barry6743 Posted May 19, 2005 Author Share Posted May 19, 2005 You are quite welcome and please let me know when you get the new PSU! Received and installed the new PSU a little while ago. It was a complete success. Now runs comfortably at 275MHz. One of the BIOS settings I had previously overlooked was in the Plug-n-Play options under PCI Latency. The default was 32 but I recalled that in the installation manual for this video card it recommended 128, when resetting the BIOS this time I made that change when the deafult did not work and Lo and Behold..... IT WORKED. Sometimes RTFM actually does something but it seems to take all of the adventure out of everything. (It just may be that this adjustment alone might have fixed the problem but I feel better with a larger and better PSU). The last time that I exceeded 275 MHz I got a corrupted Boot. ini file and had to reformat/Install everything. Any idea how to avoid this problem in the future? Having acheived 275 I would like to try for something more ambitious or at least find the max for my rig. Thanks All, Barry Jones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted May 19, 2005 Corsair Employee Share Posted May 19, 2005 Its best to use something to test the system like http://www.memtest.org to make sure the settings are stable. Its not a 100% but will catch most of the problems that would corrupt a HDD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry6743 Posted May 20, 2005 Author Share Posted May 20, 2005 Its best to use something to test the system like http://www.memtest.org to make sure the settings are stable. Its not a 100% but will catch most of the problems that would corrupt a HDD. It is stable (no errors) using Memtest at 290MHz as long as I use the RAM divider at 333MHz, but as soon as I boot into the regular HDD the processor fails. I tried lowering the CPU multiplier from 9 but the selector seems locked. When I select the multiplier and hit enter nothing happens. At any HTT above 275 with the RAM at 1:1 there are many errors. I guess I will have to be satisfied with the 2478MHz that I have until I can afford another processor. Thanks anyway, Barry Jones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted May 20, 2005 Corsair Employee Share Posted May 20, 2005 That is still a great O.C. and as the bios matures it may improve the O.C ability as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry6743 Posted May 25, 2005 Author Share Posted May 25, 2005 That is still a great O.C. and as the bios matures it may improve the O.C ability as well. I had to replace the Swiftech MCP-350 water pump in my system and the replacement works great. (normal temps@20 C and working hard 33 C). The machine is now completely stable at 275 MHz. It seems that the combination of a new (and much better) water pump and having to remove, clean and replace the HS compound on the processor has done the trick. Thanks All, Barry Jones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted May 25, 2005 Corsair Employee Share Posted May 25, 2005 Good deal and thanks for letting us know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry6743 Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 Good deal and thanks for letting us know! I still seem to be having RAM related problems. If I set the RAM divider to 333 instead of 400 the machine will run at 275MHz. As soo as I try 400 with either SPD, Auto or Manual using the factory specs (2.5.4.4.8) the machine reboots during any load. Could you suggest any looser RAM timings to help compensate for this problem? Do you think that if I switch to the other RAM slots(3&4) that this would help? I have run Memtest with both sticks in place and have no errors. Any alternative tests available or should I plan on sending this RAM back to the factory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeghoofd Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 I think you have reached the limit of the mobo chipset and the CPU controller. The multiplier used is the stock one. What bios are you on ? 20 version ? Do you run at 2.8 volts ? HTT 3X ? You can drop the multiplier to 8X and try DDR400 then or set the command rate to 2T but then you would loose memory bandwith. more relaxed timings could be 3-4-4-10 , give us a screenie of A64 tweaker how all memory settings are set now so we have abetter idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry6743 Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 I think you have reached the limit of the mobo chipset and the CPU controller. The multiplier used is the stock one. What bios are you on ? 20 version ? Do you run at 2.8 volts ? HTT 3X ? You can drop the multiplier to 8X and try DDR400 then or set the command rate to 2T but then you would loose memory bandwith. more relaxed timings could be 3-4-4-10 , give us a screenie of A64 tweaker how all memory settings are set now so we have abetter idea BIOS are 19, DDRV@2.8 (reads as 2.89v in UGURU), HTT@ 2X. How do I provide you with a Screen Shot without a digital camera? I tried BIOS 20 but they were a waste of time so I went back to 19. The RAM fails at anything over 250MHz. I thought this RAM should be stable up to 275MHz? I am considering upgrading to a 3200 so I can reach the same (or better) speed without such a high FSB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeghoofd Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 for the screenshot just press the Prt Scr button, then paste the image into eg Paint, save it as jpg and upload it to your reply. A64 tweaker here for grabs http://www.akiba-pc.com/download.php?view.40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry6743 Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 for the screenshot just press the Prt Scr button, then paste the image into eg Paint, save it as jpg and upload it to your reply. A64 tweaker here for grabs http://www.akiba-pc.com/download.php?view.40 Here is what I came up with for the A64Tweaker reading. [DRAM] Tcl=5 Trc=4 Trfc=5 Trcd=4 Trrd=2 Tras=8 Trp=4 Twr=1 Twtr=1 Trtw=3 Tref=10 ReadWriteQueueBypass=2 ControllerMode=1 ECCMode=0 BypassMax=4 TwoTTiming=0 MaxAsyncLatency=7 ReadPreamble=9 IdleCycleLimit=3 DynamicIdleCycleCounter=1 MEMCLKFrequency=5 MEMCLK0=1 MEMCLK1=1 MEMCLK2=1 MEMCLK3=1A64 Tweaker readings.bmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeghoofd Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Well as I can see there are some errors I included a screenie I made with stock Apacer ram in the rig ( at 200mhz) but they are a good starting point then gradually increase the ramspeed to 210-220-230-240-250 and see what gives. the thing that worries me is the Trc value being so low I never had that on my Abit neither with my Corsair XL ram in it , I would increase that value to 12 or even 14, try the ones below but I rather see a screenie made by you Tcl=3 (Cas latency at 5 ?) Trc=12 Trfc=5 Trcd=4 Trrd=3 Tras=8 Trp=4 Twr=3 Twtr=2 Trtw=4 Tref=10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry6743 Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 Well as I can see there are some errors I included a screenie I made with stock Apacer ram in the rig ( at 200mhz) but they are a good starting point then gradually increase the ramspeed to 210-220-230-240-250 and see what gives. the thing that worries me is the Trc value being so low I never had that on my Abit neither with my Corsair XL ram in it , I would increase that value to 12 or even 14, try the ones below but I rather see a screenie made by you Tcl=3 (Cas latency at 5 ?) Trc=12 Trfc=5 Trcd=4 Trrd=3 Tras=8 Trp=4 Twr=3 Twtr=2 Trtw=4 Tref=10 When I raised the Trc to either 12 or 14 at 400MHz the machine would lock uo while the desktop was loading. The BMP pic I attached is better than the Text file I copied into my previous post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted June 2, 2005 Corsair Employee Share Posted June 2, 2005 As for the ABIT AV8, try these settings. Please put the memory module on either slots 1&2 or 3&4; make sure that you have the latest BIOS for your MB, and set the following settings on your BIOS; TwinX512 or TwinX1024-4400C25 Guru Utility CPU Operating Speed: User Define External Clock: 275/66/33 CPU Multiplier or CPU/LDT ratio: 8X Memory Clock: 200 or 400MHz DDR SDRAM Voltage: 2.8 Volts AGP VDDQ Voltage: 1.6/1.65V Advanced Chipset/DRAM Configuration: DRAM Timing Selectable: User Define DRAM Clock: DDR400 DRAM Command Rate: 2T Cas Latency Time: 2.5T RAS# to CAS Delay (tRCD): 4T Min. RAS# Active Time (tRAS): 8T RAS# Precharge Time (tRP): 4T HT or LTD Frequency: 4X All other settings should be set to default settings! Then please test them one at a time with http://www.memtest.org and let’s make sure it's not some other issue! I would run the test for at least 2-3 passes to be sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry6743 Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 As for the ABIT AV8, try these settings. Please put the memory module on either slots 1&2 or 3&4; make sure that you have the latest BIOS for your MB, and set the following settings on your BIOS; TwinX512 or TwinX1024-4400C25 Guru Utility CPU Operating Speed: User Define External Clock: 275/66/33 CPU Multiplier or CPU/LDT ratio: 8X Memory Clock: 200 or 400MHz DDR SDRAM Voltage: 2.8 Volts AGP VDDQ Voltage: 1.6/1.65V Advanced Chipset/DRAM Configuration: DRAM Timing Selectable: User Define DRAM Clock: DDR400 DRAM Command Rate: 2T Cas Latency Time: 2.5T RAS# to CAS Delay (tRCD): 4T Min. RAS# Active Time (tRAS): 8T RAS# Precharge Time (tRP): 4T HT or LTD Frequency: 4X All other settings should be set to default settings! Then please test them one at a time with http://www.memtest.org and let’s make sure it's not some other issue! I would run the test for at least 2-3 passes to be sure! Some questions. First the highest available AGP/PCI divider is 8:2:1 which at 275MHz runs the AGP/PCI bus slightly out of spec (275:68:34). If I lower the CPU multilpier the computer thinks I have installed a new processor. When booting up it rediscovers all of the hardware inside eg; The drives, the Built-in NIC, etc. I suspect it would even want to reverify the windows OS. Next the LDT mult. My understanding is that at 4x anything over 250MHz would be requiring the processor to run out of spec. Hence the curent LDT setting of 2x (since the 3x setting in this board is real buggy). I would like to clarify these issues before I make the suggested changes. Thanks for the input. Barry Jones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry6743 Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 Some questions. First the highest available AGP/PCI divider is 8:2:1 which at 275MHz runs the AGP/PCI bus slightly out of spec (275:68:34). If I lower the CPU multilpier the computer thinks I have installed a new processor. When booting up it rediscovers all of the hardware inside eg; The drives, the Built-in NIC, etc. I suspect it would even want to reverify the windows OS. Next the LDT mult. My understanding is that at 4x anything over 250MHz would be requiring the processor to run out of spec. Hence the curent LDT setting of 2x (since the 3x setting in this board is real buggy). I would like to clarify these issues before I make the suggested changes. Thanks for the input. Barry Jones. I tried the settings you suggested. At first things went well but when I ran 3dMark05 the machine locked up with an error message (unable to load next map) and when I quit out of that and restarted the computer the machine locked at the Blue welcome screen (BSOD). I am currently back at the previous settings (CPU Mult at 9x, HTT @275, RAM AT 333MHz, 1T,2.5,4,4,8). I will test the RAM one stick at a time as suggested. Any other suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeghoofd Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Downgrade to Bios 17, the 19 has the issues you are talking about , when something happens it completely redetects the hardware, plus I needed to have the Cd rom all the time for the Soundcard. Did you try 2T command yet ? I think you will need to make a choice, DDR 400 might not be possible at those speeds, 250 might , but many peeps have issues with breaking the 250Mhz barrier on a VIA chippie. It's really weird the ram survives memtest. I never pushed my 3500 core higher than 240mhz I got a smooth 2400Mhz with an amazing bandwith at 2.5-3-2-6 1T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry6743 Posted June 3, 2005 Author Share Posted June 3, 2005 Downgrade to Bios 17, the 19 has the issues you are talking about , when something happens it completely redetects the hardware, plus I needed to have the Cd rom all the time for the Soundcard. Did you try 2T command yet ? I think you will need to make a choice, DDR 400 might not be possible at those speeds, 250 might , but many peep shave issues with breaking the 250Mhz barrier on a VIA chippie. I never pushed my 3500 core higher than 240mhz I got a smooth 2400Mhz with an amazing bandwith at 2.5-3-2-6 1T When I ran Memtest on the RAM sticks individually one of the sticks had several (6+) errors in test 5. 4 the first pass and more in the 3rd pass. So it seems that a faulty RAM stick may be the cause of most, if not all, of the problems. The faults were all "Failing Addresses" from 172.5MB TO 475.5MB. Should I ask for an RMA for this RAM ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeghoofd Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 Well I think we found the error then, did you try to run the rig with the mentioned settings with the working Dimm ? RAM Guy will help you to RMA them, he's the best :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry6743 Posted June 3, 2005 Author Share Posted June 3, 2005 Well I think we found the error then, did you try to run the rig with the mentioned settings with the working Dimm ? RAM Guy will help you to RMA them, he's the best :) Yes and as a result I have just spent quite some time reinstalling windows on 2 drives which were corrupted by the different settings. I would like that RMA soonest. Thank you, Barry Jones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted June 4, 2005 Corsair Employee Share Posted June 4, 2005 Please follow the link in my signature: "I Think I Have a Bad Part. What Do I Do?". Please let me know if you need further help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry6743 Posted June 4, 2005 Author Share Posted June 4, 2005 Please follow the link in my signature: "I Think I Have a Bad Part. What Do I Do?". Please let me know if you need further help. I called Corsair Tech support and after making the suggested adjustments in the BIOS found no impovement. In order to play any games I still have to run the RAM at 333MHz. I guess the memory controller in this processor is simply not up to the requested task (running the RAM at 275MHz). After having to Repair Windows on all three drives in my computer I am going to stick with what I can get to reliably work for now. Thank You All for your Intended help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted June 7, 2005 Corsair Employee Share Posted June 7, 2005 That would make the memory run at DDR460 and if they pass at that it's more than likely the CPU holding you back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry6743 Posted June 7, 2005 Author Share Posted June 7, 2005 That would make the memory run at DDR460 and if they pass at that it's more than likely the CPU holding you back. It actually passes Memtest (in Dual Channel Mode) at the defined PC4400. I think that the Memory Controler in the processor itself is the culprit (possibly why it never rated past +3000 status). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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