First overclock, Asus p5n E... please assist a modest OC.

[jackazz76]

Hi, I am pretty new to this though I have been absorbing all that I can about hardware for the past few years. I would just jump right in and start messing with stuff but I cannot afford to have to rebuild this system should I fry something. I'm hoping to find someone with the same setup to hold my hand and give me some step by step help here. I've read quite a bit on this forum and almost all the stickies. I'm not looking to push the envelope, just get a modest gain in performance as my setup is not running as fast as I feel it should.

Specs:

Case- Thermaltake Xaser supertower (7 fans)

PSU- Corsair CMPSU 450watt (1 12v rail... 33 amp)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003

Mobo- Asus p5n-E
BIOS in Everest reads
Award BIOS Type- Phoenix-AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Award BIOS Message - ASUS P5N-E SLI ACPI BIOS Revision 0703
System BIOS Date- 08/09/07
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131142

CPU- E6550 2.33 dual core (STOCK cooling)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115030

RAM- 2 X 1gb Crucial LANFEST special edition http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148144

VGA- ATI Radeon X1950 GT 256MB
Video BIOS Date- 09/05/07
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102034&Tpk=100199l

HDD- WD SATA

Optical- DVDRW(1) CDRW(1) both on ide (PATA)

I managed to set the RAM so it runs at 800mhz, ignoring all the extra settings that my motherboard showed and just setting what CPUZ specified for EPP#1, leaving the rest at auto. I believe I left the RAM voltage set to auto as well because I had no idea what to set it to.

For some reason both Everest and Asus PC probe are showing the Vcore voltage at 2.16 which I believe is very high for this CPU and I don't think that I messed that up.
EDIT: Made this red because I am concerned about this reading, anyone know if this is ok?

I am not a total n00b but I have a desire to fully understand everything before tinkering and I don't think that is possible without an advanced degree in EE. I have an associates in Comp Info and have built a few computers, so I consider myself intermediate in knowledge. I'm really hoping there is someone with nearly the same setup who can tell me what settings to change to achieve what I want out of this.

I swear I have READ a ton of stuff on various sites but none of it is very specific and reeks of messing with stuff until it becomes unstable then go back a bit... I'm not trying to find the absolute highest settings I can run.

I am planning on adding some UNLAPPED air cooling later on... and maybe some VGA cooling as well.

I've attached all the pics that I can think would be helpful.

Thanks in advance, though I dread the "read more, tinker, mess up, learn" responses that I am anticipating.

EDIT: I would like to leave the power/heat saving options turned on since LIPA already gets too much from me every month.

 

[Namslas90]

Yes, Vcore is an issue max should be around 1.35, but you shouldn't need that much, even overclocked.

Pic (in thumbnail link ) at bottom must be old or somthing??..it does not reflect the memory you stated above(shows 4 sticks vs 2). Also running 2T not 1T?

PSU is a bit weak. as far as power goes.

Work on that Vcore issue, and make sure Vdimm matches requirement for your RAM and redo screenie for mem specs.



EDIT: Also what version of BIOS are you running, new version 0801 available.

 

[kwchang007]

Hey buddy how the hell is your vcore at 2.16v? If that's where it is you are literally frying the traces in your cpu right now. Double check bios vcore...however the temps dont really reflect the extremely high vcore. Make sure you didn't screw vcore up with the memory voltage.

 

[Cold Storm]

Man, your stats don't work... its all over the place... you got memory all over the place... 333 400 then 500... you say you got two but you show 4.... Help us help you..

 

[jackazz76]

Seems there is some confusion, I am only running two sticks and just built this system a couple weeks ago. If you are referring to the last window(bottom right), I'm no expert, but I believe that grid that is labeled JEDEC #1,JEDEC #2, EPP #1, and EPP #2 are suggested settings for my ram. If you could tell me where it says I have 4 sticks, I'm curious.

So far as the Vcore, settings are at AUTO, even the memory voltage... since it ran memtest86 overnight just fine without tweaking it. When I go into bios, the hardware monitor shows the vcore at 1.29 and when I boot into windows pcprobe and everest initially show it at 1.31 BUT out of nowhere it jumps to 2.16 (CPUz, Everest and Asus PCProbe all show it at 2.16).

I copied down most of the settings from my BIOS, here they are:

Jumper Free Configuration​

AI Tuning [Auto]
these are all greyed out
x Overclock Options [Disabled]
x System Clock
x Voltage Control
x FSB and Memory Config
SLI-Ready Memory [Disabled]​

Memory Timing Settings​

tCL [4]
tRCD [4]
tRP [4]
tRAS [12]
Command Per Clock [2 oclock]​

Memory Timing Advanced​

tRRD [Auto]
tRC [24]
tWR [Auto]
tWTR [Auto]
tREF [Auto]
rRD [Auto]
tRFC [Auto]
Async Latency [Auto]​

CPU Configuration​

Type Intel Core 2 Duo
Speed2.33
Cache RAM4096 K​

CPU Multiplier [7]
CPU Internal Thermal Control [Disabled]
Limit CPUID MaxVal [Disabled]
Enhanced C1 (C1E) [Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit [Enabled]
Virtualization Technology [Disabled]
Enhanced Intel Speedstep [Disabled]​

Spread Spectrum (All Disabled)​

SLI Broadcast Aperature [Disabled]
LDT Frequency [5X]
​

Hardware Monitor​

Vcore [1.29V]
3.3V [3.24V]
5V [4.83V]
12V [12.16V]
​

The memory is set to what is because I thought I was following a spec listed by CPUz, I also spoke to a rep at Crucial and he said this is good. Screenshots were taken while writing my first post.

Namslas90- I have 0703 BIOS from August, I've always heard on updating BIOS "If it ain't broke..."

*I got the MOBO,CPU,MEM preassembled from Mwave. Do you think that maybe the MOBO or CPU is faulty and that's why It's misreporting(?) the Vcore? I noticed that all the thermal throttling and speedstep stuff is turned off, it seems that that stuff would be ON by default... Maybe the Mwave techs turned it off to make the MOBO work without errors. Possible? or am I just getting paranoid?

 

[Random Murderer]

Pic (in thumbnail link ) at bottom must be old or somthing??..it does not reflect the memory you stated above(shows 4 sticks vs 2). Also running 2T not 1T?

Man, your stats don't work... its all over the place... you got memory all over the place... 333 400 then 500... you say you got two but you show 4.... Help us help you..

:shadedshu
you guys are dumbasses. that's the speed table for ONE stick of ram. noobs.

 

[intel igent]

:shadedshu
you guys are dumbasses. that's the speed table for ONE stick of ram. noobs.

classic