1.75 now... is this as high as I should go with the voltage (on both CPU and RAM)?

Comments

  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    You can use as much vdimm as you want. Nothing will happen to them. As far as vcore is concerned, it depends on how fast you run your cpu. 1.7 sounds about right for around 2.2 gigs to me.

    What more choices than SPD do you have? Go up a little on the chipset voltage and test that as well. How much does it help if you raise the fanspeed?
  • NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
    edited November 2003
    Ok, rebooted in CS after about 10 minutes of play when i raised vcore to 1.75. Right now i've set vcore back to 1.65, vdimm to 2.6, and multiplier to 10 (200x10) just so i can play a game of CS.

    What setting is the chipset voltage, i haven't seen it in the BIOS? Thanks. Also, how much should I raise it, and what is the max i should take it to? thanks.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Raise it .1 at a time. But i'm not really sure that's the problem either. Also, 56c sounds hot at 2 gigs. Sure you have proper contact between cpu and heatsink?
  • NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
    edited November 2003
    Yeah, I think it's just because of the HSF i'm using. I got it really for the low-noise factor, so I keep the CPU fan as low as it goes. Also, the room with my computers is really, really, warm. If I had to guess i'd say ~85F.
  • CreepCreep Hell Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Rase the VCore untill you can fold and play CS at the same time. If your RAM timings are set to "SPD" then there is no reason to raise the voltage on it. Turn the fan speed up that will make your system more stable. Overclocking needs powerful cooling so you'll have to crank that fan up if you want to cool it. That's what I suggest anyway.
  • NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
    edited November 2003
    alright, i'll increase the CPU fan speed when I have time to play around with OC'ing, hopefully some time this weekend.

    When I increased the voltage to the RAM, the system became more stable (ie. only being able to run CS for 15-30 seconds, to being able to run it for 10-12 minutes). I thought when you choose SPD for the RAM frequency, it just reads the "timings" from the RAM... or do I have the definition wrong.. i think i might? :scratch:

    What's the chipset voltage called in the BIOS, or is it just "chipset voltage" or something real similar? Also, is this the voltage to the northbridge, southbridge, both, or neither?

    Mackanz, you said increasing the voltage to the RAM won't hurt it at all? Are you 100% positive? I just paid a pretty penny for it so I don't want to damage it... but if by some chance I do... is there anyway corsair can tell I was OC'ing? :eek3:

    Thanks for the replies!
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    I'm VERY positive. Ram can take as much as 3.5 volts theese days without problems. (i do not suggest you use 3.5 though)
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    You can run Corsair CMX at 2.8 stable. With your Corsair pro, try more case fanning, then raise the voltage to about 3.1. Right now, my CPU is running at 1.66-1.65, Barton 2500+. It runs cooler at about 1.625. I would say drop the CPU voltage a tad from 1.74, it looks too warm to me. vidoe card might be getting too warm, that is one reason for more case fans as well as CPU benefiting from more air flow.

    Get any dust out of case, if there is any in it, please, it will act as an insulation blanket and that you definitely do not want. This includes between fins of CPU HS.

    If running MBM 5, try logging temps, note overall trend of CPU rise. You should get a bit of a rise, then stability if ideal for CPU. Mine right now is stable at 47 C with stock HS, though I have an SLK900A coming.

    John, who is doing 1% of a p356 every 6.2 minutes right now on the Barton at stock. Will see what the better fan will allow, suspect about 1.7Vcc is where my Barton 2500+ will be most comfortable, possibly 1.71 to 1.72.
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    One other thing. The Negative voltages on my box run -13.01 avg for nominal -12, and the 12 V runs at 12.59. 5 V is much less high relative to nominal and much less low for -5. About 5.03 to 5.04 floating, and -5.03 to -5.04 floating. 5 V is even spread,the the 12 is favoring negative voltage. The 3.3 line is even as can be. about 3.32.

    Point, each PSU will be balancing different, so MB will show actual more, and BIOS will be REQUESTING the voltages you set but those voltags amy not be what the PSU is giving. Rely more on MBM 5 and the PC Health subsection of your BIOS, adjust by them and not the settings you are requesting. It is normal for a BIOS to vary from MBM 5, though not hugely, if you use the PC Health versus the MBM 5 and NOT the requested values versus the MBM 5.

    Another thing, since PSU's typically vary 5-7% with clean input as they balance amperage per line, expect to want to use longer term means from MBM 5 log to get more actual voltage, unless you have a logging multimeter. MBM can be a software logging multimeter for you in a sense, and the averages over 8-12 hours will be better than minute to minute. I have MBM 5 set for 5 second polling, but use longer averages to know what the PSU is actually putting out. The whole box is on a good UPS, so I know I am getting clean power into the box (tests confirm this).

    Slow down your rates of change, let the PSU stabilize, and watch what is really coming out to the system versus what is requested by your BIOS tunings over a longer term to let you see trends in temp versus performance and temp versus voltage levels.

    John.
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited November 2003
    I wouldnt be surprised if its heat related. Turn up the fan. Quiet and Overclocking dont really go together.
  • NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
    edited November 2003
    well I just realized while installing my new ram and videocard I had inadvertently unplugged one of the case fans from the psu. it's a nice big antec/chieftec case with two "exaust" fans in the back and a fan built into the window that is blowing directly on my AGP card. I do not however have any fans in the front of the case because they would have been a royal pain to install. I'd also have to admit, the airflow in the case is probably pretty poor. Well, 50% good, 50% bad. Bad around the dvd/cdrw drive, hard drives, and ram; but a lot better around the back 1/2 of the case where the cpu and videocard are positioned.

    does anyone have any suggestions on how to get this massive mess of tangled power cords under control? does that flexable mesh tubing work good? where could i pick some of that up if that would work? also, do you install it by just stretching it over the molex connector and then threading it through the tubing? also... can anyone recommend good IDE cables (rounded)? I bought some from newegg that were rated could, but was really, really, pissed off when I figured out how hard it was to remove them. I'm usually not worried about pulling on the cable part of flat IDE cables since it's fairly strong, but these round ones seem that they would rip apart when trying to remove them. My next upgrade will likely be SATA drives (just for the better cabling alone, lol)... but that won't be for awhile, probably until I build my next machine (amd 64).

    in summary, i'm willing to try and improve the airflow in my case but need suggestions on how to get the yards of power cables from the PSU to the drives under control... preferably with something other than or in addition to zip ties.

    Thanks for the replies as always and sorry for my longwinded post.

    P.S. The BIOS i'm using now will only allow me to set the RAM voltage up from 2.6 - 2.8. Do I need the uber-version to go any higher? Though, i'll definitely try adding 1 or 2 more case fans (zalman of course :P) and increasing the CPU fan speed before I mess with the voltages anymore.
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