P5GC-MX/1333 333Mhz Problem

[the_tones2301]

Hi,
This is my first post so hopefully i'll do it all right

Basically i just bought an E2160, an ASUS P5GC-MX/1333 and am using 2x512mb A-DATA DDR2 800 sticks for my second/lan computer. The P5GC-MX has got plastered all over it its capable of 333mhz, so i figured an e2160 with its 9x multiplier could get 2 3ghz on that, and for the price i thought it was a good bargain. I have previously owned a motherboard (ASrock) with a 945g chipset and the overclocking was continually hampered by the whole PCI-Express linking problem. As far as i figured the PCI-Express needed to be overclocked as well as the fsb. Having read this asus was capable of 1333mhz and not reading anything anywhere about pci-e overclocking as well i assumed the 945gc chipset possibly solved this problem, but after some use it seems i was wrong. I have a couple of queries, does any1 out there no what pci-e frequencies you need for each fsb frequency on this chipset? does it vary with boards or is are they similar values?

Also to remove my chip as a limiting factor i dropped its multiplier 2 6x, now at 333mhz this only produces a clock speed of about 2ghz, which i know my chip can handle as i've been up 2 2.9 just with a few pci-express problems due to the increased pci-e frequency, but i have tried everything and i can't get my motherboard to work at 333mhz.

in terms of ram to remove it as a limiting factor i put its timings to something like 6-6-6-18-6, and left it at the 1:1 ratio so at 333mhz my 800mhz ram is only running at 666mhz which once again should not caust any problems whatsoever.

i've also disabled all speed step, c1e enhanced halt states, thermal monitors and spread spectrums to remove anything that could affect my overclocking, and am left with no reason i can tell that it can't reach 333mhz, apart from the mobo not beign able to reach that clockspeed.

so just wondering if there is anything you guys can think of that i may be doing wrong, or is it simply a case of the mobo not working as it should? and either getting a replacement or a different mobo?
which brings me to another question, has ne1 had any experience with this motherboard? if i was to get another board, what one would u suggets? i'm after something cheap that can get my e2160 to 3ghz, nothing more, need ethernet, sata, pci-e and thats about it fomr what i can think of, the cheapest board that does that, which is why this asus seemed perfect but it's giving me more problems then i had hoped!

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to get some feedback on all ur experiences and thoughts on the matters,

For any replies, thanx in advance!

 

[Mondoman]

It could also be that your CPU cannot handle the 1333MHz FSB. Remember, it's only rated at an 800MHz FSB, so not all are likely to be able to handle 1333MHz FSB. I'm not familiar with your MB, but most decent BIOSes nowadays should allow you to "unlink" the PCIexpress, PCI, etc bus speeds from the FSB speed. If you haven't already, you can experiment with boosting the CPU and/or northbridge voltage a notch or two.

 

[the_tones2301]

thanx for the reply, so what ur saying is hat even thoug the clock speed may not be hard for it 2 manage (333x6)? but the high fsb might be causing it to be unstable?

basically you can set the pci-express seperately but regardless of the chip, lots of fsb's will caust the computer not to post at 100mhz for instance, and they need a higher pci-e to work, its a weird problem but its something i've noticed many people having with the 945 chipset, and i would love to up voltages but this motherboard doesn't ahve any of that, as i said it was the cheapest thing i could pick up, was 60 bux Australian, so thats like 55 american or something i reckon, so yea, i think i'll just have to get a 965 or p35 chipset, just a basic one, but was hoping i might be able 2 avoid that as money is a bit tight.

 

[Mondoman]

thanx for the reply, so what ur saying is hat even thoug the clock speed may not be hard for it 2 manage (333x6)? but the high fsb might be causing it to be unstable?

Yes, remember part of the CPU chip connects with the FSB, while the core runs at high speed. The FSB part may very well have trouble while the core is working fine.

 

[the_tones2301]

An update on this motherboard, for anyone who had the same problem.

I got sick of trying different things so i switched my e6300 into it, which i know can get 2 500x7 as thats what i run it at. Then put the e2160 into my gigabyte p965-s3. With the e6300 i got the mobo up to a fsb of 350, so i'm thinking dang, the chip really sucks, throw it in the p965 and the thing got 2 about 3.4ghz realtively easily, that was running at something like 380 fsb. So i know the chip can get easily over 333 and i no the mobo can get over 333.

With a bit more testing and screwing around, i've come to the conclusion that the motherboard has a pci-e and fsb link, this is pretty well known for 945 mobos, but what this mobo does is change the ratio of pci-e to fsb based on your chips base fsb. So the e6300 has a 266 fsb, (1066) and the e2160 has a 200 fsb (800) stock. I overclocked the e2160 to 266, and it would boot but the pci-e was so high my hdd's wouldn't register. But at 266 on the e6300 it was perfect. So with the 266 fsb i was able 2 reach over 350 before the pci-e started getting to high but with the e2160 i could only get 2 about 260. So if you want this motherboard make sure you get a chip with at least a 266 fsb if you want to reach 333. It will run 333mhz at stock fine but you can't get a 200mhz fsb based chip to anything over 260. Hope this helps any1 to not make the same mistake i did! hehe