EP45-UD3P + Q9650 + 4.xGhz = Weird Stuff.

[Yukikaze]

Hi guys,

I am running into an annoying issue with my Q9650 system. I can get the system stable at say, 4.1Ghz. By stable I mean it can pass 20 minutes worth of Linpack stress with all but 200MB of RAM utilized and then a couple of hours of Prime95 with massive RAM utilization. It can pass any number of MemTest rounds you can throw at it, as well.

The problem is that Mass Effect 2 just keeps CTDing on me. Since on lower clocks/stock it doesn't happen, the issue has something to do with the OC.

I am currently running 1.24vcore (But I've tried up to 1.3v and I get the same effect), 1.25 vtt, 2.2v on the DDR2 (Damned A-DATA RAM). The NB is getting 1.28v (And I've tried 1.3v as well), currently. Current FSB is 450, running a x9 multiplier for 4050Mhz. RAM is set at a rather horrible 5-6-6-21-2T at 900Mhz.

What am I doing wrong ? I have the nagging suspicion that the issue is caused by the FSB failing under serious load (For example when there are plenty of memory accesses and also CPU-GPU communications going on, and it glitches), hence the failure in a game, but not in synthetics (3DMark has no issues also, but it doesn't eat up as nearly as much memory as a game).

I'm gonna go and get a new set of RAM later today, because I am sick of those A-DATA sticks, and hope a good 1066Mhz set will help - If not, what should I do ? Crank up the NB voltage to 1.35v ? Throw in more VTT ? Is my chip at its FSB limit (Which would suck) ? Is the board running out of breath (I hope not, just bought it to improve my OCin' on this Q9650) ?

[DirectorC]

Yeah if it's PC6400/800MHz memory it might just not be good overclocking RAM. My sticks thankfully make 890MHz with 5-6-6-21 with 2.0 Volts which I am surprised because previous attempts on lesser hardware had failed big on more than ~833MHz. You may have better luck with RAM that can really get the job done at high speeds.

[Yukikaze]

Originally Posted by DirectorC

Yeah if it's PC6400/800MHz memory it might just not be good overclocking RAM. My sticks thankfully make 890MHz with 5-6-6-21 with 2.0 Volts which I am surprised because previous attempts on lesser hardware had failed big on more than ~833MHz. You may have better luck with RAM that can really get the job done at high speeds.

Buying the RAM is more of a desperation move. The RAM seems stable. I stressed it to hell and back. Unless the game has a distinct access pattern that causes it to go splat and which is nothing like memtest/Prime95/Linpack, can it really be RAM at this point ?

[TheShad0W]

Have you tried linpack with a much higher stress level? Take it up to 2GB or more if you really want to test stability.

[Yukikaze]

Originally Posted by TheShad0W

Have you tried linpack with a much higher stress level? Take it up to 2GB or more if you really want to test stability.

Like I said. I was testing with only 200MB left free. The linpack load was something like 3GB of RAM.

Well, my new Patriot Vipers are here now, lets see how that goes.

[warup89]

I'm in the same dilemma too; same board, similar CPU, and similar RAM [pc6400]. So I think the RAM is holding us back a bit. Although I almost bought a new set of ram, I just thought to myself "meh 80$+ expense for just 200ish Mhz of more performance?" [which i dont think i will noticed the difference]. So im holding back until my next system re-haul.

-Thats just me though, if you want sell your current ram now, since they are worth more at the moment and get a decent set of sticks that will help you reach such speed.

[Yukikaze]

Originally Posted by warup89

I'm in the same dilemma too; same board, similar CPU, and similar RAM [pc6400]. So I think the RAM is holding us back a bit. Although I almost bought a new set of ram, I just thought to myself "meh 80$+ expense for just 200ish Mhz of more performance?" [which i dont think i will noticed the difference]. So im holding back until my next system re-haul.

-Thats just me though, if you want sell your current ram now, since they are worth more at the moment and get a decent set of sticks that will help you reach such speed.

My main problem is the fact that I was using an ad-hoc set of sticks (2x2GB of A-DATA and 2x1GB of PQI). I need more than 4GB on this rig here, which is limiting my OC, apparently. I got two sets of Patriot Vipers today. Sure, they do DDR2-1150 with no problems on their own. But either the CPU or the NB choke when I try to stress them with 6-7GB of memory utilization at high FSB clocks.

This is a problem. So far, highest I was able to get was something like 3.77Ghz, which is just plain sad. Either I am really SOL on the motherboard/cpu and this is felt even more once I use a ton of RAM, or I am missing something obvious.

I know not every chip is the same, but does anyone have OC settings for a C2Q with over 450 FSB on the EP45-UD3P with more than two sticks of ram used ?

[warup89]

Originally Posted by Yukikaze

My main problem is the fact that I was using an ad-hoc set of sticks (2x2GB of A-DATA and 2x1GB of PQI). I need more than 4GB on this rig here, which is limiting my OC, apparently. I got two sets of Patriot Vipers today. Sure, they do DDR2-1150 with no problems on their own. But either the CPU or the NB choke when I try to stress them with 6-7GB of memory utilization at high FSB clocks.

This is a problem. So far, highest I was able to get was something like 3.77Ghz, which is just plain sad. Either I am really SOL on the motherboard/cpu and this is felt even more once I use a ton of RAM, or I am missing something obvious.

I know not every chip is the same, but does anyone have OC settings for a C2Q with over 450 FSB on the EP45-UD3P with more than two sticks of ram used ?

The NB is to blame for what it seems [x4 stick of ram + diff ram], So if you want a good stable OC i would suggest staying with the same brand/model/specifications for any combination of ram. I currently have x4 stick of ram running and the farthest i can get is 472mhz [ im not 100% sure...at work right now] and even though i can boot and run prime for a while at 480mhz+ my games would crash, just like yours. If you can, sell of of those sticks and get a pair of good rated/known ram.

-Also, i used to reference from here to get the best OC settings for my cpu/mb.
http://www.overclock.net/intel-mothe...ers-guide.html

[Yukikaze]

Originally Posted by warup89

The NB is to blame for what it seems [x4 stick of ram + diff ram], So if you want a good stable OC i would suggest staying with the same brand/model/specifications for any combination of ram. I currently have x4 stick of ram running and the farthest i can get is 472mhz [ im not 100% sure...at work right now] and even though i can boot and run prime for a while at 480mhz+ my games would crash, just like yours. If you can, sell of of those sticks and get a pair of good rated/known ram.

-Also, i used to reference from here to get the best OC settings for my cpu/mb.
http://www.overclock.net/intel-mothe...ers-guide.html

As I said, I got two sets of Patriot Vipers today. Identical kits of 2x2GB 1066Mhz CL5-5-5-15T DDR2 (at 2.1v) each. I am currently stressing at 4Ghz with 890Mhz RAM after bumping the CPU PLL voltage up a bit, and so far it looks like it is stable. I'll try gaming later before I try to lower some of the voltages used (Temps are high right now, not unbearably so and still within spec, but higher than what I am used to).

Many thanks for the link. It looks to be an incredible source of information !

[warup89]

awesome, well let us know how it turns out later and your welcome , there are a couple of good threads like that floating around the internet since that MB its really popular.

[Yukikaze]

Originally Posted by warup89

awesome, well let us know how it turns out later and your welcome , there are a couple of good threads like that floating around the internet since that MB its really popular.

Well. It passed the Mass Effect 2 test as well. Looks like it was a combination of my old PQI sticks and not enough PLL voltage. I got it at 1.57v now, with 1.575v being the highest recommended by Intel for those chips. vcore is at 1.28v, which is probably overkill right now since extra RAM doesn't affect vcore requirements and it was stable at 1.24v with two sticks at 4Ghz, but frankly, I am just happy to see it stable with all four memory sticks for now. I spent the whole day tweaking it to heck and I am tiiiiired from it. Tomorrow the itch will be back and I'll see if I can push that FSB a bit higher. I'd like to settle at 467Mhz FSB for 4.2Ghz, with 933Mhz RAM. Then I'll see if I can make those sticks go under 5-5-5-15 at those clocks (Doubt it, though).

[warup89]

Originally Posted by Yukikaze

Well. It passed the Mass Effect 2 test as well. Looks like it was a combination of my old PQI sticks and not enough PLL voltage. I got it at 1.57v now, with 1.575v being the highest recommended by Intel for those chips. vcore is at 1.28v, which is probably overkill right now since extra RAM doesn't affect vcore requirements and it was stable at 1.24v with two sticks at 4Ghz, but frankly, I am just happy to see it stable with all four memory sticks for now. I spent the whole day tweaking it to heck and I am tiiiiired from it. Tomorrow the itch will be back and I'll see if I can push that FSB a bit higher. I'd like to settle at 467Mhz FSB for 4.2Ghz, with 933Mhz RAM. Then I'll see if I can make those sticks go under 5-5-5-15 at those clocks (Doubt it, though).

Sounds good, Im going to try and see if i can take my own clocks higher since i barely messed with the PLL. Believe me i just stayed at 3.98 because i was also tired from all the numbers and tests , im going to give it another go though.

[Yukikaze]

Originally Posted by warup89

Sounds good, Im going to try and see if i can take my own clocks higher since i barely messed with the PLL. Believe me i just stayed at 3.98 because i was also tired from all the numbers and tests , im going to give it another go though.

I just noticed how similar your system is to my 2nd rig, lol. Thanks

[mastrdrver]

memtest

[Yukikaze]

Originally Posted by mastrdrver

memtest

It passed as much memtests as I wanted, pretty much. Like I stated in the first post.

Originally Posted by Yukikaze

It can pass any number of MemTest rounds you can throw at it, as well.

Anyway, it seems like a nudge on the PLL voltage helped.

[sapetto]

My sticks currently run at 900Mhz but i was trying to get it to 1000 with no luck. If you get yours beyond 900Mhz please share your settings. Lol i am to lazy to buy a 1066Mhz sticks

[Sasqui]

Are you sure the PCI bus is locked at 100mhz? Sounds strangely like a video card or peripheral issue... something Linpack or Prime prob wouldn't catch.

WTF is "CTDing"?

[Yukikaze]

Originally Posted by Sasqui

Are you sure the PCI bus is locked at 100mhz? Sounds strangely like a video card or peripheral issue... something Linpack or Prime prob wouldn't catch.

WTF is "CTDing"?

CTD == Crash To Desktop.

Yeah, PCI bus is locked at 100Mhz...

[Mussels]

syntetic tests only test one part of a system at a time - not all of it.

Testing your ram at 100% with memtest may give different results to having your ram at 100%, your GPU at 100% and your CPU at 100% all at the same time (in-game)

as another odd example, what if the onboard soundcard jumping into the mix going LOOKATMEIWANTATTENTION is enough to push it over the edge?


Treat it like a new OC - dont just test it, tweak it! (voltages, timings, subtimings, make sure nothings overheating)

[d3fct]

yes pll voltage and gtl's are pretty critical when it comes to overclocking quads. i had my 9650 up to 4.6 for bench runs, and ran 24/7 4.4 was prime stable. i couldnt get full stability untilli found the right combination of gtl.

[Sasqui]

Originally Posted by Yukikaze

CTD == Crash To Desktop.

Yeah, PCI bus is locked at 100Mhz...

I'd call that a clean exit, LOL! Still inclined it's a peripheral problem, have you tried topping that speed and running? Thinking a multiplier hole in there with the NB.

Linpack is about the most tortuous test known to x86 computing... from what I've read, it was devised by an intel developer to stress silicon. Using Linpack, my temps are highest compared to anything else.

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by Sasqui

I'd call that a clean exit, LOL! Still inclined it's a peripheral problem, have you tried topping that speed and running? Thinking a multiplier hole in there with the NB.

Linpack is about the most tortuous test known to x86 computing... from what I've read, it was devised by an intel developer to stress silicon. Using Linpack, my temps are highest compared to anything else.

linpack also has an x64 mode, much more awesome

[Yukikaze]

Originally Posted by Mussels

linpack also has an x64 mode, much more awesome

Yep. I was stressing in x64 mode. Only way to stress nearly 8GB of RAM.

Well, it is now stable at 4050Mhz, which makes me happy enough.....for now.