GA-P35-DS4 R2 Strange Boot Recycle Problem w/ OC

[djminus1]

Wow, I am glad I found this forum. You guys really seem to know your stuff. I apologize for asking for help on my first post but I am extremely frustrated and have been doing hours of research with no luck. Maybe someone here can help? Here is my system. This was a new build and put together 2 weeks ago...

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Zalman CNPS9500 Cooler
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 Rev 2 with F11 BIOS
2GB Kingston DDR2800 Value RAM
Antec TruePower 650w PSU
Antec P180 Case
Windows XP SP2

I have overclocked this system to 3.0GHz and 3.2GHz. Both overclocks are extremely stable and run the newest version of Prime95 for 24-hours without error. The problem I am having is that many times during a reboot or a boot from a cold PC, the machine resets itself after the Gigabyte screen and I lose the following overclock settings...

CPU HOST CLOCK CONTROL: (Changes from "enabled" to "disabled")
SYSTEM MEMORY MULTIPLIER: (Changes from "2.4" to "auto")
DRAM TIMING SELECTABLE: (Changes from "manual" to "auto")

When the overclocking settings are disabled, my system always boots fine. Its when I try to overclock, even by a little bit, I seem to have a 50:50 chance of the machine resetting. I have been trading emails with Gigabyte support but it takes 2-3 days to get a response.

Could this be a RAM issue? My RAM is technically supported. I have tried setting the timing to both auto and manual at 5-5-5-18 and 5-5-5-15. This does nothing. I alwyas have the voltages set to auto and it should be good since the memory uses 1.8v.

Any other ideas? I have tried changing every setting but I am still able to get the machine to reset. I have tried both the F6 and F11 BIOs and neither fixed the problem.

Help!

Thanks in advance

 

[WazzaUK]

in BIOS disable "Stepping", look for options, C1E and "Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology" (EIST).

 

[djminus1]

Ok..I just disabled the C1E and EIST settings. One thing I have noticed is that the EIST option seems to come and go...its not always there under the advanced BIOS options. Anyone know why this is?

I did a successful boot at 3.0Ghz (333x9) with a 2.4 memory multiplier to get to DDR2 800. The boot worked, but like I said before, I do get successful boots about 50% of the time.

I never use CIA2 so thats not the issue.

This all seems strange and I am assuming that the RAM is to blame. I wish I had a gig or two of high-end DDR2 800 to test with. Any suggestions in case I decide to upgrade?

All other suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!

 

[djminus1]

Ok...the reset thing is happening again. I was booting just fine over the wwekend and this morning it reset.

What should I do? I am tempted to upgrade my RAM but I will be really disappointed if this does not fix the issue.

What RAM would you recommend?

 

[Gambini]

Have you tried bumping the RAM voltage to 1.9v?

And for brands, I would go for OCZ or Corsair. Anything but value RAM :lol:.

 

[Shadow703793]

Set the "Performance Enhanced" to [Standard]. Also make sure the SPD is set to equal the RAM speed. <== the RAM SPD might be the best bet since that RAM will not OC at all.

 

[purplerat]

I just bought a Q6600 and a P35-DS4 and experienced the same thing when cold booting. I determined that my RAM latency was to low and set loosend it up and no problems since. My OCZ Reaper 4GB is running stable at 915Mhz, I would suspect your value RAM may not be able to handle those speeds. Try setting Mem Mult. to 2.0 and you should be fine.

 

[major53]

djminus1 this guide may help you some. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/239125-29-overclocking-gigabyte

 

[djminus1]

I just bought a Q6600 and a P35-DS4 and experienced the same thing when cold booting. I determined that my RAM latency was to low and set loosend it up and no problems since. My OCZ Reaper 4GB is running stable at 915Mhz, I would suspect your value RAM may not be able to handle those speeds. Try setting Mem Mult. to 2.0 and you should be fine.

I am thinking about ditching the Value RAM. So you think the OCZ Reaper is the way to go? What speed should I look at? I originally got the Value RAM because I was not gong to OC. I think it makes sense to upgrade since I am now pushing this machine.

I would like to get to 3.2Ghz which I was able to do before with the Value RAM.

 

[purplerat]

I got 4GB of DDR2800 for $90 after rebate. I've been pretty impressed by OCZs memory since I had 2GB ddr400 running at 500mhz with no issues.

 

[djminus1]

Thanks alot! I will order some new RAM tonight!!!

I was oing crazy trying to figure this out.

 

[djminus1]

Hey, got the 2GB of OCZ Reaper DDR2800 last night and installed. I think I now need to bump he DDR2 Voltage in the Gigabyte BIOS to +0.3, correct? Will Speedfan confirm that I am at 2.1V? What do I need to look for?

Should I set the timings to Auto or manually?

Thanks!

 

[tez]

Yes I have the same the reaper memory and this board , to get 2.1v yu need +0.3.

 

[djminus1]

Well here we go again...

I am getting the same "reset" problem as before. I am trying to do a 333x9 OC. About 50% of the time, it boots with these settings just fine and is 100% stable (Prime95 v25.5 for 18-24 hours). The other 50% of the time it reboots at the Gigabyte screen and I am back to 266x9.

I am using a 2.4x memory multiplier to get the DDR2 to 800. I set the overvoltage on the DDR2 to +.3. I set the timings to auto and they come through at 5-5-5-15.

I read the overclock guide or the DS3's. This was posted in a previous response. Tried these tips with no luck.

Can someone please help me? I now know its not the RAM (went from Kingston Value RAM to OCZ Reaper). Should I bump the voltage more on the RAM?

 

[Shadow703793]

See below for explanation of the OCing options:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=29&post=245679&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=3&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0
^That is for the P35-DS3L, but the options should be smiler in what they do.

 

[djminus1]

I am setting things exactly like you did. Unless I need to bump some voltages or something, I can't imagine it is a setting I am overlooking.

 

[purplerat]

try changing the timing to 6-6-6-18. Then bump the multiplier up to 2.5. You probably won't see any performance difference, but it could make the system run stabler.

 

[djminus1]

Purplerat,

Just tried that. Same deal....just resets. Any other ideas?

I am so frustrated. I lost track of how many hours I have spent trying to fix this problem.

Could this be a PSU problem? My PSU is a brand new Antec TruePower 650w.

 

[dagoth_ur]

I've had a similar issue..Every time my PC switched on, it switched off few seconds later and reseted all the values you mentioned. My friend, whom did I build a new PC, had the same problem, and we both solved this by rising the MCH voltage by 0,1 volt. You can find this option within the overclocking menu

My specs:
E2180 @3,00 GHz 333x9 (core2quad boxed cooler) 1,42 V
2x1 GB DDR2 800 Patriot CL4
Gigabyte P35-DS3R
Leadtek GeForce 8800GTS 512
LC Power 420W PSU
...
My friend's specs:
Q6600 @3,60 GHz 400x9 (Thermalright ultra 120 extreme) 1,48 V
2x1 GB DDR2 800 Kingston CL4
Gigabyte X38-DQ6
MSI GeForce 8800GTX
ASUS 450W PSU

..as of motherboards being similar and same brand as yours, this should help you as well

 

[djminus1]

And now to compound the problem, Windows is freezing at the Welcome screen. This happened a couple of days ago and I had to reload Windows. I have no idea what could be causing this.

I reset all of my BIOS settings back to default and it is still freezing. For some reason, I really think it has something to do with my external USB hard drive (this drive is dedicated for backups only). I unplugged it once to try to boot without it and now windows freezes. I plugged it back in and windows is still freezing. This could just be coincidence though.

Also, once Windows freezes like this, USB devices act funny. They turn on and off frequently during a boot up.

The only other think I can think of is the Acronis software I use for backups is somehow causing a problem.

I have the CMOS battery out right now and I will try a boot after I let it reset or a while.

 

[djminus1]

Acronis was the problem. I booted into safe mode, disabled al tasks for backups, and boots are now ok. Back to the OC problem...

I am going to try the MCH bump in a little bit I but I believe I tried that before.

 

[tez]

Only way I could solve the restarting issue was to remove any USB drives and manualy shut down my PSU after the bios saves the overclock.

 

[djminus1]

I do believe we have a winner...though I may totally be jinxing myself.

Bumped MCH by .1 and we are booting just fine (so far). I even dropped my RAM timings down to 4-4-4-15 at 2.1v. I am running a Prime95 right now and things seem to be going well.

Now, I am not that familiar with MCH voltages so what is safe. If I was to go to, say 400x8 OC, would this need to be bumped again? How can I make sure that settings like this are safe?

Thanks Dagoth_Ur. I thought I had tried that before.

 

[dagoth_ur]

I do believe we have a winner...though I may totally be jinxing myself.

Bumped MCH by .1 and we are booting just fine (so far). I even dropped my RAM timings down to 4-4-4-15 at 2.1v. I am running a Prime95 right now and things seem to be going well.

Now, I am not that familiar with MCH voltages so what is safe. If I was to go to, say 400x8 OC, would this need to be bumped again? How can I make sure that settings like this are safe?

Thanks Dagoth_Ur. I thought I had tried that before.

Im happy that you're happy

Safe is everything, until your system become unstable (just kidding) I have no idea what should you consider safe. Just try it. I didnt ever seen failed hardware because of high voltage. You system rather becomes unstable than anything else