BSOD nightmare

[Guest Max Cowgill]

Ach! This is driving me crazy! Go here to read my "upgrade" (more like a downgrade) story: http://ftp.avsim.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboa...orum=DCForumID8 Just to update: I moved my ram back to the first slot (where I used to be able to get 151MHz without a single error or lockup) and I can now get 148MHz but that's it. I disabled BIOS caching and shadowing like the BSOD suggested but I'm not sure what else to do...I now get the following error message at anything above 148MHz fsb (instead of my old rock solid 151Mhz fsb) STOP: 0x000000D1 (0xDCA8F044, 0x00000002, 0xEB81115C) DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUALAddress EB81115C base at EB810000, DateStamp 38200051 - BOOTVID.DLLthe IRQ and BOOTVID.DLL thing caught my eye. Anyone out there know their BSODs and can tell me what this means and what I can do to fix it? thanks,Max Cowgill

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Doesn't matter what the message is.... If it only appears as you up the speed, then it's the speed that's the problem....the BSOD is only the symptom.... About two years ago, when I was doing some experiments with the fsb speed, I killed a RAM chip, or at least made it unreliable. It passed all the common tests, but after bumping up the fsb too far, it became flaky under real Windows ops, even at the original "stable" speeds. I quit throwing my money away, and now run at the recommended fsb speed... It was a hard lesson to learn, but I realized that trying to grab a few extra fps wasn't worth the downtime, and not being able to fly 'tall :)

[Guest]

Hi Max,Considering the small difference in FSB that you're trying to achieve, I most certainly wouldn't worry about it: the cpu diff between 2.26 and 2.22 is pert near nil and the same for memory bandwidth. Now that you have the new heatsinks installed, you're better protected anyways so thats worth the sacrifice of a few MHz in bus speed. Why its happening is almost impossible to tell without being there and getting some hands on, but in the end it doesn't really matter.My advice? Be happy at 148. Again, unless you were shooting for 160+ from where you're at, the difference is nil. You're better off with better thermal protection than a few MHz (and your stated cpu temp sounds fine).If you're not happy at 148 despite the above (:-)), you might want to try 14.5 at 156-158 if your memory and cpu can pull it off (or even 13.5-14.0 with higher fsb). This would at least point you in the direction of the problem. Just don't forget to change the mem timings and possibly voltage if you try this. We've been routinely successful at getting the 2400+ into the 2.3 to 2.4 GHz range with a 12.5 or 13.0 devider and 180-190 FSB.(One last note: I almost never recommend or talk about overclocking to any others on this board, but since its you Max, I'm confident you know what you're doing. :-))Take care,Elrond---Not enough bandwidth to display this signature! Don't reformat hard drive? (Y/N)

[Guest Max Cowgill]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm an overclocker at heart though, so I can never be satisfied ;) I do have it running (somewhat stably) @ 149MHz (dropped the RAS to CAS pulse back down to 6T from 5T) and got an extra MHz woohoo! I bought an 8rda+ board (waiting for it in the mail) and will be getting new ram & new case & psu next week (unless something comes up). Even though I've got my CPU VCore @ 1.75V it bounces between 1.7-1.728 (hopefully the new mobo and psu will take care of that). I'm gonna mess around with my ram settings and perhaps clean all my chips of silver compound and reapply. I think I might've put a bit too much on them... Temps seem fine but that's the only thing I can think of that would cause this problem.Edit: nevermind, back down to 148MHz :( 149 wouldn't holdup... I tried my old 151 setting with ram settings backed almost all the way down (1T was still enabled and cpu setting was fast instead of normal or ultra). Now I'm going to go sulk in the corner... I want my 8rda+, new psu, and new ram now! I'll probably have to get a new CPU too :( Max Cowgill

[Guest]

While its possible its the CPU, I doubt it highly. The 2400 has been a great overclocker almost across the board in my experience. Out of the hundreds I've tested, I'm sure I've never run across more than a couple that didn't overclock well. If for some reason you do end up getting a new chip, the Barton 2500+ is another great chip that follows that tradition... The past couple weeks of testing and installing it have proven at least here that its the chip to have if buying for overclocking today.Take care,Elrond---Not enough bandwidth to display this signature! Don't reformat hard drive? (Y/N)

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I'd try new RAM first.... You may be able to run again at the 151MHZ speed. I didn't realize what a role RAM had in O/C equations until my experience. Have to admit it's fun to juggle these things :)

[Guest Max Cowgill]

Ok, now I'm getting angry... Before it was just an annoyance but now it's really starting to tick me off. I had to drop all my ram settings all the way down just to get 148MHz to be stable in prime95 (spoke too soon, prime95 is only stable for a couple minutes), but now FS2k2 won't even run :( No o/cing and no FS2k2 make Max something something... Go crazy? DON'T MIND IF I DO! -Max Cowgill

[John_Tavendale 453]

hmm interesting. Maybe the RAM doesn't like the DIMM it's in. I've found that in some experiments with different boards DIMM slots can be quite picky.You won't go wrong with the 8RDA+, they're an excellent board :-hahThese Thorougbred 'B' 2100+s are good overclockers. AIHUB Batches 0301, 0302, 0303, 0304 (0302, 0303, 0304 are the better ones I've seen) overclock very well. Most will do 11.5 or 12 x 200Mhz getting 2.3 to 2.4Ghz at around 1.8V and up.Get yourself a Zalman chipset heatsink for the NB, you'll be able to get more Mhz out of the FSB with it nice and cool, the default one sucks.

[John_Tavendale 453]

Just another thought, try and up the voltage on the RAM a little. Might help :)

[Guest]

Indeed John, ram tends to be the biggest factor in OC today. Each motherboard tends to have its own preference for specific brands and layouts much more than any cpu differences. As a side effect of that, its important to realize that the best and most expensive memory isn't always the perfect solution (but of course, its usually a good gamble to make when talking about Corsair, Mushkin, OCZ and Kingston). As an example: the latest Crucial 2700 and 3200 chips (extremely inexpensive) have very conservative ratings (7-3-3-2.5) out of the box but have been testing well here on the bench for overclocking (6 or 7-2-2-2 at 180+ lately with the 2700, 200+ with the 3200 at those timings). I'd still always bet on Corsair, etc, but less expensive chips can play their role well these days depending upon the phase of the moon :-).In the end, memory does seem to play the bigest role these days.Take care,Elrond---Not enough bandwidth to display this signature! Don't reformat hard drive? (Y/N)

[Guest Max Cowgill]

Urge to kill... rising... Well, after taking my computer apart and cleaning all the chips I'd applied silver compound to, then reapplying, I now get NO overclock. I'm beyond PO'd at this point, now I'm looking for a shotgun to blow this thing up. If an 8rda+, new ram, and new PSU don't take care of my problems I'm going to switch to the dark side (Intel) and get a P4. Now there's something I never thought I'd say! -Max Cowgill

[Guest Max Cowgill]

Thanks for the advice John, I tried all that already though. I lowered my ram timings to the minimum allowable, raised voltage to the maximum allowable (2.8V) and tried the ram in all available slots. This thing just doesn't want to work like it used to. Oh well, I guess that'll teach me to go and mess with a good thing. Like they say, never look a gift horse in the mouth/if it ain't broke, don't fix it!-Max Cowgill

[Guest Max Cowgill]

Ach!!!! I'm at 133MHz fsb @ stock voltage and running Prime 95 now and using mb monitoring program, temps are the same as when I was running 148MHz fsb @ 1.75V!!! Does anyone have a sledgehammer/shotgun? I don't know whether to cry or blow stuff up! Let this be a warning to all you overclockers out there: don't be impatient like I was! If you're going to do something, take the time to do it right. Don't just dive in and tackle everything at once, take it one step at a time. -Max Cowgill

[John_Tavendale 453]

Sorry to hear that Max. I went to the lightside and had some P4s, they're aren't as fun to overclock as the AMD's :-hahI'm sure the 8RDA will serve you well ;)All though you can get some ripper C1 stepping P4 2.4s that do 3Ghz + on air :-hah

[Guest Max Cowgill]

I'm going insane here... I just reapplied my thermal compound (for the 8 billionth time) and at least now I can run stably @ 141MHz with most aggressive ram timings. Same temps as before, but now @ 1.75V 141 fsb. Maybe I should go get a priest to expell the demons from my system. I'm gonna keep pushing for more, hopefully I'll be able to get a somewhat respectable o/c out of this thing...-Max Cowgill