Vcore being low the problem????

[cashx0rs]

Been doing alot of playing lately with new board, cpu, and water cooling kit. Before I begin here are my specs:

EPOX 4G4A+
P4 1.6a @ 2.48 620 FSB 4:5 mem ratio (ROCK SOLID, endless 3dmark and prime95 loops)
GEIL PC3500 433 mhz memory
Innovatek water cooling
Idle temp: 39 C
Load Temp: 50 C MAX
Enermax 350 watt Power Supply


My system seems to be stable at times when I go to 2560 mhz and sometimes unstable. This meaning I Can run prime95 at times for 10 hours and sometimes only 5 mins!. Both under controlled conditions with nothing else running in the background. My main question is if my Power supply is too weak. If my cdrom spins up, I can hear my cpu fans slow down during the process. My 5 volt line is really dropping low.

Under Load
+5.00 : 4.89-4.92
Idle
+5.00 : 5.03-5.05

Would my 5 volt line dropping to 4.89 help cause the instability I'm getting at higher FSB? If so, what would be a good Power supply to remedy this? Thanks all

Cash

 

[phsstpok]

4.89 volts is not seriousw and should not be a problem

Fans slowing down when a CD-ROM spins up could be a problem. This is a sign that the 12 Volt line is struggling. This is not good because P4 mobos use 12 volt power to derive CPU core voltages.

How are your core voltages? Try using Motherboard Monitor 5 in the log mode and run your tests. The log should show how the voltages change with high system activity.

[EDIT]
Didn't realize how far you are overclocking. You could just be reaching your limits on your CPU and/or memory

<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 08/08/02 02:01 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[cashx0rs]

Yeah, I kinda figured I'm near my overclocking limit. AS far as the cores, here they are:

at idle:
+5 = 5.03
+3.3 = 2.66
+12 = 12.22
-12 = -11.86
-5 = -5.24

at load with PRime 95:
+5 = 4.89
+12 = 12.40
+3.3 = 2.66
-5 = -5.39
-12 = -12.44

They look weird to me, but that's what MBM5 says. Those are averages over 5 mins in the appropriate conditions. I'm tearing my machine down to install Northbridge water block and throw some water wetter in my system. I gotta use adhesive on the Northbridge though. :\ Should be back late tonight.

Thanks,

Cash

 

[phsstpok]

Did a doubletake on that +3.3 volt reading then I realized MBM probably doesn't have your mobo in its database and that it's probably reading your DDR memory voltage instead of I/O voltage.

5 and 12 volt readings are typical for Enermax power supplies. 5 volt is usually a little low and 12 volt is usually a little high. I should have realized we wouldn't see anything here.

I'm still concerned that your fans slow down.

A bigger power supply certainly wouldn't hurt. In your case I'd compare 12 volt specs with those of your current PSU before getting something new.

Again, you could be just at your overclocking limit (nice overclock by the way) but maybe someone else has ideas.

Phsstpok

p.s.

I've never heard of PC3500 memory! Wonder when we will see a 218 mhz FSB?

<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b>

 

[cashx0rs]

AH well. No biggie I guess. I might try another Power Supply, but if it ain't broke don't fix it? hehe As for overclocking, I've only tried 3:4 and 4:5 mem ratios. 3:4 on Epox 4g4a just bites and doesn't work properly for me and many others. I might be able to get above 200 if I set to 1:1 and set my FSB real high. In any case, I'm almost happy with my overclock and would like 2.6 for an even 1 ghz. Thanks for the help. I Went to www.ocsystem.com to find the memory. They use it in all their systems and have very inpressive overclocks. I doubt I'll get high enough to truly find out if the RAM is 433 mhz, but I've had no problems thus far. Whew, that anti-freeze and water wetter is startig to get to me! lol, time to crash.

Cash