prime95 questions

[jetshipjumbo]

So I recently built my own rig for the first time! Now I'm attempting my first overclock. In this attempt I followed wusy's guide to overclock my pc.

When I started to test for stability with Prime95 it halted on me for FATAL ERROR within the first couple minutes of my first few attempts. Now I started Prime95 for the fifth time and has been running for about an hour now with no ERROR and still going.

My question is this:

Is this normal?
Is this a part of the breaking in process?
Should I actually use my system a little more before running Prime95 and other stability apps through it for tests?

I've hardly used my system besides installing apps, very light surfing and ran Photoshop for 1/2 hour but nothing intensive.

Asus P5W DH
2G Corsair TwinXMS2 DDR2-800 [1:1 | 2.1V]
e6600 [333mhz | multi - 9 | 1.4V]

 

[Mondoman]

In general, you should do a general CPU/memory test *before* installing the OS, in order to make sure you will not be corrupting the OS files as you install/work with them.

Download a memtest86+ bootable floppy or CD image, create the floppy or CD, and boot with it, running memtest86+. Run at least a couple of complete cycles. If you get any errors, fix them (usually by replacing defective component(s) and/or redoing all connections to make sure they are secure).

Then, go ahead and install your OS. Load and run 2 copies of PRIME95 or run Orthos. Any errors there, again, need to be dealt with. This is a tougher test than memtest86+, especially wrt heat generation. Thus, monitor your CPU, system, etc temp during the testing. If you get a failure, you'll need to figure out if its a problem with your memory, maybe a problem with something else, such as an insufficient or bad power supply, or a problem with something (not necessarily the CPU) overheating.

Only once your system is running w/o errors under "normal" conditions (that is, CPU at default speed, RAM at default speed at 1.8V, etc) can you start working on overclocking -- you don't start building a house on a shaky foundation.

 

[Mondoman]

Sorry, didn't answer your specific questions!

...
Is this normal?

No

Is this a part of the breaking in process?

No

Should I actually use my system a little more before running Prime95 and other stability apps through it for tests?

No (see previous post)

 

[jetshipjumbo]

thanks for all the good info! it's hard to find a complete overclocking guide/tutorial. usually all you find is bits and pieces and it's hard to glue it all togther sometimes since it's coming from different sources.