A7N8X-Deluxe / XP2600-333 / Corsair XMS Twinx512-3200LL, OC Questions

[cal]

A7N8X Deluxe
XP2600/333FSB
Corsair XMS twinx512-3200LL
Cooler Master Aero 7 Lite
Gainward GeForce 3 Ti-450/64 Golden sample (old but still awesome)
400 watt Antec

CPU External-200
CPU Mult-11.5x
CPU Interface-Aggressive
Memory Freq-100%
SDRAM Active Prechrg Delay-6
SDRAM RAS to CAS Delay-3
SDRAM RAS Prechrg Delay-2
SDRAM CAS Latency-2T
CPU V-Core-1.800v
AGP Freq-Auto

Idles at 39-41C, Running @ 2300 Mhz with this config

Questions?
1. How high can safely up the V-core?
2. Any suggestions with SDRAM settings?
3. I can run at 12.0x / 2400Mhz but need to bump V-core higher for
good stability when gaming. Is this safe?
4. What's a relatively safe core temp.

Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated as I'm still somewhat of
an OC rookie.


thecalman

 

[Ben Pope]

A7N8X Deluxe
XP2600/333FSB
Corsair XMS twinx512-3200LL
Cooler Master Aero 7 Lite
Gainward GeForce 3 Ti-450/64 Golden sample (old but still awesome)
400 watt Antec

CPU External-200
CPU Mult-11.5x
CPU Interface-Aggressive
Memory Freq-100%
SDRAM Active Prechrg Delay-6
SDRAM RAS to CAS Delay-3
SDRAM RAS Prechrg Delay-2
SDRAM CAS Latency-2T
CPU V-Core-1.800v
AGP Freq-Auto

Idles at 39-41C, Running @ 2300 Mhz with this config

Questions?
1. How high can safely up the V-core?

Until you get to maybe 70°C Diode temp absolute maximum. 60°C would be a
better max target for total safety. In theory the core is rated to 85°C,
but calibration error and variation within the core would lead you to err on
the side of caution.

2. Any suggestions with SDRAM settings?

Thats pretty tight, you won't see much improvement from there, really. My
TwinX1024-3200LL can do 220MHz 5-2-2-2 at 2.7V, I'm under the impression
Corsair will provide a warranty to 2.8V, but will only necessary if you can
get the FSB higher. Use memtest86 to check stability of ram.

3. I can run at 12.0x / 2400Mhz but need to bump V-core higher for
good stability when gaming. Is this safe?

Temperature kills chips, not voltage (within reason .

4. What's a relatively safe core temp.

I can't imagine ever seeing heat related issues if readings remain below
60°. As I said, core is rated to 85° - you decide how bad you expect the
reading to be.

Use torture test of Prime95 to reach max temps under load (I suspect 5
minutes is going to get you to within a few degress of max temp - an hour of
continuous running without error is likely to be stable), and use MBM5 to
monitor them - it will give you a min/max over time. Idle temperature is
completely irrelevent - you want to see worst case scenario and see how
close to your limit you are.

Ben

 

[cal]

Until you get to maybe 70°C Diode temp absolute maximum. 60°C would be a
better max target for total safety. In theory the core is rated to 85°C,
but calibration error and variation within the core would lead you to err on
the side of caution.


Thats pretty tight, you won't see much improvement from there, really. My
TwinX1024-3200LL can do 220MHz 5-2-2-2 at 2.7V, I'm under the impression
Corsair will provide a warranty to 2.8V, but will only necessary if you can
get the FSB higher. Use memtest86 to check stability of ram.


Temperature kills chips, not voltage (within reason .


I can't imagine ever seeing heat related issues if readings remain below
60°. As I said, core is rated to 85° - you decide how bad you expect the
reading to be.

Use torture test of Prime95 to reach max temps under load (I suspect 5
minutes is going to get you to within a few degress of max temp - an hour of
continuous running without error is likely to be stable), and use MBM5 to
monitor them - it will give you a min/max over time. Idle temperature is
completely irrelevent - you want to see worst case scenario and see how
close to your limit you are.

Ran the Torture Test for 1-1/2 hrs. 11.5x @ 1.825v gives me 49c with
the cooler on full speed.

When boosted to 12.0x @ 1.85v it fails.

Also tried running cpu @ 204 / 11.5 @ 1.86v and this fails as well.

Do you think 11.5x @ 1.825v (2306Mhz) is about all I'll get from a
XP2600/333. Ben what is your 2500 chip capable of? Got any other
twealing ideas.

thecalman

 

[Ben Pope]

Ran the Torture Test for 1-1/2 hrs. 11.5x @ 1.825v gives me 49c with
the cooler on full speed.

Well thats ok, but I think you're measuring socket temp rather than cpu
diode?

When boosted to 12.0x @ 1.85v it fails.

Also tried running cpu @ 204 / 11.5 @ 1.86v and this fails as well.

Do you think 11.5x @ 1.825v (2306Mhz) is about all I'll get from a
XP2600/333.

It's quite possible... getting more than 2.2GHz isn't bad.

Ben what is your 2500 chip capable of? Got any other twealing ideas.

Well my 2500+ gets very hot and doesn't seem to like high FSB either. I
think I've had it at 220MHz*10.5 and managed to complete Aquamark03, but
Prime 95 would error almost immediately. I need to get temps down
considerably so that I'll feel happier with more voltage - I think I was
running ~1.825V but CPU diode temps were above 70°C, probably mid 70s if I
recall - I'd like to knock nearly 20°C off that really.

Ben

 

[cal]

Well thats ok, but I think you're measuring socket temp rather than cpu
diode?

(How do I measure diode temp?)

thecalman

 

[Ben Pope]

(How do I measure diode temp?)

www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html#MBM5

I like this having a FAQ thing

Ben

 

[Ed]

www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html#MBM5

I like this having a FAQ thing

Saves a lot of typing the same thing over and over. ;p

btw, I put the link on my page, maybe you'll get one more visitor per
day now, lol!
Cheers,
Ed

 

[Ben Pope]

btw, I put the link on my page, maybe you'll get one more visitor per
day now, lol!

Cheers!

Ben

 

[cal]

Ben,
Thanks for the great links.

thecalman

 

[Ben Pope]

Ben,
Thanks for the great links.

No Problem.

Ben

 

[cal]

Ben,
Running Prime on Torture Test & using MBM5......

XP2600/333@200fsb/11.5x/1.82v=2303MHz

Aero7Lite@ approx2575
Diode-avg.58C varies from 53 to 68C
Socket-22C
Case-62C

Aero7Lite@ approx3750(this cooler is all over the place at full bore)
Diode-avg.55C varies 50 to 61C
Socket-21C
Case-55C

Do you think these diode temps are OK? When I'm gaming I turn the
cooler up full bore. Mundane tasks I like to quiet it a little.
Someone else in this group has stated that temps should never be over
mid 40's or processor life will be reduced. What's you opinion on
this?

Is there a chance of heat caused motherboard failure from OCing?

Thanks,
thecalman

PS - Based on what I've read I never figured this tbred would OC this
good!

 

[F.N]

Anything over 55C is too hot IMO.
How is your case so hot? Bad air flow or what? Also, get a better
CPU cooler, like a SLK-900A($20 at svc.com) with a nice Panaflo 80mm
or 92mm fan for quiet operation all the time.

 

[Ben Pope]

Ben,
Running Prime on Torture Test & using MBM5......

XP2600/333@200fsb/11.5x/1.82v=2303MHz

Aero7Lite@ approx2575
Diode-avg.58C varies from 53 to 68C
Socket-22C
Case-62C

Aero7Lite@ approx3750(this cooler is all over the place at full bore)
Diode-avg.55C varies 50 to 61C
Socket-21C
Case-55C

Do you think these diode temps are OK?

You have socket and case temps reversed... it depends on whether you have a
Rev2.0 board or not as to which way round they are.

When I'm gaming I turn the
cooler up full bore. Mundane tasks I like to quiet it a little.
Someone else in this group has stated that temps should never be over
mid 40's or processor life will be reduced. What's you opinion on
this?

Core is rated to 85°C, leave 10°C for mis-calibration, 10°C for core
variation and another 5°C for good measure. That gives you 60°C, which in
my mind would be a perfectly acceptable running temp in terms of damage
(don't forget that the rated 85°C will have some margin for error as well).
Still, I would prefer temps to never exceed 60°C, although I have run mine
at up to 70°C for short periods.

I think you'll be fine and that your chip will oulive its useful life at
those temps.

Is there a chance of heat caused motherboard failure from OCing?

Well... not really. A temp inside your case of 22°C is considered room
temperature. The peaks of nearly 60°C around the socket shouldn't really
cause you any problems... it's designed with those sorts of temperatures in
mind... thermal cycling (switching the machine on and off) will probably do
damage quicker than a sustained heat of 60°C.

You'll be running a few components at a slightly higher voltage than usual,
but most components are usually well over-specced anyway so a 0.2V here and
there isn't going to make any noticeable difference. The only way you could
shorten the life of your motherboard by overclocking would be if you had a
badly designed, or faulty components on the board to start with... the
problems are more likely to appear at higher stresses but in most cases I
wouldn't expect it to shorten the life at all.

Ben