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Disabling CPU Internal Cache - Bad idea?

L

lorcani

2[H]4U
Joined
Apr 21, 2003
Messages
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I'm having stability issues, and this MSI guide here suggests I disable the internal cache. My forte really lies with graphics cards, so I don't really know what that woulld mean. I know the process for disabling it with my motherboard and BIOS, but what effect would that have?
 
That was my thinking as well, but would it be more stable? My issue right now is the system freezing every 2 minutes or so, making it frustratingly impossible to install Windows. This happens even though the CPU is 93F, and the case is 94F.
 
The motherboard should be 100% stable with the cache enabled, if you haven't tinkered with it I suggest sending it back and getting a new one.
 
oVerCaffeinated said:
The motherboard should be 100% stable with the cache enabled, if you haven't tinkered with it I suggest sending it back and getting a new one.
Click to expand...

What about RAM? What about the video card? What about the drives? A lot more goes into stability other than the motherboard.
 
I always run Memtest86 before installing an OS.
That way I know its not the memory if I have problems.

Try takeing out everything thats not needed to install Windozes.
Sound cards, nic cards, extra drives, etc.
Maybe one of them is bad.

Unless your watercooling then one of your temps is wrong.

Luck.......... :D
 
I would never disable the cache. The cache is there to speed things up and it is pretty important. That's why people spend hundreds of dollars more for xeons - bigger caches. Overclocking and then turning off the cache seems entirely counterproductive. It's like getting a really fast sports car but then taking out the steering wheel and pedals to make the car lighter.

So, if you are overclocking then back down a bit. You may have hit your limit. If you are running stock speeds then something is fucked up and disabling cache probably wouldn't help. If it did help then something is still fucked up and you need a new processor. Might as well try it and see if it has any effect.
 
Try it and see if it helps. You're at stock speeds right? Chances are it won't, but debugging is always a process of elimination. If it helps I'd suspect a bad L2 cache, meaning a bad CPU. If the machine is stable w/ the cache off, you might want to try a bios upgrade before swapping the proc out. I still think it'll be a CPU problem if disabling L2 cache "fixes" it (at the expense of a lot of performance), but it could be ram or mobo I suppose. I assume you've tried the 1 stick of ram at a time approach?
Also, keep in mind that bad L2 may interfere w/ memtest86, though it should be able to tell the difference as L2 cache has parity bits.
Of course if it does work with the cache disabled you shouldn't just accept it being like that. There are only 2 uses for disabling the cache that I can think of. Debugging and running old software that goes too fast at full speed.
 
Alright, I tried it. No change, other than it lasted a bit longer (placebo effect applies here).

Thank god this isn't the problem. I just got the 2400+ back from an RMA. :rolleyes:

No water-cooling, running at stock. I'm going to run memtest if I can run that from a bootable CD, because I don't have a floppy drive in either the test computer, or another computer.
 
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