>It never even occured to me to stress both cores. How do you>do that and with what? Prime95, Orthos, etc?I've never used Orthos, but it looks like Orthos may enable duel core stress testing automatically. To do it via Prime95:1.) Install Prime95 twice, each in a different directory.2.) Run one Prime95, and under the Advanced menu --> Affinity, set the CPU to 0.3.) Run the other Prime95 you installed, and set the affinity to 1.4.) Now you can run the torture test on each Prime95, and each should use a different core. Check the sysmonitor to verify. I do a small FFT test on one core and a large FFT test on the other, letting them both run for an hour or two.I didn't think of stressing both cores when I started overclocking, but it turned out my P4 system was stable up to 3.66GHz on one core, but only stable up to 3.5 on both cores.Hope this helps!Paul

I find the best stress test to be BOINC - boinc.berkeley.edu. Set it to allow both cores. Runs when you are away from the PC, helps make the world a better place, and very effectively stress-tests your PC :)==Marten:Weber==P-D920 oc3.64MHz 2GB RAM WinXP ATI X1900+1024MB 2xSATA250 2xVIEWSONIC 19"Best AI available today: www.world-of-ai.com

So the world is a better place with more BOINCing? Now, that makes sense. ;)Gary

well surely, we've known that all along :)==Marten:Weber==P-D920 oc3.64MHz 2GB RAM WinXP ATI X1900+1024MB 2xSATA250 2xVIEWSONIC 19"Best AI available today: www.world-of-ai.com

One other thought here - FS has always been a processor intensive (or maybe inefficient?) programme. I can always remember a few years ago not long after installing FS9 on my old rig (it was a P4 2.4Ghz CPU) it was the only programme to regularly trigger the Intel thermal monitoring alarm after running for an hour or two. Turns out I needed to fit an 80mm case fan to provide extra cooling as (is common practice) the manufacturer was relying on the PSU fan alone for cooling. However, threw all sorts of other CPU intensive programmes at it including MS Train Sim and never generated a temperature alert like FS9.

Prime95 is a good test if you're having it run on all your cores -- are you testing that? You need to tell Prime95 you want to run on multiple cores. If you're overclocking correctly you should NOT be changing the PCI bus speed -- audio crackling is usually an indication of bus speed increase. YOU WILL need a processor that has an unlock, I don't believe the E4300 is such a processor.I'm now at 3.9Ghz on my X6800, high quality RAM is a must. Use SPD if you're using an ASUS motherboard.MemTest86 and boot from CD/Floppy is another good test.Or buy a MacPro and never look back :)Robin.

NO, I personally always lock the PCI-x bus to 100Mhz and the older PCI bus to 33.33Mhz which is the one that would have affected the PCI sound-card had I up'ed it.Also, thanks for the info about the Prime95 Affinity settings.

>increase. YOU WILL need a processor that has an unlock, I>don't believe the E4300 is such a processor.This depends on the chipset although a CPU where you can freely select the multiplier is the best for overclocking. Intel is planning on selling these to consumers, for a premium of course... :)My Gigabyte DS3 P965 can overclock the E4300 up to 3gHz while keeping the PCI bus around 100mHz.Wanne.

Since SP1 I have had a few random system hangs.I wonder if there is an option for that? lol

>Without knowing the details of your situation, it is very>likely that the increase in core usage with SP1 increases the>CPUs temperature, with would limit the amount of overclocking>possible. I am observing about 20% higher CPU temperatures>with SP1, i.e. with both cores working hard. >>>==Marten:Weber==>P-D920 3.3MHz 2GB RAM WinXP ATI X1900+1024MB 2xSATA250>2xVIEWSONIC 19">author of the bloody beginner's guide to realistic flight>simulation:>http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?FileName=bbgrfs.zipI have noticed an increase in CPU temp as well.