E6600 @ 3.6GHz, Windows not booting?

[JWH]

Whew, first of all. First Post ! Had registered a while ago but i just didn't get an account activation email. But finally it's sorted. So i've been dieing to ask this question! Here goes.

Hardware:
Asus Commando ( With latest 1605? Bios )
2x 1GB GEIL CL4 PC6400
E6600
Thermaltake Toughpower 700W
Rest doesn't really matter now I think.

Now obviously having an E6600 makes me want to run it on 3.6GHz, but just "something" won't let me.

Currently running 24/7 stable at 3.2GHz by 8x400 so I could let my ram go 1:1.

I've tried 3.4GHz and it's not totally stable. Orthos stops after like 10 seconds, but prime can run for over 8 hours. Which is quite weird, but i have experienced the occasional system crashes at this setting. Can't say if it's by the overclock tho, because i had graphics card issues back then.

Now whenever i set it to 3.6GHz, i do get POST and it boots. But whenever Windows is starting up (both XP and Vista) it gives me a BSOD flashing real quick. But since i went to the latest BIOS there is no BSOD, but it just freezes.

I've tried vCore up to 1.55V but no result, also tried the NB Voltages, but still nothing.

Anyone experienced anything like this, or knows a solution/tips. Please help .

EDIT: Here is the batch if it helps: L640F028

[Leeghoofd]

What's the Vid of that CPU ? also when you set the Vcore does it reflect the real given Vcore ( what do proggies like Aus probe or Everest home , CPU-Z tell ya in windows ?) how are the temps of the CPU ?

[JWH]

Where exactly can i find the Vid? Haven't come across it yet as far as i can remember.

Currently at 3.2GHz i've got my vcore set at 1.4V, but Asus Probe gives me 1.34V currently, and CPU-z gives about the same.

The temperatures aren't something i'm worrying about, sitting around 20~22 idle and around ~45 after stressing it for a while.

[Leeghoofd]

launch coretemp and it will tell ya your vid..., so if you set 1.55 in ya bios it will drop sortlike to 1.48 real volts which might be a bit low ( depending on ya CPU ofcourse ) for some E6600's to run 3600mhz...

What CPU coolign are you using there ?, I had an F cpu and temps were borked with that one, idled at temps around ambient which to me seems not reliable..., your idle temps also seem pretty low...

[JWH]

Well to start off, i don't have a case, i just have my setup open on my drawer next to my desk. So it should run cooler than pc's in cases.
I am cooling it with a Tuniq Tower 120, and i have got an Enzotech Ultra-X in the mail btw. Finally managed to get one in the Netherlands ! Anyway back to subject.

My VID according to coretemp is 1.3250v

But what you said about the drop, i'll try to set Vcore at 1.6v, so it should be around 1.52 actually. Might help .

EDIT:Right, i set the Vcore in bios at 1.6, and what do you know. It booted!

BUT, the idle temps went up by nearly 10! And now while using Orthos it gets close to 60.

Now also, my voltage readings ( by Asus probe ) went crazy after about 1 minute.



Now i'm trying SuperPi 32M and Prime to see if it's stable, as i don't really trust Orthos anymore. At 3.2GHz Orthos crashes after about 2-3 minutes. While the PC is Prime stable for whole nights and has stayed on for like 32 days straight with occasional gaming etc.

Update: Right, so it survived a 32M run on SuperPi, but when i tried 3DMark05, it immediatly rebooted as it went into the CPU tests. I have set it back to 3.2GHz now as that's rock stable.

But, could Northbridge Voltage have anything to do with it's stability? I had put that on 1.45V, what would you recommend for 3.6GHz?

[Leeghoofd]

First up you got a very high VID, which means the CPU already needs loads of Vcore to run at 2.4Ghz... to be honest I wouldn't try to run 3.6 on this CPU as it will require maybe 1.55-1.58 volts to get it stable and your current CPU cooler doesn't cut it...
This really reminds me of my G and F stepping CPU's, almost no extra voltage required for 3-3.2ghz but for each 100mhz more Vcore needed to be increased drastically...
On a note I don't like to run high voltages on CPU's and co 24/7...

Try 425Mhz with a 8 multi and see if you can get 3.4ghz at around 1.45 or less Vcore... I would run this CPU at 3 or 3.2Ghz and not more...keep ya CPU temps below 65°C to keep it in good shape !!

The bug in Asus probe is a software issue when launching CPU-Z or sortlike proggies.... I had it too on the Striker, I just rely now on CPU-Z and everest ultimate to read out...

[JWH]

Ah i see, well thanks for helping. Just got bad luck with my batch as i thought.

Ah will be replaced with a nice Quad Core soon anyway .

Thanks so far !