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C2duo e8500/gtx460 overclocking problem

Last response: in Overclocking
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I'm having trouble with my first overclock, and i'm looking for pointers.

It started with me wanting to play WoW on all Ultra settings. So, I bought an EVGA GTX 460 (stock 715mhz, 900mhz ram). Frame rates in Org = 20-25 and in a zone by myself = 35-60. I wanted more!

Checked around, learned that my graphics card was probably being limited by my core2duo e8500 @3.0ghz. So, overclocked it to 3.6ghz by increasing the FSB to 400. (Multiplier x9). Heard this CPU could hit 3.6 easy w/o touching the RAM. I bumped the voltage up to 1.3v, NB voltage to 1.26v. I did not touch the multiplier, ram timings/latency/voltage, etc.

New frame rates in org= 25-30, durotar= 60.

Checked into overclocking my GTX 460. Went from 715- 900mhz, 900-1000mhz ram. Voltage at 1.012v. Using msi afterburner. MSI Kombustor showed no graphics card related problems after almost 8 hours.

New frame rates in org= 25-35ish, durotar= a steady 60. (I can't seem to go beyond 60 at ultra settings?)

WoW worked for a while, but the next day when I turned on my computer I started getting a BSO- "DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL". Sometimes it would happen within a minute of logging into windows, sometimes it would take an hour to occur.

I run Prime95, typical scenario is that one worker would fail immediately, the other would work for a couple minutes. Once both workers worked for 6 minutes, then failed. Sometimes they both fail immediately.

What I want: to OC the CPU to 3.6ghz (for now- just ordered the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+, when that arrives this Friday I'd like to hit 4.0ghz), and to OC the GPU to 850-900mhz.

My system:
Intel Core2Duo e8500 3.0mhz (OC to 3.6)
ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX mobo
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) 5/5/5/6/18/42 (pretty sure)
CoolerMaster 550w psu
EVGA GTX 460 715mhz (OC to 900mhz)
1280x1020 resolution (moving to 1920x1080 when my new monitor arrives Friday)

My thoughts: mess with ram latency/cas/voltage. No idea what I'm doing there.

Any comments? Suggestions? Thanks guys.

More about : c2duo e8500 gtx460 overclocking problem

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GPU @ rest= 35-36
GPU @ load= 50

CPU @ rest= 37
CPU @ load= 50-51

SpeedFan is giving me some weird numbers. For the first mention of CPU it says 37, for the next it says 154. Core 0 and 1 are both around 50. This is all with WoW running.


Any good links to look at for help setting up ram frequencies and timings?

Thanks for the response.

Best solution

CPUs Master
Overclocking Expert

For the ram you need to lock it at twice the FSB. This means you need to go into the bios and take the ram off of auto, and use whatever setting they label as 1:1. If your FSB is 400, then this will make the ram run at 800MHz.

Your temps look off. First, the GPU and CPU temps for load and idle match. This is very odd. Second, your GPU is only 50c under load? I would not expect this for a GTX460 that's been OC'd to 900MHz. If you're using speed fan for temps I think its not reading them correctly. Try some other monitoring software.
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I couldn't find the 1:1 ratio thing in the bios. But I set the ram to 801mhz (the closest setting available).

GPU idling at 34
CPU idling at....47?

I think something might be wrong with the placement of the stock intel cpu fan. The pin connectors don't connect very well, waiting for the cooler master hsf coming friday.

Maybe thats whats causing the problem?

Prime95 lasted 2 min for one core and failed right away for the other.
CPUs Master
Overclocking Expert

47c is high for idle, a lose HSF can certainly cause that. You are probably better off waiting for the HSF to show up before messing with it farther.
CPUs Expert

The E8500 has a multiplier of up to 9.5. I run one in my CAD workstation and run it at 3.8GHz. It might go faster but I use that speed to I can limit my ram to 800mhz.

There should be an easy to find option in the BIOS to limit your ram speed, but in some BIOS it is labeled as 2:1 instead of 1:1.

You can probably get your CPU to run at 4.0GHz, but it is possible that it won't go that far. If you set the multiplier back to 9.5, then at 4.0GHz your FSB would be at 421 and your ram would be running at 842 or faster. Depending on your ram this might be easy or not easy. My home computer is a Q9400 with multiplier of 8. I run the CPU at 3.4GHz meaning my FSB is 425 and my ram is at 850, but I knew this in advance so I bought higher speed ram. I have run it at 3.8GHz in testing which put my ram at 950MHz. I use Xigmatek coolers on the Q9400 and it runs very cool.
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