Help OCing A64 3200+ Winchester

[Matrix333]

I have my new system overclocked to 2.5GHz and it runs all the benchmarks fine, but fails prime95 within 5 minutes. I would like help getting it more stable at 2.5GHz or higher and possibly getting my memory timings a little tighter. Also, possibly getting my 6800gt faster. I dont want to spend any more money.

Here is my new system:

Athlon64 3200+ 90nm
MSI K8N Neo2 Platnium
2x512MB Corsair XMS XL 3200+ Platnium TwinX
Thermalright 948U All-Copper Heatsink
Vantec Stealth 92mm CPU Fan
ThermalTake 480w Purepower W0020+PFC
Gigabyte GeForce 6800GT
WD Special Edition 80GB 8MB Buffer

Here are my current settings:

Bios v1.37 Modded
250FSB x 10 = 2500MHz
Memory @ 250MHz 1:1
2.5-3-3-7-2T
vcore = 1.60v
vdimm = 2.65v
agp = 1.55v

6800GT @ 400/1000
Bios modded to 1.4v

Benchmark Results:
Aquamark3 = 67,788 (gfx9639, cpu11415)
3DMark2001 = 23,911 (running all tests)
3DMark05 = 4,997 (cpu4581)
PCMark05 = 5,013 (cpu4755, mem5058, gfx7058)
Sandra04 CPU Arith = Dry 11,583 Wet 3,953/5152
Sandra04 CPU MM = Int 23,883 Flt 25,611
Sandra04 Mem Band = Int 5,167 Flt 5,167
Sandra04 Cache & Mem = Combined 7,177 Speed Factor 7.3
Doom3 FPS = 106.4
Super PI 1M = 35sec
Memtest = 12hours Passed
Prime95 = 5minutes Failed

Other Questions:
Is my memory TCCD?
What should the AGP Aparture Size be at?
Is running Cool-N-Quiet safe with overclocking?
Sometimes HL2 crashes with "Memory can not be read at..." error, is that because my mem timings are too tight?

Any help with making my system better would be much appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Super6]

Your memory timings are part of your problem. Try 2.5,4,4,10,1T at 2.8v. Download Rivatuner for O/C'ing the video card. Do a search on google to find a copy. Set your aperature size to 128MB.

Have fun and good luck.

Super6

 

[tbates757]

I agree that it looks like a RAM issue. Up the voltage and loosen the timings.

 

[Matrix333]

i set vdimm to 2.8v
and changed the timings to 2.5-4-4-10-2T (1T wont post)

and it still fails prime95 within 5 min


also, is my memory Samsung TCCD ?
and if so, should i flash my bios to 1.41 since it is supposed to help overclocking TCCD memory?

 

[Mean MrMustard]

Originally posted by: Super6
Your memory timings are part of your problem. Try 2.5,4,4,10,1T at 2.8v. Download Rivatuner for O/C'ing the video card. Do a search on google to find a copy. Set your aperature size to 128MB.

Have fun and good luck.

Super6

I though 1T was for single-sided modules? I'm assuming that memory is double-sided.

 

[Mean MrMustard]

Try putting your memory in slots 3 & 4. I found it to be more stable than 1 & 2.

 

[Matrix333]

i tried slots 3 & 4 and I thought it fixed the problem because it ran for 16minutes! over 3 times as long as ive ever had it go before.

but then i got another damn error

 

[Mean MrMustard]

Downclock your memory to 166. With loose timings like was mentioned, you should be able to run Prime a lot longer. Definately up the vdimm.

I would also try BIOS 1.41.

 

[cryptonomicon]

why don't you run a ton of test 5 and 8s on memtestX86 so you can at least be partially assured that the memory is not causing the problem

 

[Matrix333]

i tried bios v1.41mod and no luck

my memory is TCCD isnt it?

im going to try memtest86 now

 

[Matrix333]

i just reset my bios and while running with no overclock at all i fail Prime95 within 5 minutes....still

also i ran Memtest86 (didnt use 86 before) and it passes everything

could there be a problem with my CPU or MOBO?

 

[Mean MrMustard]

Set your vid card back to default clocks.

 

[Duvie]

HOw do you have 1.6v iin the bios??? I only have up to 1.55v!!! I have 1.37 bios mod as well. This board undervolts and to give it actually 1.5v I may need 1.6v...

 

[Matrix333]

get bios v1.3b6 and u can get up to 1.75v because the % all work...even the 18.3%