Hitting the wall with my XP-m

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Darkstar850

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 18, 2004
Messages
1,307
So I finally had time to put together my new gear last thursday. The following is the new machine's part list:
Case: Antec SLK3700-BQE (350W Smartpower PSU)
MB: Abit NF7-S
CPU: AXP-M 2400+
RAM: 512 MB Kreton PC3500 Extreme Blitz (2-3-3-7)
HD: 80 GB IBM, 120 GB Maxtor
Optical: Sony CD-RW, DVD
Cooling: 2 X 120mm (intake and exhaust). 2 X 92mm added (blowhole and intake over cpu)
HSF: Volcano 10 (left over from old machine)
Video: Geforce3 Ti500

Here's how things went:
Thursday -
Assembled the machine. Booted up at some silly settings on the processor, like 5x100. Changed it up to 10x200, set the ram to the advertised timings listed above.
POSTs fine, windows says that there is a problem with the install. Run a repair install. Now boots into windows fine.
Having trouble with the bios not seeing all of the drives except the boot HD. Set the machine to stock (13.5x133 i think) while I tinker with that. Got all the drives going after playing around for a bit. Set it back to 10x200, let it run at that for the night, as I had another machine I needed to get working. Machine was running stock voltage that the MB started up at, I think either 1.5 or 1.55 VCORE and 2.6 VDIMM.

Friday
Time to start testing. Ran prime stable for 6 hours 10x200 at 1.55 vcore. Decided to go for my goal of 12x200 straight off. Will not boot into windows, get a blue screen. Bumped voltage up to 1.75 with no success. Sometimes it would get to the login screen, and a couple times it actually got into windows, but it would either error or crash at that point. Bumped it down to 11x200, tested for a while, found that it was prime stable at 1.675 vcore, temps at 43 core, 22 case. Decided to prime it for a while.

Saturday
Tried to lower the timings on the ram. If I changed anything it would not POST. Decided to leave that alone, went back to 11x200 and 2-3-3-7.

Didn't really have the time nor inclination to mess with it till yesterday.
Tried 11.5x200. Would boot into windows fine, but as soon as I started to run prime, the machine would crash, almost instantly, and my case speaker would make this mournful alarm sound. I would reboot and go into bios, check system temps, and I would still just be showing about 46C on the core. Bumped voltage all the way up to 1.825 core and 2.8 vdimm, with the same result each time.
Decided to try raising the FSB. Went to 11x210, which gave me a blue screen loading windows. Tried 11x205. Could boot into windows, but prime failed on first try. Dropped it back to 11x200, and now its happy again.

Any suggestions to get this thing further? I was really hoping to hit 2.4. I don't really want to go over about 1.8 vcore, as I would like to make sure the chip lasts a couple years, as even if I upgrade, it will likely get passed along. My HSF is crappy, I know, but the temperatures don't seem too bad (highest ive seen so far is 49C core). I probably would do better with a SLK-900A and a Truepower 430, but at that point I might was well have gotten an A64 cost wise. I guess next I will try to drop the FSB and up the multiplier, any other ideas?
 
You forgot to mention your cpu's stepping. It's one of the most important things when it comes to overclocking these chips.
 
I don't think there is anything more you can do to run that chip any faster on air. You are one of the unlucky ones (especially if you don't have one of the recent chips). I can get my chip up to 2.6ghz but it takes too much voltage to do it. So right now it's at 2.45ghz 1.813v. It takes 1.75 to get to 2.2ghz so I'm a ways off from the wonderful 2.2ghz oc's at default voltage that some people are getting. Don't feel bad. It happens.
 
Originally posted by SycoraX
You forgot to mention your cpu's stepping. It's one of the most important things when it comes to overclocking these chips.
Click to expand...

Woops, you're right. Its an IQYHA. I think its either week 40 or 43. From what ive been reading, that's generally the 2nd best stepping, usually hitting at least 2.4 on air. I had hoped for more from this chip, but sometimes ya get lucky, sometimes ya don't.
 
Your running 1.55V, lets try something along the lines of 1.7+ I never ran a chip under 1.85 no matter what, to little voltage creates more heat than to much voltage, low voltage creates amps, and amps create heat. Also Memory could use some power too, 2.6 is stock, but I'd at least do 2.85 to be safe. Or maybe your chip just sucks.
 
Originally posted by eViL_M@LuM
Your running 1.55V, lets try something along the lines of 1.7+ I never ran a chip under 1.85 no matter what, to little voltage creates more heat than to much voltage, low voltage creates amps, and amps create heat. Also Memory could use some power too, 2.6 is stock, but I'd at least do 2.85 to be safe. Or maybe your chip just sucks.
Click to expand...

1.55 is what I had it at to start with. I bumped it up to 1.8 VCORE and 2.8 VDIMM with no stability when trying to go over 11x200 on either the FSB or multiplier.
 
Your whole issue sounds like my Barton XP2500+, it did 11x200 @ 1.725 perfectly, but nothing above that even at 1.85v it would be unstable. I guess just unlucky chip you got there.
 
Don't feel bad. I can only get a measly 2385 stable. I mean this thing runs through Prime95 for years. Raise it 1mhz and it fails.
 
My 2400+ is doing 12x200 with PC2700 at 2.7v, vcore=1.75. Load temps with tornado @ 2200rpm (very low) and mcx462v are around 41c. When the fan is cranked up, load temps are around 37. I forget the stepping, i think its IQYHA. I love my DFI board and this PNY ram is really kickin ass.
 
Bleh, did some messing around again tonight. Bumped up to 1.85 vcore and 2.9 vdimm. Put it at 11.5x200. It booted into windows, but as soon as I started prime, it crashed the system.
Tried it at 12x166 (2000mhz) and it crashed rebooting. Seems like it hates anything over an 11 multiplier, which makes me wonder if its my mb, and not the chip, as I am running prime stable again now at 11x200, 1.65 vcore and 2.6 vdimm @ 43 idle and 51 load.

Any possible things im missing in the bios here?
 
you might want to try one of tic tac's bios - either the D22 or D23. Those seem to work very well.

I got my xpm over a month ago, and I'm starting to feel a lot better about spending the extra few bux for an xpm2600.
 
Originally posted by Darkstar850
Woops, you're right. Its an IQYHA. I think its either week 40 or 43. From what ive been reading, that's generally the 2nd best stepping, usually hitting at least 2.4 on air. I had hoped for more from this chip, but sometimes ya get lucky, sometimes ya don't.
Click to expand...

yeh, it is...i get 12x200 @ 1.725 with my AQYFA. thats really weird.
 
Tic Tac's bios? I'll do some searching but which mobo's are these bios images created for?
 
I would say it's a heat issue, the V10 is not the greatest cooler around, although stated it'll handle up to 3400+ really I wouldn't put it on anything over 2ghz. I used to retail for TT and Stopped after multiple disappointments in there products.
 
i dont understand why im running so hot all the time?
my setup is listed in my sig
but i did notice after i installed my second stick of memory that
my temp jumped up 4*C just from that
IDLE = 46*C
LOAD = 50*C

041504.bmp


i should have plenty of cooling, my volcano is unplugged so its
maxed out on rpm!

CPU volts 1.8v
mem volts are 2.6v
mem timing is 8 3 3 2.0
chipset volts 1.6v
AGP volts 1.6v

i would like to be running under 40*C
 
Darkstar850

You can find links to tic tac's bios files on the AMD Abit forum or xtreme forums. I would agree with mikey63 as I had problems getting fsb over 200 until I installed one of them. He's got some new ones out that have solved the problems that the nf7's have apparently had with 10 and 10.5 multipliers.

Before I got the DFI in sig, I was using an nf7 that I cooked trying to do the vdd mod (3v is not healthy for the northbridge). I was running around 220 fsb and 2.4ghz with my 2400m (IQYHA 0346).

I don't know much about Kreton ram but I wouldn't hold out too much hope of achieving high fsb with it if it's rated for 2,3,3,7. I could be wrong though as I really don't know anything about that ram.
 
Originally posted by Darkstar850
Woops, you're right. Its an IQYHA. I think its either week 40 or 43. From what ive been reading, that's generally the 2nd best stepping, usually hitting at least 2.4 on air. I had hoped for more from this chip, but sometimes ya get lucky, sometimes ya don't.
Click to expand...

it is a good stepping, at just 2v I can get 2.7 out of mine.
 
I feel bad for you guys, I run 2.4 at 1.6v and never break 40C with a zalman 7000alcu. I believe my stepping is IQYHA.

edit: 12x200 and can run 13x200 fine at 1.8 just want to keep things cool.
 
I run at 2.77 and rarely break 50C full load. I forget what stepping mine is.
 
heh sounds like me, I had to use 1.93 to hit 2.4 ghz exactly, and 1.95 to hit where I am now, over course there are quite a few reports of teh nf7 undervolting the cpu(checking in software it seems by .02 or so). I hit around 60 c under full load with a slk947 (u) and tempature controled thermaltake 92 mm fan(3 blue leds), with 50 being idle. and no, any voltage under 1.9 and it won't get into windows at 2.4 ghz. Even with the fan running on full(70some cfm) it still runs toasty. My nf7 will boot all the way up to 250 fsb, but its the ram that holds me back, a ton of errors in memtest and I can't get into windows with fsb higher than 230.
 
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