Toledo_Speedo
Obliviot
eBay board fired right up and I am ready to OC my 5420's! Where should I start?
Building an Affordable "Skulltrail" System
- Thread starter Rob Williams
- Start date
I think the first place to start would be 3.0GHz. Since it's a 2.5GHz chip to begin with, I can't see 3.0GHz being out of reach. I'd get it there, then check for temperatures (and also stress-test the hell out of it), and then move upward if you are feeling confident.
That chip would likely be capped at a 7.5x multiplier, so you'd have to use 400MHz FSB to get to 3.0GHz. Everything left at auto should be fine, but you might want to try 1.35v for the CPU if auto proves unstable.
That chip would likely be capped at a 7.5x multiplier, so you'd have to use 400MHz FSB to get to 3.0GHz. Everything left at auto should be fine, but you might want to try 1.35v for the CPU if auto proves unstable.
Toledo_Speedo
Obliviot
Bumped FSB to 400MHz and 3.0GHz is stable and cool; Ram is Hot, I am running 8 Gigs of Cosair Ram with a 8800 GTS. Where do I go from here?
TGG Productions
Obliviot
Get a fan for your ram, also make sure the fan control in the bios is off, its in a post in this thread somewhere 
Toledo_Speedo
Obliviot
My CoolerMaster Case has space for four 120mm fans in the side panel so I will start there. 3.0GHz was almost too easy, should I OC my RAM and GPU or just leave it alone?
To be honest (and this is just -me-), I find RAM and GPU overclocking useless, so I'd not recommend wasting the time. I've overclocked a lot of GPUs throughout our many reviews here, and the differences are minor, and so I conclude that it's simply not worth the added heat or strain on the silicon.
For a higher OC, you might just want to take it slow, instead of going all out. I'd try 3.20GHz next (425x7.5), and then from there, just keep going higher. To be honest, you might hit a FSB fairly quick though, because I don't recall that board being able to go much higher than 400MHz for me. You might want to fore go the higher CPU clock right now and find the maximum FSB clock first, so that you know which is the bottleneck.
That means, lower the multiplier as you raise the FSB, so that your CPU doesn't go above 3.0GHz, and stress the rig via usual means. I'd definitely expect things to get a little difficult going higher than 400MHz though, and voltages might have to be raised, so you'll have to be a little patient, haha.
For a higher OC, you might just want to take it slow, instead of going all out. I'd try 3.20GHz next (425x7.5), and then from there, just keep going higher. To be honest, you might hit a FSB fairly quick though, because I don't recall that board being able to go much higher than 400MHz for me. You might want to fore go the higher CPU clock right now and find the maximum FSB clock first, so that you know which is the bottleneck.
That means, lower the multiplier as you raise the FSB, so that your CPU doesn't go above 3.0GHz, and stress the rig via usual means. I'd definitely expect things to get a little difficult going higher than 400MHz though, and voltages might have to be raised, so you'll have to be a little patient, haha.
Toledo_Speedo
Obliviot
The multiplier is locked @ 7.5 so I will try a 425MHz FSB to try and hit a 3.2GHz OC. 3.2 GHz would equal the QX9775 performance and would be pretty sweet for the $400 I spent.
That goes without saying. I'm definitely curious to see if you'll be able to hit it, because I wasn't able to with our E5410.
M
Mike
Guest
Hitting 425 FSB with e5420's is no problem... for a little while. But, it won't be stable. By stable, I mean running Prime95 for 24 hours. I regularly hit BSOD on that for both small FFT and blend, even with all voltages jacked way up.
I successfully ran Prime95 Small FFT at 420 FSB for 24 hours using vCore of 1.3375, vFSB 1.3 vMCH 1.35 and all defaults settings for my memory. I also ran Memtest86+ at that speed for over 24 hours without any trouble. Conclusion: CPU is stable, memory is stable.
Unfortunately, trying to run Prime95 blend at those settings always crashes (Prime95 has encountered an error and cannot continue... or something along those lines).
Conclusion: CPU/Memory interface (i.e. MCH a.k.a NorthBridge) not stable!
In fact, I suspect that even your 400 FSB won't make it through 24 hours of Prime95 blend, mine didn't.
There is a forum posting at HardForum from a guy who narrowed it down to the exact FFT size that causes the failure (3072k): http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1362510
You may be able to lower the vCore (I just got fed up by that point), but vFSB and vMCH below those voltages with any vCore gave BSOD. vMCH at 1.4 and above will result in subtle memory errors according to original post of this XtremeSystems thread: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=176078
This site gives a nice overview of using Prime95 and what each test stresses, thereby reaching the conclusion of a failed MCH: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1362510
For the moment, I've decided that all the extra voltage is not worth it for the extra 0.15Ghz. I'm staying pat at 400 FSB with only minor voltage increases. Still fails Prime95 blend. But, so does all stock speeds (i.e. 333 FSB).
I wonder if the liquid coolers out there can confirm successful 24 hours of Prime95 blend mode? If so, that would be the final push to get me into liquid cooling.
Mike
Thanks for all the info, and I can't say I blame you at all. It's simply not worth stressing components that much for so little gain. The Northbridge theory definitely seems plausable, and I'd also like to know if water-cooling would help things at all. It'd have to be a good kit, because given the NB gets so hot to begin with, I'm not sure what a medicore one would be able to accomplish.
It almost seems like you need liquid nitrogen to keep this thing stable at higher-than-stock clocks.
Toledo_Speedo
Obliviot
I agree thanks for the in depth post; I left my FSB @ 400MHz and my machine has been running fine at default voltages across the board. I am going to run a blend test today and see how it goes.
If you are feeling brave, you could try a run of IntelBurnTest. You might want to keep a fire extinguisher handy, though ;-)
Toledo_Speedo
Obliviot
I am 5 hours into the blend test and I have seen the FB-DIMM's hit 100 °C. So I threw three more 120MM fans into the side panel of my CM Stacker and that dropped temps across the board by 10 °C. We'll see if I have the BSOD in the morning.
100°C... that is ridiculous. There has GOT to be some modules out there that run cooler than that. It's no wonder server environments are run with enough fans to put a jet engine's noise to shame.
Toledo_Speedo
Obliviot
I just bought six 120mm fans: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...A-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-N82E16835185006 so I will have a total of 7 in my SkullTrail Rig!
My 4x CORSAIR 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 FB-DIMM's #CM72FB2048-800 were designed for the SkullTrail so I am hoping that when I get to the office in the morning the blend test is still running and I can get this thing cooled off!
My 4x CORSAIR 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 FB-DIMM's #CM72FB2048-800 were designed for the SkullTrail so I am hoping that when I get to the office in the morning the blend test is still running and I can get this thing cooled off!
Good choice of fans... I have the same ones used in a few machines here. Nice and quiet, but effective. The one in this main machine is so quiet, it's hard to hear the machine at all when there is nothing else on in the room. Not sure about about the noise level with seven of them though, haha.
M
Mike
Guest
Memory cooling
Corsair Dominator Airflow Fan; best money you'll ever spend. Took 30C off my memory temps. Fits right over the DIMM mounting tabs.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...&cm_mmc_o=TBBTkwCjCVyBpAgf mwzygtCjCVRqCjCVRq
Corsair Dominator Airflow Fan; best money you'll ever spend. Took 30C off my memory temps. Fits right over the DIMM mounting tabs.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...&cm_mmc_o=TBBTkwCjCVyBpAgf mwzygtCjCVRqCjCVRq
Merlin
The Tech Wizard
Not bad for the price, but some may have a clearance issue with other devices, according to where the mem slots are on the mobo. Like a large CPU cooler or hard drive trays
Toledo_Speedo
Obliviot
Passed the Blend Test after 23 Hours @ 400MHz FSB but all voltages on default; I am going to let it run for another hour and then shut her down.
I might look into a Ram Cooler after I get my case fans installed, if they don't keep it cool or I decide to go with a higher overclock a Ram Cooler would be a good choice.
I might look into a Ram Cooler after I get my case fans installed, if they don't keep it cool or I decide to go with a higher overclock a Ram Cooler would be a good choice.
Toledo_Speedo
Obliviot
Passed the Blend Test after 24 hours including the dreaded 3072k portion! Now that I have a stable 3GHz OC I am going to install my case fans, Ram Cooler and I am looking for a good North Bridge Cooler. I am looking at a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835116018 but I wanted to check here to see if anyone had any thoughts. Once I have proper cooling I am going to bump up my voltages and try for 3.2GHz and beyond.............