UD3P/E8500, VTT/RAM Advice Needed
I've been trying to get a fine tuned 4.0GHz but have run into a few problems. I'll start off by listing my setup:
Code:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775
EVGA GeForce GTX 280 1GB
G.Skill PI Black 4GB (2x2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm HSF w/Retention Bracket
Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W
RAM Info:
Default Timings: 4-4-4-12 @ 1.9V or 5-5-5-15 @ 1.8V
DDR2 800
Note: VTT = CPU Termination
I began my OC by starting with my RAM. I was able to successfully achieve 500MHz (1000MHz) with 5-5-5-15 timings and at 1.98V.
From there I began to adjust the other settings in the bios in order to hit 4.0GHz. Here are the settings I ended up having trouble with below:
Code:
E8500 500 X 8 4000MHz F10 BIOS
Robust Graphics Booster.........................[ Auto ]
CPU Clock Ratio.................................[ 8 ]
Fine CPU Clock Ratio............................[ 0.0 ]
CPU Frequency 4.0GHz...........................[ 500 x 8.0 ]
******Clock Chip Control******
CPU Host Clock Control..........................[ Enabled ]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz)........................[ 500 ]
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz).....................[ 100 ]
C.I.A 2 ..................................................[Disabled]
******DRAM Performance Control******
Performance Enhance .............................[Standard]
Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)....................[ Disabled ]
(G) MCH Frequency Latch.........................[ 400MHz ]
System Memory Multipler.........................[ 2.00D ]
Memory Frequency 800...........................[ 1000 ]
DRAM Timing Selectable..........................[ Manual ]
CAS Latency Time................................[ 5 ]
tRCD............................................[ 5 ]
tRP.............................................[ 5 ]
tRAS............................................[ 15 ]
******Motherboard Voltage Control******
Load-Line Calibration [Enabled]
CPU Vcore [ 1.25 ]...................[ 1.400 ]
CPU Termination [ 1.20 ]...................[ Auto ]
CPU PLL [ 1.50 ]...................[ 1.50 ]
CPU Reference [ 0.760 ]...................[ Normal ]
MCH Core [1.1 ]...................[ 1.400 ]
MCH Reference [0.760 ]...................[ Auto ]
MCH/DRAM Refernce [0.900 ]...................[ 0.990 ]
ICH I/O [1.500 ]...................[ 1.500 ]
ICH Core [1.100 ]...................[ 1.100 ]
DRAM Voltage [1.800 ]...................[ 1.980 ]
DRAM Termination [0.900 ]...................[ 0.990 ]
Channel A Ref [0.900 ]...................[ Auto ]
Channel B Ref [0.900 ]...................[ Auto ]
VTT Problems Begin
When I attempted to change the VTT nothing worked. The system wouldn't boot with VTT values between 1.2-1.3V. I ran EasyTune6 to see what the VTT was running at and it turned out to be 1.6V! 1.2-1.3V are the recommended settings and from what I read you shouldn't go higher than that. This problem stems from my RAM so I set all of my BIOS settings back to default in an attempt to find a solution to the problem. Here is the updated BIOS below:
Code:
E8500 333 X 9.5 F10 BIOS
Robust Graphics Booster.........................[ Auto ]
CPU Clock Ratio.................................[ 9 ]
Fine CPU Clock Ratio............................[ 0.5 ]
CPU Frequency 4.0GHz...........................[ 333 x 9.5 ]
******Clock Chip Control******
CPU Host Clock Control..........................[ Disabled ]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz)........................[ 333 ]
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz).....................[ Auto ]
C.I.A 2 ..................................................[Disabled]
******DRAM Performance Control******
Performance Enhance .............................[Standard]
Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)....................[ Disabled ]
(G) MCH Frequency Latch.........................[ 333MHz ]
System Memory Multipler.........................[ 2.60B ]
Memory Frequency 800...........................[ 1066 ]
DRAM Timing Selectable..........................[ Manual ]
CAS Latency Time................................[ 5 ]
tRCD............................................[ 5 ]
tRP.............................................[ 5 ]
tRAS............................................[ 15 ]
******Motherboard Voltage Control******
Load-Line Calibration [Enabled]
CPU Vcore [ 1.25 ]...................[ Auto ]
CPU Termination [ 1.20 ]...................[ 1.30 ]
CPU PLL [ 1.50 ]...................[ Auto ]
CPU Reference [ 0.760 ]...................[ Auto ]
MCH Core [1.1 ]...................[ Auto ]
MCH Reference [0.760 ]...................[ Auto ]
MCH/DRAM Refernce [0.900 ]...................[ Auto ]
ICH I/O [1.500 ]...................[ Auto ]
ICH Core [1.100 ]...................[ Auto ]
DRAM Voltage [1.800 ]...................[ 2.000 ]
DRAM Termination [0.900 ]...................[ Auto ]
Channel A Ref [0.900 ]...................[ Auto ]
Channel B Ref [0.900 ]...................[ Auto ]
Attempting to find a solution
I immediately attempted to OC my RAM to 533MHz with the VTT limited to 1.30. I started with the DRAM at 2V and the system wouldn't boot. I upped the voltage to 2.1V and the system booted to the windows welcome screen but then it would just reset itself. This happened at 2.2V as well as 2.6V.
Basically, it seems in order to enable my RAM to run at 500FSB my RAM voltage has to be turned up extremely high. I didn't feel it was safe to attempt any more than 2.26V since 1.8-1.9V are the stock values. I wasn't able to achieve a 533MHz OC.
Other Notes
I do not have the funds to purchase a new set of RAM.
I tried similar settings with all of the above numbers with the 333 latch.
Questions
How do I lower the VTT but still have the RAM run at 500FSB?
Is it safe to run the VTT at 1.6V?
Do you guys/gals have any recommendation on getting a successful boot with 533MHz?