DS3, C2D, Dual Channel Memory reduce OC?

[gibber]

System:

MB: Gigabyte DS3 rev 3.3
CPU: e6320 @ 2.8Ghz - 400Mhz FSB x7 - Factory HS
RAM: Kingston 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 667 x2 @ 800Mhz
OS: Fedora 7 (Finally made the switch from Microsoft to Linux and loving it!)
Video: eVGA 7900GT KO
PS: Ultra 500

It's been completely stable at 400Mhz FSB, was a happy surprise that the Kingston RAM (which was CHEAP!) runs fine as DDR2-800. The NorthBridge HS was fairly hot, I don't like that, stuck a fan on a bracket over it and cools the RAM some too.

I put in a 2nd stick of the same RAM and it passes MemTest x86+ all day but sometimes it will lock up and the Caps Lock and Scroll Lock lights on my keyboard start flashing - anybody know what that means?

edit: I searched and it seems that the flashing LEDs means Kernel panic, I'll have to see if there's a code to the flashing next time...

Last time it locked up it had been on for about a day and was sitting there doing nothing, I moved the mouse to turn the screen saver off, it ran for a minute or two, then locked.

I'm wondering if the memory being in "Dual Channel" is putting more heat on the NB? Think I should try moving the 2nd stick so it won't run in dual channel mode? Been overclocking for years, saw some similar problems w/the NForce chipset w/AthlonXP MBs.

One other issue I'm having is sometimes when it boots up sound isn't working and Linux gives me an error, I reboot once or twice, then the sound works. In the BIOS the sound can be set to "Auto" but I wish there was a setting that was just "On" rather than Auto, maybe w/"Auto" sometimes it doesn't enable the audio?

The stock CPU cooler seems perfectly adequate for anything but extreme overclocking, 2.8Ghz on a Core 2 Duo feels plenty fast to me, my graphics card will be more of a bottleneck than the CPU (except for video editing/conversion).

 

[dirtychavez]

Either got a bad 2nd stick or you're pushing the memory too hard. I would start with trying another pair of 667 sticks in the same slot if you have some. Or trying lowering your memory speed/use a divider and see if you get any lockups so you can narrow down the problem.

 

[gibber]

Either got a bad 2nd stick or you're pushing the memory too hard. I would start with trying another pair of 667 sticks in the same slot if you have some. Or trying lowering your memory speed/use a divider and see if you get any lockups so you can narrow down the problem.

But... It'll pass the MemTest all day long?

This is my first system with DDR2 - my overclocked A64 3200+ has lasted me this long, so I only have the one pair of DDR2 sticks. I turned the FSB down to 390, it hasn't crashed for a day so far.

I could try the 2nd stick by itself back at 400 FSB and see if it's 100% stable for a week or so. What if both sticks are 100% stable by themselves, but the system locks up if I use both in Dual Channel mode?

I'm guessing the system would be (ever so slightly) faster overall at 400 FSB (vs 390) even if I had to switch the slots so the mem. wasn't in DC?

I looked a while back, couldn't find many benchmarks comparing the performance change of DC vs non-DC. I think the diff. is pretty small?

I guess it could be the 2nd stick of RAM, like you say, but isn't it just as likely to be the NB chipset 'cause it's under more load w/Dual Channel mode?

I'd like one of those heatpipe chipset coolers, like the Thermalright HR-05...

 

[unclewebb]

Your northbridge is overclocked by 50% so don't be afraid to give it a little extra voltage. Your memory is also running beyond spec so setting it to +0.3 volts would be a good place to start. Simple things like this can make a big difference to stability.