E6400 hitting the wall over 3 Ghz

[Critical8]

Hi,

Got my new computer last friday and constantly hitting the wall over 3Ghz.

ATM. Im running 375*8 ~ 3000Mhz

My Setup is.

Cpu: E6400
Memory:CORSAIR 2GB DDR2 PC6400 XMS2 XTREME (2X1GB) HEATZINK
MB: ASUS P5B-E PLUS P965
Cooler: SCYTHE INFINITY 1000
GFX: ASUS GEFORCE 8800GTS 640MB

Have my CPU vCore at 1.410
Mem vCore at 2.1
Mem timing 5-5-5-15

Got through the BIOS with 3.1ghz but it crashed instantly in windows.

Have bought a Zalman NB heatzink but havent been able to put it on yet.

Thanks for all help.

 

[rammedstein]

hmmm... make sure mem is at 1:1 with the fsb, also give the mch/fsb 0.1v+

 

[Critical8]

Currently at work but i will double check when i get home.

Btw, my PSU is a Zalman 600HP.

Strange thing is that in Speedfan it says my core temp is around 38c in idle.
But in Coretemp the cores are around 53-57c in idle.

Done Prime95 and Orthos and seems to run fine there.

 

[Whizzard9992]

The allendale cores don't overclock like the old E6400 conroes.

Still, though, you should be able to hit at least 3.2 with that voltage 8O I hit the same wall as you at stock volts, but I can hit 3.2 at about 1.375v. Then under load I ride the line at 60C with a Zalman CPS-7000.



The first thing you want to do is identify your "wall."

Reset your voltages to their defaults (Remember that the XMS2 RAM runs at 1.9, so crank that up 0.1v). 1.410 is definately on the high and dangerous side, especially if you're only getting 3GHz from it. Next turn down your CPU multiplier (yes, down). The goal here is is to stress your FSB/RAM without stressing your CPU (You don't want to go recklessly jacking up volts 'till something sticks).

The P965 and XMS2 should be able to handle a 1600MHz FSB with no problem, so you may as well start there (400MHz core clock). Run Orthos for a minute or two (more than that's usually unnecessary for testing the water. 99% of the time, if orthos throws an error, it'll happen right away).

Then start cranking up your core clock 3 or 5 MHz at a time (Keep in mind that your FSB will go up 4x your core). The P965 usually caps out somewhere around 1650MHz. If you want to OC above 1600MHz, grab a piece of paper and note where you hit your wall. Once you hit your first wall, you want to loosen up your RAM timings (go 5-5-5-15) before you increase voltages. The MHz gained with the overclocking will outweight any benefit of the timings. Then slowly increase the voltages for the RAM and MCH until you're stable. Mark the speed / voltages down on your piece of paper, rinse and repeat.

What you're doing is building a voltage/speed profile for your motherboard and RAM. Use speedfan to monitor your MCH temps. I wouldn't go over 0.2v over for the RAM and MCH. You don't really get that much more speed above 0.2 overvolts for the heat cost.

Once you know where your FSB/RAM maxes out, then you put your multi back up to 8x and core back to 375. Increase your core clock 5MHz per-boot (Yes, I know it's painful) and run Orthos for a couple minutes each time. Make sure you're setting your FSB/RAM volts per the profile you just built (You're usually OK stock until 400MHz core).

Only increase the voltage in small steps each time you increase the core clock 5MHz, because you want to get an idea of how much more voltage each 5MHz step takes for the CPU to be stable.

This process is slow, but you end up with only the minimal voltages for your OC, which means minimal heat and a maximum OC for your rig.

Just a couple more things:

1) Some chips have "Holes," where they just refuse to run at those speeds. It's good to have the OC profile for your FSB/RAM, so if your CPU refuses to go 3.0GHz ~ 3.2GHz, you can skip right to 3.4GHz with a FSB setup you know is stable. That way, if it doesn't work, you can be fairly certain it's just the CPU that won't go that high.

2) You might just have a chip that won't go that high. It happens :?

3) Whenever you're not sure about the temps a program is reporting, go back to the BIOS under "PC Health Status". Compare that number to what the program in Windows is reporting for idle temps, and you'll know which one is OK.



Good luck.

 

[Critical8]

Cheers for the reply Whizzard,

Having a slight problem thou, changed FSB to 400 and took the multiplier down to 7. (2.8ghz) (FSB @ 1600)

Everything works fine with orthos etc. MCH temp is around 52-55 in full load.

Went back to 375 x 8. works fine in windows, but cpu temp is around 40-42 in idle. Then im trying orthos wich im getting an error report after ~20 secs. (Hardware error)

Only time i get to run orthos stable now is at 363 x 8

i have put down my cpu vcore to 1.375 and timings on 5-5-5-15.

SB vcore is at 1.60
FSB termination voltage 1.40

Also tryed to put up some vcore but i dont think that should be necessary since lots of ppl are able to run e6400 with 1.375 in 3.2ghz

Havent been able to put on the new NB heatzink. You think that might be the problem. the voltage on the NB is currently on "Auto"

Again, thanks for the help

 

[jonny_ftm]

Many people regularely answer: I have same CPU as yours, so you should be able to get X.xx GHz at my vcore.

Well, every CPU is unique, even on the same batch. Statistically, old batches are better, but yet, statistics are a median between worst and best. You could be anywhere between these two extremes.

If you read the forums around, especially at XS, you will know that you won't go above 3 GHz without increasing voltage. Cooling is the key. Take digital thermometers and measure temperature inside case at load. Add stronger case fans, cool your harddrives. The best you can achieve is a case temperature equal to ambiant at one degree margin. You'll be surprised to see that most cases (small/medium towers, big towers badly cooled...) have an inside temp at sometimes 10-20°C above ambiant...

After that, increase the vcore, look at my signature. I'm on the "unlucky crowd" wih my chip, but at least I can reach that speed, stable with that vcore. I live with 69-73°C Orthos load (TAT temps). After all, Core Quad chips often can reach up to 80°C. Also expect that with actual samples of C2D, the vcore increase gets really heavier after 2.8 to 3Ghz: expect a 0.05v increase for each 100 Ghz. You see how fast you can reach 1.7 vcore

I don't say it's safe, but when it's stable, it's all that matters. If longevity is important for you, stick at default voltage. I personally won't cry my dead E4300 after 2 years. I just enjoy DivX realtime encoding at hi quality settings, better than on a Core 2 Duo X6800 at 1000 USD...

And as MrsBytch said: you're enough lucky to reach 3Ghz without much vcore. Never listen to people saying: you can get what I got, they're just lucky guys not fully understanding overclocking

 

[jonny_ftm]

A final note about cooling: monitor your HD temperatures with smart built-in facilities (speedfan). Loosing your HD data is more a catastrophe than your cheap CPU. Overclocking increases temperatures into the case. The HD is more sensitive to heat than CPUs. The maximum rated is 55°C even if many manufactures rate them for 60°. Anything above 45°C/near 50°C should make you revise your case cooling.

So, for me, the key is HD monitoring. That's my opinion, as I don't care about my E4300 dieing in 2 years or more.

If you can afford it, get a WC kit and enjoy some cool silence

 

[warezme]

Hi,

Got my new computer last friday and constantly hitting the wall over 3Ghz.

ATM. Im running 375*8 ~ 3000Mhz

My Setup is.

Cpu: E6400
Memory:CORSAIR 2GB DDR2 PC6400 XMS2 XTREME (2X1GB) HEATZINK
MB: ASUS P5B-E PLUS P965
Cooler: SCYTHE INFINITY 1000
GFX: ASUS GEFORCE 8800GTS 640MB

Have my CPU vCore at 1.410
Mem vCore at 2.1
Mem timing 5-5-5-15

Got through the BIOS with 3.1ghz but it crashed instantly in windows.

Have bought a Zalman NB heatzink but havent been able to put it on yet.

Thanks for all help.

First, not all CPU's are created equal, really, and Anendale or non Anendale doesn't matter as mine is Anendale and still OC's relatively high but that is no guarantee yours will.

Second when people talk of holes, its not your chip that has the "hole" meaning a FSB range in your motherboard that refuses to boot or is unstable. These "holes" in your motherboard FSB range can often be fixed with a bios upgrade or by testing the waters and raising your FSB until it goes past the "hole"

Good luck.

 

[Whizzard9992]

I would flash your BIOS if it isn't the latest version. Then clear the CMOS from the motherboard to ensure you're running with a clean slate. Clear the CMOS either way.

Are you running speedfan while running Orthos?

Orthos is good for stability, but you also want to run Intel Thermal Analysis Tool (lovingly referred to as TAT). This will push your processor to its thermal limits, and give you an idea of your processor's true thermal ceiling based on the cooling you have.

It almost sounds to me like thermal damage, though most of the time if you damage something, it just dies; it doesn't degrade. I'd be surprised if you can't get it back up to 3GHz.

Also, 1.4 volts are a little high for air. When you ran this, were you watching your temps under load? I max at 60C under load at 1.375 with a Zalman and Arctic Silver. I shudder to think what your temps were at 1.41 volts under load.

Keep in mind you might just have a stubborn chip, but it'll be good to check all angles before signing off on it.

Flash, Clear, and try again. You can go up to about 70C safely in testing, but your sweet-spot for day-to-day loads should be around 60C. Remember that when you increase your volts, you should be more concerned about heat than stability.



Regarding HD heat: Most drives don't need to be actively cooled. The ones that do (such as the raptor) are fine sitting in front of an inward case fan. It's nothing in which you should concern yourself.

 

[Critical8]

Have installed the new NB heatzink and also moved the cpu fan wich made the core go down around 33-34c in idle. Also did some changes with my other 3 chassi fans so system temp is now pending around 29-31c.

Tryed to go back to 375*8 and vCore 1.3750.
Yes i have Speedfan up during my orthos test, shouldnt I ?
Did orthos, MCH went up to 47c and giving me error report after 30 sec.
Dont seem like the heatness is the problem. CPU was around 56c.

Gonna try TAT now see how that works.

-

Tryed TAT.

wich is showing scary high amounts of MCH heat. Had it on for ~2 mins, and heat was around 74c.
According to TAT my idle temp is 54c and at the same time speedfan says 35 :roll:

Down abit on the vcore ?

Cheers

 

[Whizzard9992]

Yeah; I just wanted to make sure you were actively monitoring your temps while stressing the CPU.

If it's dying under orthos, and you still have some headroom with temps, go ahead and crank the volts back up a bit until you hit that thermal ceiling of about 60-65C.

I tend to push my proc up to about 70C in testing; just to see how far I can push my proc. Then I drop it down a bit until I'm snuggled in around 60C under full load. 70C shouldn't hurt anything if run for a few minutes, but I wouldn't want to be there full-time.

 

[Critical8]

Got the vcore back to 1.400, now it runs TAT for ~1.30min MCH 78-80c at 375*8

Idle temp in TAT is now around 55-58c.