P5N-E SLI + E4300 Overclocking Woes

MystaEB

MystaEB

MystaEB

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P5N-E SLI + E4300 Overclocking Woes [Bump, see latest post :(]

So my P5N-E SLI and E4300 arrived today. I set up the system, installed Windows and drivers, etc, then thought it was time for some overclocks.

Since most reviews on the Internet show the E4300 easily getting to past 3 Ghz and the P5N-E seems easily capable of 450+ FSB, I'm quite disappointed with my overclocking ventures so far.

Basically, no matter what I do, I cannot get the system to post past 2.7 Ghz. And even at this speed, it is completely unstable in Windows. I have tried raising voltages. (Vcore, NB, etc) with no luck at all.

I have had little experience with Core 2 Duo overclocking but from what I've read I should be able to get this thing to at LEAST 3 Ghz, I don't know why I can't. :(

I've tried running in linked mode, unlinked mode and sync mode in the manual overclocking thingy, but my rated FSB will not budge past 1200 Mhz. I would really appreciate it if someone could hint at what I am doing wrong, if I have missed a setting or something.

My setup is as follows:

P5N-E SLI
E4300
8800 GTS
2 GB OCZ Platinum Rev2 DDR2-800
Audigy2
2x 250 GB Seagate Sata2
Hiper 580w Type-R

I have tried disabling and enabling multiple settings that I found in the P5N-E SLI thread in the motherboard settings, but nothing in that thread so far has helped. :(

What am I doing wrong?
 
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This is going to be really boring, but reset the CMOS TOTALLY and follow the directions here precisely. I have tried them on 3 different boards with E6300, E6400 and E6600 and they work fine. One setting missed and things don't work.

1. Make sure you turn off the C1E and Speedstep
2. Leave the RAM fully on AUTO
3. Start off slow and work your way upwards slowly
4. If you are working in Linked mode (easiest) then make sure you use [SYNC MODE] as all the other dividers run the RAM faster than the processor.

Try these settings for an E4300;

In the Advanced Menu go to;

CPU Configuration
Set CPU Internal Thermal Control to [AUTO]
Everything else except Execute Disable Bit should be set to [DISABLED]

Chipset
Leave all the memory timings on AUTO until you have got the CPU overclock sorted out

Spread Spectrum Control
Work your way through the menus and disable everything

SLI Broadcast Aperture
Leave this at Disabled

LDT Frequency
Leave this at 5x

Onboard Devices Configuration
Turn off the JMicron SATA controller

In USB Configuration
USB Legacy Support [DISABLED]

Then back up to JumperFree Configuration

AI Tuning
Set this to [Manual]

System Clocks - PCIe
Leave this at 100

Voltage Control
Set the VCore voltage to [AUTO] as I don't know what voltage is required
Set the Memory Voltage to [2.259]
Set the NB Core Voltage to [1.563] (put a fan on it if it gets hot)
Set the VCore Offset Voltage to +100mV

Reboot and re-enter the BIOS

Then go to the FSB and MEMORY CONFIG menu
FSB - Memory Clock Mode
Select [Linked]
FSB - Memory Ratio - Select [Sync Mode]
Start at 1200, then work upwards to 1400 in jumps of 25 FSB Reboot and run Orthos for 10 minutes at each stage.

It seems to be important to work up - if you jump straight in the overclock quite often fails so be patient and work upwards.

Once you hit 1400 (350x9=3.15GHz) then boot into windows and stress test the system for at least 12 hours. If it passes (and it may not) then go back into the BIOS and try and work your way up to 1600 (400x9=3.6GHz).

You may need to use the 8x multiplier to get the absolute best overclock. My E6600 isn't stable at 400x9, but it's fine at 450x8, both of which are 3.6GHz.
 
set memory to 2T for now until you have sorted you cpu clock.
I haven't experimented to far yet with 1T on this board but nothing has been successful so far
 
MystaEB said:
So my P5N-E SLI and E4300 arrived today.

I'm quite disappointed with my overclocking ventures so far.

What am I doing wrong?
Click to expand...
Hi MystaEB,

looks like your getting some help but I just wanted to add that you appear to be 'rushing', obviously everyone does things their own way but I wouldn't dream of overclocking a machine I just built? I almost just leave everything on 'auto', get some memtesting done and eventually get windows installed and start sussing out the different drivers.

When I am 100% certain everything is rock solid then its time to start overclocking! (dunno I guess I just like an easy life).

I think you should take some time to become 'familar' with your kit and make sure everything is playing ball even when at stock.

Any good luck and have fun, hope u get it sorted but remember Rome wasn't built in one day! :cool:
 
Big.Wayne said:
...but I wouldn't dream of overclocking a machine I just built?
Click to expand...

I agree 100% that you shouldn't go mad, but there is evidence that burning-in a processor can help raise the ultimate overclock.

@Big.Wayne - I think you should check the E4300 thread for evidence to the contrary!
 
yep? Oh I see what your saying, bear in mind that I had built the system three weeks prior running a e6300, spent two weeks checking things over, working out the max fsb, working out what volts I needed for the different memory settings etc, working out how to cool the cpu properly, playing with different drivers, basically spending time becoming familar with my 'base'.

The e4300 was a simple CPU upgrade, not an entire new machine, how can anyone expect to build a system and have it 'uber' clocked the same day, it doesn't work like that, although from some of the posts here I can see how people think they can overclock anything 'with ease'
 
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Thanks for the replies so far guys, especially WJA96, I'll try working through the steps you posted. So far I'm still unsure as to what the problem is, but i'll try overclocking in smaller steps and then stress testing to break it in. I've read a couple of threads about similar setups with similar problems and have concluded that this specific setup seems to prefer working up to a higher overclock. Also a couple of people are under the impression the black dimms are better than the yellow ones? (Probably just their imagination I guess, I don't see how that could effect an overclock.)

Big.Wayne said:
Hi MystaEB,

looks like your getting some help but I just wanted to add that you appear to be 'rushing', obviously everyone does things their own way but I wouldn't dream of overclocking a machine I just built? I almost just leave everything on 'auto', get some memtesting done and eventually get windows installed and start sussing out the different drivers.

When I am 100% certain everything is rock solid then its time to start overclocking! (dunno I guess I just like an easy life).

I think you should take some time to become 'familar' with your kit and make sure everything is playing ball even when at stock.

Any good luck and have fun, hope u get it sorted but remember Rome wasn't built in one day! :cool:
Click to expand...
It's true that I probably am rushing a tiny bit, but I upgraded to this kit specifically to overclock, so as soon as Windows + Drivers were installed I jumped right in. I've never had problem overclocking my previous systems on the same day I built them. (I oced my last system, a 3700+ straight to 3 Ghz the day I got it, and it is still running stable after over a year of hard use, but I'm more familiar with AMD setups and was using a much "higher-end" motherboard.)

I guess I just expected to be able to go to at least 3 Ghz right out of the box as this is what most review sites are achieving, I guess I should really take most of them with a pinch of salt.
 
I don't know about the black vs. the yellow dimm slots, but I do know that I'm still running the 0202 BIOS as I've had no problems with it and it seems to clock well.
 
danv said:
WJA, are your settings for a E6300 any different to that of a E4300?
Click to expand...

It depends. Typically you need more volts on the Northbridge once you get to 400FSB, and then, depending on your RAM, I would be more likely to run unlinked over 1600MHz QFSB as that means you are not overclocking the RAM.

The voltages used for the CPU also vary. I would use1.4V+100mV as the start point for E6600 and E6400 processors, but maybe only 1.35V+100mV for an E6300. I don't know what to use for an E4300 as I don't have one to test.
 
I didn't want to make a new thread so I'll just bump this one:-

Basically, I'm still having severe problems, I still can't seem to get the cpu past 2.8 Ghz without major problems, so I thought I'd play it safe and run it at 2.52 Ghz for a while, it runs similar to an E6700 and is perfectly stable in Orthos, Prime95, etc. However, at completely random times when I launch a game it goes completely bananas.

For example, I'll start loading a save game in say NWN2 or Oblivion and everything just ceases up and my hard drive light goes block red and I can hear them crunching away even though nothing is happening. I have to hard reset and Windows does it's CHKDSK crap and has to fix a ton of errors and such. The odd thing is it's such an isolated issue I don't understand what it could be, it only did it once yesterday and then I was able to play NWN2 for 3-4 hours solid without a hitch. It's like it crashes once per day to get it out of it's system or something. I don't understand how I can run Orthos perfectly stable for hours and play games stable for hours but then it will decide to go absolutely ******* loco on me.

The worst occasion was today, the system had been running fine for hours for the entire day, and I booted up NWN2, started loading a save and it crashed as described above. Upon reboot I lost a ******** of data (Which I have backed up thankfully) but I have decided to drop it to stock until I can figure out what the hell is going on.

As of this moment I have to run stock to see if the problem replicates itself at stock speeds, but it's frustrating since the performance seems barely better than my old OCed 3700+.

Anyone know what this could possibly be? :( I've even gone as far as to fit a heatsink to the southbridge and I've messed with BIOS settings, drivers, everything and nothing is working.

Here's my specs again:

E4300
P5N-E SLI
2 GB OCZ Platinum Rev2 DDR2-800
Audigy2 ZS
2x 250 GB Seagate SATA2
Hiper 580w PSU
 
MystaEB said:
I didn't want to make a new thread so I'll just bump this one:-

Basically, I'm still having severe problems, I still can't seem to get the cpu past 2.8 Ghz without major problems, so I thought I'd play it safe and run it at 2.52 Ghz for a while, it runs similar to an E6700 and is perfectly stable in Orthos, Prime95, etc. However, at completely random times when I launch a game it goes completely bananas.

For example, I'll start loading a save game in say NWN2 or Oblivion and everything just ceases up and my hard drive light goes block red and I can hear them crunching away even though nothing is happening. I have to hard reset and Windows does it's CHKDSK crap and has to fix a ton of errors and such. The odd thing is it's such an isolated issue I don't understand what it could be, it only did it once yesterday and then I was able to play NWN2 for 3-4 hours solid without a hitch. It's like it crashes once per day to get it out of it's system or something. I don't understand how I can run Orthos perfectly stable for hours and play games stable for hours but then it will decide to go absolutely ******* loco on me.

The worst occasion was today, the system had been running fine for hours for the entire day, and I booted up NWN2, started loading a save and it crashed as described above. Upon reboot I lost a ******** of data (Which I have backed up thankfully) but I have decided to drop it to stock until I can figure out what the hell is going on.

As of this moment I have to run stock to see if the problem replicates itself at stock speeds, but it's frustrating since the performance seems barely better than my old OCed 3700+.

Anyone know what this could possibly be? :( I've even gone as far as to fit a heatsink to the southbridge and I've messed with BIOS settings, drivers, everything and nothing is working.

Here's my specs again:

E4300
P5N-E SLI
2 GB OCZ Platinum Rev2 DDR2-800
Audigy2 ZS
2x 250 GB Seagate SATA2
Hiper 580w PSU
Click to expand...

RAID 0? What OS are you running? If it's Vista then 100% that's the problem.
 
No I'm not running RAID at all on this setup, just a standard partition on my newest 250 GB drive. I'm on Windows XP, too.

I've been running on stock speeds since last night and from what I can tell it's absolutely fine now. I'm going to leave it another day just to be safe, then I'll try overclocking again. I'm pretty sure it's the overclock that the system doesn't like at this stage, but I have a feeling it could be a combination of other things causing it too, such as drivers and maybe even a BIOS issue.

I'm almost tempted at this stage to sell off this E4300 or send it back and have it replaced with an E6600 or something, because overclocking so far has been a real pain in the butt.
 
Another question, how hot can I let the northbridge get before I need to start worrying? At 1.3/1.5v it gets quite hot to touch, but not blisteringly warm. I can't replace the heatsink or affix a fan at the moment. It's also interesting to note that the southbridge with my newly affixed heatsink seems to be getting quite warm too.

Then again, my impression of what "hot" is for a northbridge or southbridge could be completely wrong.
 
If it burns the skin from your bones, its too hot. :eek: :D It'll stop working before it gets too hot imo.

One guy used a cooking therometer on it but any sensor will do. I'd say 60 is starting to be too hot but I havent measured mine at all
 
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