Modding Asus P4C800-E for voltage stability

Alouf

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Hi all,

This is the perfect board for such a posting since most of the readers are knowladgeable skilled people.

I was thinking of a MOD to the P4C800-E Deluxe motherboard to make the voltage less fluctuate. Then i saw tomshardware's 5Ghz article and the mod they did on the motherbaord. Now i don't pretend to understand all the details, but it seem to me that all they did could be done by your average technical person. All the stuff they added, have their place on the motherboard, but are just missing.

Please give me your input on the subject. And who knows, maybe we can all write some modding guide to stabilise the voltage of the P4C800-E and help with the stability of the board.

Thanks for your attention and waiting for your replies.
 

Crashman

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There's a mod called the "voltage droop mod". A simple google search of "P4C800 droop" returns a few results such as <A HREF="http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,8561201~root=ocusa~mode=flat~start=0" target="_new">This Page</A>, which shows adding a 28kOhm resistor should help a great deal!

One man in another page said he actually read the manual for the VRM controlling chip and that's where he got the idea. He said it told him to put a resistor between a couple points to tighten voltage controll. Amazing how a simple user could know more about these things than Asus?

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Alouf

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Great!

Thank you. I guess i was looking for the wrong string. Did you try that mod yourself Crashman?

What does "droop" means? is it the same a "drop"?
 

Crashman

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No, I prefer to keep my warranty intact. Droop means to sag, sort of like drop, but more specific. You hang a curtain at both ends, it droops in the middle.

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Alouf

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Thank you sir!

I had a bonus english lesson :)

How is your P4C800-E doing? what is your overclocking experience with it?
 

Crashman

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Terrible. Can't keep the voltage stable enough to reach peak.

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Alouf

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This sucks :-/
Did you try anotherboard to see if the CPU your using might be the one limiting you?
 

Crashman

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AT 3250MHz, the CPU never crashs between 1.64v and 1.75v. It's only when the voltage surges below 1.63v that it hangs, and when it spikes over 1.76v it resets.

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ytoledano

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I guess that's the difference between a chip with a muliplier of 16 and 13, the 16x one would work stable with 1.550... Some people say that all the C series CPUs are almost the same except for their muliplier.

Also, how do you monitor your voltage with percision? I do not trust at all my Hardware monitor, it says the voltage of my P4 2.4C OC to 3.0 is 1.42 to 1.44. I doubt any CPU could run stable with that voltage at that speed.

Got a nice overclocked overvolted system to keep you warm at night? That's great. Guess I'll have to settle for a woman...
 

Black_Cat

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Okay. I've been reading about this droop thing and I'd like some clarification. This droop only occurs when attempting to increase the voltage beyond stock?

I was just putzing around with the Sandra CPU burn-in wizard and while observing Motherboard Monitor closely I found that the voltage would drop to 1.47V. That seems awfully low, but the system remained stable.

My ultimate goal with my P4C800 Deluxe is to get the FSB to 250. I can't get it over 238 which allows my 2.8C to run at 3.33. Not bad, but I just got my Kingston HyperX PC4000 and I'd like to get it running at full speed. Before learning about this droop issue I spent hours trying to get that sucker past 3.33. If this voltage issue were to be corrected with this mod, how fast could I expect this badboy to go with stock cooling? I have an MSI Neo-LSR sitting in a box collecting dust. Should I just ditch the P4C800 and try overclocking the Neo?

Okay, brain. You don't like me, and I don't like you, but let's get through this thing and then I can continue killing you with beer. -- Homer Simpson.
 

Crashman

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Former Staff
Nope, multiplier has nothing to do with it. While many 2.8C's did offer a slightly better core revision that could overclock high with lower voltages, you'll still find people pushing the envelope at 250MHz FSB.

There were 2.4C (multiplier 14x) that went to 250FSB at stock voltage, but that was only 3GHz. Yes, my 2.6C goes past 3GHz at stock voltage too. Getting it to 3.1GHz requires only a minor bump in vCore, and 3250MHz (250MHz FSB) a little more.

I always recommend around 1.65v for overclocking Northwoods, because they seem to handle voltages under 1.75v well, and 1.65v-1.70v seems to get them near their highest stable clock speeds.

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Crashman

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Raise the vCore! The lowest voltage I've heard of these things being damaged is 1.75v over long periods of time.

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ytoledano

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Do you have an Abit IS7? I can't get any higher than 250 FSB @5:4 mode for an unknown reason the computer just gives out a long beep. Pumping up voltage, relaxing timings, 3:2 mode all didn't work. I now believe that it's the 5:4 mode so my next upgrade would be PC4000-4200 RAM and I would work at 1:1 mode...

Oh, and another question. P4 3.0 and 3.2 (maybe 2.8 too, I don't remember) work at stock 1.550 and not 1.525, is there that big a difference from just a bit more voltage, or is that just for them to increase their "breathing room" so all processors will be stable at that speed.

Got a nice overclocked overvolted system to keep you warm at night? That's great. Guess I'll have to settle for a woman...
 

Alouf

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Hi Crashman, been reading all night long about these mods.
You know, you can use fine SMD grabbers on the CSCOMP and CSSUM pins of ADP3180. That way, you don't invalidate your warranty :)
 

Crashman

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Nope, I don't have an IS7. But I've spoken with around 8 people I recommended one too, after their purchase, and they were all very happy with them. 250FSB is about all most boards can garuntee, anything beyone that is bonus!

Yes, Intel increased the voltage on the higher speed CPU's to gain stability. We call that overclocking. A 2.8 should easily do over 3.0 at the same setting.

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Crashman

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Nope, I don't know anything about SMD grabbers, got a link?

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Alouf

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Sure!

http://www.elexp.com/clp_5243.htm

SMD grabbers grab one leg of an SMD and extends it. On the grabber itself there is a contact point where you can soldier a wire. They use the SMD grabbers mostly for tesing purposes, but you can use them for the Vcore Mod. just use one pair, one on each leg and soldier a wire from each one to the pot. That way, when you want to unmod your mod, you just let go the SMD grabber. It is more of a semi permanent solution although many people user it as a permanent one.
 

Crashman

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Former Staff
I'm not so sure those are small enough, I mean these legs are VERY close together!

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Crashman

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Ah, that might work, the problem that remains is that the chip rest under the heatsink retainer.

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