PCA Forums

I am currently overclocking my 3rd comp in 2 months (having sold the other 2) and I am now encountering a problem. Let me tell you first what the basic parts are.

XP2100
Abit KR7A-RAID Mobo
OCZ Goliath 2SE Heatsink Fan with 80mm Fan & AS3 Paste
Corsair 512 MB PC3200 DDR RAM
Western Digital 80GB HD (8mb buffer)

Ok, so with that nice RAM I figured I should be able to hit around 170FSB. Using the same mobo and an XP1800 & 1900 I got a FSB of 145 stable with PC2100 DDR RAM.

The problem is that I am having trouble even at 140 FSB !!! WTF !!! The wiring inside seems sufficient since it is shielded server grade quality. The temps are around 50 degrees so that should be cool enough.

So, should I bump up the Core voltage? Drop the multiplier and increase the FSB? Get pissed and throw a rotten fruit at the inside of the computer when running?


It should also be noted that the hard drive is running Win2k. The hard drive was mirrored of one of the old computers and then used in the new one. Do you think that could pose a problem.

Also the vid card is a GeForce 4 Ti4200 128MB

Any ideas would be very helpful.

Thanks,

Juzaam

Temps of 50c seem a little high to me. Is that at idle or under a load? Raising the vcore would seem to be the next thing to try but it will also increase the temps so you have to keep a close eye on that. Myself I would try to get the temps down a little first and then maybe try lowering the multiplier and kicking the FSB up.

I just did a processor load (100%) and the temp went to 54 degrees. Idle it seems to be about 52. The ambient case temp is 31 degrees. Should it be this high? I do have FOUR 80mm case fans (2 front intake and 2 rear exhaust). The power supply has TWO fans also. The processor seems to have one of the best HSF out there along with a generous, though not sloppy, amount of Artic Silver 3. Do those temps seem normal with that cooling?

Any ideas on what the case/proc temp "should" be?

I know that raising VCore ups the temp, (as I just tried), but it seemed to have little effect on stability.

I just ran a DDR/RAM test with DocMemory 2.0 and the Corsair 512MB PC3200 passed with no failures. Is there a way to test the RAM under different freq's to see if that is where the bottleneck is occuring.

The MoBo is spec'd to run PC2700 DDR, would the PC3200 cause a problem or just downspeed itself? I figured that it would just give me a little more oomph as I cranked up the FSB.

The physical HD should be ok, BUT I am REALLY wondering about that whole mirroring the HD from my previous comp. Though they are "almost" the same, I wonder if there was some sort of low level changes that cause instability. I guess I will need to backup the 20GB of mp3s - sigh.

Would doing a low level format and install help? I think I might *have* to.

As for cooling - I am still waiting for an Innovatek H20 Kit - though they are taking awhile to come into the store.


Let me know if you have any more ideas or comments,

Juzaam

Lot's of things effect cpu temp. How hot is the room you are in? If in a hot room then of course the cpu temp will be hotter than it should. Are the fans clogged with dust? Dust does effect performance. You might try running with the side panel off and a fan blowing at the cpu and see if that has any effect.

As for what the cpu temp should be, that also will vary from system to system. Different mobo's will run a cpu hotter and others a bit cooler. Peripherals can have an effect too. But I've never reached 50c. Not sure how good that ocz heatsink is. Since most of us think very poorly of that bad run company very few here have any ocz parts.

For some reference see my temps here, in a hot room
http://www.pcabusers.com/reviews/slk/p4.html

You might try re-doing the as3 to a thin-even layer.



If you think the os is having an effect then a normal format or even re-install may help. I'd just try a re-install first to see if that helps. Sometimes files do get corrupted when copying over.



btw, welcome to pca

IMHO your temps are pretty high and could be your problem. As far as the FSB and the memory are concerned, you can't tell if they are limiting you unless you unlock the cpu and try a lower multiplier with a high FSB.

What memory timings are you using (particularly cpu command decode)? Is your 2100+ unlocked? And yes, dropping the multiplier and increasing the FSB would be preferable to just upping the fsb with the locked multiplier.