Boot Up Issues

[pmacdonald]

I was able to get my CPU up to 6x @ 440MHz with all of the stock voltages and it was stable. I then upped it to 450MHz and the system wouldn't boot up. I've tried adjusting the DRAM Voltage, vcc, NBCore, and the VTT with no luck. I did get the system to boot twice but then I got a windows error and tried adjusting the settings just by a little and still no luck.

What causes this and how do I fix it?

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P
EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 280
Corsair 750TX
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 Timing
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit
Arctic Cooking MX-2 Thermal Compound
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle w/Retention Bracket

Here's some of the settings I've tried:

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto
CPU Clock Ratio .......................: 6
CPU Frequency .........................: 6x450

Clock Chip Control

Standard Clock Control

CPU Host Clock Control.................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 450
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) ...........: 100
C.I.A.2 ...............................: [Disabled]

DRAM Performance Control

Performance Enhance....................: Standard
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.)........: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch.................: 333MHz
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.00B
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ................: 900MHz

DRAM Timing Selectable ................: Manual

Standard Timing Control (I've tried 6-6-6-18 and 4-4-4-12)

CAS Latency Time.......................: 5
tRCD ..................................: 5
tRP'...................................: 5
tRAS...................................: 15


CPU

Load-Line Calibration..................: [Enabled]
CPU Vcore..............................: 1.250
CPU Termination........................: 1.1V - 1.3V
CPU PLL................................: 1.50V-1.57V
CPU Reference..........................: Auto

MCH/ICH

MCH Core...............................: 1.1V-1.36V
Reference..............................: Auto
MCH/DRAM Ref...........................: Auto
ICH I/O................................: 1.5V
ICH Core...............................: 1.100V

DRAM
DRAM Voltage...........................: 1.8V-1.9V
DRAM Termination ......................: Auto
Channel A Reference....................: Auto
Channel B Reference ...................: Auto

What would cause the system not to boot up?

 

[RJR]

OK, i'll bite.........WHY the 6X multiplier??

 

[cliffro]

I thought the same thing as soon as I started reading.

You could be hitting a FSB wall. And a FSB of 450*6 = 2700 or 2.7ghz. There are easier ways to underclock.

However, My guess is your trying to hit 4.2 or 4.3ghz. as it makes more sense.

 

[pmacdonald]

I was told in another post to start at 6x and try to max out my FSB and then up the multiplier.

I was able to get the system to boot by raising the CPU Termination to 1.36 and the MCH Core to 1.38 Anything lower and the system wouldn't boot. I ran Prime95 and it wasn't even stable for a minute. So then I tried increasing the CPU PLL to 1.570 and that didn't change it. So I raised my DRAM Voltage from 1.8-1.9 and that didn't help either. Next I tried raising both the CPU Termination and MCH Core but once again that failed as well. I also tried to change the memory timings and ICH Core with no luck.

Any ideas on why that wouldn't work?


By your replies it seems I should be using a higher multiplier to start with, correct? What are some settings you recommend?

 

[RJR]

That is perfectly fine, I was just curious about the multiplier. No one seems to want to take the time to do it that way anymore.

If I had to guess, I would either agree with Cliffro about a Fsb wall, in which case just jump 10-30 Mhz above 450 and try there or your 800 ram that is rated at 800Mhz@4-4-4-12 @ 1.8-1.9v may not like running at 900 Mhz@ 5-5-5-15 @ 1.8-1.9v. You could try a little more memory voltage and see if that helps. If that doesn't work you may need a little more NB voltage, I'm just using my P35 as an example and my system required 1.4v to stabilize above 450Mhz. But since all boards/chips/ram/etc. are unique in their ability to OC it's just a trial and error thing. Good luck.

Oh, one more thing I've just noticed, you have your memory strap set to 333 (2.0B), you may want to loosen that up a little by setting it to 400 (2.00D).

 

[pmacdonald]

Should I set my ram drive channel strength? If so what to?

I tried upping the fsb to 470 and still no luck. I got the system to boot though. I couldn't get completely into windows with my memory strap at 400 (2.00D) but did at 333 (2.00B). In prime95 it stopped after less than a minute still though. I've tried the NBCore up to 1.42 and the CPU Term up to 1.4 as well.

Right now I'm running Prime95 at 9x400 3.6GHz and so far so good. With the 333 (2.00B) setting the ram is at 800 right now. I left the CPU Term at 1.6 and the NBCore at 1.8 and it's running fine so far.

I think the ram is the problem for this following reason as well. Some of the time right before I got into windows a blue screen would come on saying that windows has shut down to prevent damage and I believe it said it was due to the ram (the screen didn't stay up for long so not enough time to read it). I don't think I should be or have the need to increase the NBCore or CPU Term any more.

What do you recommend I try next? I looks like the system is pretty stable so far at 3.6GHz but I want/need to know why the settings didn't work at 6x450+. Any other ideas?

 

[pmacdonald]

After trying MANY settings with the 6x450/480 I just can't seem to get it right, so I was trying to figure out what variable was doing this to me.

I put my settings on 1.6 VTT, 1.8 NBCore, and the Vcore two spots up from normal. I then put my ram to the 2.00B setting again (tried playing with the other one for awhile). I tried this for 9.5x400 3.8GHz. So far this system is stable....mmmmm....it seems like I can't raise my FSB past 440 (max I was able to get stable) no matter what I try. I believe this is due to my ram. Right now the ram is running 1:1 at 400MHz. When at 450+ it's around 450MHz. What setting do I have to adjust to make this change 'allowable'?