Really need help tuning MEMORY and NB!

Undersky

Honorable
Jul 10, 2013
20
0
10,510
System

CPU: AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 955 Processor
Mobo: ASUSTeK Computer INC. M4A89GTD-PRO/USB3
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
Hard Disk: Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6870
OS: Window 7 64-bit
PSU: 520w Seasonic




So I followed 4Ryan6's sticky'd thread on Overclocking Black Edition AMD's. From default BIOS I was able to follow the instructions and add .5 to the multiplier getting up to 4.2Ghz before the OS crashed so my next task was to increase voltage until I could get the system to boot which I did bumping the voltage to 1.5v. This seemed way over my head (I'm a noob) so I kicked it back to 4ghz (20x multiplier). With 1.45 voltage I was able to boot at 4ghz and even ran 3DMark to completion with everything else at default settings (except disabling CoolN"Quiet) and manually setting ram to 1600mhz @1.5v.

I would be happy with 4Ghz @1.45v but the problem comes afterward when running prime95. Although I can get through 3DMark as soon as I hit Prime95 BLEND I crash which tells me the memory needs tweaking or I simply have to reduce multiplier. Can I get some help tweaking memory and NB to get stable?

I really think this ram hates being at anything but 1.5v. For the longest time when I would change the ram from 1333mhz to 1600mhz (because it defaults at 1333mhz for some reason) I would allow the system to "automatically" raise the voltage of the ram which was usually 1.65v which is why I think I would BSOD so much. I also believe disabling C1E had a lot to do with my pc having problems with sleeping and waking causing me BSOD's. And when left to [Auto] the DRAM voltage would be at 1.55v (not the specified voltage). It's sad it took me 2 years to find this out but ever since putting the ram to 1600mhz @1.5v like it was supposed to the system felt a a lot more stable (until overclocking cpu).

If any BIOS screens are needed or CPU-Z I can provide them.
 
1. Set DRAM Frequency to DDR3-1600

2. Set CPU-NB Frequency to 2400MHz (DDR3-1600 / 2 = 800MHz, then x 3) CPU-NB Frequency should always be 3X DRAM bus frequency

3. Set HT Link Frequency to 2400MHz

4. Set timings to tCL 9 - tRCD 9 - tRP 9 - tRAS 24, or whatever your memory is rated for.

5. Set DRAM Voltage to 1.50V, or whatever your memory is rated for.

6. Most CPUs will need a CPU-NB Voltage boost of +0.10V, so if your default is 1.10V, set it to 1.20V
 


I don't know how to loosen timings but I check them in CPU-Z and they're spec'd at 9-9-9-24 2T like they're supposed to be. I want to say that sometimes I see the Bank Cycle Time (tRC) at 33clocks and sometimes at 40clocks. I think it is at 33clocks when at 1333mhz but I'm trying to keep them at 1600mhz. Also the BSOD's have been numerous over the 2 years I've had my PC which I think was due to the bad auto voltage of the RAM and disabling C1E messing up the sleep states. All I'd like to do if finally get a solid OC once and for all and do it right.



Ok I've followed this but HT Link will not let me go above 2200. I left it on auto in hopes that it might set itself to 2400 because it's happened somehow before when setting the NB Frequency to 2400 (overclocking through BUS might have had something to do with it) but it didn't and it currently 2000. Now I'll try Prime95.
 


Ok whats happened is that setting NB Frequency to 2400 is something that it's just not liking. When I set it to 2400 with the NB/CPU @1.2v in the BIOS the monitor just goes to sleep and I have to manually press the reset button at which point I get "Overclock has Failed!" message and I have to go back into the BIOS to set it up and the same cycle happens.

So after setting the NB Frequency and the CPU/NB voltage back to defaults [Auto] the computer will boot. What I did was started with 3.6ghz multiplier and ran the Prime95 Blend which it got past the first few seconds which was a good sign. I let it go a few minutes where otherwise it would shut down seconds after starting it. Then I tried 3.7Ghz and it got past the first initial test which was a sign that at least it's not instantaneously crashing ... a good thing. So then I tried 3.8Ghz 19.0 multiplier and ran Prime95 Blend and it didn't instantly crash and let it go for 10 mins. With 3.8Ghz stable I would be happy... I just want a stable machine once and for all. I've learned a lot of things like the importance of running ram at its advertised voltage which I did not do all this time. I learned what C1E does and how it was probably why I could ever get my computer to sleep and awaken correctly and which also probably cause lots of BSOD's.

Is there anything else I should be trying?
 


Yeah I tried 1.225 (by accident) then 1.25 and the same thing would happen. The monitor would go to sleep and I would have to press the power button to boot then after boot it would say the Overclock Failed and gave me F1 and F2 options to change BIOS or reset to default. I remember in my many attempts to overclock when I would do it by bus 240* x16 it would match up and boot with 2400 NB Frequency and 2400 HT Link. HT Link would be set on [Auto] and I guess the 240 bus overclock and the NB/Frequency to 2400 would do that to the HT Link. I guess the reasons I couldn't ever keep that 240 bus overclock is because I would let the mobo add voltages automatically to the ram usually 1.65v. I don't know if that was causing me blue screens but when I could keep that overclock for some reason it felt superior to the multiplier overclock. Would you suggest a fsb overclock?
 
http://www.overclock.net/t/777378/official-gappos-little-deneb-thuban-overclocking-guide-with-too-many-smileys/0_20

Do everything in order..multi last..
easy=shoot for 1600-ish RAMs harder=Shoot for 1800-2000-ish RAMs

2600-3400 on cpu/nb

I usually set cpu/nb voltage to 1.37 straightaway.
NB 1.8 voltage=1.85/1.9

1.26 on NB ..have a fan blowing onto your sinks.
enable the LLC on that board..and disable spread spectrum (cpu)

How to lower ram timings: lower the 4 settings cL,trcd,trp,tras) 1 setting at a time.one notch at a time .lower it..reboot..see if post..lower 1 more..reboot..etc..until you don't POST..then go back to the last one that worked...and move on to the next setting.This will put close to where you should be

I loved my gtd pro http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2377884 best fsb out of AMD board I've ever had.I wish I had it now 🙁
 


I'll take a look at that link sorry trades i've just been up in arms over here trying to figure this out. I really think all of my problems are with this ram on this mobo although it's now on the QVL but it didn't used to be. Also on the QVL this ram is listed at (2 x 2gb) sticks @ 1.6v which I don't understand since the ram is advertised as 1600mhz 1.5v but I'm learning more and more. a couple of questions before I start trying again

1. When I raise the CPU/NB voltage I see suggestions of putting it up to 1.35 straight away as it is the most important part of an AMD overclock but when I raise it the numbers start getting orange like past 1.2 and super red past 1.25 or something so im scared to raise it that high without researching more.

2. When you have more than two slots of ram occupied (I have 4x2gb), do you have to raise voltage for them?
 


How high can I set the voltages of the cpu/nb? Also do I need to up the voltage of the Northbridge itself which I think is about 1.3 on my board but hovers just under that. I'm going to start over and test with Prime95 blend instead of 3Dmark because I could pass a full 3Dmark test @4ghz but I could not pass Prime95 blend at lower speeds than that. I figure I will set everything to default again disabling c1e and Cool n Quiet then raise the multiplier by .5 until Prime95 blend fails. My concerns are with NB/CPU and Northbridge voltages.

CP/NB voltages are only increased if the NB Frequency is increased or does it also have to be increased if you're raising the multiplier but not the NB Frequency?

I just did 3.3ghz and tested some Blend for 10 mins. I know that's probably way too short but usually the PC would crash within 2 mins when I would test up in the 3.8-4.2ghz range.
 
Let's try an alternate way:

1. Set DRAM Frequency to DDR3-1333.

2. Set CPU Host/Bus Frequency to 240 (this will overclock the memory frequency to DDR3-1600)

2a. Raising the bus frequency will also overclock the CPU, so if you do not want this, you will need to lower CPU Ratio to your desired frequency. If you do want to keep it, you may need to raise CPU VCore to stabilize the overclock. Might need to raise CPU VCore.

3. Set timings to tCL 9 - tRCD 9 - tRP 9 - tRAS 24, or whatever your memory is rated for.

4. Set DRAM Voltage to 1.50V, or whatever your memory is rated for.

5. Most CPUs will need a CPU-NB Voltage boost of +0.10V, so if your default is 1.10V, set it to 1.20V
 


Thank you I"m sure I've tried this at some point but will try again.
 
so far the best thing I can do is set the memory to its rated specifications, set the cpu voltage to 1.45 and use the multiplier... I just did a few mins of blend with 17x multi @3.6ghz.

I don't know what else I could do maybe try setting NB to 2400? Also after I find something stable should I enable Cool'n Quiet and C1E again?
 
Ok something different. I decided to go hard and just try this.. I set the CPU @ 1.5v and the CPU/NB @1.25v with also the HTT and NB Frequency both @2400mhz and I was able to finally run blend for past a minute ... for 15 minutes actually before I stopped it because of the temperatures which got up to 90c.. but it didn't crash... I can't say I'm stable but it was progress.

I'm idling @ 51-52c now though isn't that pretty hot? Before I tried these new settings I had just crashed after enabling Cool n Quiet and C1E on a simple OC with multi 17.0x @3.6ghz. That crash prompted me to try the above settings.

Also found this article interesting some guy, same board doing 300fsb with low multiplier. Also said his temps went down which I need to do.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1024586/m4a89gtd-pro-usb3-voltage-questions
 
Alright guys I know this thread is a couple of months old but I have the answer. After finally getting ultimately fed up and at the end of my rope I read and read and read product reviews until I found one that helped me and haven't had a single BSOD since.

Actually it was two things..

1. Changed my ram TIMINGS to 8-8-8-24 1T from 9-9-9-24 2T. I believe this is what has finally given my system stability once and for all. System is snappy and haven't had a single crash.

2. The cause of the "New CPU installed!" message was being caused by the Zaleman cooler I had which had so much pressure on the cpu it was causing this message to happen on every restart. I installed the factory cooler (which was much easier to install) and haven't had a single instance of that message. I also have a 3.6 ghz overclock on it with no problems with Cool n' Quiet and C1E enabled. (didn't want to go too high with stock cooler)


Final note. After finally fixing these problems after so long the board still had other problems. The front USB panels (and I heard the reset button too) sometimes cause the motherboard to short when you touch them so I unplugged them from the board.

It's been a long time coming but I've finally gotten peace with this board... hope that helps.
 


Thanks Tradesman1 I hope someone sees this down the road and is helped by it.

 
HT link you want to keep around 2000-ish
Set your cpu/NB voltage to 1.37
then go into BIOS and start raising it in notches til you don't POST
then go back to the last one that worked.
Raising cpu/nb voltage can help with getting higher RAM freqs
stable, too.You can go up to the Vcore;but usually not necessary.