Can't accept i have the worst E2160...what am i doing wrong?

[pandabur]

Hi Guys,

Let me start off by saying that my last overclock was a classic Celeron 366 to 475 and the P II 300-450, so I am a bit at a loss at all the new stuff. But regardless, I have reviewed, and read all the guides, read some of the experiences and advise of experts. And as I did then, I have scoured all the relevant material on this site and forum.

It is because of all that research, that I decided to get an E2160, as it seemed to be a very good overclocker. Most of the past posts say that they can do 1.8-3.0+ on stock cooling. So I was hoping to do the same, and maybe better with better cooling. I also based the rest of the components on most other posts which people said have gotten good results. Most if not all parts were bought from testimonials from this forum.

To compete my system:
E2160
2 x Kingston KVR800D2N6/2G 2GB Ram
Asus P5Q-SE2
Inno3D 9800GT
HEC 550w PSU
Cooler Master Vortex 752
Antec 300 casing with extra Zalman 120mm Side Fan

Here's where i am now:

Currently I can only clock it up to 2.8Ghz, FSB of 310, with vcore at 1.45v and dram vcore at 2.0v. CPU temp doesn't get higher than 55 C, which from what i've read gives a lot more room to operate From what I read, the voltages are also already high, as most people hit 3.0GHZ with stock vcore and dram vcore. My Dram timings are on Auto, and the other voltages are on Auto as well. I've read this guide : http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/240001-29-howto-overclock-quads-duals-guide as well as others, but I am completely stumped. You can also see in this forum: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=145328 how most people are having a ball with the E2160 and E2140, with much less cooling than mine, and lower voltages.

Hope you guys can point me in the right direction as I am slowly learning the ropes again.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mondoman]

A few thoughts:
1) 2.8 GHz isn't a bad OC for a 1.6GHz CPU. People tend to post their successes, not failures, so 2.8GHz doesn't make it a slow CPU. Also, remember that the e2160 you bought recently isn't exactly the same as those sold eight months ago, as Intel has tweaked its production and grading processes -- if a given chip can easily run much faster, they may now be selling it as a higher-grade CPU (e.g. an e4xxx or something like an e2200). Usually, the biggest OCs happen on newly introduced models, as Intel seems to be more conservative in rating new designs.
2) Sounds like you have a no-name PS; you might be better off getting a name-brand PS, but maybe not.
3) Be sure to set your RAM/DIMM voltage (not called vcore ) to the spec voltage specified for your specific DIMMs (should be printed on the side of the DIMM). If there's a range of voltages, use the highest voltage in the range.
4) Many people confuse "auto" voltage setting with "stock" voltage. "Auto" voltage setting normally is programmed in the BIOS to boost the CPU vcore along with the FSB, so folks running "auto" voltage on the CPU are really running boosted CPU voltage even though they report "stock" voltage.
5) Mid 50's C CPU temps are high for idle, good if under full load. If yours are for idle, you may not have enough case exhaust (not intake!) airflow. You can test this by running with your case side removed and see if temps drop.

 

[pandabur]

Hi Mondo,

Thanks for your replies, appreciate them. With regards to the current clock, I understand what you mean by saying that most posts only show success and not failures, but even most reviews from different review sites were able to overclock it quickly and easily. These are sites that give unbiased opinion, so i'm pretty sure they would have said if it was hard or not possible. So they must be doing something i'm not.

2. - For the PSU, it's a HEC WinPower 550w. I've seen it suggested on a few posts here in this forum. I just think it's not too popular coz it's not too available except in asia.

3. - For the Ram, the sticker says 1.8v. But I have it set in the BIOS at 1.9. Is that ok?

4. - Yup I get that part. So I just currently left it on AUTO to see if it would help. Although I have my cpu voltage at 1.45, and ram voltage at 1.9v the ones on auto are the rest , like NB, SB, FTT?

5. - yup, temp is 50's at load with Prime95. So i guess it's ok?


Thanks so much, and hope to hear from you guys.

 

[pandabur]

Oh, I forgot to mention that the Kingstons are CL6, CPU-Z shows them at 6-6-6-18.

 

[pandabur]

Here you can check out this site review for example:

http://ph.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=2&id=2332&pg=3

Although they used Ram with timings of 4-4-4-12....does that matter a lot?

 

[Mondoman]

That review is a year and a half old; the CPU you are dealing with, as I wrote in point (1) above, is a different animal -- Intel has made a lot of changes since then. Even reviews that are only a couple of months old may be useless as guides, especially as reviewers normally get chips selected by the manufacturer on loan and don't go out and buy "real consumer" versions as we have to. That's a big reason to take reviews with a grain of salt. Also, even "independent" sites won't get future new stuff on loan to review if they write too many bad reviews of a company's products. It's sad, but that's the real world.

 

[Mondoman]

If you're unhappy with your e2160, I'd sell it and buy something like an e7300 or e7400, or one of the q8xxx series.

 

[pandabur]

The processor was actually bought middle of last year. I just didn't decide to start overclocking it till I recently got my P5Q-SE2 Mobo few days ago. It's a M0 revision. I've seen some good clocks on this set. Before I settle down and blame the chip for being bad, I'd like to make sure that I've done everything correctly so as not to give up prematurely on the chip.

Should I try to up the NB voltage once the vcore is too high already? Is there anything else I can try to do?

 

[mattswe]

I would experiment with the NB voltage and the Termination voltage.

 

[blackpanther26]

don't set the FSB termination above 1.3v. How about your motherboard. Dose it support a FSB of 1333? If it dose set it to 1333 and up your nb a bit. Can you even boot at 3GHz? Like dose it post? My chip can do 4.1GHz and 4.2GHz but I have it at 1600FSB 400 x 7.5=300 currently. Next thing is make sure Asus supports your ram company as I'm having problems with my ram becuase it is not on the recomended list for my motherboard But the CPU is stable and no BSOD. Another thing. What graphics card are you using?

 

[pandabur]

My Mobo can reach a FSB of 1600. Here are the complete specs:

http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=2581&l1=3&l2=11&l3=709&l4=0

for vidcard, I am using a Inno3D 9800GT 512MB, though am not sure if that should matter?

I'll try playing around with the NB and Termination voltage as suggested

 

[blackpanther26]

well it dose matter about your GPU because if you have a power hungry GPU then it dose matter becuase then your PSU becomes a factor.

 

[pandabur]

Hi guys, just an update.

I did everything again from scratch, even the installation of components. And I also took the stepping of the FSB a lot slower now, and in smaller increments. I currently have my FSB at 355, so I am at 3.2Mhz at 1.55(bios) 1.48+(load). Temps are at the high 50s to low 60s, but it is unstable during Prime95, and restarts. I'm keeping it at this for the moment as so far it's stable enough for my browsing and online gaming.

Just a question, once the overclock POSTs and boots into windows, what other steps can you do to stabilize it. I think i've reached the highest voltage i can on the CPU, as any higher i hight 65s and higher. My Kingston Valuerams are rated at 1.8v, but I have them already at 1.9v. Is there any other thing I can do to help my system become stable?

Thanks,

 

[blackpanther26]

raise the NB voltages and lossen the memory timings.

 

[pandabur]

my current timings are 6-6-6-18, how do you suggest I go about loosening the timings?

 

[blackpanther26]

try 7-7-7-19. And is your memory DDR3?

 

[pandabur]

ok i'll try that. Nope, it's 2x Kingston Valueram DDR2 2GB-800. How about NB/FSB/SB Voltages?

 

[blackpanther26]

up it about a step or two. Make sure your FSB is not over 1.4v. set it to 1.2v

 

[pandabur]

thanks will try that.