Dammit, GTX 260 acting weird...

[Chronobodi]

I'm playing it just fine... and i do a game of UT3...

3 minutes in, the screen goes weird, like some sore of distorted thing, and an "UT3 has stopped working" pops up...

My PSU is more then enough for this GPU (550w OCZ Modstreamz)

so, now what? does processor speed count? it's Phenom II x3 720 on 3.4 Ghz...


sigh... i hate this crap, have any answers? or do i have to get a replacement? It's a EVGA, but i do not know about the warranty. oh i see, my 90 days is up... DAMMIT.

 

[AKM880]

Temperatures? Not overheating right?

 

[Chronobodi]

no, not at all, which is puzzling... tried burnout... it bluescreens... i went back to BIOS and set the processor back to stock voltages and 3.2 Ghz speed by turning back on "auto" instead of "manual"...

 

[jennyh]

First thing to do is put everything back at stock. If it's fine then, you know it's the cpu overclock that is causing an issue, whether heat or voltage related.

 

[rewindlabs]

Can you explain a little more about how you know its not overheating....iv heard stuff like this before...

 

[Chronobodi]

It's not overheating at all, it's probably the change in CPU voltages that probably is causing this... and the idle temps if 42C and load temp is 60C... normal temps.... i guess no more 3.4 Ghz overclocks... i haven't tested it yet.

 

[jennyh]

Download prime95, run a blend test. If it crashes immediately or really fast you need to up your voltages on the OC or lower your OC.

 

[Chronobodi]

yea... as i said, i'm testing some games on stock voltages... i'll let you know.

 

[Chronobodi]

ok, killing floor works fine... trying out UT3...

 

[Chronobodi]

Ok, i think the problem has gone away! before, it was 3 minutes until UT3 or Killing floor screws up, but when i set the CPU voltages back to stock voltages, it's fine now... so what does this mean? If i want 3.4Ghz, do i have to give it a bigger boost than i thought required?

 

[jennyh]

It means you need to overclock your cpu properly before you do anything else.

Spend an hour or so overclocking it, making sure it's 100% stable before you increase it further. When it fails, increase the voltage in small steps and keep going until you stop feeling comfortable with voltage increases or the heat gets too high.

For a 720 BE you won't want it going much higher than 1.55v and 63C. Get it stable under Prime95 and it will be stable under gaming.

At stock you should reach 3.2-3.3ghz without touching the voltages. That's not a guarantee, it's a guideline because all components are different. It might take 0.1v to reach 3.5, then 0.2v to reach 3.7. You have to decide if the extra voltage is worth the increase, especially at the top end. As an example, my 940 BE will run 100% stable at 3.9ghz and 1.6v, but it's also 100% stable at 3.8ghz and 1.525v. That last 100mhz isn't worth the extra .075v imo (or the extra heat), so I'm happy at 3.8ghz. You should be happy around 3.5-3.6 on that chip.

 

[Chronobodi]

so it should take about an 0.1 volt increase for 3.5, and the volt required for the next 200 megahertz doubles?

 

[jennyh]

so it should take about an 0.1 volt increase for 3.5, and the volt required for the next 200 megahertz doubles?

Yep pretty much although the numbers can differ depending on other factors. Just try it and see.

 

[Chronobodi]

seems there's still something else, apparently it's not just a voltage increase to keep it stable. What else? RAM timings, what is it?

 

[delluser1]

seems there's still something else, apparently it's not just a voltage increase to keep it stable. What else? RAM timings, what is it?

I'd be more inclined to believe it's the psu.
The Modstream came in 2 flavors 420 watt ( 550 peak ) and 520 watt ( 620 peak ), with 26 and 28 amps on the 12v rails.

 

[Chronobodi]

I'd be more inclined to believe it's the psu.
The Modstream came in 2 flavors 420 watt ( 550 peak ) and 520 watt ( 620 peak ), with 26 and 28 amps on the 12v rails.

I have the OCZ Fatal1ty 550 watt PSU, should that be enough anyway?

 

[delluser1]

I have the OCZ Fatal1ty 550 watt PSU, should that be enough anyway?

That's not a Modstream and should be plenty.