F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK unstable over 800MHz

[Jiia]

Hey,

I've been trying to overclock my processor from 3.0GHz to 3.5GHz. That would require me to increase the FSB from 240MHz to 280MHz (with a 12.5x multiplier). My motherboard Asus P5QPL-VM EPU has only two memory dividers and therefore setting the FSB to 280MHz would allow me to set the memory clock to either 933MHz or 1120MHz. At 240MHz FSB it would allow me to set the memory to a minimum of 800MHz, which I've been using since it seems to be the only clockspeed that works. My memory should be capable of running at 1066MHz so I set it to 933MHz and tried booting. I got past POST but always got BSOD at Windows login.

I tried several different options. I increased the memory voltage to 2.1V and set NB voltage to the max which was 1.275V. I increased the CPU voltage by 100mV too just in case. I also set the FSB back to 240MHz and tried setting the DRAM freq to 960MHz. None of these settings worked and I just got BSOD. I also tried running memtest86 but it always froze at some point.

I then updated my BIOS to the latest one and tried out some memory timings. I tried settings like 6-6-6-18, 7-7-7-21 and some other various combinations. It booted when CL was below 7 but when CL was 7 or above it froze at POST.

At the moment I'm running at 240MHz FSB, 800MHz DRAM with 4-4-4-12 timings. But I really want to overclock my CPU more. So why can't I run my memory over 800MHz?

My bios options are the following:

AI Overclocking: Manual / Auto / Profile
CPU Frequency: 200-800
CPU Multiplier: 6 - 12.5
DRAM Frequency: 800MHz / 960MHz (increases if CPU Freq is increased)
PCI Express Frequency: Auto / 70-200
Memory Voltage: 1.5-2.5V
NB Voltage: 1.125 / 1.175 / 1.225 / 1.275
SV 1.5 Voltage: 1.5V / 1.6V
CPU VTT: 1.2V / 1.3V
CPU Over Voltage: Auto / +50mV / +100mV / +150mV
Auto PSI: Enabled / Disabled

Memory Remap Feature: Enabled / Disabled
Configure DRAM Timing by SPD: Enabled / Disabled

DRAM tCL (5)
DRAM tRAS (15)
DRAM tRP (5)
DRAM tRCD (5)
DRAM tWR (6)
DRAM tRFC (52)
DRAM tWTR (3)
DRAM tRRD (3)
DRAM tRTP (3)
DRAM tRD (4)

---

Specs
CPU: Intel E5200 2,5GHz
MoBo: Asus P5QPL-VM EPU (bios 0502)
BIOS: American Megatrends v.02.61
Memory: G.Skill F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK
OS: Windows 7 x64 build 7600

Thank you in advance.

[wevsspot]

Jiia,

I'll take a look at your motherboard bios shortly and see if there is anything i can suggest from my end.

[wevsspot]

What happens if you set the cpu frequency to 266 with a 12.5 multiplier and set the dram frequency to 1067?

That yields an overclock of 3.325Ghz but your memory would be running 1:1 ratio at it's factory specified speed.

[jh4db536]

the e5200 has a native FSB of 800. So you are aiming for a 33% OC...
12.5 x 200 = 2.5ghz

i'm with wevo on 266 x 12.5 CPUclock

266 * ddr2 = 533 memoryclock (synch)

clamp the timings down to CL4-4-4-12 (or lower) and your performance should be good.

[Jiia]

With FSB of 266 and automatic memory timing it failed to boot windows. After increasing the NB voltage a little it got to the Windows loading animation but froze. Setting the timing to 6-6-6-18 yielded the same result. Setting the NB voltage to the maximum amount didn't help either. At FSB 280 and DRAM of 933 it at least go to Windows login. So I'm assuming it's the memory that's causing this.

E5200 should be easily overclocked to 3,5GHz. A few people have got it stable even at 4.5GHz.

I managed to overclock it a little more from 3GHz by setting the FSB to 250. That yields 3.125GHz and 833MHz DRAM. But I'd still like to get a little bit more out of the processor. So is it the memory that's causing these problems?

[GSKILL TECH]

Post BIOS pictures and we can see what's going on.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[Tradesman]

What's your vCore at, you'll prob need a fairly decent increase to run the FSB at 266.

[Jiia]

These are the settings I'm trying to run it at:

Menu - OC settings - CPU settings - NB settings - HW monitor

The higher DRAM frequency I'm trying to use, the worse results I get. 833MHz seems to be the highest stable freq. Note that in the CPU settings picture in the grey you can see the frequencies I'm currently running stable, not the ones I'm trying to use.

[jh4db536]

your screenshot shows 280 x 12.5 = 3.5; a 40% OC
280 x 4 = 1120 FSB

a CPU overvolt of 100mv. I dont think this is enough given your target OC. If you are running more than 2 sticks of ram, the NB voltage is definitely not enough. if you are running in the memory in asynchronous mode (other than 1:1 divider) then it may really be undervolted.

what kind of cooling do you have? whatever amount of vcore it takes this get stable 40% oc on a 65nm duo core is gonna generate some serious heat.

you should really consider running the memory at 560 with a 1:1 divider; CL4 // 4-4-4-12

i honestly think your motherboard is limiting your OC.

[Jiia]

Thanks for your reply jh4db536. I'm also starting to think that the motherboard is the bottleneck here. Even the maximum NB voltage seems to be too little considering it has only two memory dividers.

My cooling is pretty decent air cooling. At one point I managed to run prime95 for 30 mins at 3.4GHz and +150mV overvolt before BSODing and the temperature was max 68C and the fans weren't even 100%. Most of the people at overclock.net seem to think that E5200's max temp is around 75C.

I'll try the settings you suggested but if they don't work I think I'm gonna have to settle for 25% OC until I get a new motherboard.

[GSKILL TECH]

Try increasing tWR to 8 and tRFC 68 (timings) to see if that is limiting your OC.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH