Overclocking E5200

[atomiktoaster]

I bought an E5200 and Xigmatek HDT-SD964 about a month ago and I've been working on the overclock ever since. These are the specs I have:

MB: XFX 680i LT (yeah, I wish I had a P45 now...)
RAM: OCZ Reaper 2x2MB DDR2-800 (at the EPP voltages and timings)
Case: Ultra Midtower with 120mm Yate-loon Fans intake front exhaust rear
PSU: Ultra LSP 650W
GPU: EVGA 8800GT Dual-slot stock speeds

3.6GHz OC
Vcore: 1.4000 in BIOS 1.37 idle in CPU-Z 1.35 Load
FSB: 1200 MHz
Multiplier: 12X
Temps: Ambient ~24C Idle 40 C (Tjunction RealTemp)(Fan at 1400 RPM) Load 60 C (Tjunction RealTemp) (Fan at 2400 RPM- 100%) (Speenfan temps are 5C lower)


I've run 24 hrs of memtest86+ fine, and about 12 hrs of Prime 95 with no issues at these settings. The problem is that Team Fortress 2 is freezing after between 10 and 30 minutes of playing. I've lowered the FSB to 1000 MHz (3.0 GHz OC) and TF2 plays stable again, but I'd like to dial it in a little better. Should I use something other than Prime95 as my stability benchmark? I'm not sure that the TF2 issue is due to the OC, but it's my best bet at this point. I'm not looking for a crazy 4.0 GHz result, but 3.3-3.8 would be nice. Let me know what you think. I can play with different settings and benchmarks over the next few nights.

 

[flyin15sec]

Is it just TF2 that is locking up? I would update to the latest Nvidia driver first.

You might also try a different CPU FSB ratio. Try 1600 QDR (400 x 9) = 3.6ghz. You may have to increase your NB voltage, sometimes referred to as SPP. My bet is your memory is unlinked right now(EPP mode), so this will set your FSB : Mem to a 1:1 ratio.

Good luck.

 

[atomiktoaster]

It's just TF2 so far, but that's about the only stressful app I've tried lately. I'm pretty sure I'm running 185 drivers, but I'll double check for sure.

What's the thinking behind using a higher fsb and lower multiplier and how can I tell if the NB needs more voltage (other than failure to POST)? I haven't looked too closely at the NB voltage or temps, but what is the max safe voltage if I need to bump it up?

I'm running the memory linked actually, at 3:2 with the 1200 MHz FSB or 5:4 at 1000 MHz, but I can change that to 1:1 easily enough to run 1600. I'm using the EPP voltage and timings input manually, since the motherboard wanted to use 1.8V and CAS 5 instead of 2.2V and 4 that the modules are rated. Let me know if any of this sounds dumb though. It's my first attempt at a decent overclock on a core 2 CPU.

 

[flyin15sec]

You want to eliminate memory as the culprit of your unstable OC, so run the memory as slow as possible first.

Work on getting your 3.6ghz stable, once you have a stable 3.6ghz then work on getting your memory overclock.

 

[atomiktoaster]

I wasn't planning on running the memory over 800 MHz DDR, which is the rated speed. Should I slow it down to less than that? How much slower?

 

[flyin15sec]

I see, I misunderstood your statement. I thought you meant FSB at 1200mhz and memory at 1000mhz.

Keep memory at 1:1 with FSB and use the loose CAS5 timings at 1.8v.

Also make sure you are passing both Prime95 tests. SmallFTT for CPU and Blend for overall system.