Drastic 3dmark06/performance plummets after bios changes - UD3R

[DanielCD]

So I was trying to overclock my E8400, I was having some issues getting it to work correctly and decided to postpone it until I could figure it out. Went back into bios and loaded the "optimized defaults." Everything seemed fine, started up good -- started 3dmark06 to see if anything had changed and I was surprised (not the good kind) with a pathetic 6500 score. About a month ago the score was around 14000. So I downloaded gigabytes @BIOS utility to update and hopefully set it back to the original default, but no dice - still get a score of 6500. I was getting suspicious of 3dmark06, so I reinstalled it - but again the same score. Then I went into some of the games I play (tf2, cod4), and in TF2 my FPS has decreased by half. (although the change wasn't as drastic great in COD4). Right now I seriously don't know what to do - I feel like crying. Everything in CPUZ seems to be exactly the same as it used to -- I really don't know what could be causing this..

E8400
Gigabyte UD3R
4GB Mushkin DDR2 1066
Nvidia GTX 260 Core 216
WD Caviar Black 640GB
650W Corsair PSU

 

[sharken]

Make sure and check your frequencies on your CPU and GPU, make sure its not being throttled by any Energy saving features etc...

 

[DanielCD]

I turned off EIST and kept C1E enabled (how it was before I messed with the BIOS as far as I remember). Are there any other settings that could mess with it?

It's currently running at 2.83ghz (8.5*333) just like it was before. My GPU is also running at the previous/default settings

 

[sharken]

It sounds strange.... hmmm, Try to disable all powersaving features, as it doesnt save that much lol, turn off C1E, Speedstep, disable CPU spread spectrum, pcie Spread spectrum, make sure set PCIE frequency to 100mhz, make sure your antivirus and or security software is not turning on in middle of testing also...

 

[DanielCD]

Is it weird that the 2 prime 95 threads don't finish the same tests at the same time?

Screen shot: http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/4088/pr95to9.png

 

[bilbat]

Just an aside: DO NOT use @BIOS - it may work once, it might work four times, BUT, eventually, you will 'brick' your MOBO! More GB RMA's due to @BIOS than any other cause...

 

[frozenlead]

Sounds kinda silly, but did you try resetting your CMOS?

 

[DanielCD]

How do I do that?

 

[bilbat]

First, try 'Load Optimized Defaults" from the BIOS - if no luck, short these pins together for 15 or 30 seconds:

I'm lazy: to avoid opening my case, I've installed two SPST pushbuttons, in series (prevents accidental resets) to a header on these pins, on my front panel...

 

[frozenlead]

I'm lazy: to avoid opening my case, I've installed two SPST pushbuttons, in series (prevents accidental resets) to a header on these pins, on my front panel...

No way, I did that too...cept I have a SPDT (my older motherboard has the three pin CMOS clear config). One side of the SPDT just shorts the normal two pins, the other side has an extra SPST switch in series to prevent the same. Mine are mounted the rear panel next to the expansion cards.

lawlz.

 

[bilbat]

Great minds... !!!

 

[DanielCD]

I guess the memory wasn't getting enough power.. bumped it up to 2.060 from the auto settings and now i get my 14k score (13799 actually..) - I guess that's why it wasn't working when I was trying to overclock -- I'll try again in a few months, that's enough for me,

Thanks for the help guys