Hi guys,
Following Big.Wayne's advice, I wiped my 4.2Ghz overclock to try a more methodical approach - and hopefully get a bigger clock at the end of it. All specs are in sig if you need them, except I should add I'm running Vista Ultimate x64 SP1. The 8600GT is on the latest beta drivers with the PhysX included, which has given some issues before now with BSOD etc.
Anyway... I saved my old stable 4.2Ghz settings before I started
I was running:
10x420, RAM at 1:1 (i.e. 420/840Mhz) and 4,4,4,15 with 2.1v (stock for my RAM). Chipset voltage, FSB voltage, etc were all on auto. Runs/ran perfectly with no issues, low heat, Orthos and IBT stable etc.
After that, I couldn't get it to boot at 10x430 (all other settings the same) even with more CPU volts. That's where this whole "check everything individually first" thing has come frrom.
After resetting BIOS to defaults, turning off SpeedStep etc, I began methodically documenting the limits of my various hardware - one at a time. I'll spare you from the long lists of combinations and failures etc, suffice to say the BEST boots for each component (with RAM slackened off) so far are:
RAM speed check (10x multi, but very low FSB, high RAM dividers to see how far the RAM can go on its own): 10x275, with RAM at 550(1100)Mhz, 5,5,5,15 2.1v. Worked fine. Could have carried on going higher, but I'm deffo not going to need more than 550FSB on a 10x multi later... So, I concluded my RAM can easily handle the speeds for a nice E8600 o/c.
FSB speed check (CPU multi down to x6, RAM back at 1:1, see how high the FSB can go). THIS is the part I'm stuck on at the moment. Up to 6x510, RAM 1:1 (510/1020)Mhz at 5,5,5,15 and 2.2v, FSB strap set to 1333, chipset volts on auto.... Vista is uber stable. I'm running this setup now to type this
The trouble spot:
6x525, RAM 1:1 (525/1050)Mhz at 5,5,5,15 and 2.1v. Other volts auto.
PC froze at the Vista loading bar. Rebooted, added 0.1v to the RAM to make it 2.2 (still in spec, 2.2 is the max rating for my RAM). Same freeze in the same spot. So, now I know it's not the RAM volts. Looking back at my notes/tables, I see that my RAM ran just fine at 525/1050 and well beyond on its own at a lower FSB (asynchronous dividers) so I assume it's not the RAM at all.
Next I try the exact same settings, but I change the FSB strap from auto to 1333. ALL the Biostar clocks I've seen above 550 to 600+ Mhz run this strap, so I figured I'd try it. Voila! Boots up!! But this time it hangs at the point the Vista login screen should have appeared
The vista loading bar goes off, switches to the black screen that comes on just before the login screen... no login screen, just blackness.
Trying again! I leave the settings as above but this time also change the chipset voltage from auto to +0.2v. Bearing in mind I don't know what "auto" was all this time (it could already have been at +2 for all I know, never mind +0.2!)... This time we get to the point of the Vista logon screen but it instantly BSODs, which reads IRQ_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.
That's memory, isn't it
So how come I can run the CPU underclocked, and the RAM way overclocked at like 550/1100 Mhz... But once the RAM's back at 1:1 and the FSB is only 525 I'm getting so many issues? Do I need more chipset volts? I don't want to fry it
I know the Biostar's good for as much as 700+ FSB under LN2 so the board shouldn't be my limit on a little air overclock like this. So do I either start adding to other voltages (even more chipset volts, maybe change the FSB volts - whatever that is - etc), or do I just say "Hey, 510Mhz FSB at 1:1 is more than I'll use at 10x multi, so it's enough to start playing at 10x and shoot for the moon? Ideally I want to see 4.4Ghz 24/7 on this chip, btw.
Any help appreciated, and sorry this was so long. If anything's unclear, just ask - it's my first overclock so I'm learning as I go and may have missed out something you need?
Following Big.Wayne's advice, I wiped my 4.2Ghz overclock to try a more methodical approach - and hopefully get a bigger clock at the end of it. All specs are in sig if you need them, except I should add I'm running Vista Ultimate x64 SP1. The 8600GT is on the latest beta drivers with the PhysX included, which has given some issues before now with BSOD etc.
Anyway... I saved my old stable 4.2Ghz settings before I started
I was running:10x420, RAM at 1:1 (i.e. 420/840Mhz) and 4,4,4,15 with 2.1v (stock for my RAM). Chipset voltage, FSB voltage, etc were all on auto. Runs/ran perfectly with no issues, low heat, Orthos and IBT stable etc.
After that, I couldn't get it to boot at 10x430 (all other settings the same) even with more CPU volts. That's where this whole "check everything individually first" thing has come frrom.
After resetting BIOS to defaults, turning off SpeedStep etc, I began methodically documenting the limits of my various hardware - one at a time. I'll spare you from the long lists of combinations and failures etc, suffice to say the BEST boots for each component (with RAM slackened off) so far are:
RAM speed check (10x multi, but very low FSB, high RAM dividers to see how far the RAM can go on its own): 10x275, with RAM at 550(1100)Mhz, 5,5,5,15 2.1v. Worked fine. Could have carried on going higher, but I'm deffo not going to need more than 550FSB on a 10x multi later... So, I concluded my RAM can easily handle the speeds for a nice E8600 o/c.
FSB speed check (CPU multi down to x6, RAM back at 1:1, see how high the FSB can go). THIS is the part I'm stuck on at the moment. Up to 6x510, RAM 1:1 (510/1020)Mhz at 5,5,5,15 and 2.2v, FSB strap set to 1333, chipset volts on auto.... Vista is uber stable. I'm running this setup now to type this
The trouble spot:
6x525, RAM 1:1 (525/1050)Mhz at 5,5,5,15 and 2.1v. Other volts auto.
PC froze at the Vista loading bar. Rebooted, added 0.1v to the RAM to make it 2.2 (still in spec, 2.2 is the max rating for my RAM). Same freeze in the same spot. So, now I know it's not the RAM volts. Looking back at my notes/tables, I see that my RAM ran just fine at 525/1050 and well beyond on its own at a lower FSB (asynchronous dividers) so I assume it's not the RAM at all.
Next I try the exact same settings, but I change the FSB strap from auto to 1333. ALL the Biostar clocks I've seen above 550 to 600+ Mhz run this strap, so I figured I'd try it. Voila! Boots up!! But this time it hangs at the point the Vista login screen should have appeared
The vista loading bar goes off, switches to the black screen that comes on just before the login screen... no login screen, just blackness.Trying again! I leave the settings as above but this time also change the chipset voltage from auto to +0.2v. Bearing in mind I don't know what "auto" was all this time (it could already have been at +2 for all I know, never mind +0.2!)... This time we get to the point of the Vista logon screen but it instantly BSODs, which reads IRQ_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.
That's memory, isn't it
So how come I can run the CPU underclocked, and the RAM way overclocked at like 550/1100 Mhz... But once the RAM's back at 1:1 and the FSB is only 525 I'm getting so many issues? Do I need more chipset volts? I don't want to fry it I know the Biostar's good for as much as 700+ FSB under LN2 so the board shouldn't be my limit on a little air overclock like this. So do I either start adding to other voltages (even more chipset volts, maybe change the FSB volts - whatever that is - etc), or do I just say "Hey, 510Mhz FSB at 1:1 is more than I'll use at 10x multi, so it's enough to start playing at 10x and shoot for the moon? Ideally I want to see 4.4Ghz 24/7 on this chip, btw.
Any help appreciated, and sorry this was so long. If anything's unclear, just ask - it's my first overclock so I'm learning as I go and may have missed out something you need?
