SL6Z5 (How fast is fast?)

[goffel5]

First of all - Greetings to all members.

I was not quite sure where to post this so please move it if neccessary.

I would appreciate advice and I extend my thanks and gratification in advance.

My specifications are;
__________________________________________________ __

CPU

Pentium(R)4 Processor 2.80CGHz 1.525V max.
System Bus 800MHz, 512KB L2-Cache,PGA-478 Pkg
Product Code: BX80532PG2800DSL6Z5
MM#857011 ; EAN: 5 (032037 - 003865)
FPO#:3341A608; UPC: 7 (35858 - 16037)
Version#:C53923-001 Packdate: 11/19/03

Cooler

Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu (Mounted with Artic Silver 5) (Running at maximum continuously)

Mainboard

Asus P4C800-E Deluxe (Revision 2,00)

Bios

(ACPI BIOS Revision 1015)

Ram

Corsair PC4400 Twinx1024 (Version 1,1)

Graphic card

HIS IceQ Excalibur Radeon 9800Pro Platinum (128MB DDR)

Sound Card

Audigy 2 ZS

IDE Hardrives

2 x WDC WD1200JB (Primary)
1 x Plextor 712a DVD/CD Writer + 1 x Plextor CD-R/W Premium (Secondary)
2 X WDC WD2500JB on a Promise TX2 Ultra ATA/133 Controller.

Power Supply

Tagan TG480-UO1 (480 Watt)

Computer Case

X-Alien Alluminium (3 x 80mm Intake fans + 3 x 80mm out) Running at maximum continuously

__________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

Now before I get roasted alive about the Corsair PC4400 modules,let me say that I bought them as I live in Europe and I simply could not get my hands on any modules with BH5 chips and rather than opting for something else fitted with BH6 or CH5 or whatever I decided to go for the 4400 as they have Hynix D5 4ns chips on them and I figured this would be one problem less in the event of overclocking and possibly extreme cooling in the future albeit at the cost of 400 blasted Euros.
The system works perfectly (as it should do)at normal settings,however that is not why I spent so much money putting it together.

Reading the posts on various forums, similar Rigs with the 2,8C are reported to be reaching a FSB of 1000MHz @ 3500MHz with the same cooler and they also are reported to have much higher ambient case temperatures compared to mine.My case temperatures vary between 24°C - 27°C which is almost Identical to the the ambient air temperature of my apartment depending on what I set the thermostat to.

To cut a long story short the best results that I can squeeze outta this rig is a FSB freqency of 230MHz which achieves a bus speed of 919.99 MHz with a core speed of 3219,7 which in turn requires a Vcore Voltage setting in BIOS of 1,6V with a FSB ratio of 1:1
At this setting Prime95 will torture the baby for hours without freezing or crashing XP(SP1).

With this configuration the Corsair timings can be tightened from standard SPD to;


FSB Dram 1:1
Cas Latency 2,5
Ras to Cas Delay 4
Ras Precharge 3
Cycle Time 6
Dram Idle Timer (Auto)
Dram Refresh Rate (Auto)
(DDR Reference Voltage set at 2,7)

and the experiment remains stable.

Under full load with Prime95 my ambient case temperature rises 1 or 2 degrees Celcius and (According to Asus PC probe) the Mainboard temperature rises 1 or 2 degrees Celcius above that.
i.e. Case temperature Max = 29°C (Depending on my apartment central heating)
MOBO temperature Max = 31°C (according to Asus Pc probe)
CPU temperature Max = 41°C (according to Asus Pc probe)
and everything still remains stable whilst the torture continues.
Irrespective whether the case and MOBO temperature are at their maximum or minimum the VCore temperature always is registered between 40°C - 41°C at Full load.(According to Asus PC probe)
At idle the VCore temperature is always reported approx the same as the MOBO temperature. (according to Asus PC probe)

If I digress from the VCore 1.6 Voltage either way, the system becomes unstable irrespective if I turn the central heating in my apartment off and bring my Case tempreture down to + - 20°C.
The strange fact is that (According to PC Probe) the VCore temperature always rises to a maximum of 41°C and no more before the system either freezes or crashes under a different VCore setting other than 1,6V.

The 2,8C(SL6Z5) I have was manufactured in Malaysia and is speculated by the reports I have read from other Overclockers to be a downgraded P4 Extreme Edition with a deactivated L3 cache and uses M0 stepping as opposed to D1 stepping.At the time of production the only P4 EE was a 3,2Ghz so this was the garanteed minimum core frequency for anyone who intended to Overclock this model.The P4 EE apparantly also does not require as much power to drive it.The overclocking capabillities of this CPU on aircooled systems are excelent from the reports I have read from other overclockers and with Extreme cooling the 4GHz boundary was broken and maintained stabily by this guy.
http://www.extremecooling.net/index.php?action=p4_2,8

After reading through many forums the only possible solution I have been able to find is the Droop Mod.I could however be missing something or alternatively be on the completely wrong track and expecting to much from my air cooled system.


Other BIOS settings which might be pertinent for anyone who is willing to offer assistance are;

Spread Spectrum (Enabled)
ICH Delayed transaction (Enabled)
MPS Revision (1,4)

CPUID Maximum Value Limit (Disabled)
Hyper Threading Technology (Enabled)

[skate2snow]

first of all: Welcome to the sickness!:toast:

and did you get my CPU, i just sold it? kidding, my CPU was maxed at the same speed and the same volts. I think you got a bad CPU:(

BTW: good rig:up:

Disable the Spread Spectrum, it could be that too.

good luck in near future:) And its a long post for the first;)

[oc-rookie]

Welcome to xtremesystems!!!

Loosen up your timings if you're trying to find your cpu's limit. 3/4/4/8 would help limit the ram as being a factor in the overclocking limit.

[a5h]

that stepping shud get u a higher OC. or u got a bad chip ...like many of us :(
check if ur sink is on right. and losen those timmings.

[skate2snow]

no, the temps look correct and i think its the CPU

[Troll]

skate2snow told me not to take a 2.8C but a 3.0C instead...

I could'nt wait and picked up a 2.8C-SL6Z5 last Saturday

mine does 3300 on Abit IS7-E and on the new ASUS P4S800D-E deluxe (SIS655TX), 3400 isn't stable (with Aerocool HT101) :dammit:

ill try deactivating Spread Spectrum, but i think i've got a bad CPU :(

what's the ''Droop mod''?

[skate2snow]

the droop mod is for the P4P800 and P4C800(i dont know for the P4S800) but its a soldring mod that stabilize the Vcore, you probably notice the Vcore fluctuation, do you?

And god damn Troll you didnt listen to me:mad:.

...kidding man;)

[Troll]

Originally posted by skate2snow
the droop mod is for the P4P800 and P4C800(i dont know for the P4S800) but its a soldring mod that stabilize the Vcore, you probably notice the Vcore fluctuation, do you?

And god damn Troll you didnt listen to me :mad:.

...kidding man;)
yes, I did notice fluctuations in the range of about +/- 60-70mV :eek:

hehe - sorry about :( next CPU will be the one recommended by skate ;)

[skate2snow]

If youre a Vmodder try the Droop mod, im like 70% sure its the same as the P4C800. To make sure check if your PCB looks like an P4C800 or a P4P800

[Troll]

Originally posted by skate2snow
If youre a Vmodder try the Droop mod, im like 70% sure its the same as the P4C800. To make sure check if your PCB looks like an P4C800 or a P4P800
Today I got a P4-2.4C which is known to do 3200, say 266MHz FSB, but this Chip only does 238MHz too, like the SL6Z5, so I think, no Im sure, that the limiting factor are the 2 Boards (ASUS P4S800D-E and Abit IS7-E respectively)
So Im looking for a P4C800 or P4P800 ;)

[goffel5]

Hi Skate2snow - Secondly thanks for the warm reception.

Yeah this whole escapade has made me ill.I thought at first it was the lack of sleep coupled with my injured pride (not to mention my bank balance) that has driven me with this whole issue over the last week.I deactivated Spread spectrum.I even foolishly tried some Corsair Twinx512-3200LL modules but it only ran solidly at 225MHz with slack timings and 2,8v on Prime95.I could power up XP with a 5:4 devider at 240MHz but Prime95 reported errors within a minute and 3dmark2001SE Froze my machine.Everything coupled with anything between 225Mhz - 240Mhz on the 3200LL is unstable and above that I dont get into XP anyway.The whole exercise without a Vdimm-mod was a waste of time anyway which would defeat the purpose of why I bought the 4400's in the first place.

Hi oc-rookie thanks for the reply.
Sorry It was not clear from my first post.I did however naturally try Standard SPD for the 4400 modules(Jedec 3-4-4-8)before anything else.

Now before I give up on the SL6Z5 could anyone explain to me why a Droop Mod would not help me to increase my Speed?

The reason I ask is that I have observed and read about the incredible Vcore voltage fluctuations with this MOBO.The SL6Z5 actually according to Intel only requires a vcore of 1,425 at stock and the MOBO's minimum Vcore option is 1,525v:

http://processorfinder.intel.com/scripts/details.asp?sSpec=SL6Z5&ProcFam=483&PkgType=ALL&SysBusSpd=ALL&CorSpd=ALL

The only relatively stable Vcore setting at which I can attain my maximum "stable" speed of 230MHx fsb is 1,6v.By relative I mean that it does not tend to vary under load more than + - 0.05v either way.Big deal, this is nearly 0,1v.All the other possible values seem to be erratic YO-YO's.My observations are not purely subjective and I have read similar reports elsewhere on the web about this MOBO problem and if I am not mistaken its buried somewhere in this forum as well.Maby a good nights sleep would help me remember.

Maby I am on the wrong track but I cant help thinking that if this SL6Z5 needs more volts to sing higher (or less volts for that matter) It could just be that it requires a voltage where the variance is not so extreme as Asus is offering on the P4C800-E dlx.
I mean this is rediculous at 41°C max my CPU has still got a lot of thermal leeway or not.

Edited due to error pointed out by skate2snow

[skate2snow]

hey, np for the welcome.

And The droop mod WHOULD help you, and its pretty easy. And if it fluctuate of 0.5V i dont think you should say only;). kidding, i know you meen 0.05V.

And for the minimum, it say that, but if it whould really be that at stock speed it whould be overvolt, so unstable. I dont think your CPU needs more volt, its just a bad OCer. You should try to sell it(at a non-OCer) and buy a 2.4C.

[lutjens]

Have you greased the northbridge with thermal paste?

May not be your problem, but it would be one less thing to worry about...:)

[Troll]

does anybody have a link to a good description of the droop mod?
(search doesnt work)

[stestan]

Yours
--------
Pentium(R)4 Processor 2.80CGHz 1.525V max.
System Bus 800MHz, 512KB L2-Cache,PGA-478 Pkg
Product Code: BX80532PG2800DSL6Z5
MM#857011 ; EAN: 5 (032037 - 003865)
FPO#:3341A608; UPC: 7 (35858 - 16037)
Version#:C53923-001 Packdate: 11/19/03
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mine new today
----------------------
Pentium(R)4 Processor 2.80CGHz 1.525V max.
System Bus 800MHz, 512KB L2-Cache,PGA-478 Pkg
Product Code: BX80532PG2800DSL6Z5
MM#857011 ; EAN: 5 (032037 - 003865)
FPO#:3347A753 UPC: 7 (35858 - 16037)
Version#:C53923-002 Packdate: 01/19/04


Made in Costa Rica

I will let you know how it goes just this second got it.:toast::toast:

Edit....been running pcmark cpu test for 10 mins @ 240fsb 1-1 stocks volts/cooler

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/stestanley/240fsb+1-1+stock+volts.JPG

[ACS]

goffel5
my sl6z5 did 3.3 on air ( tt spark 7+ ) with default voltage and that was its max before I did the vdroop mod , now its prime stable at 3500mhz , 1.6v (1.61 load :) ) im really happy with the vdroop and if u are xtreem enought you should try it. I'm soon getting watercooling and will go for higher:)

[goffel5]

Hi a5h - Somehow I missed your reply - Thanks and yes it is sitting as snug as a bug.
Excuse the typos and Thanks for pointing them out skate.
lutjens thanks for the tip.I had not even considered it.I'l greese that with Artic Silver 5 tomorrow.
stestan I am glad to hear that you are having more success than I did.
Have you tried running Prime95 at 240 yet?

ACS you have made my day.Please post your system specs.

[sinn]

Originally posted by oc-rookie


Loosen up your timings if you're trying to find your cpu's limit. 3/4/4/8 would help limit the ram as being a factor in the overclocking limit.

i would have to disagree with that, take tighter timings and lower fsb over loose timings and high fsb, unless its a huge descrepancy, itll be faster

[oc-rookie]

I thought he was trying to get a feel for the new set up..... to each his own.:toast:

[ACS]

Originally posted by goffel5

ACS you have made my day.Please post your system specs.

p4c800-E non deluxe , 2.8c M0 (sl6z5)currently air cooled TT spark7+ , 2x256 A-Data pc4000 , raddy 9800 , crappy 450w psu (changing it soon)
before the droop mod my board undervolted real bad - it was like 1.62 idle and 1.52 fload:)

[skate2snow]

Troll: here is the Droop mod for the P4P800: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29717&highlight=droop And here is the P4C800 Droop mod: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26902&highlight=droop




and for the 238FSB problem: I think its your PSU.

goffel: give us some news;)

[Troll]

thx for the droop-link

my 238MHz-FSB problem is resolved: I replaced the Northbridge pad with AS3 - now I get 275MHz and that's the limit for the CPU (2.4C) at the moment i think :D

the SL6Z5 reaches 3700, but not 100% stable (SuperPi 1M crashes after some loops)