ocing problem
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Nubius
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Well it depends, if you're overclocking the RAM then yeah you'd need to take measures in making the RAM stable so if you're going above a CPU Frequency of 200 then you're OC'ing the RAM. If you just want a CPU OC then you should raise up your multiplier incrementally although this will cause a bigger jump.
Stabelizing RAM requires upping the Dimm voltage and adjusting the timings.
Prime95 is the best program for testing CPU stability. If it can stay on for 12+ hours then you got a stable comp
Stabelizing RAM requires upping the Dimm voltage and adjusting the timings.
Prime95 is the best program for testing CPU stability. If it can stay on for 12+ hours then you got a stable comp
Nubius
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Depends on the RAM. ValueRAM I wouldn't go above .1 of it's normal spec which is generally 2.6
Some high performance RAM like the ones in your sig are rated at 2.7 or 2.75 so you'd need to bump it to 2.8 possibly for more stability.
However it's much easier to fry your RAM than your CPU via adding voltage.
The heat put out from upping the Dimm voltage really doesnt show on the RAM unless you are hitting high overclocks and voltages meaning like a dimm voltage of 3 or higher which I suggest you not try and do until you are way more familiar with overclocking.
Generally you'd only need 3 volts in trying to get DDR400 RAM up to like DDR500 equivelant which would mean putting the FSB from 200 to 250 in this case.
If you think it may be your RAM then there are a couple steps you should try before raising the voltage as that should be your last step in trying to increase stability.
Get a program called memtest86+ just google the name and download it. Put it on a bootable CD or floppy.
Now make sure the CD or Floppy is first in the boot order and let the comp boot from it.
It'll then test your memory with 7 different tests. For heavy RAM overclocking I suggest you let it run the extended tests atleast a couple of times.
See if your memory gives you any errors.
If it doesn't then you can rule out the fact that the memory is causing instabilities.
If you do get some errors generally raising the cycle time from 6 to 7 or possibly even 8 and 'loosening' up the RAM like that will allow for stability. Again you'd want to test the RAM after loosening the timings and see if the errors still persist.
Generally you won't need a voltage boost to the dimm unless you are pushing around 215-220 FSB, but like with everything, all systems and RAM sticks differ so you may need to do it at 210 or even 205 but I highly doubt it.
Upon higher overclocking loosening the other timings are needed as well.
Like if you wanted to hit 230 you'd probably have to be like 2.8-2.9 dimm voltage with timings like 2.5-3-3-9 or even possibly 2.5-4-4-9 or a combinatio of 2.5-3-4-8 of course it would require a lot of testing, trial and error and such.
Some high performance RAM like the ones in your sig are rated at 2.7 or 2.75 so you'd need to bump it to 2.8 possibly for more stability.
However it's much easier to fry your RAM than your CPU via adding voltage.
The heat put out from upping the Dimm voltage really doesnt show on the RAM unless you are hitting high overclocks and voltages meaning like a dimm voltage of 3 or higher which I suggest you not try and do until you are way more familiar with overclocking.
Generally you'd only need 3 volts in trying to get DDR400 RAM up to like DDR500 equivelant which would mean putting the FSB from 200 to 250 in this case.
If you think it may be your RAM then there are a couple steps you should try before raising the voltage as that should be your last step in trying to increase stability.
Get a program called memtest86+ just google the name and download it. Put it on a bootable CD or floppy.
Now make sure the CD or Floppy is first in the boot order and let the comp boot from it.
It'll then test your memory with 7 different tests. For heavy RAM overclocking I suggest you let it run the extended tests atleast a couple of times.
See if your memory gives you any errors.
If it doesn't then you can rule out the fact that the memory is causing instabilities.
If you do get some errors generally raising the cycle time from 6 to 7 or possibly even 8 and 'loosening' up the RAM like that will allow for stability. Again you'd want to test the RAM after loosening the timings and see if the errors still persist.
Generally you won't need a voltage boost to the dimm unless you are pushing around 215-220 FSB, but like with everything, all systems and RAM sticks differ so you may need to do it at 210 or even 205 but I highly doubt it.
Upon higher overclocking loosening the other timings are needed as well.
Like if you wanted to hit 230 you'd probably have to be like 2.8-2.9 dimm voltage with timings like 2.5-3-3-9 or even possibly 2.5-4-4-9 or a combinatio of 2.5-3-4-8 of course it would require a lot of testing, trial and error and such.
melanthius
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I have a question about what Nubius is saying,
If you are OCing the FSB to 920mhz as he said, doesn't that mean his RAM is also being OC'ed by default?
If you are OCing the FSB to 920mhz as he said, doesn't that mean his RAM is also being OC'ed by default?
Nubius
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Not necessarily. If he has his CPU and RAM on a 1:1 ratio then yeah he's overclocking his RAM, But if his computer keeps the RAM at it's designated speed of DDR400 then it will simply adjust the ratio to fit so as to keep the RAM from overclocking.
If his system was 800FSB by default and he's doing 920, that's like 230 so basically DDR460 which if he got that without upping the dimm voltage or loosening the timings I'd be pretty surprised as that's a big increase for the RAM without having to do those things for stability. So based on that I was merely assuming that the BIOS is keeping the RAM at the appropriate ratio to the CPU and keeping it at DDR400 speeds.
So basically he's creating a bottleneck in his system because the CPU is running faster than the RAM. For the best optimized OC you'd want to have a 1:1 ratio and then at that point you're not only OC'ing your processor, but the whole system FSB plus the RAM.
as of right now my ram is at 220 fsb at 880. this is with my 2-3-3-6 timings. if i move up to 225 i run into problems. not sure if its memory or cpu. i will download the memtest and give that a shot. if it comes up with errors i will mess around with my ram and see what i can do if not my cpu sucks. either way thanks for all your help.
Ok, you are running an Intel Pentium 4 Northwood. The Northwoods aren't very good overclockers. The best Northwood I have seen that is a good overclocker is a Pentium 2.4C. I pushed that to 3.2 GHz on a 267 base clock. Anyways, I'd say that 3.08 for a Northwood is a very nice overclock. You should get a Pentium 4 2.8E on a Prescott core and that should allow you to hit higher ocs like me. I hit 3.73 GHz from 2.8 GHz with my Prescott fully stable.
Nubius
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It's your RAM. You're running DDR450 basically right now which I'm surprised you are able to keep stock timings and voltages and even get up to 220, but even though you can get into windows and whatnot it still might not be completely stable at 220 and at 225 it just wants nothing to do with it.
Try 2.5-3-3-8 and see if it'll accept 225. If it doesn't then boost up the Dimm voltage by .1 to make it 2.8 if it's putting those XMS at 2.7 or 2.75 by default. If it's at 2.6 then try 2.7, then 2.8, but I wouldn't push past 2.8 until you've tried loosening the timings first.
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