Phenom II X2 550 turns into a Phenom II X4 B50

[Jim937]

What's up with the lock-ups? Mine booted right after the build, I've had no problems with it at all so far...
Can you explain exactly what happens with yours?

Hi,

I wish I knew what my lock-up/freeze problem was it is very random, it happens at any time in any App or game, I've spent 2 weeks reading and can't find a solution, I must have installed something that threw it off...I too was able to boot right after I completed the build, it ran fine for 2 weeks then the lock-ups started.

I should have made a note of the time & date, I do keep a record of my Installs & driver upgrades, but I can't connect the two. I will most likely do a Format & OS reinstall and start from the beginning "or" uninstall every thing except the OS, this time I will keep a better Log.

Memtest86 & Drive Fitness Test were perfect, no problems

I do have one concern with the limits on physical memory for WinXP it is 4GB...my comp only shows 3.25GB of RAM.

 

[OvrClkr]

Have you tested with prime95? If not then its time you try that......

 

[videl]

I would not do that, if anything condenses (gets wet) you can do some serious damage to your hardware. I have a 30.00$ cooler on my 550 and at 3.5Ghz it never reaches 50c (49c MAX). When i buy the CPU the first thing I do is throw the stock heat-sink in a box i use to keep all my old hardware and install an aftermarket cooler. IMO stock coolers are a piece of junk unless you plan on not doing any overclocking at all.

Yeah, I'm planning to get a cooler very soon...what do you think about this one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001

 

[OvrClkr]

That is a great heat-sink, its VERY big so measure first before buying....

 

[videl]

That is a great heat-sink, its VERY big so measure first before buying....

It should fit, I'm sure I have enough room...

 

[videl]

This is a great heat sink

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004

frosty tech has it as the #2 best air cooler and for only $24

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

That one is nice too, it looks a lot like the one I posted...and it's cheaper...

 

[videl]

Hi,

I wish I knew what my lock-up/freeze problem was it is very random, it happens at any time in any App or game, I've spent 2 weeks reading and can't find a solution, I must have installed something that threw it off...I too was able to boot right after I completed the build, it ran fine for 2 weeks then the lock-ups started.

I should have made a note of the time & date, I do keep a record of my Installs & driver upgrades, but I can't connect the two. I will most likely do a Format & OS reinstall and start from the beginning "or" uninstall every thing except the OS, this time I will keep a better Log.

Memtest86 & Drive Fitness Test were perfect, no problems

I do have one concern with the limits on physical memory for WinXP it is 4GB...my comp only shows 3.25GB of RAM.

32 bit windows can only recognize up to 3.25 gigs of ram but 64 bit goes way into terabytes i think (something like 128 terabytes)
So you have no problem there...

 

[videl]

Actually 64 bit vista home premium can see 16gigs

"64 bit goes way into terabytes i think (something like 128 terabytes)"

You are thinking about hard drive space there, Windows 32x can see 32^2 bites of hard drive space

Windows 64x can see 64^2 bites of hdd space

Ohh...I see...thanks for the correction...
still 16 gigs is like the max on PCs these days...

 

[videl]

I'm gonna go do some benchmarks and post them up...just installed win XP...

 

[meodowla]

Hi,.. i O.C my Phenom II X2 550 BE on my mobo with nVidia 720a chipset to 3.41GHz.. with stock cooler.....check the temp.

3DMark 06 scores at 3.1GHz

3DMark 06 scores at 3.41GHz

3DMark06 score with Athlon64 X2 6000+ at 3.3GHz

 

[Jim937]

Have you tested with prime95? If not then its time you try that......

Hi,

Prime95s first test is ok, the second & 3rd test locks up my computer, it gets completely frozen and does not respond to control/alt/delete, I need to press the reset button. Now I'm worried !

Test #1: [Sun Jul 19 03:20:59 2009]
Self-test 8K passed!
Self-test 8K passed!

 

[OvrClkr]

IMO that is a RAM issue... have you tested your RAM (1 stick at a time?)

 

[videl]

Hi,

Prime95s first test is ok, the second & 3rd test locks up my computer, it gets completely frozen and does not respond to control/alt/delete, I need to press the reset button. Now I'm worried !

Test #1: [Sun Jul 19 03:20:59 2009]
Self-test 8K passed!
Self-test 8K passed!

http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww279/Jim937/Prime95.jpg

OvrClkr is right...
That probably is a ram issue because the first test uses barely any ram...and the other tests use way more...
Test it with memtest86...

 

[OvrClkr]

Same thing happen to me with my last build, every now n then it would freeze to a point that I wouldn't be able to turn off the PC unless I reset, or hold the power button till the PC shut off. I RMA'ed the RAM back to Newegg, 4 days later I had 2 new sets that were tested for 48 hours using memtest86 and prime95 and everything was fine. Now at days it is more likely that you might get a bad stick or two, so its always good to test the RAM before you send in any rebate info.... Took me 2 RMA's till i could get 2 flawless sets of OCZ Platinum 1066Mhz memory.

 

[videl]

I wouldn't recommend OCZ...I have good experience with G.Skill and Patriot so far...not one single bad stick...

 

[videl]

Here are some scores...

For those who don't know:
Hardware/Software:

phenom II X2 550 unlocked to be a phenom II X4 B50
4gig G.Skill 1333 ddr3 ram
GA MA770T UD3P
Sapphire ATI Radeon 4850
Win XP 32

Stock settings and speeds
(CPU @ 3.1, graphics gpu @ 625, graphics memory @ 993)

CPU OCed @ 3.2, graphics gpu @ 650, graphics memory @ 1050

CPU OCed @ 3.6, graphics gpu @ 700, graphics memory @ 1200

CPU OCed @ 3.8, graphics gpu @ 700, graphics memory @ 1200

What do you guys make of this?

 

[videl]

Hi,.. i O.C my Phenom II X2 550 BE on my mobo with nVidia 720a chipset to 3.41GHz.. with stock cooler.....check the temp.
http://i702.photobucket.com/albums/ww29/meodowla/PC.jpg

3DMark 06 scores at 3.1GHz
http://i702.photobucket.com/albums/ww29/meodowla/Untitled2.jpg

3DMark 06 scores at 3.41GHz
http://i702.photobucket.com/albums/ww29/meodowla/Untitled3.jpg

3DMark06 score with Athlon64 X2 6000+ at 3.3GHz
http://i702.photobucket.com/albums/ww29/meodowla/Untitled.jpg

Nice, but get a nicer cooler if you plan to leave it like that...then you will have room to go higher...
Have you tested it with prime95?

 

[Jim937]

IMO that is a RAM issue... have you tested your RAM (1 stick at a time?)

Hi,

Yes 1 stick at a time they both passed Mem86 again. I ran each stick in Prime95, stick #1 Passed...stick #2 Locked up my comp. I'm getting a RMA from OCZ for stick #2.

Thanks for all the help. I will advise once I have both sticks up & running

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-OCZ Technology Support Staff

 

[meodowla]

Nice, but get a nicer cooler if you plan to leave it like that...then you will have room to go higher...
Have you tested it with prime95?

Yeah... all test passed..

 

[OvrClkr]

I wouldn't recommend OCZ...I have good experience with G.Skill and Patriot so far...not one single bad stick...

OCZ is TOP NOTCH specially with the DDR3 modules, they just have a bad batch every now n then just like every other manufacturer. I have had bad sticks from G.Skill and Patriot....as long as we can RMA it is not an issue.....

 

[Jim937]

Hi,

First let me Thank Videl for the use of his thread, I did not mean to hijack it

This is the part I hate, one stick works at the current config the other does not...now I will change my BIOS settings from AUTO to Manual and use their settings & lets see what happens.

-------------------------------------------------------
Please be advised that the status on your trouble ticket
has been changed from Acknowledged to Waiting on Customer
with the following comment:
-------------------------------------------------------
Comment: Hello James,

Try clearing the CMOS and then manually adjusting the memory settings in the BIOS. For this particular kit I recommend using timings of 7-7-7-20, command rate of 2t, and 1.8 volts.

If the problems persist even with these settings try testing each memory stick individually with Memtest. You can download a bootable copy from http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/be_pagegen.php?id=tools.

If you find errors with your memory, especially if the errors follow one particular memory stick, your memory is likely faulty and will need replacement with an RMA.

 

[OvrClkr]

No worries, as we are here to help you.....if you have tested each stick individually and find one to be faulty, just RMA the bad stick and you should be fine....

On the other hand, you should always change the timings when you install your RAM regardless. Most of the time leaving it on Auto will result in lock-ups, BSOD's, etc.....

 

[Jim937]

No worries, as we are here to help you.....if you have tested each stick individually and find one to be faulty, just RMA the bad stick and you should be fine....

On the other hand, you should always change the timings when you install your RAM regardless. Most of the time leaving it on Auto will result in lock-ups, BSOD's, etc.....

Hi,

Both sticks just passed the Prime95 test only difference is that I set the memory voltage to 17v that is a increase of +0.200v...OCZ tech recommends 18v however the +0.300v setting was in Red so I did not use it.

I also did not clear my CMOS yet, now that the the sticks passed Prime95 I wonder IF I should clear it...what do you think?

I ran a second Prime95 test with both sticks installed & added more torture to this test by running my game World of Warcraft, CPU-Z & E6 all running at the same time...it PASSED see screen shot below !!!

BIOS: Mem Clock X666 = 1333Mhz, 7.0-7.0-7.0-20-28 T2, 17.0 voltage

Why does CPU-Z SPD Tab not match the BIOS settings ???

 

[OvrClkr]

Looks like its good to go, what I would do just to make sure that both sticks are 100% stable, tonight before going to bed leave your PC running prime95, the 3rd on from top to bottom (LOTS OF RAM) till the early morning (at least 8 hours) if your PC is still running prime by the time you wake up you should be fine.....

 

[videl]

You should be fine...you should have changed the settings right away...
Now you should benchmark your PC with 3DMark06 and post up the scores...