OCed 955BE became unstable..now to fix it! :)

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kaitheus

kaitheus

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Well recently my OCed 955BE @ 3.8GHz became unstable for some unknown reason, I'm no expert on OCing and I try to OC as safely as I can (no voltage increases unless really needed). My 955 was OCed at 3.8GHz for over 5 months stable and now if I try to keep it at 3.8GHz it'll give me a BSOD, at 1st I thought it was the ram so I took them out, reseated them and ran memtest for a full 9 passes with no errors, even after that I ended up still getting a BSOD on boot up so I thought well sht maby its the timings on the 1 Kingston stick causing it. So I took that out and still got a BSOD on boot so now I'm thinking its the PSU failing since its about 6 years old now so I switched that out with a newer 750Watt from Antec and I still got the BSOD at boot, now I'm stuck with 2 options that I know of, 1 its the mobo failing (that would piss me off...) or 2 I need to increase the Vcore voltage a bit to keep it stable, but I just don't like the idea of increasing the Vcore >.< lols.

Right now the systems been stable for just over a week at 3.6GHz which I suppose is ok atm if I had to stay at that speed but not knowing why I cant keep a stable 3.8GHz is annoying me since I have no idea what caused it.

Note that this is a fresh install of Win 7 Ultimate 64bit

System Spec's

Phenom II X4 955BE @ 3.6GHz (stable atm)
Zamlan CNPS10X Perform CPU cooler 2 120mm fans (push/pull)
4GB G.Skill DDR2 800MHz
MSI 790XT-G45 mobo
GigaByte HD4890OC
Seagate 750GB SATA HDD
Antec 750Watt Earthwatts PSU
Xigmatek Utgard Window Sided case
6 120mm case fans (8 counting the CPU cooler)

An for those that really think its heat or an airflow issue look at my case here... :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9s6BageTBI Note that this video was done before my CPU became unstable at 3.8GHz.
 
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kaitheus

kaitheus

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That's the issue now that I have ran into after I posted this I tried to increase the voltage a little bit and when I get into the OS and check with CPU-Z there's no change in voltage and even coretemp doesn't read a change either.

My board is an MSI 790XT-G45 with v2.3 Bios if that helps

An to Megamanx00 I'll get back to you on that when I get back :(
 
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kaitheus

kaitheus

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Everything other then my multi and ram (*Ram* from auto to 1:2) are on auto atm and since posting I have changed my multi from 18 to 18.5 so now I'm running at 3.7GHz stable atm I also ran 3DMark06+Vantage and ran Memtest for 4 hours with no errors and no BSODs or reboots when running either of the other tests.

I'll run Prime95 later if needed but I need to now figure out why my board isn't letting me keep my voltage changes, other then messing around with the multi's and ram a bit I don't know ALOT about OCing but I'm setup for it (Cooling etc) so I figured I'd OC it to 3.8GHz+ if I could just on the multi, which I did for awhile but now that I need the extra voltage the mobo wont keep the settings and I have no idea why.

I have hit 3.9GHz in the past but backed off to 3.8 cause it was stable while gaming, but if I had bumped the Vcore I bet I would of had 3.9 or even 4GHz stable, my main goal is 4GHz stable but I have been unable to get that goal and until I learn more about OCing I don't want to put my 955 at risk of failure.

An to note heat really isn't an issue with my setup since I have installed my Zalman CNPS10X Performa with 2 120mm Thermaltake Blue LED Smart Fans I have not seen this CPU hit 45c at full load while using apps like Handbrake and Sony Vegas (24c-30c Idle *Lowest I have seen is 19c C_C*, 33c-42c-44c Load)

I'm also wondering if I should update my bios as there is an update for this board but the only noticeable thing is it enables the use of the newer X6 Phenoms on my board other then that I didn't see a need to get it.
 
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kaitheus

kaitheus

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I've read through that after I posted this thread, how ever my problem now comes from not being able to raise my Vcore and see it as being raised by the bios or any other apps.



My PSU is a newer Antec 750Watt which replaced my old TPII 550Watt that was also an Antec I haven't had anything point to a failing PSU as I had this in another system prior to switching it out to my main system, if there's a problem its most likely in the bios settings and since MSI doesn't give squat for details on bios settings know what the settings do other then googling everything is a pain to say the least.
 
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kaitheus

kaitheus

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An update to my OC:

Settings being used atm:

CPU Multi = x18.5 (3.7GHz)
CPU-NB = x12 (2.4GHz)
HT= x10 (2GHz) defaults auto I.E x10 but I set it to x10 instead
Ram= 1:2 Ratio = 800MHz 5-5-5-24-2T (DDR2 fyi :O) lol

Voltages are all auto since it appears that I have the setting but from some reason (I'm not the only one) the voltage setting are locked even if there changed there's no effect seen in the bios or in the OS via CPU-Z or Coretemp.

I've ran 3Dmark06 and Vantage with this setup and have not had any lockups or reboots so that's a good sign and a start, usually when ever I messed around with the CPU-NB and run those I'd either freeze up or reboot but I think that was also due to the HT being on auto and the same with the ram ratio, so I think having them strictly set helped with that issue.

Only other way I know of to increase the Vcore or even the NB if ever needed is with AoD but I've heard mixed views on it so I'm not very confidant about using it for OCing other then checking stats etc.

I'd like to know what ppl think of this OC and if I need to change anything in particular, any helps appreciated. :)
 
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kaitheus

kaitheus

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C1E is disabled by default in my bios and I did disable spread spectrum prior to doing my OC.

My only issue now is getting my bios to change my voltages, as it seems locked even if I change the voltages its never had an effect via viewing it in the bios's own HW monitor or while in the OS in apps like AoD,Coretemp and CPU-Z none of them see the change even though I changed it which is really annoying me.

I've ran 3DMark06 and Vantage a few more times with no issues and ran memtest for a few hours with no issues so it's a pretty good indicator the OCs stable even with out increasing my voltages, though I may run prime95 later just to be sure...lol

Also I'd like to know what you and others think of AMDs AoD software ? Since I can't seem to change the voltages via the bios would it be a good idea to use AoD as an alternative to raise the voltages ?
 
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kaitheus

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Late reply, but I have come to a conclusion after some time researching the OCing ability's of the MSI 790XT-G45 and from what I have read several other ppl are unable to change the voltage via the bios, so instead of trying to hit a stable 3.8GHz+ on this board I'm opting to stay at 3.7GHz until I get my new motherboard and ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321 (plan on getting 2 sets an since there low profile vs most the other ram with tall heatsinks they wont conflict with my Zalman CNPS10X Performa.

lol my only problem now is to figure out why WMP freaks out when I play high bit rate AVIs through it and causes the display driver to crash an then recover *I still have to reboot however* and yes before anyone says it I have tested many drivers and used driver sweeper in safe mode etc etc, I have tested drivers from 10.11 to the new 11.6 and the issue persists though I can play the AVIs just fine in VLC, but I also use to be able to play them in WMP so I donno wth is up with WMP now lols.
 
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kaitheus

kaitheus

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lol that's the thing I have the Windows 7 codec pack *3.1.0* installed and I still get that issue, at 1st I thought an OC was causing it so I had reset everything to default clock but that wasn't the case so I then proceeded with testing different drivers and that didn't help so like you said its most likely a codec is missing, but now the tricky part...finding out which one exactly I'm missing lol.

Here's a few details I forgot to mention before about this issue, the AVI's in question are mainly AVI's recorded from Fraps. In the past I was able to run these and just about any other media in WMP with no issues, but now after a fresh install of Win 7 etc everytime I play these AVI's my mouse cursor enlarges and the screen blacks out, but the sound is still playing, and sometimes I even see the message stating that the display driver has crashed then recovered, but I don't know if that's due to a codec or what cause I have tested several drivers that I knew worked in the past so this is really annoying me lols.

I'm going to look around *Google* and see what other ppl have to say about this issue cause it's definitely an annoying one lols.
 
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4Ryan6

4Ryan6

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I suggest this memory over what you chose simply because you're running Win7 64bit, the motherboard you've chosen will run this memory at 1866 without you having to overclock it.

And if you do overclock to the higher multipliers and have to lower your memory speed, you'll still be running a very nice memory speed, I know it cost more than your choice, but it will be worth it, and it is a recommended memory for your motherboard choice at the Gigabyte website.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-Memory+(Desktop+Memory)-_-Corsair-_-20233142

The memory you chose is not actually AMD tested, it's Intel tested, my suggestion is AMD and Intel tested and additionally approved for the Gigabyte M/B.
 
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kaitheus

kaitheus

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The memory I chose for that board I picked due to the low profile of the heat spreaders and it's in my budget which atm is about $310-$320, I also have a CPU cooler I need to fit ram under one 120mm fan unless I take the 120mm fan off an that just isn't happening lols. I have also seen this memory used on this board with no issues so that's not an issue to worry about either. :sol:

Here's my Cooler in my case.

youtube video I did awhile back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9s6BageTBI&feature=channel_video_title

Zalman CNPS10X Performa with 2 120s *1 covers 2 ram slots Why are AMD boards like this!*
IMG_0874.jpg


On a side note @ henydiah I tried both those codec packs and WMP still freaks out the display driver lols so I don't know what to think other then not to use WMP anymore lols...
 
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kaitheus

kaitheus

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Yup my case has filters on all the intakes so that's not an issue, and the thermal compounds still good I checked that less then a month ago I even added a tad more then what was really needed but since it's not *seeping out* its fine and even if it were it's none conductive lol. Also to note since installing this cooler I have not seen 45c on this 955BE even when OCed at 3.7GHz+encoding in sony vegas so heats not a factor. :)

This motherboard has a bad history of not liking to change voltages so I'll just leave it OCed at 3.7Ghz and call that good until I get my new board+ram lols.

Also if you look at the picture *enlarged* your actually notice there's no dust/hair build up on the cooler lols, and that picture was re-sized from 4320x3240 res lol.
 
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