P4C800 + 2.8c + Corsair XMS Troubles

[Vulture]

Hey guys after reading this forum for the past few weeks I decided on the P4C800 motherboard, a 2.8c, and 1GB of Corsair XMS 3200 (Twin 512).

I got the parts and installed them today, then installed windowsxp, thats where the problems started. BSODs, random reboots very weird. I messed with the RAM timings because I remember hearing that is the problem with many people. Didnt fix anything, so I fired up memtester. Memtester got 65% and went crazy with errors. So I pulled out one stick of the RAM and tried again, tests went fine. After more testing it turns out that one of the TwinX sticks is bad. I was under the impression that the XMS RAM was tested before leaving the factory, and it be highly unlikly that one is damaged next in line.

O well just my go around have to get it RMAed my accpu PC. Going to try some OCing tonight with the 512 stick. Any recommendations on settings?

[Major]

Hello and welcome to the Xtreme forums Vulture ! :)

sorry to hear that about your XMS stick being bad. You should be able to OC with very tight settings for your memory. I would start off with the 5:4 div and 2-5-2-2 on the mem.

[Vulture]

Thank you for the warm welcome Major Slaughter, along with your posts you were the deciding factor in my gear. Im new to the OCing what exactly does 5:4 mean, is there a OCing FAQ I can take a look at?

I know the 2-5-2-2 but unsure on the 5:4. My goal is ~3.5ghz and a 1000bus =)

Also my 3dmark 2001 score is 8500 Im wondering if this is my video card hurting it as it is only a Geforce3. Im planning on getting the Hercules 9800.

[Vulture]

Major I did a bit of OCing to see what I could do. Now Im not that good with OCing so hold with me. I had the FSB up to 240 running fine. Then I looked under my Memory on CPU-Z and mind you I only have 1 stick of 512mb 3200 in right now and it was set to 2.0-2-2-5-8 in BIOS. I wanted to get it to 400Mhz because thats what I thought it should be at. So I went under the setting in the BIOS and turned it to 400Mhz. I reboot and get no video.... so my heart starts beating wondering if I just messed it up big time. I hear a voice "System failed to start due to CPU Overclocking".... Wow that is smart. The video comes back and it tells me my BIOS is corrupt :( so it gets the BIOS off the disk back to 1007.7. And then I set everything to default booted back and left it alone.... pls help heheheh am I wrong in thinking that it should be at 400mhz? it says its at 400 when it boots on BIOS. I didnt mess with voltage because it scared me.

Thank you,
Chuck

[Resurrected]

Well yea, the GF3 is going to pull you back ;)

I mean seriously...it's a slightly old card. Not BAD by any means, but definitely not the best of the best. :banana:

[gst28]

I had the same problems with my Corsair XMS (2 x 512mb 3200LL). Have you tried upping the voltage for the memory?

I thought it was the CPU (2.8c as well) as it runs at about 57 degrees c at full load (which from what I hear is normal for these step D1 cpus). So during my testing I decided to increase the memory from the default of 2.55 to 2.65 and it was stable.

btw: i have an albatron px865pe pro II with the 865 chipset.

[Vulture]

gst28 my savior! The RAM works not I guess it wasnt the RAM and just the voltage... kind of weird that one stick would work at 1.55 and the only only at 1.65

[Vulture]

Here is some of my OCing thus far. Since Im so new I dont know why my RAM is at 166mhz and not 200 Im sure it has to do with that 5:4 multiplier I dont know what means :). Id say my SiSoft benches are more than I hoped for and now to see on the 3dmark.

Pic setup: P4C800, 2.8c (Malaysia), Corsair 3200 TwinX, Stock Cooler (Have a MCX4000 on its way to me today or tommorow)

[Major]

Thats a very good start Vulture !!

In the bios you will find the Dram Frequency in the same place that you set your cpu external frequency (fsb). There are 4 selections available under the Dram Frequency menu: 266mhz, 333mhz, 400mhz, and Auto.

266mhz = 3:2 ratio
333mhz = 5:4 ratio
400mhz = 1:1 ratio
Auto = who knows ! hehe

I don't know what you have yours set too, but I would think the 333mhz (5:4) ratio would give you the highest OC with the 2.8 and stock cooling. At a fsb speed of 250mhz you will have a ram speed of 200mhz.

Good luck !

[Vulture]

Oky I ran memtest again and this time I error... man I think this RAM is just from a bad batch or something one stick seems to do fine but put the other one in there and it works 10% of the time. Time to RMA =( thanx guys for all the advice Im sure Ill be trying more OCing when I get me new set of RAM

[Vulture]

I did some more testing it seems when I get the FSB to 245 it starts erroring on the RAM. The RAM also has to be at 2.0-3-3-6 or it will error even at 200fsb. Do you think this could just be bad RAM for OCing? or do you think its one of my settings? I also have to RAM set to 2.75volts.

Thank you
Chuck

[shogan191]

Hey Major I was looking about the same time you were and finally got mine put together. I am also realatively new to overclocking. How do you post screen shots of the different benchs like is above. I am real happy with the results I got tonight using an slk900 and Thermaltake fan. Here's something to at least document the fsb http://www.pcpitstop.com/techexpress.asp?id=7KXZJWYGJP0S6DWB This is with an Asus P4C 800 and the 2.8. I also got my best 3Dmark but it was at a lower fsb. It was 15,400. Do you guys lock your agp and if so at what setting. Also I am assuming 5/4 timing is 333 which is 320 on the Asus board. Is that correct.
I upped the agp voltage .1 pt and was able to continue after 255 fsb. Thanks to everyone for their help. I sure enjoy reading here.

[Vulture]

Right now I cant go past 244fsb at 2.0-3-3-6 timings I have standard CPU voltage, 1.75v RAM. If I go to 245 I get RAM errors any ideas how to get to 250 stable? I have 3200LL Corsair TwinX. If thats what is limiting me I may return the RAM to get Corsair 3500C2. Any suggestions?

[shogan191]

Hey Vulture, I am real happy with the Corsair xms 3500 that I'm using, although I think it is limiting me at 260fsb. I think MajorSlaughter uses a Voltage mod on his ram. I know he was looking hard for it and I think he found it. I'm just trying to figure out what a pot is much less figure out how to solder something that small. Also have never used a voltage meter before.

[BrainStorm]

Originally posted by Vulture
Right now I cant go past 244fsb at 2.0-3-3-6 timings I have standard CPU voltage, 1.75v RAM. If I go to 245 I get RAM errors any ideas how to get to 250 stable? I have 3200LL Corsair TwinX. If thats what is limiting me I may return the RAM to get Corsair 3500C2. Any suggestions?

Vulture, I assume the 1.75v is a typo and you really mean 2.75v. The corsair 3200LL is rated for 2-2-2-6-T1 at 200mhz. I couldn't find what voltage this is at, but I assume 2.5v. I also assume you are using the 5:4 divider that Major mentioned earlier. If not, start using it, that pobably your problem.

If you are using the 5:4 divider already, the first thing I would do is try raising the memory voltage another notch if you can (don't know how high your board will allow for). If you can't, then you are stuck for now. But I would consider RMA'ing the RAM since it doesn't meet spec.

[BrainStorm]

Originally posted by shogan191
I'm just trying to figure out what a pot is much less figure out how to solder something that small. Also have never used a voltage meter before.

"Pot" is a potentiometer, or if you like, a variable resistor. In other words, a resistor that you can vary the resistance of by turning a screw that is part of the resistor. You can get them at Radio Shack. Here's a link so you can see what they are.

http://www.radioshack.com/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F010%5F003%5F006%5F003&Page=1

They come in various overall resistances, so you have to make sure that you get one that has the proper rating for the job. For instance, a 1K ohm pot allows you to vary the resitance between 0 ohms and 1000 ohms. A 10K pot allows you to vary the resistance between 0 ohms and 10,000 ohms. And so on. If you want to do a voltage mod, you can usually find volt mod thread here that will tell you how to do it (including what rating of pot you need).

And if you don't have a digital multimeter, you will need to get one before doing any volt mods. Absolutely indisensable. Doesn't have to be particularly expensive - a $20-30 one will usually work just fine.

[shogan191]

Thanks Brainstorm.

[Vulture]

Oky after speaking with shogan191 I changed my RAM timings to 2.5-3-3-7. I then ran at 250fbs and ran memtest, everything worked great. It appears that my RAM was getting way too hot and erroring under the stress of memtest. My new case takes care of that and Im going to try and lower the timings :toast:

Thanx guys for all your help, now if I can only get this screw out of the motherboard..... or Ill order the slk800U

[shogan191]

Sounds like you are going to have to drill it out. I was thinking( always a mistake) that maybe you could apply some slight presure to the screw from the back side of the board which might help it back out while unscrewing from the front side. It sure is small though. Hope you get it.