Testing / comparing : Intel D975XBX2 / Asus P5B DX ***56K WARNING***

[hotchoc]

Any help in regards to this:


Did i hit a so called fsb wall ?

[Forceman]

It seems like a pretty early wall if so. You should be able to get more than 333 out of that system. Have you tried taking your settings (voltages and such) from the high FSB like 380 and using them at a lower FSB like 350 to see what happens. It looks like you are ramping the voltages along with FSB but you might have better success trying the higher voltages earlier to see what happens. I think 3.0 at 1.325 is not going to work, while 3.0 at 1.375 might. It sounds like a CPU problem to me, because you probably don't need much extra voltage on the MCH and FSB to get to 350 - for me I didn't need to go above default until 350, and even then I'm only at one click above default at 370, so 1.6 for 345 seems like overkill.

[hotchoc]

vcore of 1.5 for a FSB of 350 is just crazy dun u think so ????

[Forceman]

vcore of 1.5 for a FSB of 350 is just crazy dun u think so ????

For everyday use, absolutely (to me at least). But its a good way to check and see whether it will work. Problem is, you don't know what is holding you back. One way to find out is up all your voltages to a point where you aren't comfortable for everyday use and see whether you can get the OC you want. If not, then you are screwed. If you can, then you can start backing stuff off to find out what the limiting factor is. I know other guys do it other ways, like gradually upping voltages as you up speeds, but I like to find out if what I want is feasible and then play around from there. If no combination lets you run at 350 then you can start trying lower speeds until you find one that works for you - but at least you'd know whether 350 is feasible. And I would go ahead and give your memory 2.0 volts at all speeds - it is designed to run at 2.0 so give it what it wants. You might be able to back it down some after you get stable if it is underclocked, but for now give it what it is looking for.

[hotchoc]

Will do mate. So what i should do is up the vcore say 1.5 and start of with 350 fsb right? After that i'll be either scaling up or scaling down the fsb till it reaches its peaks point. Correct?

What should i do with vfsb and vmch?

Thks for the help.

[Woland]

I´d up the mem voltage aswell, them gskill ought to be able to handle 2.2v, how do they hold up in memtest? I´d start with making sure the ram is good, letting memtest run for atleast 2-3h at their rated speed and stock volt on the ram in order to ensure they are not what holing you back.

[hotchoc]

tried that b4. ran for like 5 hrs. rams are ok.

[shimmishim]

maybe your chip just can't do more than 9x333.

i know it seems sort of low for an overclock but not all chips are created equal.

the only other thing i can tell you to try is another set of memory.

[ronaldmcdonald9]

There is an MCH fan connector near the CPU, what is an MCH fan?

[KMEI]

I think you're supposed to use that one if you replace the NB-heatsink with a fan.

[Speederlander]

How does the stock NB heatsink do for removing heat?

I can't tell yet because I haven't started serious overclocking.

Does an AS5 treatment seem needed in general or is it something of a waste of time?

Also, I could go after-market heatsink. If anyone has gone this route, what has worked well for you?

[gtj]

Where's gtj anyway ?

Working on this... GTJ's Intel 975XBX2 Guide

Still very much a work in progress.

[ArcticOC]

Working on this... GTJ's Intel 975XBX2 Guide

Still very much a work in progress.

Damn that`s impressive, you have really put some time in this project!

I will surely bookmark that page, excelent work and thank you very much!

[hotchoc]

Working on this... GTJ's Intel 975XBX2 Guide

Still very much a work in progress.

Thks for the guide. Bookmarked

Can you assist me in my vcore and vfsb problem which i''m having ?

Thks

[Forceman]

How does the stock NB heatsink do for removing heat?

I can't tell yet because I haven't started serious overclocking.

Does an AS5 treatment seem needed in general or is it something of a waste of time?

Also, I could go after-market heatsink. If anyone has gone this route, what has worked well for you?

Seems to keep mine okay - it's hot but not too hot, but I'm only at 370 with a slight increase in voltages. I've seen reports of people using the Thermalright HR-05s - I would go that way myself but I can't fit one around my HSF.

[brash_endeavors]

Working on this... GTJ's Intel 975XBX2 Guide

Still very much a work in progress.

Thanks so much for working on this I am definately bookmarking it.

I'm currently using bios 2395 from 12/20/06. Things have been running a little glitchy for me since someone accidently shut off the fusebox to my room a few nights ago, took me over an hour just to get the computer to post again. I was wondering if the bios info could have been damaged and was thinking of updating it but I see you have 2333 as most stable, is it difficult and would it be recommended to instead go back to 2333, I am not very savvy on flashing the bios and probably would leave things alone if they were completely stable at the moment, but they are not

System is:

Intel D975XBX2 motherboard
Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe (currently at stock 2.66, was 3.3-3.4ghz), stock Intel cooler
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (currently at autodetected 1.84v, manual set to 233/566) 5-5-5-18
GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W Power Supply
LIAN LI PC-V1000BPlus II Case
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000 RPM SATA150
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb
Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro

Not sure if any other specs needed.

I'd be happy getting back to 3.3ghz stable. I was actually running it fine at 3.3 then at 3.4ghz for a while, running mostly the game Oblivion at high settings, when I realized I'd forgotten to do an Orthos run at that setting, it "beeped" me pretty early so I backed down to 3.27 or so. Right now 3.3ghz without issues would make me happy but since the power thing, things have been glitchy.

Main issue right now, is sometimes it seems fine then other times it fails to post, not even anything on the monitor, and I have to go back to jiggling jumpers and rebooting to get it to boot again with anything on the monitor, sometimes it switches memory back to 266/800 even when I set it to 266/533.

Is it likely that flashing to 2333 would be an improvement?>

[hotchoc]

Btw, anybody tried removing the northbridge ? How do u remove it btw?

Might try to replace my nb with the Thermalright HR-05 to see if it helps. IS the nb cooler compatible btw ?

[gtj]

Thks for the guide. Bookmarked

Can you assist me in my vcore and vfsb problem which i''m having ?

Thks

Use these settings and find FSBs that are stable. Watch your temps.

Vcore = 1.5
Vmch = 1.6
Vfsb = 1.4
266/533

Main issue right now, is sometimes it seems fine then other times it fails to post, not even anything on the monitor, and I have to go back to jiggling jumpers and rebooting to get it to boot again with anything on the monitor, sometimes it switches memory back to 266/800 even when I set it to 266/533. Is it likely that flashing to 2333 would be an improvement?>

Couldn't hurt but I'd either go with 2333 or get the latest which is 2674.

Btw, anybody tried removing the northbridge ? How do u remove it btw?

Quote from GTJ's Intel 975XBX2 Guide
"Getting the MCH heatsink off takes about 10 seconds with no tools. You just spread the fins that hold the black retaining brackets and rotate the brackets outward. "

[SiGfever]

What kind of crap do they put on the SB as a TIM? 91% Isopropyl hardly even touched it, I ended up ordering some Arctic Cleaner which should be her mid-week.

[gtj]

What kind of crap do they put on the SB as a TIM? 91% Isopropyl hardly even touched it, I ended up ordering some Arctic Cleaner which should be her mid-week.

Try a little acetone.

Oh yeah...

Quote from GTJ's Intel 975XBX2 Guide

"...For the ICH, don't bother. It's pretty much isolated from overclocking effects and doesn't put out enough heat to worry about. Don't even bother replacing the TIM. The ICH heatsink is much more firmly attached to the chip and if you're not careful you can cause some damage getting it off. "

[shimmishim]

What kind of crap do they put on the SB as a TIM? 91% Isopropyl hardly even touched it, I ended up ordering some Arctic Cleaner which should be her mid-week.

for the NB (which was pretty difficult to remove as well), I used goo gone. it worked like a charm!

[Chas_The_Man]

I think that Arctic Clean is Orange Cleaner mixed with water. I could be wrong but it sure smells nice. If it doesnt work, try some goof off. Goof off removes thermal tape quick. Just dont spill it all over the place.

[superray]

Working on this... GTJ's Intel 975XBX2 Guide

Still very much a work in progress.

Isn't it just wonderful? Thanks GTJ.

[SiGfever]

Thanks guys, since I am using a MCW30 on my NB I decided to use my MCX159-CU on the SB. A little twist to break the TIM loose and it came off o-k.

[mezcal]

Working on this... GTJ's Intel 975XBX2 Guide

Still very much a work in progress.

You're the man!
Bookmarked.

and thank you!