Strange problems with overclocking

[jfri 42]

I have a Asus A8V Deluxe S939 mobo. When trying OC I have experienced this. I raised the FSB from 200 MHz to 220 MHzto get my AMD 64 4000+ from 2.4 GHz to 2.6 GHz. Things seems to work fine but one day when I turned on my computer nothing happened at all. When I then pressed the resetbutton I got an error message saying 'Overclocking failed'. After going into BIOS and changing FSB one MHz I could boot my system. Then I tried raising FSB to 240 MHz. That resulted in a computer that not only didn't boot but also couldn't get me into BIOS. I had to clear the CMOS to solve this. Why? On my previous CPU 3200+ I had no such problems when setting the FSB to 240 MHz or 250 MHz although I got some pronlems when installing games from a DVD.Heat can't be the issue here. My current CPU is far below max temp and runs cooler than my previous CPU. Also the problem only seems to occur when I turn on the computer so the components hasn't got any time to warm up.How risky is OC and what more than heat can cause problems?My systemAMD 64 4000+2 Gb RAM PC3200NVIDIA XFX 7950GT 512MWD Raptor 150 Gb SATAI Seagate 250 Gb and Maxtor 60 Gb IDETwo optical unitsCorsair HX 520W PSUWin XP Home

[geoffco 0]

Hi,Not sure but I suspect that your RAM is unhappy... You didn't post the settings but I wonder if it is trying to run on a 1:1 divider and failing? Have you tried underclocking the RAM and loosening the timings to check? Also, I assume you've increased the voltage a little to get the overclock working. Having spent a lot of time playing with AMD S939 setups (and finally arriving at the one in my sig) I can tell you that the key is to be patient and to work through methodically...The following is a good link for overclocking on socket 939:http://i4memory.com/f56/amd64-overclocking...07-11-06-a-327/While I think about it, from my experience with the A8V, I think you need to be careful in which SATA ports you use - the 1 and 2 ports are not locked and you'll get file corruption above 240 FSB... The 3 and 4 are fine.Good luck!Geoff

[jfri 42]

>Hi,>>Not sure but I suspect that your RAM is unhappy... You didn't>post the settings but I wonder if it is trying to run on a 1:1>divider and failing? Have you tried underclocking the RAM and>loosening the timings to check? Also, I assume you'veWhen I run the 4000+ at 220 MHz the RAM was actually underclockedand at 240 MHz it should have been around 200 MHz. When OC the 3200+ the RAM was slightly overclocked but things worked. At 255 MHz I could boot but the system crashed when playing games.>increased the voltage a little to get the overclock working.I see no setting in BIOS for this but according to the manual there should be one.>Having spent a lot of time playing with AMD S939 setups (and>finally arriving at the one in my sig) I can tell you that the>key is to be patient and to work through methodically...>And also cautious it seems to be more risky than I first thought.>While I think about it, from my experience with the A8V, I>think you need to be careful in which SATA ports you use - the>1 and 2 ports are not locked and you'll get file corruption>above 240 FSB... The 3 and 4 are fine.>I do have four SATA ports. But they are not numbered 1-4. Two on the VIA VT8237 in the southbridge and two on Promise PDC20378. I use VIA VT8237.

[geoffco 0]

>When I run the 4000+ at 220 MHz the RAM was actually>underclocked>and at 240 MHz it should have been around 200 MHz. When OC the>3200+ the RAM was slightly overclocked but things worked. At>255 MHz I could boot but the system crashed when playing>games.Looks like that's not your problem then - good to eliminate though.>I see no setting in BIOS for this but according to the manual>there should be one.I don't remember that BIOS well but it will be something like "CPU Voltage" and should be on the same page where you change the multiplier and frequency...>And also cautious it seems to be more risky than I first>thought....I never managed to actually break anything permenantly by overclocking... yet :)>I do have four SATA ports. But they are not numbered 1-4. Two>on the VIA VT8237 in the southbridge and two on Promise>PDC20378. I use VIA VT8237. I think it's the VIA ones you want to be careful with... again thoug, I'm not 100% sure I remember correctly!Geoff

[Guest D17S]

It's likely you are running the CPU as fast as it will go at 220. The higher stamp on the CPU (4000) does not necessarily mean it will overclock more that a lessor-stamped CPU (3200). The 4000 is just default-set (uses a higher multiplier) to use more of its available speed. These CPUs are identical. The 4000 is hitting the same speed cap as the 3200 it replaced. It's higher multiplier means that it only needs a 220 Mhz FSB to get there. That's why we non-rich Intel folks primarily shop for a high multiplier. For instance the $133 E7200 will O/C to 4.0Ghz just like a $300 E8600. At 4.0Ghz it would take scientific instruments to discern any difference in performance.The performance difference between an AMD dual at 2.4 vs 2.6 will not be discernible. There's really no point in overclocking, other than practice.

[jfri 42]

>It's likely you are running the CPU as fast as it will go at>220. The higher stamp on the CPU (4000) does not necessarily>mean it will overclock more that a lessor-stamped CPU (3200).>The 4000 is just default-set (uses a higher multiplier) to use>more of its available speed. These CPUs are identical. The>4000 is hitting the same speed cap as the 3200 it replaced.>It's higher multiplier means that it only needs a 220 Mhz FSB>to get there. >My current 4000+ uses a multiplier of 12 according to CPU-Z. This at a FSB of 200 MHz and 2400 MHz core speed. How can there be enough more available speed for a FX-57 to run at 2800 MHz core speed? A core speed of 2800 MHz would be a current 240 MHz FSB which completely crashed my system.Actually my core speeds are not exactly a multiple of 100 Mhz but slightly more and varies slightly. At present 2403 MHz and the decimals not constant. The same applt to core voltage.Is this normal? >The performance difference between an AMD dual at 2.4 vs 2.6>will not be discernible. There's really no point in>overclocking, other than practice.Yes I saw little if any difference when running my current CPU at 2600 MHz instead of 2400 MHz. But I think I saw a more discernable difference between 2000 MHz and 2200 MHz with the old 3200+.

[jfri 42]

>...I never managed to actually break anything permenantly by>overclocking... yet :)>Neither have I although it first aooeared to be a possibility. And is it possible?

[Guest D17S]

These CPUs are stamped on the basis of what is called "Bin Sorting." They all come down the same line to a testing station. They are checked for quality. This quality varies. The ones that will go-fast ate stamped FX57. The ones that will not go fast are stamped 3200 or 4000 or whatever speed they will run. Maybe there's a run where nothing will go faster than 2.6Ghz. That's fine. There (just) won't be any FX57s that day. Then the next, everything is running at 3.0Ghz. However there is a big order for 4000s. They are still stamped 4000, but the lucky O/Cer wins. And so it goes.Also, if you don't pay attention, you can damage components. We have an uberclocker on the boards here that has provided advice that has damaged member's equipment. Watch out for that.

[Guest Mower]

Only the rich should play with overclocking.I played with that fire for a few years and only gained nominal benefits and blew up many a component I could ill afford to replace.Recently I blew up my gaming rig EVGA 680i board when the PSU spiked while upping the voltage...killed the MOBO and the CPU.Best overclocking efforts only yielded a few more FPS in FSX, hardly worth stressing the CPU and RAM and GPU (blew that up last Feb, managed to RMA it though).It just aint worth it unless overclocking itself is your hobby rather than flying/gaming.

[jfri 42]

>Also, if you don't pay attention, you can damage components.>We have an uberclocker on the boards here that has provided>advice that has damaged member's equipment. Watch out for>that. In my case heat can't be the problem regarding the CPU. But I have thought about other components. Maybe the CPU isn't the only component that gets overclocked.

[jfri 42]

>I played with that fire for a few years and only gained>nominal benefits and blew up many a component I could ill>afford to replace.>How? Overheating?>Recently I blew up my gaming rig EVGA 680i board when the PSU>spiked while upping the voltage...killed the MOBO and the>CPU.>What do you mean by 'PSU spiked'>Best overclocking efforts only yielded a few more FPS in FSX,>hardly worth stressing the CPU and RAM and GPU (blew that up>last Feb, managed to RMA it though).>>It just aint worth it unless overclocking itself is your hobby>rather than flying/gaming.But I must say that I did notice a difference when OC my 3200+ 500 MHz FSB

[Guest simjunkie]

So you have evidence that this damage was the fault of the advice of this 'uberclocker'? Would you like to provide the name of this person? Or are you just flaming someone because you don't have the skills or knowledge to overclock correctly?Overclocking doesn't damage components at all, it's the uninformed, uneducated, cheap parts-buying rookie that pushes things too far without having the experience or wisdom to follow directions correctly.Watch out for that!-jk

[Guest Nick_N]

Im still trying to figure out who the 'uberclocker' isan 'uberclocker' would tell people to run voltages higher than safe manufacture limits and cool the system with LN2 or other extreme meansno one on this board has told anyone to do anything like thateveron top of that, an 'uberclocker' would specifically post that one must know the limits of their hardware before attempting such clocking and understand how to check for stability and safe tempsLOL!Then again for someone who never got over 400MHz stable on any decent motherbord or processor I would say a 420 FSB clock would be 'uber' to them.. much less way out of their tech abilty in understanding the safe and correct process to accomplish, or, the end resultits strange... in order to use 1066-1600-1800-2000 memory one must overclock under certain circumstances .. its a given, ... and when we buy the right parts for that job (motherboard especially) they dont burn as long as we dont exceed the voltage the manufacture spec's. Timming will never cause parts damage just boot failures and crashes.. defective parts may burn even with a user following proper voltage spectoooooooooooooo funnyplease, tell us who the 'uberclocker' is and who ever got burned please post what happened ... the part list used and the voltages runIf something went out under 'within spec' voltage settings and temps then the hardware was defective to begin with, periodthe only warning anyone needs around here is the warning to beware of the 'best buy' geek squad rep

[Guest JIMJAM]

Flame me:-wave My best freind owns a computer store and for 15 years I have been tearing up and crashing perfectly good computers.Many a morning I have been standing at his shops door with computer in hand.Most the times it was something stupid I did,usually late night red eye messin with bios settings and crashing it sometimes requiring a OS reinstall.Sometimes that expensive smell hung in the air and I would be down down a few days.Well eventually I and HE REALLY grew tired of it.Ocing and pushing the hardware was fun for awhile but those days are over for me.FSX at least for me never did like OCing anything.And if you get a ctd,graphic wierdness,stutters, is it FSX, the computer or your overclocking?FSX is already a big pain in the #### enough without adding in hotrodded components to the mix.In all my years of ocing and playing with all the bios settings, any gains were very small and IMO not worth the effort and headaches.My bios settings are default and the vid card is the only thing I fool with as far as ocing or settings.But like I said, been there done that so i understand the compulsion.I have freinds who are into muscle cars and spend thousands to get 20 more HP.Blow em up,tow em home,repeat.........So OC away. FSX doesnt care and companies like Newegg are depending on it.

[Guest Nick_N]

no one is going to flame anyonehowever if you burned parts and never saw a perf increase worth the clock thats your errorand if this adventure included a 'computer tech' I would not be going back there if they paid me for the vist.an inexperienced 'user' or 'expert' is a computers worse nightmare.. they perpetuate more damage and more myths than anything else.I suggest you get into a non-overclocked i7 965..till you find the multipliernow why would they give us that if overclocking had no purpose, produced no result and instantly burned our parts?:-lol even the BestBuy GeekSquad experts suggests a 400x9 overclock on a cheapo P35 motherboard, cheapo DDR3 800 memory and a cheapo Q6600 processor. If you ain't clockin, you ain't flyin with muchat least on FSXFS9 is of course different... we just clocked our slow as molasses in January AMD's for that!