I'm a trying to overclock my Intel e2160 up to at least 3.00 GHz, but everytime I overclock that high I lose my audio. I can overclock up to 2.2 GHz, and my audio still works. I can't figure out what the problem is. I have the newest drivers from the realtek website. The motherboard bios is F8f. My overclock settings are...

Robust Graphics Booster - Auto
CPU Clock Ratio - 9x
CPU Frequency - 3.0GHz
CPU Host Frequency - 333MHz
PCI Express Freq - 100MHz
C.I.A.2 - Disabled
Performance Enhance - Standard
System Memory Multiplier - 2.4
Memory Frequency - 800

System Voltage Control - Manual
DDR2 OverVoltage Control - +0.4v (my ram is rated at 2.2v)
PCI-E OverVoltage Control - Normal
FSB OverVoltage Control - Normal
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control - Normal
CPU Voltage Control - 1.40V

All the rest of my computer components are the same as the recent $500pc on this site, except the case is different and the Ram is Crucial Ballistix. What am I doing wrong?

...and please don't tell me to go buy an audio card, I'm trying to avoid that if possible.

I don't understand why overclocking would effect the onboard audio. I have the same mobo but with a E8400 and I can overclock as much as I want and nothing is effected. I would suggest checking your audio software settings because the HD audio software that comes with the mobo can decide when it wants to work or not.

I am positive that it has nothing to do with the audio settings. Because the only thing I am changing is the overclock settings. If I restore the cpu to default setting, the audio works perfectly, but if I overclock it, it just stops working. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers as well. Nothing works.

The only other thing I could think of would be that your overclock isn't stable but other than that it is out of my knowledge. E-mail Gigabyte and see what they say. I wish I could help and good luck.

set the PCI-E to 100mhz the audio codec chip cant OC any. I have this board with a E4300@ 3.0ghz flawless.. had no audio till i set the PCI-E to 100mhz.

My PCI-E is at 100MHz. I posted all of my settings in my first post.