Problems overclocking X2 3800+

T

travbrad

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jan 11, 2005
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Until recently i had an MSI Nforce3 Neo2, and had my X2 clocked at 2500mhz quite easily (just a small bump in vcore).

Today i got my new Abit K8N Nforce4 board, and i can't get my X2 above 2.3ghz for some reason. I even tried setting my RAM to DDR266 (i have DDR400) thinking it was the RAM causing the problem. I also tried setting the vcore as high as 1.6v, and still no luck with anything above 2.3ghz. I also tried setting the HT to 1x, which didnt help either.

I really dont think it's a cooling problem, since my CPU is running at 98F when idle. Does anyone have any idea on what the problem could be? I'm getting sick of resetting the CMOS...
 
What was CPU-Z showing for the core voltage on the old motherboard vs the new one?
 
In my own experience, switching MB's can change your overclockablity. One time I had a Abit NF7-S die on me. My AXP was at 2660 mhz easily before I replaced the board. I replaced it with another NF7-S (this time with a higher revision number), and my oc dropped 150mhz.

While I would be very interested in hearing someone else prove me wrong, I would be inclined to just assume this is normal.
 
I dont have CPU-Z, but Motherboard Monitor was showing pretty much the same voltage before and after, just a very slight difference. I had gotten the impression that Nforce4 boards overclock better or at least equal to Nforce3, esp an MSI.

Another strange thing is that it works 100% stable at 2.3ghz, and by increasing it to 2.33ghz it won't even POST, and i have to reset the CMOS. Usually there is a "middle-ground" where the computer will be unstable, or just not be able to boot windows.
 
It almost seems like the PCI-E lock isn't working or something. I just don't know what else the problem could be :/ Maybe i'll try lowering the PCI-E clock to see if that does anything, is that an okay thing to try (i assume it would be but have never done it before).
 
Sad... I remember when Abit was ocing king.... :( Double check some of the bios settings like cpu thermal throttling, power saver stuff, cool n quiet, that sort of thing. Maybe Abit has something on by default that is killing your oc. Good luck.
 
My mobo/case temp is at 111F load, which is about 10-15 degrees hotter than any other motherboard i've had. Maybe this is what's causing the problems? Is it just me, or does that seem too hot?
 
just a few things to consider:

1) did you reinstall the OS after the swap?

2) no motherboards are created equal. It is not even guaranteed that the same motherboard (model and make) will perform as another of identical kind. OC varies from mobo to mobo from manufacturer to manufacturer. not all mobo can squeeeeeze all of the juice from the cpu, or the ram or who knows what other parts.
 
sounds like you're on the right track with trying to lower your RAM and HT multiplier settings. try flashing to the newest bios. Especially with an X2, it could improve the ability to OC that bad boy. After the flash, make sure the PCI/PCI-E are locked at the proper speeds. Drop your RAM speed and HT multiplier, and CPU multiplier. Crank the volts to as high as you're comfortable with running them, and try boosting your FSB 5Mhz at a time from current stable settings, see where you get. Bring the Mem and HT back up to respectable levels after finding the max OC, then level out your volts till stable and booting into windows. Prolly a recap of everything you've done so far, so I'm not trying to school you...sometimes we all forget little details.
 
Thanks, i hadn't even thought of flashing the BIOS for some reason. With my last mobo i had to flash it just to get dual-core support. I'll give that a try right now.
 
if that werks for ya, please post you BIOS rev for the others, so that everyone can benefit.
 
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