More speed :>

[Dakisha]

Hi folks,

I've got a free week here, with nothing currently in the works - so time for some more tweaking =)

My system is as follows:

P4 2.4C @ 3Ghz (1:1 / 1.6v / 33c idle / 53c load)
Abit IC7 (bios 22)
2x256 OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 (3-4-4-8 / 2.8v / 500DDR)
Q-tec 550w dual-fan PSU

I've included winbond/etc info for completions sake,

winbond temps/voltages (http://dakisha.st0ner.co.uk/be/winbond.jpg)
wcpuid info (http://dakisha.st0ner.co.uk/be/wcpuid.jpg)
cpu-z info (http://dakisha.st0ner.co.uk/be/cpu-z.jpg)
cpu-z memstats (http://dakisha.st0ner.co.uk/be/cpu-z-mem.jpg)

Unfortunatly, as I mentioned in one of my previous posts, the 2.8v mem cap stops me from taking the ram much anything over 250, or I get errors in memtest. This leaves me in a 1:1 max oc of ~3ghz.

I did put it in a 5:4 divider, but I can't get it stable much above 3.1-3.2ghz, and I'd prefer to keep my 1:1 advantage when there is only 100-200mhz in it. I don't seem to get any stability bonus over 1.7v core.

My current mission is to tighten up the timings and raise the FSB in 1:1. As I mentioned - I have a 2x256 dual channel kit of OCZ PC4000 copper, running at it's rated 3-4-4-8, I have all PAT settings turned to auto (It does *not* like having any PAT on), and I don't have the balls to do a volt-mod on my IC7 :hide:

Any suggestions on how to push the ram/board further would be greatly appreciated. Failing a Mhz boost, I'm quite happy with closing the timings up a little, which is where I'm hoping the resident OCZ guys will be able to help ;)

P.S - I've not tried in single-channel mode, mainly because the performance gains of dual channel seem to outweigh a few extra Mhz.

TIA for any advice folks,

Dakisha

[Pointhore]

In Advanced chipsets:
system bios cache = disabled
video cache= disabled
GAT settings= auto-auto-auto-disabled-disabled

On chip IDE:
IDE bus master = disabled

integrated Peripherals:
On board PCI
1394 = disabled

Try that see if it works :thumbs: Any of the 2.4's that I have had will all reach 3.4 or above with these settings disabled w/1.6-1.65 Vcore.
Most will get real close to or even 300fsb with 1.675vcore.
Good cooling does help though. :smash: :smash:

[Dakisha]

Thanks Pointhore,

Just a couple of quick questions... I have tried auto-auto-auto-dis-dis, and it actually appeared to lower the max FSB I could hit without errors in memtest. I'll give it another shot though.

I've also once disabled system bios cache, and video cache and for some reason - my pc practically ground to a halt, was v slow - any ideas why this might be? Again, this was a while ago so I'll retest.

I'll turn off the firewire (used to need it for my mp3 player), but with the bus mastering, I also have 2 IDE drives in this box - Am I likely to see a hefty IDE perfomance hit for this? If so, I'll have to leave it enabled - I don't want to switch down to PIO mode when I do the nightly backup ;)

And finally; does this take into account my initial issue with 1:1 and not being able to go above 250fsb, or are you suggesting I switch to 5:4 ?

Thanks again =)

Dakisha

Edit: Am running a vantec aeroflow TMD (No centre motor) and 5x80mm case fans, and this chip seems to run nice and cool =)

[Pointhore]

Did you try 5-4 divider with those settings? Maybe you have some bum ram.

[AndyT]

The RAM is not "BUM". Try upping your CPU voltage and RAM voltage. My 2.4c will do 270fsb pm and ASUS board with that RAM, using 1.725v CPU and 2.85v DDR. Be aware that most of the ABIT boards are not great 1:1 overclockers. I would say you should be able to get to the low 260fsb range if your CPU is not topped out.

There is no reason why disabling the system bios cache, and video cache should slow your system down. They are unecessary.

Good luck.

[Pointhore]

The RAM is not "BUM".
Good luck.

Dont get excited Andy :yikes:
Not being able to go over 250fsb with the pc4000 @ 2.8 (Which is the highest vdimm setting for the IC7) using 1.7Vcore just sounded a little odd to me. :beat: I have had (2) 2.4c's that have both done 300fsb with the IC7,one at 1.675Vcore and the other at 1.7Vcore. But that was not with the pc4000 or 4200 memory. I was using pc3500 at the time with a 3-2 divider. :wave:

[Dakisha]

Okay, well I'm still testing away here - so far I've turned all the settings off as you mentioned, but I still get errors in test 5 of memtest as low as 260. I've not tried lower, and have ended up being busier than I thought today - but I did try a few higher overclocks with a 5:4 divider..

It appears this chip isn't very happy at much over 3.2Ghz, and even then I didn't leave memtest running for more than a single pass. In a 1:1 oc at 270 and higher, no matter core or mem voltage - memtest locks up at 30% of test 5. I forgot to note any specifics down, so I'll do a batch of tests over the week and post my results. In 5:4, the cpu boots at 3.3-3.4, but start getting errors in tests 1/3/5 no matter the voltage (1.575 to 1.725)

I'm guessing thats my cpu topping out there more than anything, but more testing is needed :>

Dakisha

[Dakisha]

Hey again folks,

Well so much for a free week - has actually been busier than I planned, so no real testing. I'm fairly happy that I have a 3.2 cap, and until I have the time to test excatly what is stable, I'd rather just stay at ~250 and work on the ram timings.

I did however find that I was getting a lot of random slowdowns with the PAT on auto-auto-auto-disabled-disabled. It would seemingly pause for a few seconds during processor intensive tasks - I haven't really been able to determine excatly what triggers it, or the exact effects - but it does noteably slow things down overall. I've since put it back to auto-auto, and the pauses have stopped.

Tony, I remember seeing that you have had an IC7 and the 2x256 PC4000EL's at one point, I don't suppose you'd be able to offer any insight into why this is happening, but also if there is much room for tightening up the timings with this board/ram combo?

TIA,

Dakisha

[Dakisha]

lol - sorry andy, I called you tony and then wonder why I didn't get a reply ;) Any chance of your thoughts on the above?

Dakisha